injury

I was going to blog, then life happened…

black belt , camp , competition , friends , gi , injury , Jiu Jitsu , Lachie , no gi , review , seminar , team , World Championships • Aug 31, 2018

Life has been so wonderfully busy lately that I have slacked off with my blogging and I’m now literally months behind. So, what has been keeping me up late at night? The answer is the usual training 2 x day, working, running a business, coaching, The Board commitments, travelling, and planning our wedding.

Let me re-cap the major events of the last few months:

1) World Championships 2018.

I had some big goals for the 2018 World Championships, which I didn’t achieve. It left me a little broken, but also lit fire in my belly like never before. I had a great prep and a fabulous trip with the girl squad from Absolute MMA. I decided to stay at my normal weight and compete at light-feather, in which I feel strong and competent. It was great catching up with the usual training partners like Margot and Rikako at a few open mats in Longbeach before the competition started.

On the day I felt great. I was strong, prepared and ready to go. In my first round I swept, passed, mounted and eventually won 27-0. Obviously, I need to fix my positional control and subs, but I was happy with my intensity, aggression and confidence.

The 1/4 final was against Vanessa English, whom I recently lost to by 2 points at the European Championship final. This time around, I knew what to expect, had a better strategy and was going in with everything I had after a few months of fixing my mistakes that I made in Portugal. I was ready for war. And what a war we had! Couple of minutes after pulling guard and threatening sweeps, I locked up a tight triangle which I held on to for 2-3 minutes, but couldn’t finish. I then got another opportunity when I secured an omaplata, but again could not get it tight enough. With 2 minutes to go, Vanessa got an advantage for 1/2 guard, which I immediately recovered back to closed guard. We were even with a minute to go, and with literally 5 seconds till the clock run out, I attempted a kimura from 1/2 guard, which Vanessa countered and received an advantage for a near pass, after the timer went. I lost a bronze medal and a chance of making it to the final, by an advantage. Words will never describe the heartbreak I felt at that moment…

But a couple of months later, I can honestly say I left every ounce of my energy on the mat that day and gave it my all. Can I improve and be 100 x better next time? Without a doubt! Fights like these make me a million times better and more determined to get it right next time.

2) BOA Super 8

End of June saw the return on the highly anticipated Boa Super 8, with $20K up for grabs for the main event for the men. I was offered an ADCC rules no-gi, 6 minutes super fight. Due to lack of black belt local women my size, I accepted a fight against brown-belt Tegan from QLD. My aims were to put on a show, and execute 2 of the things I’ve been working on – front headlocks and heel hooks. It was so much fun fighting in front of home crowd, and I could not ask for better support than my Absolute MMA teammates!

I pulled guard at the start of the fight, but was unable to find a leg lock entry, so I decided to come on top. I locked up a chin strap from top 1/2 guard and patiently waited till the half way mark so I could get point for passing. As soon as points started, I passed straight to mount and really wanted to finish the guillotine I had locked on. About a minute later though, my grip started to loosen and I don’t want to burn my grips, so I let go. I saw an opportunity to step over for the saddle, which I took and finished the fight with a sideways knee bar as I was rolling to set up an inside heel hook.

Boa was such a fun event, with some serious international and Australian talent and incredible fights. I do wish though that there were more females showcased, specially as Australia boasts a few brown and black belt Worlds medallists. It would also be awesome to have black belt female fights closer to the main event and definitely, definitely (!) after purple belt male bouts.

3) Asian Seminar Tour and Tokyo Grand Slam

Anna from Malysian Jiujitseiras invited me to teach a seminar in Kuala Lumpur. She is doing amazing things for the development of female BJJ in Malaysia, so I jumped on the opportunity to support it. Anna met me at the airport the day after her wedding (crazy lady) and opened up her home to me. I loved spending time with her and getting to now her family and friends.

