BJJ and MMA

for those who haven't heard yet, i've been training for the past few months to compete in my first BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Competition in Bangkok next month. i've lost 19kgs (over 40lbs!) in the past 7 weeks, but still need to lose another 6kgs to get to my optimal fight weight and to make the weight class that i'd like to fight in (under 70kg).

anyhow, i'm expecting to get my ass kicked as most people dont compete in BJJ competitions without at least a year or two experience in training. i've been learning BJJ for 5 months now. it'll be 6 months by competition time, but still means that i'll be about 6months to a year+ behind most competitors in my class. many people use tournaments as a proving ground before belt promotions so many fighters are actually also fighting in classes under their current abilities.

for MMA, most competitors have at least a few amateur fights under their belt, are in their mid-20s and have been training for the 3-4 years minimum. again, i've been training for 5 months so far, but i do have a martial arts background in Taekwondo and Hapkido. i used to compete, but it was over a decade ago.

so to sum it up, i'm about 5-10 years older than most of my opponents, have been training about 1/4-1/8 as long, will have had to drop about 50 lbs to get to my fight weight and will be competing for my first time in both BJJ and MMA.... think i have a chance of winning? hehe. i doubt it, but i'm going to try to kick some ass anyhow. 

win or lose, it's all for fun for me. i'm having a good time training (6 days a week, 3-4 hours a day) and getting back in shape. i've stopped drinking alcohol, cut out fried food, junk food, processed sugar and eating low carbs, low dairy and not eating after 7pm. it's tough, but rewarding. i've also started swimming (really hard since i cant float and it takes me twice as much energy to swim) and rock climbing to help with my conditioning.

anyhow, if you haven't seen me in a while, you may not recognize me. 4 months ago, i was at my fattest and unhealthiest - drinking 5-6 nights a week, eating late and unhealthy, not exercising and weighing over 200lbs! now i'm down to just under 160lbs. i'll get some pictures up soon.