It’s been four years since I competed in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament. I was always an active competitor from white through purple belt, routinely competing at IBJJF Pans, Masters Worlds, the local tournaments and even trying my luck at Worlds. And I did well overall. Lots of successful moments and some really hard losses, all which made me a better version of myself as a grappler and human.
A lot of life has happened between when I last competed in 2018 and present times. That allowed me to take a break from comp and really focus on coaching, which felt even more fulfilling to me. I made the decision several months ago to compete again after starting to teach a comp class at our school. Things had settled down after getting married and my move to Maryland, so the timing felt right, and the energy flowing through the school was pretty infectious. I loved seeing the excitement among the students. Watching their progress made me so proud and it motivated me to get back out there.
It’s been a different prep experience for me being away from my coach and the home team of my Serafin sloths. They have been there with me for my entire jiu-jitsu journey and always there to help me get ready for comp. They know me so well, have seen my accomplishments, been there for me through the losses, and always believed in me no matter what. I was able to get all their support and love from afar for this one, and have had such an amazing support system and training out here in Maryland with my Team Takoma/Capital MMA crew. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with some badass ladies from other schools in the area who have helped me tremendously.
More than anything, I am excited to be back in the environment. These large events have the best of the best competing right beside you, and I’ve made great friends from all over the country and even the world. Plus, my two BJJ families get to come together in one place for three days of amazing BJJ. And let’s be real – the acai is a great bonus!
And here we are! Post Masters Worlds! To give you all an idea of the size of this event, it is one of IBJJF’s largest tournaments for the year. They also paired it up with Jiu-Jitsu Con, running over 40 mats in total for three days with somewhere near 8,000 competitors. It was all held in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
It was a humbling and inspiring day. I ended up taking the bronze, losing my first two matches. Yes, I had two matches since it was a 3 person division. Normally all these events are single elimination, so it was cool that I had an extra match. Even though I lost, I felt more excited and confident than I have in the past before stepping on those mats. That is a big win for me. I felt the best I have physically and felt super present. The things that happened in the matches are things I normally defend in training, which tells me I need to work on my timing and bring a little more of that aggression out. Of course it's hard to not be disappointed.
I allowed myself to feel those feelings, which actually motivated me to sign up for the open class. Open weight is the same age and belt group, but it's all weight categories. My first match was with a multiple time Masters World Champ and the #1 ranked Masters 3 Black Belt. It was an honor and great opportunity to compete against her. I lost 0-0 by ref’s decision, but I felt like myself. Definitely more aggressive, and felt my infamous Smash City powers coming back! This gave me the confirmation I needed, the validation that I belonged there and could still hang. I just needed to shake the rust off those first few matches.
All in all, I feel I have a renewed sense of competition and eager to get back at it. Balancing life, family, teaching, training and all my work projects can be tough, but we all know how organized I am. When I put my mind to something, I am very self-motivated to accomplish it. I'm setting a goal for myself to do two major comps a year and fill in where I can with others. And honestly, my favorite part is staying comp ready, growing and learning through the process.
Bottom line? It was all pretty darn cool! And a great part was bringing my husband Jay with me to check it all out. Although he’s been doing jiu-jitsu for more than 20 years, he has never been to an event quite this size. Let’s say it all left him feeling a little inspired ;) Super grateful I get to be part of this world! On to the next!