My many faces

I've said before coaching makes you a better competitor because having to break things forces you to understand how and why they work, but it goes much deeper that. Competition requires you get into a zone. A zone of hyper-focus where everything is in slow-motion and thinking is not required there is no nervousness, there isn't even logic there's only action. This is why if you ask any athlete what happened during "X" or "X" play they'll either reply "I don't know" or "I have to watch the tape." This is also why when people ask if I ever get nervous my reply is, "No. When I compete, I'm going to work." Training is fun, competition is business and that will never change and in business the zone is a prerequisite. If you can't reach the zone, go home. Coaching requires not only the ability to make things easier to understand, but the ability to motivate and lead; the ability to make people believe in you, so th...

I just left the GrapplersQuest US Nationals and incredibly pissed off at myself. I got a bye the 1st round(my dad keeps counting it as a win which technically, I guess it makes him feel good I personally don't see it that way) so that was awesome simply because one win puts me in the medal rounds, sadly, I failed to get that win. Here's the match(The opponent started on his knees as per my request): I reach for his right lapel with my left hand. He beats me inside and grips my left lapel with his right hand, I break the grip dragging him to right as a result. (at this point he has one knee up and one down) I hold on to the sleeve and go for the back grab to force the turtle position and work collar chokes(instead of taking the single leg that was screaming at me), he postures and shoots for half-guard and gets it; moments later, as I'm climbing up for my passing position I get caught in a triangle and have to tap. This makes me 0-1 at purple belt and 0-4(with a default win)...

A question I get a lot is: "Why do you compete against guys that can use their legs?" I answer simply "Because I can beat them." Asking organizations to create divisions just for guys like me(with limited lower body use) seems selfish and goes against the whole reason compete. Don't get me wrong I want the titles and fame that comes along with being among the best in the world. Black Belt World Champion is my ultimate goal in competitive BJJ. However, the real reason I compete is to show others like me that they can do the same. In truth, I started BJJ because was bored of being home everyday with nothing to do I felt stuck in place as I stopped going to physical therapy because it hurt so much and was boring as fuck. Needless to say i fell in love with the sport and I figured I could make a difference I know there are thousands of kids who are just like I was bored and in pain for their daily lives and physical therapy just makes it worse.