Day 1 - Grapplers Quest: Beast of the East 2012

Normally I compete  in the 140 - 159.9 division at Grapplers Quest, but lately I've been walking around between 150 and 155 so about 5 days before the tournament I decided I wanted to try to cut down a weight class.  I started dieting and lost about 6 lbs in 4 days.  I was down to 146.5 when I got to my hotel and decided to sweat out the last few pounds. This started out well, I dropped 3 lbs in the first hour.  I thought to myself this will be a piece of cake! but it wasn't.  The following hour and a half  I only lost 1 pound and was down to 142.5, but time was up and I needed to weigh-in.  I was sooo depressed - all that hard work for nothing.  Now not only did I feel like crap but I still had to go with the heavier girls :(((  

I didn't think it would matter that much because I was used to fighting in that weight class, but I definitely felt it today.  I lost my first match and felt like puking afterwards.  I felt weak and out of breath the entire match. Not only did I physically feel bad, but I felt like my jiu-jitsu wasn't up to par either.  I was having a lot of trouble gripping and controlling my opponent with out the help of the gi.  This really made me realize that if I am going to compete no-gi I need to start training no-gi.

My absolute division went a little better.  I won my first match 20-0.  I completely controlled positioning but was unable to finish any submissions.  I tried for the d'arce choke and the rear naked choke but couldn't finish either one (I did get 2 advantage points though).  My second match was the finals match and it was against the same girl I fought in my weight class.  She took me down and scored 2, but then I swept her with a really nice hook sweep and scored my 2.  I tried passing the guard but couldn't figure out a good way to control her body and she closed her guard on me and eventually guillotined me.  

I ended up taking 2nd place in both my weight class and the absolute women's advanced no-gi divisions, but I am definitely not satisfied unless I win gold.  I am very confident in my gi game, and I am extremely motivated to go out there tomorrow and win my gi divisions.  And when I get back home I plan on continuing my diet, starting conditioning, and starting no-gi training.

Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Trials - NYC

Below is a link to a write up my Manassas MMA did about my trip to the trials!

"Michelle Welti of Team Dave Trader Jiu-Jitsu traveled to New York City this past weekend to compete in the Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials. The trials are held each year in different cities all around the world, with the winners taking home an all expense paid trip to Abu Dhabi to compete in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championships. Prizes go to the winner of each weight class at Brown/Black Belt, and the winner of the Absolute (open weight class) at Purple, Blue, and White Belt."

Click here to continue reading!

Here are a few picture from the tournament:

JGA 2012 Season Opener - DTJJ Kids Results

"Congratulations to the Dave Trader Jiu-Jitsu Kids team! The team brought 6 competitors to the Junior Grappling Association’s 2012 Season Opener today and came home with 13 medals and 2 trophies! Abby fought in 4 divisions today and brought home 4 medals and 2 trophies!  Abby placed 1st in the female gi absolute* division, 2nd in the mixed gender [.....]"  

Click here to read the entire article on ManassasMMA.com!

DTJJ's 2nd Female Competitor

Last spring a man and his teenage daughter came through the doors of the gym. They were both pretty into UFC and he wanted to get his daughter into one of our programs. She said she wanted to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which made me very happy because I had been trying to start a women's program, and you can't really do that with just one girl. She was a tennis player, and seemed pretty girly. This worried me, but only a little. I was afraid all the close contact of sweaty people would gross her out and she would want to switch to Muay Thai or something. Luckily for me she loved class and decided to join.


Her competitive attitude got her itching to compete right away and in turn motivated her to train harder. Now, a little over 9 months later, she will be competing in her first tournament.

Good luck this Saturday Liza, I know you will do Team DTJJ proud!

Tears

This one is directed mostly towards the guys...

Just because you see a few tears stream down my face doesn't mean that I am hurt, or something awful happened to me.  There is a difference between how girls and guys react to certain things, for example frustration.  I'm sure I am not the only girl out there that sheds a few tears when she gets extremely frustrated.

I am under a lot of stress right now in my life and training is my time to just forget about everything.  I leave everything behind when I step on the mats, and for the next 2 hours I am as happy as can be.  The exception is when I start getting frustrated with something.  Maybe the same person keeps catching me with the same move over and over, or I just can't quite get my body to move in the right way.  If I allow these minor things to get to me my happy bubble feels like it bursts and all of my stressful emotions start flooding in.  Next thing I know my face is getting warm and my eyes start to swell up with tears.  I try so hard no to let them fall, but the moment someone says, "Hey, are you okay?", they start pouring out.  I hate it, but when I am stressed out and then get frustrated that's just how my body reacts.

So please don't ask me if everything is okay, or if there is anything you can do to help.  You can help by not saying anything and letting me regain my composure. W85W6PT2M28V

NEW! Women's Gameness Feather Gi

Every gi I have ever owned (besides my first one) has been Gameness.  I have two platinums (white/blue), one elite (white), and one feather (black).  When I heard they were coming out with a new gi, cut specifically for women I was very excited!  I just got the new female gi from Gameness last week and I must say, I love it!  It is a feather weave with rip stop pants.  Gameness also makes a feather weave for men, which is also awesome...I own one of those too :)  Although, if you are a girl I highly recommend getting the female gi.  The top is cut slimmer, the sides tapper in, so its not all baggy like the men's feather.  The sleeves are thinner too - this is a feature I personally really like.  It makes it harder for your opponent to get a good grip!  As far as I can tell, the pants are the same cut as the regular feather.  It comes in two colors, violet and white.  I have the violet right now, and I plan on getting the white for the bigger tournaments that have color restrictions for the gi you are allowed to wear. 

 So all you lady's out there that are in the market for a new gi, I suggest trying the new female feather weave from Gameness!

Words I Live By

Loyalty: faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause

 “The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.”  -Rensis Likert

Integrity: a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. 

"Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity."

 -W. Clement Stone

Honesty: honorable in principles, intentions, and actions; upright and fair. It also denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft.

“If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it."  -Marcus Aurelius