The next day I taught a seminar on my passing series from headquarters position and got to roll with all the lovely ladies and guys who came. Thank you to Unforgiven Gym for hosting me and Bruninho for being the most awesome roll, dummy and a fellow midget black belt friend. I was also lucky enough to attend KL’s black belt rolls at GF Team. Safe to say I got royally (but gently) smashed by all the boys.

After all the KL fun, I flew to Singapore, where I was scheduled to teach 2 seminars. Sue-Ann organised by entire stay and the amazing chef and super woman Arlene hosted me at her house. I will be forever grateful to these woman for making my stay so much fun, for feeding me, sight-seeing with me and for simply being such beautiful friends.

I taught a no-gi ‘saddle/heel hook’ seminar at Team Highlight Reel and then a gi spider guard seminar at Trifecta. Thank you to both teams for hosting me, you have some killer students! Again, I was lucky enough to join ‘black belt’ sessions at Gracie Barra, which solidified my prep for the Tokyo Grand Slam.

I flew to Tokyo 2 days before the Grand Slam and joined Lee Ting for some light rolls and drills at Isshin Jiu Jitsu, in Ota. Tingy was so much fun to hang out with and kept me laughing during our entire Tokyo trip.

I can’t say my performance was great during the Grand Slam. It was the first time in a long time, where I just could not switch on. I was tired and found it very difficult to focus. I managed to win my first round 15-0, however sustained a bad elbow injury as my hand got caught in my sleeve when I was on top in side control. I fought the rest of the round virtually with one hand and lots of pain.

Heavily strapped up, I needed to change my strategy for the final with the amazing Amal Amjahid. I have been working hard on my stand up and top game, but there was no way I could really use my right arm or post on it, so I decided to pull guard quickly. I felt good while I had the right grips, however I lost a collar grip for a split second and Amal took the opportunity to grab my sleeve to set up a quick arm bar. Knowing how fast Amal is and how injured I was, I started tapping as soon as I felt her grip, but unfortunately it was still a little late and I hurt myself a bit further. That’s the risk I took, but I only wish I could show much better BJJ…

When I came home, I spent 2 weeks training with 1 arm and slowly fixing the mistakes I made in Tokyo.

4) Lachlan Giles Thailand Camp

I have been looking forward to a mini BJJ holiday at our new Absolute MMA Phuket gym for a long time! Lachie taught a butterfly/single lex x/x guard no gi camp and it was one of the best weeks we have had in a long time. There was around 25 participants of all levels, different shapes and sizes and a few advanced girls that ended up being fabulous training partners and hilarious company.

We trained twice a day, rolled lots and spent our time in between either exploring Rawai and it’s beautiful beaches, lazing by the pool, eating delicious local food and doing tours around Phuket. We went to night markets, watched Muay Thai fights in Patong, went out, visited The Big Buddha and explored some stunning view points.

I made friends for life and really miss the amazing group of humans I got to share my week with.

I am beyond excited to teach a Women’s BJJ Gi Camp with 4 x World Champion Rikako Yuasa in October in Thailand, but more on that in my next blog post!

5) Planning a Wedding

Our wedding date is set for the 5th January 2019 and we are pretty chilled about the whole thing. I have my dress on order, we have a beautiful venue, our friends will be providing catering, deserts, entertainment, and MC-ing and I think most things are taken care of.

To married couples – if you could do it again, what would you add or do different? What did you love about your big day?

Wowee, 2017 was an exciting year!

black belt , camp , competition , ebi , friends , gi , grading , IBJJF , injury , Jiu Jitsu , korea , Lachie , no gi , physiotherapy , review , seminar , team , World Championships , wrestling • Jan 25, 2018

2017 went past like lightning! I can’t believe we are at the end on January of 2018 already and the new season is in full swing.

The past year was perhaps the most jam-packed and exciting year of my life. It was a year of many firsts both professionally and personally. I learnt so much about myself, my friends and who really matters to me in my life. I grew up a lot, started standing up for myself and took some risks, whilst really enjoying my life to the fullest.

