Yes, I always say that in a hushed tone, so it doesn't downplay my accomplishment. Also it wasn't BJJ but ''Gi-Grappling'' and while it should be pretty much the same, the rules were really messed up and different. I don't think I would be able to explain the differences with BJJ right now because it wasn't really clear for me and it affected my game.
There aren't any BJJ federations in Spain, but Grappling is associated to disciplines like Sambo, Wrestling, Greco-Roman etc... through the FILA so in order to make a nice BJJ tournament on national level with all the proper support and insurances they named it GI-Grappling..... and changed the rules!
Ro8 I was given a bye
Ro4 I kind of like this match. Pretty dinamic and nice sweeps on my part. For some reason I can't see the logic to, they give you 1 point if you recover ''closed'' guard on your opponent after being in a disfavorable position. ''Closed'' as in I don't score if I hook him or pull a spider guard after being pressed. So at one point my adversary escapes a side control attempt and I keep controlling his knees in order to pass. My coach screams to let him go so he doesn't get the chance to close guard, so I have to let him stand up and fight the last 50 seconds on my feet against a judoka (I suck at throws) Couldn't pull guard either because they would deduct a point.
Semifinal: I lose here after hurting my neck after a triangle escape by my opponent. I gave a pretty loud snarl which the ref and the cornermen didn't hear. My opponent even looked up at the ref to see if he was going to stop the match or not (he should have). Right after you can see me sleeping
P.S. My girlfriend also got 3rd place although she should have won. She was winning her match and tapped (because she knew it was illegal in white belt) to a can opener. The ref gave her the loss and didn't want to revoke the decision even though all the coaches and organizers agreed that it should have been a DQ
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P.P.S. You can see my BJJ progress in the rest of my blog entries!