October 5th WNYMMA kids class competed at the Buffalo Open. We had a new crop of kids come out and test themselves on the mat. It was good to see some new faces on the mats. We have a young team now and a lot of our veterans didn’t compete.
While I care about the team trophy, winning it comes from making sure all the kids that compete are skillful and ready to compete. When you have kids that do well and have fun in the tournament it will draw others to compete. (the tournaments are won and lost by number of entries into the tournament as well as there performance) We had some big efforts and a lot of growth at the tournament and will have a lot of momentum going into the next tournament.
Emmett and Evan started us off. Unfortunately, these two young men keep running into each other at tournaments (They are both super young and light) These guys had another great battle Evan was able to score more takedowns and dictate the pace of the match. Emmett really showed his maturity in this outing and kept getting to his feet. These guys are going to continue to make each other better in the years to come. I can’t imagine how good I would have been if I had a similar size training partner from the time, I was 4. I can’t wait to see these guys at 20. Evan gold Emmett silver
Aurora got her division combined with the next one up and was a little undersized. On top of that she was cold. It was very cold when the kids competed. (the venue was outside, and the morning was cold) Aurora was shivering when she went out there and it definitely affected her performance. She did a very good job once she got into the match but had a really hard time getting started. She ended up with a hard-fought bronze.
Angel made her tournament debut and looked solid doing it. A few months into her martial arts training it was a huge step. She came to some comp classes to get ready for it and it really paid off. She was competitive in every match and submitted the other white belt in her bracket (They combined gray and white belt) While she didn’t place, she exhibited a lot of heart and had a big crowd of supporters. She has a great training partner in Nadia Flores so look for her to do nothing but improve in the next tournament.
Noah had another great outing. He started out against a solid gray belt that looked at least a weight class bigger than him. He turned in a good performance. We have been working on him dealing with adversity. He faced great adversity and over came coming back for the bronze medal. He had a stacked bracket and performed better and better as the day went on. Keep your eye on this kid he is going to be one of the best kids coming out of WNYMMA. Bronze medal
Brian jumped into his first tournament as well. Anyone that has rolled with him on his way to the second class knows he doesn’t play around when it is time to roll. He came out and performed just like I knew he would 100 miles an hour with no quit. In a lot of his matches Brian gave up points to his opponents by turning his back giving them the 4 points for back mount then another 4 for mount then reversing and getting on top. As soon as we clean up a few things in his game he will be on the podium grabbing gold medals
Lilly had her best outing of her career so far. She started out losing her first her match. She stayed composed but lacked confidence that she could win. There was only one girl in her division, so she had a best of three situation. She lost her first match on points but in the last 60 seconds really opened up and saw she was good enough to compete with the girl. She won the next two matches systematically beating her opponent in every aspect of the match submitting her twice. The growth was good to see. Gold
Blake did what he does again at the Open. He came out and was his opponents toughest match of the day with a smile. This kid is ultra-talented and having fun out there competing. Coaching Blake is a struggle in when to coach and when to let him work on his own. While he makes mistakes, he fixes them by doing things normal people can’t do. He is incredibly strong and resourceful. Blake is never out of a match and the thing I love the most about him is he is always trying to submit his opponent. Blake not only took silver at the open he competed back to back tournaments grabbing another silver this week at the Grappling Industries tournament. Not only did he compete again he beat the kid he lost to the week before. Amazing job, back to back tournaments can be very difficult and he handled it like a pro. Open-silver GI-silver
Kreighton competed in the teen yellow belt division. Kreighton’s division got merged with Dakota’s so he went from having one competitor to a bracket full. He did well on the day and has fixed the problems that he use to have with his cardio. He did a very good job but came up a little short in his matches. While his Jiu Jitsu was solid, he just came up a little bit short physically. He has been back in the gym tightening up his Jiu Jitsu and has come to wrestling class to improve his physical attributes. Look out for him in the next tournament!
Nelson competed in his first tournament. Nelson comes from coach Matt Flores teen program and had a great showing. For the amount of techniques that he knew at the time of the tournament he did a great job. The way that sentence reads it sounds like he got smoked in the tournament, that couldn’t be further from the truth. He went out and left everything on the mat. Ever match was close. I was so impressed by this young man. He made a fan out of the Caveman and I hope I get some time to work with him soon!
Dakota jumped into the division he belongs in (teen) and dominated getting the gold. He did an amazing job keeping his composure. He won all his matches and looked phenomenal. Dakota is 14 and hangs with adults every day. He is good against adults but when you see him against his peers you see how truly amazing of a kid he is. His overgrown size lead to an oversized heart. Knowing what a good kid he is makes watching him have success even more rewarding.
The Williamsville crew showed up big time for the tournament as well. Coach Marc, Coach Ryan and Professor Craig (sporting the manliest outfit I have ever seen) led their competitors to great performances.
Edwardo competed in his first tournament. I am sure it was a cool experience as he competed in the same tournament as his father. I know as a father of a martial artist myself there is nothing like sharing mat time together. He was small for the weight class (A recurring theme in this write up but in these small tournaments a lot of guys get lumped together) but aggressive. Talking with Coach Ryan, he was hoping the aggression would transfer into class. He did manage to win a match and at 6 has a very long time to develop into a solid competitor. I asked Coach Ryan to give an assessment and he said very focused and fearless. Coming from a guy that was going to raid Area 51 that is high praise indeed.
Daemon jumped into his first tournament after just a few months of training. With gray and white belts put in the same category he could be competing against kids that have trained years. I have always been a big believer that the most important thing in Jiu Jitsu is that we survive. If we stay in the match, we can always win the match. Daemon did that with just three months training no one was able to submit him. It takes a long time to get good but now that he can survive, he will learn to finish people. It was good to see you on the mat.
I got a little work in with Daniel the week before the tournament and was really glad that he ended up getting some matches in at the tournament. Daniel has a good guard and attacked very well and had a tricky arm bar set up and a solid triangle. He did a much better job maintaining grips on the bottom then he did in practice and is starting to really get it. I look forward to him locking us up some gold medals
I didn’t catch much of the action in Dominic’s matches. What I did see was him responding well to the positions he was getting stuck in. While not always doing the right technique he never accepted what his opponent as trying to do. The coaching that Professor Craig gave him coming off the mat brought me back to my wrestling days. The bond between a coach and athlete at the tournament is something that is truly awesome to see. Solid job in his first tournament.
I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate Coach Matt on winning his first tournament at purple. Not only has he battled through injuries surgeries and some health issues, he also puts in a full day of coaching before getting out on the mat. For anyone that hasn’t done it, it is far more draining then you would think. Awesome job Matt way to represent!