2017 is the year Lachie asked me to marry him in Fiji. We have finally booked a date for our wedding for the first week of 2019 in a gorgeous venue in Port Arlington. I’m looking forward to this day already and can’t wait to share it with family and friends. 19755877_10154541699562461_1583299297_n 19691447_10154541700537461_157624448_n

Mid-year, I finally put my big girl pants on, resigned from my job and started my own business Physio Lab Melbourne. It took me a little while to get going and learn the tricks of the trade of running my own business, but I am loving working for myself and being Lachie’s employer. I mainly treat combat sports athletes, which is my passion and something I can relate to.

I took on the job of kid’s coach at Absolute MMA St Kilda, on top of my women’s class and 1:1 privates. In 2018 I will also be teaching a lunch time no gi class, which I’m really looking forward to. kids 2

In 2017, I taught my first international seminars in Korea. I had over 50 people for each day and taught via a translator, which was an experience. Since then, I have been teaching regular seminars around Australia and am looking forward to many more in 2018. I was most proud of organising the Super Seminar where 6 Absolute MMA women who medalled at World Championships taught their favourite techniques. We had over 80 people in attendance and raised money to attend No Gi Worlds. Super Seminar 1

Right after No Gi Worlds, I received an e-mail from the Victorian Government congratulating me on the silver medal and advising that I have been nominated as a board member for the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board of Victoria. This is a huge honour and it will be a wonderful experience and a fantastic challenge. After an interview, a lengthy application process, and pending final government approval, I will be a board member for 2018.

BJJ wise, 2017 was a huge year. It wasn’t all roses and gold medals, but it was the most intense year ever, full of growth and learning. I have never enjoyed being on the mats more and competing proved more joyful every time.

I started wresting 2-3 times a week, attended a Wrestling Camp at the Australian Institute of Sport, but wasn’t able to compete yet, because my knee was not up to scratch post ACL tear at the start of 2017. Doing a wrestling comp is one of my goals for 2018, and I’m super excited about it.

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My first big comp for the year was the ADCC Trials in Japan. Winning the trials has been a massive goal of mine for 3 years. In 2015, I came second to Rikako Yuasa, so I spent the next 1.5 years training my leg locks and wrestling. I definitely improved a lot, but not enough to win myself a ticket to ADCC finals. Yet again, I lost to Rikako at the Asia/Oceania trials and was devastated not to join Lachie and Craig in Finland. adcc rikako 1

Next up was the Abu Dhabi World Pro, where I won a bronze medal as a brown belt and became the first Aussie woman to medal at brown/black division. I gained a lot of confidence and finally got to mix it with the best females in the world. ad 6

Upon my return to Australia and just 3 weeks before Worlds, Lachie surprised me with a black belt. I will never forget this day and all the people that turned up to celebrate with me. I feel like my journey is just beginning as I’m starting to grow into my belt. 18198679_10155361379293474_4075446445520613286_n

In April, I flew to Poland for 3 days to have another shot at the ADCC Trials. I lost the first round and came home with shattered dreams yet again.

However, I had to re-focus quickly as World Championships were only 2 weeks away, where I would debut my black belt. I lost my first round by 2 points, which was my first World Championship first round exit.

Macofoto

I returned to LA only a month later, after getting an invite from Eddie Bravo to compete on the first female EBI. I spent 6 weeks bulking to 56kgs and specific training arm bars and back control, as well as focusing on no points, submission only game. My BJJ improved so much through this process and I became a much better grappler in every way. I was devastated to lose my first round in overtime to the eventual winner. I am looking forward to having another go at EBI, but closer to my normal weight at 115lbs.

@JiuJitsuMag

Katie Hibbert and I made a trip to LA for the UAE Grand Slam in September. I had 4 great fights, but lost the fight for a bronze medal. Although I am not beating the best black belt women in the world, I am also not getting smashed, which is comforting. I came home and worked hard on the mistakes I made – both technically and strategically. LA lasso

I then secured myself a trip to Fight To Win Pro in USA by winning the Aus Sub Only Championship in Sydney. It was a fun comp, and I got to fight new ladies, in the no gi open weight division. I postponed the USA trip to 2018, as I was completely exhausted from too much travel.

