The trip has come to an end, we arrived back in Maine at 1AM Monday morning. It was a very long day filled with lots of time to reflect. I think of myself as lucky, to be a new blue belt and be exposed to the level of Jiu-Jitsu that was at the Pan Ams.
DAY 1
The alarm went off really early on Thursday morning, 4AM to be exact. We had packed the night before so we just had to shower and wake up before headed over to the Danforths. We all met up there and packed the car and crammed into the back seat. The ride to Manchester airport went a lot faster on the way there then on the way back. Our flight left around 10AM and had a layover in beautiful Newark NJ. From there it was on to Cali for bjj, beaches, and Brazilian butts (female of course). There was a small problem we discovered that Noels bag had not been checked properly and was not there for us in NJ. This was an even bigger problem because it had his Gi and belt in it and without them he would not be able to compete.
When we landed at LAX we headed down to the baggage claim to see if his bag had somehow by some miracle reached LAX. It had not. Missy filed a claim for it just in case they were to find it somewhere. We then headed over to the car rental place wondering how we were going to patch together a Gi for Noel to compete in. The car was a black Dodge Caliber, and to our delight it had plenty of room for us. Day one ended with everyone down in the hot tub and me passed out on the bed in the room. I was so tired from the trip.
Day 2
Friday we had Bri and Justin competing. Bri was at 1:30 and Justin was set to go at 3:30. We had some time in the morning so we headed over to the venue to check their weights and also get a feel for the scene. Both of them were going to make weight just fine. Justin was happy because he had enough of a buffer to eat a good breakfast. We headed to grab some food at this wonderful place called Jamba Juice. This place had fresh fruit that they blended up for you and topped with granola.
Bri stepped on the mats a lil later then she was scheduled for, but it wasn't to bad. Her fight went better then her past couple. She really controlled the standup like she had wanted to. She also almost passed the girls guard twice. Wanting to stand it back up she allowed the girl to get back to her feet. At this point Bri was tired and shot for a double leg and the girl sprawled on top of her. She ended up taking Bri's back and getting a choke. It was heartbreaking to see the disappointment in her face. I could tell she was emotional about it so we all gave her some space for a while.
Justin had a bi in the first round and I think that ended up being a downfall because he had to wait for over 2 hours in the bullpen by himself. It takes a lot of work to get warmed up and mentally prepared and to then be put on ice and made to wait for over 2 hours isolated to some extent can't be helpful.
Justin came out strong with his stand up and his opponent was forced to shoot for a double from way out of range. He managed to snag a leg and Justin went to half guard. From there Justin recovered his full guard and started to work for a high guard. His opponent started to pass and Justin was back in half guard. At this point Justin was working an old school sweep and we were all cheering, but in the transition the other guy set up a darce choke. Justin tried to fight it as he came up on top, but it was to deep and he had to tap. Again it was very emotional and as sissy as it might be to say, I was choked up and it was hard to look at him. I knew he had trained so hard and sacrificed so much to give it a shot. It's just hard to see.
DAY 3
The weather was amazing on Saturday. It was about 75-80 with a light breeze and no humidity. Missy didn't have to compete until 7ish that night. So we had been in touch with our friend Mike Tomacelli who used to train back in Maine and now has his own gym in Cali. Mike and his wife Shannon were nice enough to show us around after a short training session to warm Missy up. They started off by taking us to a place called Sharkys in Huntington Beach. This place had amazing Mexican food. I double fisted a pair of Coronas because it just seemed fitting and it all hit the spot. From there we walked down to the beach. It was an amazing time, lounging on the beach talking Jiu-Jitsu and soaking up the sun.
Soon it was time for us to head over to the venue again so that Missy could warm up for her match. When we got there though they had already called her division and Missy had to jump right into the bullpen without much of a warm up at all. Again this would mess with my head, damn you bullpen! Missy went up against a girl who looked like she could bench press me and was rather hard on the eyes. Unfortunately the girl was also very strong at Jiu-Jitsu. She pulled guard on Missy and went straight to a high guard set up. Missy worked hard to defend a cross choke that looked very painful, but ended up getting caught in an armbar. We left shortly after her match and headed back to the hotel to enjoy the hot tub and grab some food.
DAY 4
Noel was the last one of us to compete and he had to go at 9AM and we all were in agreement that was too early. Once we got there he had enough time to warm up before his division was called. He had an extremely close match and ended up losing by 2 points! They had very similar games and seemed to be going for the same stuff.
After the match we all got to kick back and enjoy the black belt matches. I can't even tell you in words the amount of amazing Jiu-Jitsu in that one building. There was a very touching moment of silence for Helio Gracie and Rickson came out and gave a great speech about his dad and the sport.
I recommend buying the DVD when it comes out because there were so many great matches and subs and sweeps. After a long day we headed back to the hotel for a bit. Noel and Missy went over to Mike and Shannon's place, but Bri and Justin and I were to exhausted to go out. We ended up going and picking up some beer and taking it back to he room and getting a nice buzz before enjoying the hot tub one last time.
The trip was a success in my mind. We may not have done as well as we wanted to, but there were many small victories. Besides the Pan Ams came second in my eyes, spending time with great friends and meeting great people came first. After seeing the level of BJJ at the Pan Ams I have to wonder if it's for a hobbyist. Someone who struggles to make it to 2-3 classes a week. Competing against people who train 3 times a day, 7 days a week. Not to mention weight train and stuff. That's something I'm still thinking about and have not come to an answer yet.
