Page 190 - AGC-Journal-2016

AGC JOURNAL 2016
International
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation
By Staff Sergeant Mark Badham
European Championships
2016
On Friday 22 January 2016,
I competed in arguably the
biggest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
event in the world held in
Lisbon, Portugal with over
3,700 competitors taking part
in different weight classes.
Preparing for the
Competition
I flew out with the Army Team a few days
before competing in order to prepare
myself for the competition ahead. On the
day of the fight, I checked in, and walked
around the venue and felt the atmosphere
*2016 J Layout.indd 190
Left: The Army Team.
Mark Badham is second from the right in the back row
Below: Mark Badman on the mat with his opponent
was in the Master 2 Medium Heavy class,
so had 21 competitors in my category.
We are eyeing up each other’s weaknesses,
and it’s whoever makes the first move. I
reach for a sleeve and pull guard, which
is when you drop down and wrap your
legs around his to keep him from moving
around. After a short amount of time
he starts to try and move out but my
guard is tight and it’s something I have
been working on for a while. The time
is ticking by and no one has scored any
points, so we are both trying to gain the
advantage, but still no one can. All of a
sudden it’s time and the buzzer goes; it felt
like no time at all due to the amount of
concentration we both had put in.
almost instantly. The mats were packed
with competitors all fighting like it was
their last. You could hear the constant
sound of fighters being called out to check-
in to their respective mat.
One hour before my fight and it was time
to start preparing and taping my fingers.
This is due to the amount of pressure
you put on the tips as you grip, so this
is to ensure you do not obtain any nasty
injuries on the mat. I went into the warm-
up hall, which was packed with hungry
fighters all waiting to get their shot on the
mat. After a few laps I proceeded to warm The referee told us to do our belts up, and
up and started to get in the zone as time as there was no points or submissions
was getting close. it was down to the referee to give the
advantage. After a delay he raised the
The Fight Brazilian’s hand and he was victorious, so
no podium for me. Overall, in my class, I
Arriving at the mat side, I looked up to finished in the Quarter Finals which for me
is an achievement in itself and one I am
see this Brazilian Fighter who is patting proud of. Next stop is the World Masters
himself down to get geared up. The referee in Las Vegas at the end of August, and
called us both to the centre of the mat and the Army team will be there stronger than
we are standing toe to toe in the biggest
event in the world. As I was over 88.3kg I ever.
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