No Gi Worlds 2011!

November started off with a BANG for Team G!! This year we took 2 competitors, Mark DeLaRosa and Deymond Stephens. I would be coach andchaperonethis trip. Mark and I met up at Genesis Jiu Jitsu around 10 am Friday and headed straight for the airport. After a short flight from DFW to LAX, we landed and were greeted by our long time friends from Westside MMA in Arkansas, Mark Sniff and his lady Jessica, and Kris Pierce. They gave us a ride back to their hotel and we hung out and watched some tv while waiting for Deymond to arrive a little later. Deymond arrived around 7pm so we went to grab some dinner and get to the hotel for a good nights rest.

We woke up Saturday around 8am. Mark would roll at 11:30 so we had plenty of time to grab some breakfast and get to the tournament. We ate a great local place called Cowgirl Cafe then headed to the big blue pyramid at Cal State, Long Beach. This is a great venue for a BJJ tournament! There is ample stadium seating including bleachers and chairs, 3 large clean restrooms, a jumbotron, and a powerful sound system. There are descent concessions including the ever popular Acai booth. Mark and Deymond both checked their weight which was fine and then we waited patiently for them to compete. We found a seat with our Avengers teammates and watched the beginning of the 10 hour jiu jitsu marathon.

They called Mark’s division and he headed to the bullpen. His first match was against a very strong teenager with a wrestling background. After giving up an early takedown, Mark fought hard going for sweeps and submissions and even trying his own takedowns, but ended up losing 4-0 to the eventual champ. Mark immediately recognized his strategic error and looked to do better in the absolute!

After many hours of watching great brown and black belt matches, Deymond was called to the bullpen right at 4pm. Deymond looked great in his first match, controlling the positions and eventually landing his bread and butter, a Darce choke from half guard!! Deymond was clearly tired after his first match but that is to be expected in these types of battles! A few deep breaths and sips of water later, Deymond was focused and ready for his 2nd match. His competitor was very strategic and played closed guard for the first few minutes of the match allowing very few opportunities for Deymond to pass. Finally around the 4 minute mark, Deymond was able to bring his knee though to half guard and nearly pass scoring an advantage which would decide the match. Close one! Now Deymond was really fired up as he realized he was one match away from the gold medal! Deymond entered his finals match aggressive and immediately jumped for a flying guillotine! Close but no cigar.. Deymond kept attacking and ended up taking the back and almost mounting before they scrambled back to their feet. From here the guy shot in and Deymond landed the GOLD MEDAL GUILLOTINE!!! HUGE CONGRATS TO TEAM G’S NEWEST WORLD CHAMPION!!!

Click here to watch Deymonds Gold Medal Match!

Next up was Mark’s absolute division which was called at 6pm. Mark’s first match was against a good guard player from California. Mark worked methodically and after about 3 minutes he was able to nearly pass, force turtle, take the back, and finish! His next match was against a game wrestler from Paragon. Mark immediately pulled guard this time remembering the lesson from his first match. Mark was able to score 2 sweeps in the first 4 minutes and was up 4-0.With just 30 seconds left Mark’s opponent attacked vigorously trying to pull out a win.At this moment with time ticking down and the fatigue of a long day setting in Mark lost focus for one brief moment allowing a sweep and guard pass putting him down 5-4. This is a time that requires extreme focus and concentration to be able to defend the attacks being desperately launched at you! Mark ended up losing the match but not without learning a valuable lesson. You must stay focused and grapple the entire match. One moment of lost concentration can cost you the sweet taste of victory. Mark walked away from the tournament a more seasoned and hungry competitor and a VERY bright future!

We stayed and watched the rest of the tournament and then headed to one of L.A.’s… (and the worlds for that matter) finest restaurants Fatburger! Yea that’s right its is the bomb.com and I hope they follow In-and-Outs lead and open one up right here in Funkytown. We enjoyed our delicious fatburgers and then headed straight to the airport for our midnight flight back home! Another great trip for Team Genesis!!