My first competition, Subfighter

[Khaos Keith]

This was my first ever Jiu Jitsu competition. I have only 4 months of jiu jitsu under my belt and no prior grappling experience. I entered into the beginner 0-2 year experience level (they didn't have a novice division) at weight 195. I'm in the process of losing more weight but you can see I'm a fat 195 and my opponents were much bigger and stronger then me. My first match was against the guy who got second, and the second match is the guy who placed first. I surprisingly placed 3rd, but only because another person got injured, and between me and the other losers of the first round, i didn't lose by submission, only by points. So I believe i was re bracketed up to face the first place guy even tho I lost my first match.

The second match went a little better then the first, but both matches were super boring, and my opponents were ok with winning on points and once they were ahead, they kept me planted in side control and stayed there. Looking at the video now, there was plenty of things i should have done, but it being my first experience in competition, I froze up a little. But hey I can say I didn't get submitted or gassed out, so that's something I guess

My next competition will be at a lower weight class, and novice division. I should do much better next time around

[Evan B]

Looking at the video now, there was plenty of things i should have done

This happens in your first comps. A lot of tactics and plans go out the window and the mind can hit a blank. Great job stepping on the mats and getting out there.

[Jack Hanley]

Back in the day, one of the best no-gi sites on the web was subfighter.com (now defunct).

It still makes me happy every time I see the Subfighter name.

[Luke Noormets]

Great job getting out there bro! Sucks when your opponent just wants to stall!

[mordecai]

Great job surviving the first guy's judo side control and americana attempts bro. The positive thing you can take from the loss, is that I bet on monday you were working on side control escapes and coming up with an answer or two to any mistakes you made. I competed at subfighter last sunday too and it was also my first competition so I have empathy with your experience of freezing up, because the nerves and adrenaline dump was totally draining my energy and I felt gassed after each match lol.
Do you feel like your jiujitsu game improved after your first competition experience? I feel like the whole experience of preparing for the competition, competing with all the nerves, making mistakes (I ended up getting kimura'd in the last match), and then going back to the drawing board the next day to fix those mistakes has definitely made my game sharper.

[Khaos Keith]

Thanks Mordecai, i remember hearing your name called and thinking, what a sweet name haha. Please thank George for coaching me out there, regardless of getting stuck under those guys, hearing him talk me through it actually calmed my nerves. I'm definitely looking at things a little different since the competition, but haven't been able to get back on the mat yet, been sick with a cold next week for sure tho, and you better believe i've been sitting at home looking up soooo many side control escape videos haha. hit me up on facebook (Keith Kolod), it was nice meeting you guys