This past weekend was very special to me, as, after several years of training in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), I traveled with our team Gracie-Barra BH Marbella to Lisbon, Portugal, to compete in European BJJ Championships.
All the training paid off, as I won the gold medal in my category (Blue belt, 76 kg, Seniors 1) and nearly won a medal in the Open Class (all weights) category.
In all, I had five fights. Three were won by submission (foot lock, choke from the mount, and arm-bar) and one by judges decision. In the third round of the Open Class, I was disqualified as I went for a foot lock and rolled. The judge said that turned the move into a leg-bar, which is illegal.
I met a lot of interesting people at the event, including US grappler Mike Fowler, PrideFC fighter Fabricio Werdum, Carlos Gracie Jr., and Gracie-Barra north american representative, “Papa John”.
I plan to write up a team report on the GB Marbella website, with videos and photos.
Enhorabuena “Campeón” no esperaba menos de ti. Me alegro mucho por este resultado, era algo que te merecías después de tanto esfuerzo y entrenamiento, por no mencionar eso de pasar hambre durante más de una semana ;-)
Un abrazo “Campeón de Europa” :-)
Congratulations Matt! Now I know, next time we sit together for a negotiation, I will avoid getting you too excited ;-)