Tough Guy

Though Chris always talks about his high school wrestling days, I've never really seen him wrestle. When we run into his old wrestling buddies, I try my hardest to be interested in what they have to say about the "good old days" at Olympus while wrestling (I promise that I really do try, honey). Because of my lack of interest, I usually give a courtesy laugh in the right places, and shake my head at their crazy stories.

Ultimate Fighting (otherwise known as UFC) is similarly boring to me. Call me crazy (and some people do), but I don't enjoy watching guys beat each other until they bleed. All the hype and all the drama is highly over-rated. 

So when Chris decided he wanted to start Jiu-Jitsu (a form of martial arts, which is what UFC is), I threw up a red flag. However, after much explaining, coaxing from others (mostly my cousin's husband Ben, who also does it) and begging, I decided that he should be able to do what he'd like to do. If nothing else, it is a great form of exercise - and though it is a bit more pricey than what we're paying at the gym, he would be motivated to go. Unlike now... that goes for both of us. Why keep paying the money for the gym when we don't go? We were roped into Gold's and we have a contract. Boo.

When he began Jiu-Jitsu training, he was on cloud nine when he got home. He was so happy, so excited to tell me about it. And though he was rather sore, he couldn't wait to go back. That was about a month and a half ago. And though I haven't enjoyed paying for things to get him started, it has surprisingly become important to me because it's important to him.

Then came the tournament.

Sure, it's all fun and games until someone's trying to win something. Those guys are brutal. I've seen it on T.V.... I know, it's not UFC - there is no punching involved. It's all submission... no real rules, no time limits, and in order to win, you have to choke the other guy out. Yes, I said choke. But believe you me, I was not looking forward to seeing my husband being strangled.

While I knew he was strong and smart when it came to wrestling (or so I hear), I had no idea what to think about Jiu-Jitsu.

As I was patiently watching and waiting

and praying that he didn't end up like this guy

(who I felt awful for),

Chris name was called. It was his turn. He was in the Novice division, the one just before the beginner division. Don't let the rank fool you.

Chris won his first match in 55 seconds flat. Not so bad. I was actually surprised about how laid back I was about it all. It wasn't quite as hard to watch as I thought it'd be. (There is a video below if you're interested in watching.)

This is him all smiles after his first match

He won his second match as well... 15 minutes after it started. That one was pretty nerve-racking... as I said before, I didn't like seeing my husband being strangled. And 15 minutes is no short amount of time as you watch your husband get stuck in tough positions over and over.

There was no room for this match on the big open mat that his first match was on, so they moved them into "the cage." He loved it.

He's in control here, but this was a little crazy... they were up against the fence a lot of the match. It wasn't very fun to watch him being squished into the hard metal as the other guy tried to gain control.

Chris in control on this one

By the end of the second match, I knew that he knew what he was doing. I learned that he would be getting either first or second place in his division after the next match. I think because of this, he may have been a little over-confident... and lost the last match in a matter of seconds. Literally.

But, he did come home with a 2nd place medal. 

How's that for a first tournament?

Did I mention he'd only been training for three weeks?

Here are some videos if you're interested. They are both of him winning... except I forgot to get the coolest part, when they raise the winner's hand at the end. 

Sorry honey!