A Personal Recap of Fight To Win’s 2010 Nationals Tournament

Yesterday various Relson Gracie schools in Colorado competed in Fight To Win‘s Nationals tournament held at University of Denver’s Magness Arena. This was my first tournament since recieving my blue belt last March.

The Relson Gracie crew at Nationals 2010. I'm fourth-in from the upper right.

It was a ton a fun. Although not everyone took home medals (many did), everyone faught hard. It was also great to see new faces associated with Relson Gracie in the state due to the growth and success of Denver Jiu Jitsu and Relson Gracie Academy in Littleton. Rodrigo Salazar and Steve Hordinski seem to be doing great things at these schools, respectively.

I was scheduled for two brackets, but due to a scheduling snafu or miscommunication, I missed my first bracket, so I only competed in Adult Blue Belt. I fought hard but did not do as well as I would have hoped.

Like last time I competed, however, I’m very motivited to work on and improve my Jiu Jitsu. I’m eager to train and will likely be competing in the next local tournament in the area.

Anyhow, my loss was to a competitor named Gianni Tanza from Easton Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and I wanted to give a shout-out to Gianni. Gianni was an incredibly gracious and polite winner and competitor. Gianni not only offered genuine compliments on my effort, he also went well out of the way to shake the hands of my coaches. I was already enjoying my day, but Gianni’s sportsmanship made it that much better.

Gianni, If you ever find this post from Googling your name or something, send me an email and let’s get a beer.

In Gianni's guard near the end of the match.