Just Another Thursday
Big news from last weekend is that Gabgab won a gold medal, while Doyle brought home silver in the 2024 Pan Asians Jiujitsu International Open. Both had exciting fights.
Gab was down early in the 3-minute match. He was taken down and held down on side control for a few seconds. But he managed to extricate himself from under his opponent, who was actually doing a good job of pinning him down. Gab reversed the position, passed the boy’s guard and proceeded to mount him.
His opponent did not give up though. He managed to reverse Gab and take a dominant closed guard position again. But Gab knew how to get out of that. In the end, Gab won by points. Afterwards the boys bowed to each other and shook hands. I also shook the hand of the other coach.
I was nervous all this time, as I am whenever any of my sons competed. I kept shouting instructions from the coach’s chair but mainly points of encouragement to let Gab know that he is not alone. Nothing too technical or detail oriented.
I have that rapport with Gab right now. I don’t have to tell him specific things, just the gist is okay for him to understand. Apart from me telling him to “go to turtle” everything else was “get out of there!” or “go go go!” or “free your arm!” The study of details on positions, techniques, points, and so on, was done in the gym.
Doyle also made a good showing during his match, which earned him a silver medal. He survived an early dangerous triangle attack from a taller opponent, and even gained a dominant position. In the end, time was not in his favor and he lost 2-0 to his equally talented opponent in an exciting match.
Doyle showed exceptional skill in getting out of bad situations. Not a surprise since we studied these positions in class and the counters to them. And just like with Gab, I did not have to shout too detailed instructions from the coach’s corner.
In my classes, I emphasize, among a few things, spending quality “mat time” in order to improve my students’ jiujitsu. Gab and Doyle have paid their dues in this regard. Gab consistently trains 4 times a week, half of the time with adults on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the other half with kids on Fridays and Saturdays. On the other hand, Doyle trains consistently, 5 times a week.
They both recognize the grind in a jiujitsu match. And so while their respective opponents in the competition were heavy and strong, these did not surprise them. They are no strangers to adversity. They experience this all the time in training. In the case of Gab, with guys bigger and stronger than him.
I’m happy with how Gab and Doyle performed in their matches and the way they remembered their training. This is one of the important points in training — to prepare students for difficult situation and, in general, to respond well to adversity.
All told, the competition last weekend did not surprise Gab or Doyle. For them, it was just another Thursday.