My doctor apparently decided not to shave the bone after all so I was able to say good bye to my crutches on Sunday (instead of having to stay on them for 2 more weeks). It was about time though because my arms and sides were being rubbed raw after spending all day Saturday on crutches coaching and cheering at the Copa Nova.
The team did pretty well over all, we sent 1 brown belt, 3 purple belts, 1 blue belt, 1 white belt, and one child. Quang lost his nogi match but redeemed himself securing a dominant win against the same guy (the 2010 blue belt world champion) in the gi division. Quang is expected to put on a good showing at the Pan Ams and Worlds this year at purple belt. (He missed the worlds last year due to a knee injury after placing 2nd at the Pan Ams at blue belt in his first International tournament.) Kenny didn't fight nogi but easily won his purple belt gi division. Rick also easily won his Nogi Advanced Division. There was no one for Rick to fight in the gi so he just entered the Absolute and ended up placing after a difficult loss to a guy at least 30lbs heavier than him in the first round. Seph dominated in his sole match to gold in the Brown Belt Absolute division (they called it a Masters Division since both he and the other guy are both 30 now).
Jonathan Lord (a blue belt who switched over to our gym from Capital JJ 3-4 months ago) competed in his first tournament as well. He went 1-2 in his blue belt division, but he showed a lot of knowledge and a ton of improvement in his movement since he first came to Fifty/50, even securing a couple good single leg takedowns! Jeremy Posner is one of our white belts who's been showing a lot of promise in class and he didn't disappoint in his first tournament either, placing 2nd in his division. He dominated the first couple guys he fought and showed a greater degree of proficiency and technical movement than anyone else in his division. So even though he wasn't able to walk away with 1st place, it was a successful day for him. Unfortunately, none of the ladies were able to make it to this tournament due to family obligations, injuries, etc, but we'll get them back out at the next tournament.
Little Alex finally entered her first regular BJJ tournament with normal(ish) rules - she has only competed twice at the kids only tournaments before this. Being able to train with Geoffrey (a new kid with 3 yrs of experience) has been very beneficial for her as she has learned how to continually follow up and attack when her first movement doesn't work. She dominated every child in her 3 matches in the kids beginner division to gold. She didn't have a single point scored on her as she scored takedowns, sweeps, guard passes, back takes, knee on belly (her dad didn't even know she knew that one), and almost secured one armlock. She will be moving up to the Advanced division in her next tournament. It will be much tougher for her, especially because she doesn't know a lot of different movements, but what she knows she does perfectly every time. And it will be better for her growth to move up sooner than later.
Jake Mackenzie and 2 of his black belt friends from FightSports in Miami are here with us for a few weeks to train as Ryan, Jake, and Rick get ready for the European Championships. I'm sooo disappointed that I can't go to compete due to my injuries because there are already THREE women registered for my division! I hardly ever have a division! Of course I have next to no muscle tone at my current weight of 109lbs right now so it probably wouldn't go in my favor even if I could compete.
I can walk unaided earlier than expected and the steps up to the gym didn't hurt as much today as yesterday so I should be happy right now.
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Just in case you hadn’t seen the following is the team results from Copa Nova.
ReplyDeletePlace Entity Gold Silver Bronze Total Medals
1. YAMASAKI 19 17 13 49
2. LLOYD IRVIN 16 11 9 36
3. ROYCE GRACIE/Capital 9 20 11 40
4. RELSON GRACIE 6 7 5 18
5. MMA INST 6 1 0 7
6. VANGUARD 5 3 6 14
7. 50/50 5 3 2 10
8. RAGE 3 4 3 10
9. TONY PASSOS 3 1 2 6
10. KELLY 2 0 1 3
Look at that Capital got 40 medals.
I'm not entirely sure what you are looking to accomplish by attempting to post something that is simultaneously ridiculous and an attempt at being inflammatory.
ReplyDeleteSince I have a free 5 minutes, I'm more than happy to indulge you, though!
To start with, it's very interesting to me that anyone would attempt to use a tiny local tournament as validation of anything since none of the larger teams in the area sent many (if any) of their regular competitors. Fifty/50 and Lloyd Irvin use the Copa Nova to give new students experience and for experienced students to practice new strategies and techniques. It's not where we go to see where we stand against the best in the world--we do that at the Mundial and Abu Dhabi. See you there...er...or not?
But since you insist on attempting to make the Copa Nova more than it is, I suppose I can indulge you...as well as thank you for pointing out that our "B squad" of 13 entrants scored 6 gold medals to Capital's 9 golds (all blue or lower) with 68 entrants.
My math skills are limited. Can you snag a calculator and get back to me with who the percentages favor there? Thanks, Ace.
By the by, any idea how many Mundial/ADCC medals Fifty/50 has in 2 years of being open? If you can guess, I'll give you a free week of training!
three girls? already? man that's great.
ReplyDelete