ADCC Open ATL 2025
Reflections on my first competition as a black belt.
Prior to ADCC Open Atlanta, I hadn't competed in almost 4.5 years. A lot has changed since then, not least of which was the transition from purple to black belt. Our gym and my style are both very friendly towards ADCC-type rules, so when they brought an open tournament to Atlanta, right in my back yard, it was a must.
Overview: The Process
At Integrity BJJ, we gave ourselves an 8-week “camp” to prepare for this event. Of course, the last week was dedicated towards recovery, making weight, and final tactical adjustments. Truthfully, we came out a bit hot and minor to moderate injuries started to accumulate after 3-4 weeks. We then turned the volume down for a couple weeks before ramping back up before the event. All in all that worked out pretty well and everyone looked as ready as they could be.
Speaking for myself, three weeks out I had a freak accident where my Morpheus heart rate monitor slid down my chest, under my ribs, while my stomach was pulled in and when I sat up to defend a body-lock pass, the pressure from the device cracked my rib cartilage.
The weekend before the competition, the weather was flip-flopping here in Atlanta and left me with a cold – no bueno. I’m also a super nervous competitor; not in the sense of “fear”, but I train hard and have high expectations for myself. Additionally, there were a slew of unknowns. I hadn’t competed in over four years, and never in an “advanced” division. I’ve also never won a major tournament (ADCC / IBJJF).
Throughout camp, while I was developing my strategy, I didn’t think anyone was going to “out-physical” and certainly wouldn’t “bully” me at -76 Kg. Given the rules and scoring criteria I thought I’d be very hard to score on as well. Monday, I looked at the other athletes that were registered in my division which set off the anxiety alarms.
A lot of them had a lot more competition experience than myself, but this was a good reality check. “These guys aren’t chumps.” If I go out there and lollygag, they’re fully capable of rag-dolling me or ripping my limbs off – as they should be.
I thought long and hard about “attachment” – to what? Obviously, the desired outcome is to win gold, and preferably to submit every opponent. A 100% submission rate might be ambitious, but I thought that overall I had a pretty good shot of winning gold.
I don’t think “attachment” to an outcome is a bad thing. A lot of therapists and psychologists misunderstand this about athletes and other “high performance individuals.” We train hard. We put in more work than most people can imagine. This is evident with dismissive descriptions of our lifestyles as “restrictive, obsessive, or intense.” For some of us, it’s simply “required” because “excellence is the standard”, not the exception.
However, attaching one’s value or worth to an arbitrary set of circumstances (you may call this an outcome) is problematic. I resolved that if I stuck to my gameplan – which of course I’m still responsible for developing and executing – then the gameplan can suffer judgment rather than my value as a coach, athlete, or person.
If you execute a match in an emotional and reactive manner it’s like running in circles in the woods; maybe you find your way out, but you’re probably just as lost and just getting tired. If you at least “stick to the plan” you can accurately assess and adjust later.
My mantra became, “I am worthy.” The gameplan was simple. “Get on top. Score first. Look for submissions.” It’s also worth noting that my typical playlist of 80’s stadium rock, 90’s grunge, and heavy metal was replaced by – Kelly Clarkson and Michelle Branch. You read that right. I wanted to feel good and upbeat without wasting energy and adrenaline getting super pumped up; especially early in the week.
I arrived at the venue several hours early to eat some snacks, watch a couple matches, and get settled into the environment. I got dressed early and got to work breaking a sweat to warm up. After taking a swig of electrolytes and a shot of DayQuil to clear some mucus it was show time.
The first match was the most physical opponent. I secured a beautiful takedown, but it was before the points period. I remember thinking that I didn’t want to go to overtime with this guy because I could feel the flash pump setting into my forearms. After several attempts, I secured a guard pass and was able to “strategically stall” and win the match 3-0.
My second opponent was the most athletic. He came out with scrappy collar ties just like me, but pulled guard to attack an ankle lock early. I wasn’t happy that I got swept (even if it was before the points period), but was able to defend the attack relatively easily. I was able to change the momentum and start my own offense, executing a sequence of chained leg attacks that culminated in an outside heelhook. Win by submission.
