Integrity had a great weekend. (2/22/2020) WNYMMA fighter and Integrity member Derrick Patterson went down to Mansfield Ohio at the BCM fights. Niagara Falls BJJ members Amanda and Josh Dustin competed at the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Canada.  Amanda took silver and Josh gold in his first tournament.

     Derrick signed the fight last minute (less than a week’s notice) but he is always in shape.  If you are spending your Sundays supplementing your training with Integrity you are always going to be in shape.  Watching him pull out a win was one of the most gratifying coaching experiences I have had so far.  He got dropped in the second round recovered and the fight could have been close.  We had talked about making sure he didn’t lose himself in the moment and that is what he went out and did.  After the adversity he faced in the second he went out took his man down and stopped him with seconds left in the round. (You never want a Decision as the out of town fighter.

    Derrick is in the second half of his amateur career.  We have the wins coming in now and we are going to get his record on the plus side.  He will take confidence from this performance and continue to be the fighter he is in the gym in the cage. 

    Amanda has been working hard to get her weight up and get her body stronger for this tournament.  She has been spending a lot of time training Jiu Jitsu wherever she can get some rolls with people her size.  Since she started at Integrity, she is much stronger and was ready for this tournament.  She ended up getting a rough draw ending up facing off with an experienced mma fighter and Canadian National Kickboxer.  The girl had a fight in mma before Amanda had kids. To say she was giving up experience is an understatement. She held her own and defended attack after attack.  I was very impressed by her tenacity, heart and growth in Jiu-Jitsu even if she was disappointed in her results.  Being able to defend yourself is what I feel what belt is, and she did a great job.

   Josh may have been dragged into Integrity by Amanda but of all our members he may have made the most growth so far.  He has been lifting and training at NFBJJ during the week and when he isn’t working, he has been coming to train and doing cardio class, sometimes on no sleep.  It all showed in the tournament as he took gold.  He got the fight to the ground got the pass he needed to win and had the conditioning to do it all.  When he started with Integrity he could barley do a few minutes of cardio. In his first competition since wrestling in High-school he out worked a very game opponent. We spent some time Sunday working on points where he can pass easier.  Look out for more Golds out of him!

   Extra shout out for parents of twins to get the time to improve themselves physically and learn Jiu-Jitsu. It takes a lot of understanding and sacrifice for a couple to train together and compete. The families that train together stay together. Josh and Amanda’s success can be attributed to the love and faith they have in each other.

    It takes a lot of time and effort to make great things happen and I wanted to take the time the time to congratulate the gyms and the athletes for amazing performances!  #IMACHAMPION