I won my first black belt title at Pan Pacific Championships, but was most proud of my female team – all the girls from Absolute MMA that entered won a medal, which was a great accomplishment! Pan Pacs 2017

In November, Chisaki and I flew to Bali for Jiu Jitsu Escaped Camp in Uluwatu. It was 5 days of pure luxury and bliss. We learnt from Bruno Malfacine and Gezary Matuda, trained, rested, and explored Bali. It was just perfect in every way. Bali 6

Finally, the last competition of the season was the No Gi World Championships in Anaheim. I witnessed Lachie winning a bronze medal and becoming the first Aussie male to medal at No Gi Worlds as a black belt. Chi won a bronze medal at blue belt, and I followed up by winning a silver medal in my first No Gi Worlds as a black belt. Not bad, but the emptiness from not winning gold, meant that I went home more determined than ever. I already improved 10-fold from this loss, and I now see a black belt gold within my reach. wolrds 9
I put my body through a lot during the year and right around the time of Worlds I got shingles. It was extremely painful, and unfortunately with FTW Pro and Europeans coming up, I could only rest for 3 days, which was not ideal. I will certainly try to listen a bit more to my body in 2018 and strive for a better life/work/training balance.

I have so many goals to accomplish in 2018. There is big things to achieve in my BJJ career, but also professionally as a physio, business owner and a coach. I’m learning how to manage my time better and make sure I get enough rest, so that I can be more functional and productive when it actually matters.

I have done so much growing as a person, but I’m looking forward to maturing more and becoming a better human being. I can definitely say that I am living my life to the fullest and appreciate the shit out of every minute. Thank you to all of you for being a part of it!

worlds 21

Physio Lab Melbourne

friends , injury , physiotherapy , seminar • Dec 23, 2017

I have been quiet on this blog as of late, but at least it’s for a very good reason. I’ve been insanely busy because I started my own physiotherapy business, resigned from work and accepted a kid’s coaching role at Absolute MMA, in between training and competing internationally.

It took me a little while to get off the ground and finally gather enough courage to work for myself. I’ve quickly had to learn how to set up a trust and business bank accounts, learn accounting, source a scheduling system, work with my designer on the logos, business cards and signs, and finally get patients through the door.

I’m now in my second month of running my own physio clinic and I can’t believe just how much I enjoy it. Many of my patients come from combat sports background and I love that I have access to mats and a rehab gym as well as a treatment room.

I now also coach the kid’s classes 5 x a week together with Mikael and I’m loving every minute. It’s a wonderful challenge and I enjoy watching these little humans grow into more confident and better people every day.

I also have more time to teach BJJ privates and seminars on the weekends, which is amazing and empowering and allows me to travel, meet new people and share my BJJ knowledge.

The only downside of this new chapter in my life is that I have been woking myself to the ground and find it hard to balance my own training, cutting weight, working, running my own business, coaching and actually having a life outside of the gym and catching up with my family and friends. I am slowly learning to schedule in a couple of sleep-ins a week and say no from time to time and just breathe.

If you would like to schedule in for a physio appointment, you can do so through:

website: www.physiolabmelbourne.com.au

email: livia@physiolabmelbourne.com.au

phone: 03 9088 2078

For privates and seminar requests you can message me via this blog

email: Livia.gluchowska@gmail.com

EBI 12 – The First Female Only Card

competition , ebi , injury , Jiu Jitsu , no gi , Uncategorized • Aug 17, 2017

Competing at EBI was an incredible experience despite my loss. It was an absolute honour to be invited to the first female only card and compete amongst 15 other badass women.

