NYC Submission Shootout Report

SO I got there good and early with my friend StapleDuck to hold the camera. Unfortunately, no one else from the Redemption project was able to make it to compete, although Kat had expressed an interest (but finances prevented it). She did cheer me on, however, as did GA, Sandra, and Vincent.

This was a submission-or-nothing, round-robin tournament, in which each competitor got to face three different fighters. If there was no submission, the match was ruled a draw.

In my first bout, I managed to hold my own, denying a couple of submission attempts, sweeping out of mount a couple of times and gaining mount myself once, to achieve the draw. Although if we were scoring points I would have lost, I consider the draw a victory considering my record and recent limited training.

My next two bouts were not so successful. The first one was a pretty efficient takedown and progression to submission (although I did make sure he had to progress through several steps to get the submission).

My final bout was an interesting one in which I found myself denying a leg submission by having my left ankle crossed over my right thigh. This effectively prevented him from either straightening my leg or bending it further, due to the entanglements our legs were in. However, I literally found myself scratching my head wondering what to do because I could not reach him with my arms to do anything. He finally submitted me with a knee bar after the entanglement came free.

After watching the footage, and other bouts in the tournament I have come to a few conclusions:

1. I like the fact that at my weight, I tower over almost everyone else.
2. I need to learn a few more techniques, and how to properly execute a few techniques that I already know about.
I really, really need to improve my stand-up and takedown game.
3. Increasing my strength and stamina would be a good thing, especially my back.
4. I simply like to talk during matches. It's how I roll.