Pans

What a trip.

I had one person in my weight division, which meant that even if I lost, I'd be eligible for the open class.

I did, in fact, lose. It was by advantages, 3 - 1 (I think). I did a terrible guard pull, but managed to establish a somewhat decent guard. The remainder of the match consisted of her trying to pass my guard, and then getting advantages for near passes. I got an advantage for almost getting to her back in a scramble. Watching the video of it I'm like aaaeeeeeeeiiii it was so close. 

She came out very aggressive. She was not screwing around, and it surprised me. It shouldn't, but it did. So...lesson learned. I learned later that she's ranked #1 in IBJJF for master purple belts. Rachael is a good friend, and did not reveal this to me until AFTER my match.

Absolute was a hot mess. It was supposed to start around 6:30, but Rachael didn't hit the mat until well after 7 and my last match didn't go until 9. 

I started off in quarterfinal elimination match against a girl who was probably 130lb or so. I don't really remember what happened in the match and don't have video. She tried an ezekiel from half guard and I'm pretty sure I just benched her off of me. I got to her back and ended up winning on points. It was gratifying to get a win and guaranteed another medal.

My next match was against a similar sized girl. Chris gave me awesome advice before the match. He knew she was going to try to pull guard, so he told me to stay low and not give her the space to pull. I don't know what happened here either, except that I ended up on her back and going from back to mount to pass to whatever. Won 20 - 0 on points. I was trying like hell for multiple chokes from the back but nothing was happening.

Last match was against the same girl that I had lost to earlier. Walter said leave it all out on the mat, and I certainly tried. I pulled a better guard, and she passed relatively early. I regained guard, and fought for sweeps and subs. In the last 30 seconds, I got back to my feet and tried to take her down. When that didn't seem to work (plus a takedown wouldn't do the job anyway, as I was down 3 points), I tried a flying armbar unsuccessfully. 

Ended up with silver in absolute. I'm proud of that medal. 

Watching the black belt matches was amazing, and it's worth the trip just to do that.

Rachael and I got to chat with Mackenzie and Hannette during the weekend. It's pretty cool when world class competitors come up to you to say hi and talk about how the tournament is going. That felt pretty boss.

Overall, I'm happy with how it went. I learned some valuable lessons, and Rachael and I are going to work on those issues. Winning gold is amazing, but I feel a determination to improve that I didn't feel after winning gold in 2013. 

Some other highlights of the trip: Acai bowls, smookie (basically a cookie bowl with ice cream inside) a baby seal on the beach, spotting two grey whales offshore, amazing sunsets, 90F weather, bonding with Walter, and being there for my teammates in wins and losses. Rachael is a great travel companion and teammate, and I'm lucky to have her to train with on the regular.