Winning Pan Am's is like winning the lottery.

So I won Pan Am's.  I know that does not make me any better then I was two weeks ago.  In fact I won on a Referee Decision so if the Referee had a cramp in his left arm and lifted his right arm instead the other guy would have won.

I did not win in dominating fashion.  Just got by and got the win in my matches.  The surprising thing is how many people think this makes me a better Jiujitsu Player then I was two weeks ago.  I have a lot of friends on Facebook and a good number of them are involved in BJJ so I got a lot of pats on the back and congratulatory remarks after my win.  I had a couple of good Photo Ops with some well known JiuJitsu Stars like Xande Ribeiro.  So I didn't even say anything when I went to train and I got a lot of accolades when I showed up because it seemed everyone knew I had won.

I have sparred at my regular places since then and two other places while I was travelling. (so 4 different places)  It seemed like when I showed up I was now the new target to be beat on.  I remember how much harder people went with me when I became a Blue Belt and the same thing is happening now.  I am getting my butt kicked almost every single roll.  I am not sure I needed to be humbled but it is sure happening.  It seems a memo must have went out saying that this guy is a Pan Am Champion so beat on him.  I have not sparred with a White Belt since then.  I have sparred with young, athletic blue belts and higher belts.  These guys could have easily worked me over before but now that they are going harder they are really working me over.  I mean I am getting Bicep Sliced, Calf Sliced, Wrist Locked, Arm Barred in ways I never knew existed and Choked from places I never knew you could choke from.

I wonder how long it is going to take these guys to realize I am still the same old guy (emphasis on old) and that they could and can always work me over if they go hard.  I like to keep it playful and work on technique  so hopefully the guys rolling with me will get back in that mode so we both can progress.  Until then I will continue to take my lumps and I will remember the advice of a friend who won the lottery who told me "if you win the lottery don't tell anyone or they will start to change the way they act toward you" I now know if I win a big Tournament again it might be best to keep it to myself so I don't have to get beat down like I am right now.

Sits around all day, then sleeps at tournaments.

What a great experience.  I am always amazed at how the Jiujitsu and other martial art communities really accept each other.  I met a guy there who was in a wheelchair.  He was about 35 years old and was a disabled Vet.  He had no use of his legs but he was out their competing with able bodied competitors.  

An important part of BJJ is being able to hold your opponent with your legs.  If you have no use of your legs it eliminates this component for you.  That means that people will easily pass your guard and can easily choke you.  No off course he is used to this and because of his lack of legs strength he has far superior grip and also is a master of wrist locks if you are haphazard, taking it easy or overlooking this opponent you will be tapping to a wrist lock before you know it and the match will be over.  He got Choked out in one of his matches and I talked to him afterwards and asked him if he was okay.  He told me he was and that he never taps he would rather just pass out.  I thought the guy was probably pretty good at dealing with pain and if that is what he wanted then okay.  Then I saw he just posted this picture on his Instagram and I thought it was funny.  

BTW his name is Brian Freeman and he did get a 3rd place finish at Pans so major props to him.  It was an 8 man bracket  

Pan Ams are over and I have to say the cutting weight was worth it.  All those posts I wrote about cutting weight being silly and not worth it were wrong. (in my case anyway)  When you get to compete with guys who are a little bit smaller then you instead of a little bit bigger then you it makes a world of difference.  (I know this is not brain surgery but I really did not know how significant the weight factor was until I competed at the  lower weight).

My normal weight is in the low 170s and with Gi about 175-178.  I have always competed at Middle Weight as a white belt and did fairly well but every once in a while I went against a beast who no matter how hard I tried, my technique could not overcome their physical strength.  I was promoted to Blue Belt in December so I decided I should drop to light weight for Pans so I would not have to face guys both technically better and stronger then  me.  I made the weight drop and now I was the beast in the weight class.

I have to say it was very enjoyable and even after the matches I did not feel the same amount of strain on my body that I felt as a middle weight.

One funny thing happened my instructor did not have his credentials in order so could not get on the floor for my first match so his instructor Xande Ribeiro stepped in to Coach me.  Pretty good substitute if you ask me.  If the final I had Saulo, Xande, Fabrio, and my instructor (Sean) all on the mat side coaching me.  Plus I had Dan Lukeheart giving me some instruction also.  It was an anti Climatic Final going to referee decision but I wonder if having all those big names in my corner helped me when it came time for the decision to be made.

I met a ton of friend that I knew from Facebook and Instagram and I have to say the BJJ community is really one group of good guys that really seem to enjoy being around each other.

The journey continues.  I really like this Picture of Xande and I after my first match.

Pan Ams are this week good luck to all competitors

Okay I was driving into the office today and there is this one place  where I have to drive across a two lane road to get on the freeway.  There is a lot of traffic at this spot and sometimes the back up to cross can be several cars deep.  When an opening comes you make a dash and sometimes 2-3 cars can get through before the traffic starts up again.  There is a stop light about a half a mile up the road and that is what causes the space.  So as I was waiting my turn to dash I noticed that when a car was turning that the car coming the opposite direction would speed up.  

My question is what is the purpose of speeding up?  Do you want to T bone the car crossing the road? Why would you want to be in an accident?  What would happen if the car crossing the road stalls or it is an inexperienced driver and they panic when they see you speed up.  Why do people do this?

Any way just something that frustrates me.  I am ready for Pans this week.  Got a good look at the Bracket and am ready to compete.  What drives a 53 year old to compete and how long will it drive me is still a question I ask but I am ready for this week.  

My father said if you get beat will you quit?  I think the answer is it would hard to get beat and then quit.  I think it is easier to quit when you win and think you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish.  If you get beat then you know you have things to work on and  that just drives you harder to get better for the next time you compete.  

We have heard many people say you learn more in defeat then in victory and it is true in BJJ.  Sure it is more fun to win but you rarely go back and analyze you mistakes when you win.  You get the false sense that the move you did or the technique you tried will always work because it worked on that one guy in that one situation.  In reality until you get your set ups perfected most of the time you just end up getting lucky to get in a spot that you know what to do in.  If you lose it gives you something very concrete to work on.  Of course, learning aside I will still prefer to win.