DAY 1
The alarm went off really early on Thursday morning, 4AM to be exact. We had packed the night before so we just had to shower and wake up before headed over to the Danforths. We all met up there and packed the car and crammed into the back seat. The ride to Manchester airport went a lot faster on the way there then on the way back. Our flight left around 10AM and had a layover in beautiful Newark NJ. From there it was on to Cali for bjj, beaches, and Brazilian butts (female of course). There was a small problem we discovered that Noels bag had not been checked properly and was not there for us in NJ. This was an even bigger problem because it had his Gi and belt in it and without them he would not be able to compete.
When we landed at LAX we headed down to the baggage claim to see if his bag had somehow by some miracle reached LAX. It had not. Missy filed a claim for it just in case they were to find it somewhere. We then headed over to the car rental place wondering how we were going to patch together a Gi for Noel to compete in. The car was a black Dodge Caliber, and to our delight it had plenty of room for us. Day one ended with everyone down in the hot tub and me passed out on the bed in the room. I was so tired from the trip.
Day 2
Friday we had Bri and Justin competing. Bri was at 1:30 and Justin was set to go at 3:30. We had some time in the morning so we headed over to the venue to check their weights and also get a feel for the scene. Both of them were going to make weight just fine. Justin was happy because he had enough of a buffer to eat a good breakfast. We headed to grab some food at this wonderful place called Jamba Juice. This place had fresh fruit that they blended up for you and topped with granola.
Bri stepped on the mats a lil later then she was scheduled for, but it wasn't to bad. Her fight went better then her past couple. She really controlled the standup like she had wanted to. She also almost passed the girls guard twice. Wanting to stand it back up she allowed the girl to get back to her feet. At this point Bri was tired and shot for a double leg and the girl sprawled on top of her. She ended up taking Bri's back and getting a choke. It was heartbreaking to see the disappointment in her face. I could tell she was emotional about it so we all gave her some space for a while.
Justin had a bi in the first round and I think that ended up being a downfall because he had to wait for over 2 hours in the bullpen by himself. It takes a lot of work to get warmed up and mentally prepared and to then be put on ice and made to wait for over 2 hours isolated to some extent can't be helpful.
Justin came out strong with his stand up and his opponent was forced to shoot for a double from way out of range. He managed to snag a leg and Justin went to half guard. From there Justin recovered his full guard and started to work for a high guard. His opponent started to pass and Justin was back in half guard. At this point Justin was working an old school sweep and we were all cheering, but in the transition the other guy set up a darce choke. Justin tried to fight it as he came up on top, but it was to deep and he had to tap. Again it was very emotional and as sissy as it might be to say, I was choked up and it was hard to look at him. I knew he had trained so hard and sacrificed so much to give it a shot. It's just hard to see.
DAY 3
The weather was amazing on Saturday. It was about 75-80 with a light breeze and no humidity. Missy didn't have to compete until 7ish that night. So we had been in touch with our friend Mike Tomacelli who used to train back in Maine and now has his own gym in Cali. Mike and his wife Shannon were nice enough to show us around after a short training session to warm Missy up. They started off by taking us to a place called Sharkys in Huntington Beach. This place had amazing Mexican food. I double fisted a pair of Coronas because it just seemed fitting and it all hit the spot. From there we walked down to the beach. It was an amazing time, lounging on the beach talking Jiu-Jitsu and soaking up the sun.
Soon it was time for us to head over to the venue again so that Missy could warm up for her match. When we got there though they had already called her division and Missy had to jump right into the bullpen without much of a warm up at all. Again this would mess with my head, damn you bullpen! Missy went up against a girl who looked like she could bench press me and was rather hard on the eyes. Unfortunately the girl was also very strong at Jiu-Jitsu. She pulled guard on Missy and went straight to a high guard set up. Missy worked hard to defend a cross choke that looked very painful, but ended up getting caught in an armbar. We left shortly after her match and headed back to the hotel to enjoy the hot tub and grab some food.
DAY 4
Noel was the last one of us to compete and he had to go at 9AM and we all were in agreement that was too early. Once we got there he had enough time to warm up before his division was called. He had an extremely close match and ended up losing by 2 points! They had very similar games and seemed to be going for the same stuff.
After the match we all got to kick back and enjoy the black belt matches. I can't even tell you in words the amount of amazing Jiu-Jitsu in that one building. There was a very touching moment of silence for Helio Gracie and Rickson came out and gave a great speech about his dad and the sport.
I recommend buying the DVD when it comes out because there were so many great matches and subs and sweeps. After a long day we headed back to the hotel for a bit. Noel and Missy went over to Mike and Shannon's place, but Bri and Justin and I were to exhausted to go out. We ended up going and picking up some beer and taking it back to he room and getting a nice buzz before enjoying the hot tub one last time.
The trip was a success in my mind. We may not have done as well as we wanted to, but there were many small victories. Besides the Pan Ams came second in my eyes, spending time with great friends and meeting great people came first. After seeing the level of BJJ at the Pan Ams I have to wonder if it's for a hobbyist. Someone who struggles to make it to 2-3 classes a week. Competing against people who train 3 times a day, 7 days a week. Not to mention weight train and stuff. That's something I'm still thinking about and have not come to an answer yet.
3 comments:
What happened with Noel's gi?
what? nothing about carl's jr. or ihop?
kidding. i'm so glad we all went together! def one of the best trips ever!!
That trip was SO much fun. Great friends, Great times. And, damn, the trophy wives at the Pan Ams are always worth trip.
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