The finals match was the most technical opponent. I rinsed and repeated the strategy of attacking hands-head-armpit-legs. Early on he had a loose guillotine attempt which I countered with a great throw – again, just before points. He was able to scramble back to his feet and we repeated the same sequences with me securing a takedown. He again scrambled to his feet, but I was able to remain active and keep moving forward to avoid any stalling penalties. Win, 2-0. Gold medal.
I was satisfied. My corner and team were ecstatic. The second best part was that I knew all the people shaking my hand, patting my back, and sending me highlight clips and congratulations on social media would have still been rallied in my corner win, lose, or draw. It really does change the aura of an event when you show up as a team (we had 10 adults and 3 juveniles to take 6th as a team). I definitely would not have had the same unflinching confidence in myself if I had to go out there alone.
The best part, subtle and sincere, was sitting in the parking lot about to drive away. Tomorrow was just going to be just another day. I’d probably celebrate with a few drinks and some comfort food, then be right back in the gym on Monday. But first, I posted a simple message of gratitude; to my team, my coaches, and my mom who passed away 2.5 years ago. The event took place the day before Mother’s Day and two days before my birthday.
Watch the highlights on Instagram!
After Action Analysis:
What worked well:
No training camp goes “perfect” and this one had it’s hiccups, but one thing I was really proud about was my dedication to “active recovery” and emphasis on putting in as much time on the mats as I could and all “off-the-mat” training being geared towards “keeping me healthy and on-the-mat.”
The weight cut was very manageable. I had been walking around at 172 lbs (morning weight) and my official weight was 166 (needed < 168). I was probably stepping on the mat a little over 175 lbs. So, as far as diet during camp, weight cut, refuel, and gameday snacks / nutrition, that was all pretty spot on. At the venue I drank electrolytes as needed, and every hour or so ate a beef stick and took a gulp of honey (maybe 200 calories or so / hour).
Between matches I also took a shot of DayQuil and honked gobs of snot out my nose.
I also stuck to the gameplan I had designed and designated; which proved to be very effective and strategically executed. Not only did I not get submitted, I didn’t get scored on, and was rarely in danger. I also did a generally good job of being “physical enough” without succumbing to tunnel vision, which was something I was worried about.
What didn’t work:
After weigh-ins and on gameday I took 5g creatine each. I don’t think that helped or hindered, though I did look jacked AF on the podium!
My warm up was okay. I got sweaty and loose, but could have had some short, explosive, hard scrimmages to shake out the flash pump before the first match instead of having to rely on the first match as a warm up.
Only 1 / 3 submissions. I feel like I could have submitted all of these opponents, but the reality is that I didn’t. I was preparing for 6-minute rounds and actually only had to compete in 5-minute rounds. That’s a big difference when you’re talking about only being able to score for 2:30, and for the first 2:30 it’s not uncommon to spend at least that long feeling each other out; especially in advanced divisions.
I had a look at the first opponent’s back during the points period that could have been capitalized on both to score and to submit.
During the finals match, after the throw (that didn’t score), there was an opportunity to attack my opponent’s legs, but I thought this might be risky because we weren’t in scoring territory yet.
Plan for next time:
Follow the same template for camp design, diet, weight cut, refuel, and gameday routines. A nice tradition I started is that when I was called to the met, but not in action yet, I stood facing my corner, back to the referee, then scrape-and-stomped my feet like a bull but with my eyes closed or looking up at the ceiling – it was very grounding.
Tactically, there’s not much to critique other than if I had warmed up properly I could have turned up the gas some with the shortened rounds.
Technically, there wast still room for improvement. I left a bit too much space on my guard passing which telegraphed leg attacks. I should have (1) stayed chest-over-chest if I was close / pressure passing, or (2) pinned the shoulders with my head to lift my butt up and tripod / high-step pass.
I should not have stayed in the in-between, sitting back on my heels. That lead to all three of the off-balances (one in the semifinals and two in the finals) that lead to the opponents initiating their offense. The poor posture left space for the opponents to rock even though I was ultimately able to scramble out of and flea from the top position rather than conceding a sweep.
Another problem in the finals was getting in to too much of a hurry to pass and not adequately sprawling off butterfly hooks. This also contributed to the off-balances and getting elevated from there.
Features in the Onward Fitness Community on Thinkific:
Full Match Replays
Match Analysis and Commentary
Groks’ Analysis of my Training Camp
Nutrition and Supplement Protocols
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Congrats man. This is awesome