The CMU Grappling Club is going to visit Pitt for a friendly dual meet against the Panther Grappling Club. We decided that it would be a good idea to have a dual meet between our clubs so that you can guys can get some competition experience. The first Oakland Throwdown was great, this one will be better. We will be having our dual meet on Saturday, November 11 at 3:00 PM in Trees Hall at Pitt. It is free for anyone to attend, but you have to be a member of the club to compete. Randy and I will fight two special matches one gi and the other no-gi.

Check out the thread on our message board for rules and more discussion.

I competed in the Pennsylvania Open Judo Championships yesterday. It was a double elimination shiai (tournament) hosted at Master Eugene's school in Cranberry. This was the first time I participated in - and even witnessed - a judo competition.

I won a silver medal, and my record was 3-1. I entered the 175-151 senior men intermediate division. Here are videos of my matches:

1. I submitted J.R. DeFilippo (Kim) with okuri eri jime (sliding collar choke).
2. I pinned Rob Lynn (Joseki) with tate shiho gatame (high mount).
3. Mark deRouville (Brick) threw me with drop seoinage for gold.
4. I submitted Matt Fisher (Penn State) with koshi jime (clock choke) for silver.

Even though I ate a big pasta dinner last night and didn't even try to make weight for the tournament, I still weighed in at 152 pounds and weighed 151 after going to the bathroom before my matches. Therefore the guy who won (152 pounds) and I were the lighest judoka in the bracket.

Everyone had to wear a white or a blue belt - or a white or blue gi - during our matches. Even the black belts generally conformed to this rule; although, a lot of people just ignored it too. The competition ran late by over an hour, and I didn't feel like I had much energy while waiting. Somehow I had more than enough cardio, since I didn't really break much of a sweat or work that hard even during the one match I lost. Everyone else seemed exausted, so I guess I didn't work hard enough. I hope the reason is that I was just very efficient and/or had good cardio. Mentally I was drained by the end of the day, though.

I had fun during the judo shiai. JR trains at Kim's in Brendwood too. Rob Lynn invited me to train with him in Altoona, but that's a long drive unless I can get someone else to come with me. Matt Fisher trains at the Penn State Judo Team. I'm not too concerned about my loss to Mark deRouville, since he is the NJ State Champion and also placed in every skill division in his weight class. But I will learn from my mistakes and beat him next time. Good guys; it was an honor to meet them. I hope next time during the shiai I can relax more, and maybe win by ippon with a throw at least once. :)

Had surgery on my ear today. I first injured my ear hurt my ear back in March. I was rolling with a judo shodan (black belt) and tapped him with a choke. Then during standing randori, he schooled me with a billion uchi mata throws. The result was a broken toe and cauliflower ear. Pictures provided upon request. 

This was my first surgical procedure. It was weird. I felt naked under my gown. My weight was 154 lbs, heart rate 55 bpm, and blood pressure 125/65. The nurse inserted the most painless needle ever into a vein my hand. Then she retracted the needle and replaced it with a plastic catheter. That was actually more annoying than the needle.

I recieved a general anesthetic. It was strange... I don't remember being giving the anesthetic nor falling asleep, but I work up in a different room. The doctor removed the fluid and blood clots, then sewed it back up. He stitched it back up along with a tube to hold the skin and cartilage so they heal together. As the anesthetic wears off it gets more and more painful, but I have a prescription for the good stuff. 

The doctor said he saw a lot of crushed and fractured cartilage in there. He doesn't want me doing any more BJJ or judo for about 2 weeks after I see him on Friday. However, I hope to do some non-contact drilling tomorrow and rolling as soon as I can.

I competed in the Kumite Classic this past Saturday (May 27, 2006). It is a no-gi submission wrestling and a gi-required Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament. (A gi is the typicially white uniform some martial artists wear.) My record was:

• Men's Gi White-Belt 145 lbs: 1-1 (Second Place)
• Men's No-Gi Intermediate 145 lbs: 1-1 (Second Place)

My record is now 7-6. I had a lot of fun at the tournament, but I am not satisfied. Man, I'm a little pissed for not getting first place. I have a lot to work on.

Gi Division

In my first gi match, I defeated Matt Jubara by scoring 16 points. He was very strong and very tough. You can watch a video of Jubara vs me.

My second gi match was against Mat "Rosco" Rosborough for the championship. He was very tough too. We went into overtime, and I eventually ran out of gas in the tank. It was very long: the match lasted over 8 minutes... I have to work on my cardio so I can roll for 10 minutes or more at a high intensity.  Watching it, I don't think my technique was as smooth as I would like. You can view a video of Rosco defeating me.

No-Gi Division

In my first no-gi match, I faced a karate guy (I could tell because he wore black karate gi pants and no shirt); although, he said he did study grappling. Donnie took care of him a few years ago in the advanced division. Now he was back, but in my intermediate bracket. Oh well. I owned him and finished the dude with a RNC. Watch a video of my easy no-gi match.

In my second no-gi match I faced Rosco for the championship again. This time I scored a super sweet judo throw. I was actually trying for Harai Goshi, but Randy told me the throw was really Harai Makikomi (on further reflection, it probably was harai goshi). It was mostly instinct: I was setting up a throw and just saw the opening. In judo, that would have been ippon. However, this is grappling so no soup for me! Rosco rolled when we landed and I felt off balance in side control. Somehow I ended up with reverse guard and tried for a toe hold, but I screwed it up. Still, with 45 second to go the score was tied and I was winning with an advantage. However, I slipped and lost when he passed my guard. Randy uploaded a partial clip of Rosco vs Me in no-gi. (I wish he got the whole thing so I could go over my many mistakes.)

