Double Time!

I had yet another back-to-back set of tournaments:

• CBJJF’s Western Canadian BJJ Championships in Penticton, BC, June 28th
• Katana BJJ’s Roots BJJ Challenge in Richmond, BC, July 5th

I competed in Gi Lightweight for both tournaments, and in No-Gi Middleweight for the Western Canadians.

The Western Canadians!
Held at the South Okanagan Events Centre, it was spacious, with plenty of parking.  Inside were multiple change rooms and the new option to weigh in up to three hours before your scheduled division time.  This is a fantastic addition, allowing competitors to eat and hydrate before stepping on the mats.  My Gi Lightweight division was eleven large, myself included.  I unfortunately had to face off against RDC-teammate Cam Deleurme first round, and he got the better of me.  Between his stronger wrestling and my ineffective game plan, Cam maintained superior positions and secured a submission finish.  It was also the first tournament my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my grandmother were able to attend.  Definitely not my best performance.

After waiting the rest of the afternoon for No-Gi, our four-man division was called to the bull-pen and sent to mat 6.  My game plan seemed ineffective at first, I was stuck in bottom half-guard for three minutes or so, with a failed attempt to take the back, defending my opponent’s attempts at Kimura and Americana arm-locks.  Finally he destabilized his own base going for submissions that I was able to sweep him and secure the mount.  Now four points up, I could begin to work from a superior position.  Unfortunately, he managed a sweep in the closing 30 seconds, but in the end I prevailed 6-4.  It was onto the finals against Burnaby BJJ’s Zac who had a more dominant game and secured a rear-naked choke.  In the end I took Silver.

In between my Gi and No-Gi matches, I coached first-time competitor and teammate Eddie.  He was a recent addition to Genesis, and competed in the Master Male White Belt Middleweight division against five others.  He won his first match on points, second match via submission, and the finals via points.  My coaching voice hadn’t been used in a while, and barely made it to Ed’s third round.

Roots BJJ Challenge!
Once more held in the Fridge Gymnasium, it proved to be a busy tournament inside of a venue too small for the crowd.  Once more in the Lightweight Adult male division, I managed to arrive and change moments before they called my division up to the bullpen.  My first match would be against Graeme Martin of Powell River BJJ, the man I had gone against at the Copa Katana III in March.  Knowing this, I remembered his guard and triangles, and to shoot early and shoot fast for a takedown to bypass his guard.  Graeme kept me on my feet long enough to jump guard, and after transitioning from a cross-collar to an omaplata to a triangle, he sealed it in and finished it.  Lesson learned: work on breaking the guard quickly (or the standing break).

Now it’s about three months until the next tournament, which happens to be the day after my 30th birthday.  I’m looking forward to the Masters division, but I know that if there are not enough of us, we get sent to the Adult division.

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?