Mission Accomplished!

This weekend Fabio Novaes BJJ took the NAGA Pan Ams by storm.

No seriously.  By storm.

This was far and away the biggest turn out we have had for a competition.

(We are missing four girls in this picture.)

We had more female competitors at this tournament then we had total for the Miami Open, most of them were competing for their first time, and every single one of our girls placed!  I am beyond proud of them, and not just because they all did well, but because they had the courage to get out there and do it.

This tournament was awesome.  Everyone who competed has been busting their asses for the past couple of months getting ready for it, and everyone had their hard work rewarded on the mat, not to mention the fact that because everyone pushed themselves so hard in their training, it benefited the team as a whole.  We are all better grapplers now then we would be if we didn't have this tournament to drive everyone forward.

Nicely done, Team Fabio Novaes!

   

And not to neglect the ever so slightly less pretty side of the team:

Thank you for all that you do Fabio and Roberta!!

What do you look like when you grapple?

I am tall, and I have super gangly arms and legs.  This really doesn't translate into graceful grappling.

While grappling, I've been called, lengthy, leggy, wasp-y, and noodle-y.  I've been told grappling me is like grappling an octopus, and I've had "Release the Kraken!" screamed in my face more then once when I pull guard. 

All of that sounds awesome, right.  Except maybe noodly.  Which is sadly probably the most accurate of the aforementioned adjectives.  

RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!

This is what you think... but really, I am more like this:

And wasps?! 

I wanna be a wasp!  

I'm not.  

A non-threatening, bowl of noodles?... maybe.

But, low and behold, I came across a picture on the internet yesterday that I am fairly certain captures what I look like perfectly when I grapple. 

Brace yourselves.

I am a drunk and/or drowning flamingo.  

Sad times... sad times indeed.

I really just wish I was a wasp though.

Miami Open Results

I competed in the 2012 Miami Open this weekend, and much like last year I had a great time.  However, this year I took home gold instead of bronze... But more importantly, I got to see a lot of the other female grapplers in Florida.  SO many talented BJJ girls in Florida! It makes me happy.

I am also happy with my performance.  I set goals for myself and accomplished every single one.

I wanted to try a take down... I did, and I succeeded.  I didn't fall down like the last time I tried to take someone down.  hahaha  Yay for that!

And as I have mentioned before my biggest general failing in jiu-jitsu is that I don't go for and let go of submissions too easily.  So, I set out to be aggressive with my attacks and finish my submissions.  And I did exactly that.  It was a nice bonus that I finished my match with an armbar, because for the longest time I was horrible at armbars in general.  Progress!

The other lady in my division came all the way from California with her husband just to compete and she was a fantastic sport.  I love meeting other grappling moms especially when they are really friendly like she was.  Mad props to her.

Allie also competed  and not surprisingly won her division as well.  Allie is a tiny little blonde monster that will ruin your day... and she proves it over and over in competitions.

The ONLY regret I have is not being able to stay for absolute, but it was out of my control... so it is what it is!  Next time for sure!

 Gold medals for the McClish girls! Bear traps be trappin!

This was the woman in my division.  Wonderful person! 

FloridaFighter.com got some pretty cool shots of my armbar: