W00t!

One of my butt-muscles hurts, I think I’ve strained something in my inner thigh, and I’ve got a headache.

I’m also the join bronze medal winner in the Wellington regional tournament. And pretty damn happy with it, especially given it’s my first ever tournament.

My first bout in the over 100 kilo divison was with Adrian, a second Dan from my old dojo on College Street.

The first bout didn’t go too badly; I lost, but got a takedown and held my own on the mat.

The second was all over quickly when I went for a leg wheel, stayed on one foot for too long, and Adrian grabbed my foot and drove me on my backside; since it was just Adrian and I, that gave him the gold in the 100+ division.

Alan, my sensei, and I watching a bout. The expression on my face is more short-sightedness than anything else.

I then went on to the first bout of the open; a smaller blue belt whose name I missed.

Rodger smash!

Again!

Rodger wants to play with you! Why do you run away?

I’d scored a point and Alan was screaming from the the sideline, “You’re ahead, don’t do anything stupid!”, and hollering the time remaining every time we were reset.

My final bout was against Brian, an extremely experienced competitor. I wasn’t doing too badly; Brian is lethal on the ground, and focuses on takedowns to apply his wicked armbars. I escaped one of those, but had an asthma attack and had to forfeit. In spite of that my performance was good enough to earn the bronze.

The lineup for the Men’s Open medal presentation: Me, Des, Brian, and Adrian: