Fastest Sub of the Night for a Departed Friend

Last Friday We had an in-house white belt tournament at Renzo Gracie PDX. It was in memory of our departed teammate Dave Famous. Dave was 70 years old and a huge inspiration. He was a Marine, a Vietnam Vet, a retired police Captain and the head of internal affairs for PPD. He never complained about injuries, (he must have had them, who trains and doesn't?) He never made excuses, and he never sat out a round. He was a good man and I miss him.

I placed first in my bracket and 3rd in the absolute. I am pretty stoked that I landed a Worm-guard sweep that I've been playing with for a while. My judo was a little better than usual, and I really felt like I was "firing on all cylinders". I landed a Flavio Canto Choke for the fastest submission of the night.

Most importantly It gave me a number of things to work on. I could switch more fluidly between the arm-bar and the triangle. I need to work on my ankle lock escapes. I need to solidify my x-guard positioning and sweeps against larger opponents amongst others.

Overall it was a great Learning experience, and I hope it would have made Dave Proud.