Let's start with Sara. Although Sara has her judo experience she has only had about 6 actual bjj lessons and when it comes to hitting the ground there is a LOT to learn. But with Minol coaching from the sides Sara managed to win all her fights except one no Gi match and got a gold medal for her Gi category. Most of these fights were won by submission! Go Sara! She was also presented with a $100 voucher for a make over (whoohoo) for being an outstanding competitor. That's our girl! Classic was the look on her face when she was presented with this awesome prize. Yeah yeah!
Yussra. This girl is our newest student and has only been training a short time yet is a keen learner. Keen to learn and keen to compete. She started off well in her first match but slipped into a bad habit of giving her back! Nooooo! So we'll be learning from that hey Yaz! Just before she was up for her second fight Minol showed her a choke. This was SECONDS before her fight! Yussra goes to fight. Passes guard, mounts and puts on the choke Minol had just shown her and in just a few seconds her opponents goes to sleep! It was a bit of a scary experience for first timers but in the bjj world you get used to people getting put to sleep! But we are very impressed that Yussra pulled of the choke which she only learnt before her match!
Ally too put in an awesome effort. Only losing one fight in the no gi rounds, like Sara earned a gold medal in the gi category-(second in no gi but medals weren't awarded). It was great to see as Minol once again coached from the side Ally listening and following instructions to the tee and achieving results. Plus she was the prettiest competitor in the pretty in pink gi!
I'll have to say that the proud parent moment came when Eilish competed. This girl is only 14 years old. But she competed with the women and was matched up with older more experienced ladies. She started out brilliantly, but had a little hiccup- then despite that got back on the mat and fought again. She fought like a warrior. Lasting the whole time she managed to escape a number of armbar attempts- even when I thought at one stage she was going to tap- she fought on and never gave up. Yep. Proud moment.
As a coach it's exciting to see your students put into practice what they learn at training. As a coach it is exciting to see your students give it their all and never give up despite winning or losing. As a coach it is exciting to see the girls bonding as a team yet meeting new girls from other clubs with the same passion for bjj.
Was a good day indeed. I'm very proud of the girls and the way they took on their first BJJ comp! Congratulations to all the girls who competed- not just from Evolve. It takes guts to compete but no matter what it is the best experience and definitely plays a big part in seeing where you are at and the things you need to improve on AND the things that you are doing ok at! Whoo!
The end!
