Silver. Revenged my loss from the previous weekend by fighting in pretty much the same match — an inconclusive guard battle where I failed to sweep or seriously endanger him, while he failed to pass me. At the time I thought it had been another referee’s decision, but apparently I took an advantage for an attempt at a cross collar choke from half guard in the closing seconds. To be honest, I think that was generous — it really wasn’t there. But I’m obviously not going to complain. We agreed a rematch is in order and that one of us should definitely try to score some points next time.

Then lost the final to Rob Etheridge, who I’ve met at a number of competitions. He’s a nice guy, but that didn’t stop him passing my guard, taking my back and tapping me by choke. On the positive side, it took him some time and effort. After he initially got round I caught half-guard and we fought there for a while. But, in the end, he was better at passing than I was at guard retention, plus my half-guard definitely needs some work. And, once he got round, he finished me briskly. I should have done a much better job of defending and trying to escape.

Still, similarly to the Warrior’s Cup I’m cautiously pleased with my performance. There’s still a very long way to go, but I’m happy that I’m improving.

For the first time, I have film of proceedings, which is interesting. Definitely a useful tool for post match analysis and identifying areas to work on.