Analysis

Ironically if I just stalled from guard a little bit then I would have won. However, that is stupid and not honorable. No excuses: I lost twice to the same guy in both championship matches. I have to work on my control, my cardio, and my leg locks. I have to be able to finish long matches grapple at 110hroughout the fight. This month I shall try to improve these aspects of my game.

There is more about the tournament at the CMU Grappling Club's tournament page or my training log.

At Judo Class on Thursday, I was sparring with a black belt state champion. I totally pwned on the ground, and I choked the judoka out once - almost twice but sensei called matte when I had it sunk. Then we did standup randori, and the black belt threw me ten ways to the kodokan. It was sweeeeeet! I haven't had this much fun at class ever. As my friend would say, the judoka put the pwn in ippwn. :-)

After practice my pinky toe started hurting. Today the doc said it was probably fractured. :-( I guess the adrenaline masked the pain during practice. Now I have to miss grappling practice today. Taekwondo is also probably out of the question. I'm so bored.

Anyone got any tips to practice with a broken toe? I'm still going to go out there no matter what. This is annoying, and I want it to heal as quickly as possible. Is there a diet or some supplements that can help it heal faster? Should I drink more milk than normal?

FYI: Judo Terms.

On Football

Woohoo! Steelers are heading to the Superbowl! Unlike a decade ago, I think they actually have a chance. They don't seem as arrogant as back then. Certainly the wisdom of never-grows-old Bettis and wise-beyond-his-years Roethlisberger contributed to their attitude this time around. This time they just feel magical. Now I hope I didn't jinx them!

On Grappling

What a lousey week. On Monday, I couldn't finish a brown belt Judoka and split with a black belter. Yesterday I got subbed by a yellow belt Judoka in Jiu Jitsu class, which is partly due to his awesomeness and my arrogance. Then at no-gi practice I got dominated by someone I beat up at the previous practice.

However, these are good things. Everyone has good days and bad days. I need to lose to get better. It can be hard to leave your ego at the door sometimes - but I must stay humble just like Bettis and Roethlisberger.

On Infections

Finally, I came back from the doctor today. I have a pimple infection that is not contagious. Fortunately I can still practice. Unfortunately I must take antibiotics three times a day for the next few weeks. I also can't shave, so I will end up with an Arlovski beard maybe? ;-)

On Football

Wow, the Patriots lost. I can't believe it! I hope the Colts lose today too. Here we go Steelers, here we go! Fortunately, I will be training while the game is starting so I can't jinx them. ;-) I wonder if I should go to TKD practice first?

On Training

This has been a rough week training even though I skipped Wednesday. There was some very intense grappling, and I learned a lot. On Friday I beat a blue belt a few times too! However, I think he was just having a down week after taking a break from training last semester. On Saturday, I trained at Billy's for two hours and was completely exausted afterward. He is a machine! I rediscovered that suck at boxing too. ;-)

Since I have been training with a kimono for most of the week, my no-gi grappling feels a little weird nowadays. I tend to immediately grab for a non-existant collar or sleeve without thinking. ;-) This is the exact opposite feeling I had when I started training with a kimono on after so many months without wearing one.

My finger tips have these funny calluses on them too. On the plus side, training with a gi is more technical and practical in the cold climate of Pittsburgh for self-defense. I am going to invent hoodie-grappling. :-)

On Training Goals

Why do I train? I started grappling simply to lose weight. I started at 200 pounds back in April. Back in December I hit a low of 152 pounds for a tournament! Now my weight hovers around 160 pounds. I would like to get to 145 eventually; however, I fear that I can't lose much more without drastically altering my diet, which is very very hard for me. I already train 6 or 7 days a week for one hour or more. The more I train, the more I am convinced that I am not an athelete. How do I keep the weight off?

On Eights

This week the top eight are current and former fellow Pitt students. May whatever God they believe in have mercy on their souls!

Right now I anticipate the next time competing in May at the Kumite Classic. However, I want to go to a tournament some time in March too. I may or may not attend the next Gracie tournament. Unfortunately at least one of my midterms is schedule for the same day (March 3rd) and many the same week. That's very frustrating.

Yes, I have been whining too much lately. Just have to calm down, I guess. For those who care, the next group of eight are all from da Hills... Penn Hills.

Jiu-jitsu practice is very confusing. A few weeks I'll be unstoppable, but for another few weeks everyone kicks my butt. Then the cycle repeats. This is really screwing up my confidence. I initially started grappling just to lose weight and get in shape. Now I feel lost.

I won first place at my latest competition despite expecting to lose every match. However I had nightmares during the whole week leading up to it. A little while ago Sensei Achille promoted me my first stripe too. The last month was a stressful roller coaster!

During the next few practices there, I tapped a few times during randori without many subs for me. Yet I'm not as out of breath as my partners and I felt I could go a while longer than them. In fact, I felt that they stop us too soon to switch partners.

Most of my training partners are higher belts now. I also don't care much about tapping during practice; that is why it is practice. The instructors tell us not to go crazy and just use technique, but I feel as though we should both have the same amount of exaustion. Am I rolling too light?

I am not saying that I am in great shape. Sit-ups are still very hard for me. I still get tired at other places against better grapplers. I would like to lose ten more pounds by March without cutting too. I feel so confused!!!