Timeline

2024/06/20 - Day 1

"We live in a simulation." - Coach Ben

I had wanted to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for a while, and finally pushed myself to give it a go. I showed up at Annunziato Jiu-Jitsu during the Advanced Class and introduced myself, Coach Ben was a little surprised by my name. He gave me a Gi and we drilled the Scissor Sweep.

2024/07/26 - Ranking Day

"What do I do with my hands?"

I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this. I was still very green and hadn't yet figured out that comparing myself to other people didn't make sense, so I thought maybe I would get one stripe. Coach Ben talked to me after not giving me any stripes to make sure I understood why.

2025/01/26 - IBJJF Dallas Winter

See the Tournaments page.

2025/02/15 - Lutter Tournament

See the Tournaments page.

2025/03/22 - Ranking Day

I guess it will always be awkward, huh?

The previous two tournaments taught me a lot, but I am still not very aggressive. I can avoid a fair amount of submissions now but I do not attack very well. It felt good to progress but I had my eyes set on a tournament win.

2025/04/13 - IBJJF Houston

See the Tournaments page.

2025/07/26 - Lutter Tournament

See the Tournaments page.

2025/08/03 - IBJJF Dallas Summer

See the Tournaments page.

2025/09/22 - Ranking Day

Coach said he wanted me to get more mat time, so I will be going from training two days a week to three. Two will still be in the Gi, one will be No-Gi.

2025/12/07 - IBJJF Waco

See the Tournaments page.

2026/02/20 - IBJJF Austin

See the Tournaments page.

2026/03/07 - Lutter Tournament

See the Tournaments page.

2026/03/15 - IBJJF Dallas Winter

See the Tournaments page.

2026/04/12 - IBJJF Houston

See the Tournaments page.

2026/04/25 - JJWL Texas VIII

See the Tournaments page.

2026/05/10 - IBJJF San Antonio

See the Tournaments page.

2026/05/16 - Ranking Day

First rounds as a blue belt went hard

Big ranking day, we got several new purple belts and blue belts (including me! (blue obviously (I love nested parentheticals))).

Since the last ranking day I've cut two weight classes (from Heavy (208lbs) down to Middle (181.6lbs)). I have gotten a lot more aggressive as well, especially from the bottom side.

I'm going to take a break from competing until August (IBJJF Dallas) and use that time to cut down to Light (168lbs). In the meanwhile I will focus on solidifying the basics rather than trying to add too many tools to the toolbox.