WhiteCollarBJJ at Copa America 2008

Well, as promised, Chewy and I traveled to Lakeland, FL yesterday to take in Copa America.

No competing for me, my nasal cavities were still under blockade by the viral forces occupying my body.

Because no one expects a Nasal Blockade!

First impressions? I was quite surprised with the turn out, there must have been at bare minimum 70+ competitors there, with coaches, family, and friends it was a great showing.


Chewy and I were there on a mission, first and foremost one of our long time training partners was competing in the Flyweight division (and yes, for those of you interested, Hazmat himself walks around in the Flyweight division) and we were there to support him.

Also, while there we figured we'd check out the competition, sort of get a feel for whether we'd both like to compete in the next Copa America.

So, what did I learn?

One of the things my coach mentioned last week really hit home today. Watching most of the matches (Gi and No Gi), it truly is more often than not the most basic submissions that win the match.

Now don't get me wrong, there was some exotic stuff on display yesterday, I personally witnessed both a Gogoplata and a Flying Triangle. Sadly neither of them worked, however what did work?

- Triangle

Yes, the simple triangle, the "day two  Jiu-Jitsu" submission of choice certainly appeared by and large to be the submission with the greatest frequency of occurrence and percentage chance of success.

- Kimura

The simple bent arm lock made famous by Masahiko Kimura, was on display at Copa America yesterday. Yet again further driving home the point that simple submissions are quite effective in tournament play.


Thank you sir! May I have another!
- Guillotine and Rear Naked Choke

Lastly, as if we needed the reinforcement, head hunting continues to be a very effective fight ender (and does wonders for French Monarchy)

While different.. the theory is still strikingly similar.
So where does that leave us?

Well if Hazmat is going to man up and compete in one of these tournaments there's a few training modifications he's going to make.

1. Drill the heck out of the basics (and their defense!)

2. Make sure my SAID circuits are effective at developing top cardio conditioning.

3. Tighten up the meal plan based on JC's suggestions at the last Intocombat.com seminar.

Now, the real key will be making all of this fit into the otherwise hectic work a day life of a professional with a wife and child..

Well if it were easy they wouldn't call it life.

Compete Smart!

-hz

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