This year the AFBJJ held the SA State Jiu Jitsu Championships on the 29-30 June.
After having some recent health issues I decided that I would enter only the Masters Blue u/67kg Gi division while Talitha would compete in the Female 10yr u/43kg division. However, this was not to be. Their were not enough competitors entered in either of our divisions. I was bumped back into the Adult division and Talitha was moved from the 10yr Female division to the 12yr male(mixed) division.

Talitha was the first of our family to compete for the day at around 10am. Talitha’s first opponent jumped in quickly with a takedown after she extended her hand to slap hands at the beginning of the match. He was awarded 2 points for the sneaky takedown but Talitha kept her composure, swept took the back and submitted her opponent by bow and arrow choke within 40 seconds.

Talitha’s second match began with her pulling guard and sweeping almost immediately while her opponent was unbalanced. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to secure the mounted position for the required time before being reversed, an advantage was not recorded. For the rest of the fight Talitha battled for grips and arm control and tried to sweep on many occasions but was not successful. Her opponent did not seem to try and pass the guard and was defending Talitha’s attacks. The timer went and the board was tied 2 points each. Fortunately Talitha’s aggression and sweep attempts were enough to give her the victory.

My first match of the day was with Jerick Panes, an opponent that I had faced previously back in 2012. After a little grip fighting Jerick came in for a takedown which I defended. Jerick then switched and pulled 1/2 guard. Jerick tried to sweep but I was able to keep him away with the crossface. I considered passing but with a deep grip inside his lapel I secured a choke and finished the fight.

Unfortunately I was on the same side of the bracket as my fellow Arruda Jiu Jitsu team mate Declan Moody who had also advanced to the next round. With Declan being a regular training partner of mine I knew that I had to put the pressure on early and keep it on. He is very quick and technical and only half my age at 16yrs old. I pulled de la riva guard and used Berimbolo to sweep getting the first 2 points on the board. As I passed Declan tried to Kimura but I trapped his arm with my shin and pulled my arm back in. I moved to an arm bar rolling and losing the top position before securing the position and getting the points for passing. From the bottom I was able to lift Declan’s hips and sweep once again while entering 50/50 guard. After coming up I passed the guard but even after securing the position I was not awarded the points. I attacked Declan’s arm with a Kimura which he defended. I switched to a wrist lock, first with 1 hand then 2 and finished the fight by submission. This win was bitter sweet as I was now going on to the final but I really wanted Declan to do well in this competition. Declan went on to fight for the bronze medal against another fellow Arruda team mate (Nate) and won.

My final was against Brett Cutting. A competitor that I had seen at other competitions in the past but never faced myself. From watching the previous rounds fights I decided that I would let Brett pull guard. After fighting for grips and taunting for about a minute he did just that. Brett caught me with a bad hand position and tried to secure a triangle. I somehow managed to posture up and stand with Brett in a triangle position. While in this position I was able to remove my arm and get both arms under his legs. I put Brett back on the mats and fought for a pass. Brett defended and I switched to a knee slice and passed gaining 3 points. Brett seemed to rest here for a few seconds and instead of attacking as I should have I too rested. Brett exploded out of the position and reversed landing inside my guard. Brett opened my guard and begin to pass. As soon as he jumped my leg I switched to reverse de la riva and inverted. Brett was able to defend the sweep, he then passed my guard and mounted. Brett moved back to side control where I was able to roll over but as I did he took my back. After some lapel and grip fighting he was able to secure a bow and arrow choke and the fight winning by submission.