The EBI prep was quite brutal on the body. As soon as I got back from Worlds, I trained no gi every day, twice a day. The leg entanglements hurt my shoulders when I bridged off them, and the overtime rounds specific training pretty much killed my arms, neck and back. A lot of the training took place with our ADCC team of purple-black belt guys who certainly didn’t go easy on me. It’s fair to say my body was thankful when it was time to taper and get ready to compete.

I flew in to LA on Friday and met good friend Erin Herle at my hotel. Erin was kind enough to drive me around for the day and keep me company. Originally she was one of the first fighters to be invited, but a persistent knee infection meant she had to withdraw from the competition.

We spent the day playing basketball (as you do) and generally being loud and obnoxious. It was a perfect way for me to move around a little, but not waste my energy on being too nervous.

The next day, all the other fighters started arriving at the hotel so Erin and I met up with Kristina Barlaan and continued on with our crazy. There was plenty of laughter, sun-baking and terrible dancing to go with Kristina’s lovely signing.

The brackets came out that night. I felt so well prepared that I did not really care who I would fight first. I was happy with my bracket and went to sleep calm and relaxed that night.

I worked extremely hard at bulking up in the last 2 months by being disciplined with eating more and often, lifting and taking creatine. It was pleasing to see that I was nearly on weight after a full dinner and breakfast and that I wouldn’t be too teeny on the night.

We got driven to the venue and went through the rules meeting before it was time to warm up. Seeing the Orpheum Theatre and the whole production team setting up made it all feel very real. Although my nerves were at check, I won’t lie and say I felt no pressure. I am aware that the pressure I feel is what I put on myself, and I know it is actually a privilege of an emotion. However it doesn’t make it any easier. I wanted to perform well. I wasn’t there to make up the numbers nor did I considered myself an underdog. I have trained EBI/ADCC rules for a while and have good knowledge of leg locks. I also wanted to represent my club Absolute well and follow in the footsteps of Lachie and Craig who both made it to the semis at EBI. I wanted to make my club and the Aussie community proud. So many people gave up their time to help me prepare and I wanted to fight well as though to say thank you. I knew my family, friends, teammates and my competitors would be watching and I wanted to put on a show. These are all the things I had to block out when I put the headphones on to warm up. I needed to do all of it for me.

I was so grateful to have some top people in my corner – Al, Erin and Jason. Since no Aussies were able to come with me to LA, it made it all a little bit easier to know that someone had my back.

I stood on the platform listening to Bruce Buffer announce my name and I knew there was nowhere else I would rather be. Eddie asked if we were ready and we tapped hands. I pulled quickly and ended up in closed guard. After trying hard to work my Williams guard, but failing to set up a triangle, I opened to try to enter to a leg entanglement and aim to finish the fight quickly. Erin was doing a great job keeping her hips low and making it difficult for me to attack her legs, but I found an opening for a kimura. In fact, during the fight I did have a few kimura attempts of which none I finished. I will be working hard on this in training to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Probably 3 minutes into the fight, something happened to my breathing. I’m unsure if it was a massive adrenaline dump, but I could not control my heart rate or my breathing rate for the life of me. This made me panic and as a result I made some terrible choices like going to turtle to catch my breath… I somehow managed to recover and get on top and pass Erin’s guard, but again couldn’t find a sub or in fact, I couldn’t even think very clearly. I eventually saw an opening for a heel hook, but when we rolled off the mats it was way too loose and I lost the position. The last minute of the match was a blur as I tried attacking the kimura again and then nearly got arm barred in the last 10 second of the fight.

I re-focused quickly and chose the arm bar for the overtime rounds. Erin escaped my attempt and I escaped hers. Next overtime round saw Erin start from the back where she eventually subbed me. I tried to hold off as much as I could to buy some time and had 1 minute 30 sec to sub her. I started from the arm bar and as I tried to wind up my hand, I didn’t control Erin’s posture and I got stacked. In a split second, my hand slipped from my hip and I lost the arm completely. And that was it.

