IBJJF British National 2017

Lost in my first match. :-<

Not much to say technically. It was pretty close for most of the match, then I took a late lead with a sweep and thought I had it in the bag with about 20 seconds to go. We got restarted, I didn’t pay enough attention to the position. Rather than restarting in a fairly decent position for me, I left myself vulnerable for his triangle. Defended it badly. And finally tapped.

So two big lessons. First, I’ve got to watch that restart. I got a lot of good advice after from people about noting your grips, leg position etc, showing them to the ref and making sure you get them back. Just in case anyone is reading this, I’d emphasise that I only had myself to blame. In the hubbub of the match I didn’t realise we’d restarted in a quite different position until I rewatched the tape. And I doubt the ref or my opponent did either.

Second, and related, it’s vital to maintain focus throughout the match. Part of the reason I was sloppy off the restart was that I thought I had it. And then, once I was in the triangle, I was just trying to hold on for the final seconds, rather than work a proper technical escape. If I’d kept my focus and actually tried to get out, I suspect I might have at least held off the tap for the time I needed. Ain’t over till it’s over.