Gauntlet IV

I signed up for both gi and no gi, assuming there'd be at least one woman in each. Nope. I was the only one to sign up. I mean, I know this isn't a metropolitan area, but good grief. James figured I wouldn't roll at all if there weren't any women, but to hell with that. I decided against no gi, b/c after taking a look at the guys that were there, I wanted no part of that. It was submission only, and I know how guys spaz out when there's 10 seconds left and they're relatively close with a sub. I figured I'd be safe in gi, so gi with dudes it was.

Me and three guys in a bracket. It was a round robin tournament, which was a bummer b/c one of the guys was a teammate. I was matched with him first, which was good b/c he was a known quantity. To the surprise of no one on my team, I pulled guard. I automatically started working DLR but ended up closing my guard when he tried to pass and I didn't know how to counter with a sweep. I started working a back take and realized that I was in a position to start a bow and arrow. I've never started a bow and arrow from there, but decided to go for it. I secured the collar grip, rolled him, pulled his leg and got the choke.

Second guy I pulled guard and worked DLR hard. I wanted to go for the basic back take but couldn't quite finish it. I was close enough that I was able to collapse his legs and get a sweep. The remainder of the time I worked to pass his guard. I think at the very end I finally got all the way around, and with the final seconds I attempted an odd sort of triangle thing from top side. Don't ask. Won on points.

Third guy.....I pulled guard. Again to DLR. He tried to pass and was relatively close to getting the points. I was able to keep my knee in and after a piece of time I regained full guard. He started to set up what I swear was going to be a collar choke from within my guard. WTF. As soon as I saw that coming, I said screw that, it's arm-bar time. I got the arm-bar on tight. He postured up, and then tried to roll out of it. I stuck with it through a tough scramble which ended with him on all fours and me still with his arm. I adjusted, re-adjusted, and finally got the tap.

I've been working DLR so much in class that it was second nature at the tournament. Closed guard is my most comfortable position, but if I can establish a good DLR with the guard pull then I'll take it. Looking back on it, I'm surprised that I tried to work the DLR so much, but happy the work in the gym is paying off.