Essex Open 2009
Following my not so successful experience at the Grab and Pull tournament I spent one week in bed, being ill, and then I went to Greece for two weeks for the Greek easter. So without much training and because of the 3 day break I decided to compete at Essex Open 2009. This time I slept properly and I was not nervous about my weight.
My first fight was against a guy from Gracie Barra. The guy was really strong and he came on to me full force. I pulled guard and he kept trying to get out of it… after a couple of minutes I swept him with scissors sweep and I got into half guard. The guy managed to pull guard and another fight started. After a while I managed to escape it but the guy got to his knees… and that was it, I guillotined him and he tapped!
My second fight was not as good. We wrestled for a while, made a mistake and my opponent threw me with single leg take-down. He got me to side control and he secured it. I struggled for around a minute and I got to my knees and he sprawled on my back. From there I stood up and a second judo fight began. He tried to throw me with o-goshi but I got his back and threw him. He was fast and he pulled guard. I tried for the remaining time to escape unsuccessfully. Even though we both scored only two take-downs, my opponent was the winner.
Anyway, next time I will be even better! Carlson Gracie Revolution Team won the competition, and next time I hope I will contribute a medal to the team.
