My Next Big Goal

 
I dont want to take a ton of time away from my Sunday evening, but I have some BIG news.  After taking an extended break following my completion of Pavel's Beast Tamer Challenge, I have decided to set my next goal.

My next goal is as follows:  Compete in the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships in Long Beach, California.

  This tourney is the Mac Daddy of all BJJ/Grappling competitions.  There is no bigger or more prestigious event in the world.

A couple challenges associated with this decision:

1)  I havent competed in over a year.

2)  I only have 7 weeks until the competition.

3)  I dont know how I am getting to California.

4)  I have never competed at Brown Belt Level.

  So, why am I throwing myself to the wolves?  In short, because I THRIVE under pressure.  I have won or placed top 3 in all the advanced divisions of the NAGAs and Grappler's Quest on the east coast.  I have competed all my life.  The only way I am going to motivate myself to live up to my potential is to step into the most challenging conditions I can find. 

At this point, I need to be the underdog, the competitor that has nothing to lose.  I dont want to show up to a tourney where I am EXPECTED to win.

Here's what I have on my side:

-I have some of the best grappling coaches in the country at MMA Institute (Rick McCoy, Jake Young, Mark Strickland)

-I have competed at high level competition before and beaten competitors that were better than me on paper

-I am strong, injury free, and have been training semi-consistently.

-My body responds very rapidly to training stress

  So, I will be posting about my training with the hopes of holding myself accountable and helping fellow competitors understand how I prepare for high level competition.  Lets get this thing going...looking forward to training tomorrow, bright and early!  Let the training begin!