Abu Dhabi Pro Trials 2011

Over the weekend I competed in the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Jersey City, NJ, USA.

I left the gym Friday afternoon with my coach to head up to NJ for the weigh-ins.  The drive was long but we finally made it.  I weighted in and then we were off to our hotel.  Our hotel wasn't too bad.  I was a little upset that I had to pay an extra $15 for parking, but other than that it was good.  I got a good 9-10 hours of sleep and then it was time to head to the tournament!

It was raining (yuck!) and with all the snow they have gotten up north, parking was nearly impossible.  There wasn't a parking lot; all street parking...with meters!  Finally after driving around for about 15-20 minutes we found a spot about 2 blocks away.  We parked and headed to the venue.  The tournament started on time and actually ran pretty efficiently.  It started with female purple/brown/black belts and male brown/black belts, followed by male purple, then female white/blue and male white/blue.

After hours of watching and waiting it was finally my turn to go!  My first match was against a girl from Brazilian Top Team Canada.  She pulled guard, I passed to half, I tried to take her back but got swept landing in my guard where I ended up submitting her by cross collar choke.  The match was only 2:30 minutes, giving me plenty of recovery time before the next round.  My next match was against another girl from Brazilian Top Team Canada.  She also pulled guard, I passed and dominated positionally.  I tried for submissions but she defended pretty well.  Final score was 13-0, although I think they didn't give me points for a few things.  My last match wasn't as great as the first two :(  I got taken down, but landed in my guard.  The girl passed to half, tried for the mount but I recovered half guard, and with 30 seconds left she ended up tapping me with a straight arm lock. 

Overall I took second place in the women's white/blue +63kg division.  Not bad, but I don't like to settle for less than first.  I definitely need to work on a few things, specially my judo and my open guard.  I have a lot to work on these next few weeks.  I won't be making the same mistakes in the next tournament.