@ GrappleTv

@JiuJitsuMag

@ GrappleTv

Erin went on to win the whole thing in a very impressive manner. She showed a lot of good jiu jitsu and amazing control and maturity.

The girls and I watched majority of the fights backstage. Most of us were supporting each other and really enjoyed the night together. I heard Talita coach me during my fight and we managed to turn our losses into smiles by the end of the show.

Unfortunately I hurt my back badly during the fight, but I didn’t it realise until I walked off the stage. In the end I don’t think it contributed to my loss as I’m not even sure at what stage of the fight I got injured. The pain only hit me as soon as the adrenaline wore off and it was excruciating. I haven’t experienced anything like it before and even though I treat patients with acute disc bulges every day, it was super scary. Thank you to Erin, Kristina, Al and Dawna who looked after me, got me off the floor and even dressed me. Flying home was absolute hell, but I’m happy to say that after 2.5 weeks of rest and a whole lot of back rehab I am back to rolling this week relatively pain free. It is so good to train again and I have been focusing on fixing the many mistakes I made at EBI.

Understandably I was sad to lose first round and not show my best form. I was well prepared and ready and I know I have a lot more to give. At least I know I left it all on the mats that night, but the only way forward is to improve more and do much better next time.

I’m very grateful to have been invited by Eddie – the whole experience was incredible. I can’t wait to be back on the show in the near future in a more comfortable weight at 115lbs. EBI is such an amazing production and I am stoked they are now supporting female fighters and offering the same prize money as they do for men. Make sure you tune in to UFC Fight Pass and support the next show.

Copa Podio feels…

competition , injury , Jiu Jitsu • Nov 13, 2016

I have written about my whirlwind trip to Brazil to compete at Copa Podio for FloGrappling, which you can read here.

I thought I would elaborate on the behind the scenes stuff as well as my emotions and all the mental prep in the lead up to the fight.

When I got the call up for Copa Podio, it came as a big surprise. In fact a few months ago some ladies from Australia were meant to have a competition to select the ‘Kangaroos’ female representative. The competition was supposed to be between myself, 2 of my teammates, 1 training partner and a purple belt, with us all ranging in weight between 50 and 85kgs. None of this made sense, so I’m glad it never went ahead!

In the end my Absolute MMA teammate Maryanne Mullahy was selected to fight Ida Floisvik, but for some reason their fight got moved to January 2017, so in came Emilia Tuukkanen of Finland and I. I was given 4 weeks notice and really wasn’t looking forward to asking my work for more time off for BJJ, especially when I have already planned to go to No Gi Worlds in November and have just come back from Asian Open in Japan. Fortunately my work is wonderful and cleared my schedule straight away.

As exciting as it felt to be selected to compete on such a big stage, it felt heavy with responsibility and no amount of reassurance from anyone else helped me feel any different. It’s one thing competing at the Worlds at the same time as 7 other matches, but another to fight in front of audience, live broadcast on Brazilian TV and a live stream across the world. I wanted to put on a show and make sure I did a good job representing myself, my club and my country. To ease the burden I jumped deep into preparations where I left no stone unturned. I needed to be aware of Emilia’s game, so Lachie and I studied it together. We then shifted focus to my BJJ including my strengths and weaknesses.

Just when I started to feel confident, I tore my ACL during competition rounds. It hurt as it popped, but I was mainly crying from realising what I have just done to myself. ACL reconstruction means surgery, 12 months of rehab, a hamstring graft, time off work and added expense. In an instant I thought my dreams of competing at Copa Podio and No Gi Worlds were shattered. I had a goal of winning two brown belt World Titles in one year and I was fairly certain that wasn’t going to happen.

I was in denial for a little while because after 3-4 days my knee felt pretty good. Even when I was getting my knee examined at the sports doctor’s surgery, I still hoped that the MRI wasn’t correct and my ACL was intact, which of course was not the case. When my physician advised me that if I could jump, squat and change directions without a problem I could possibly go to Brazil, I was shocked. However I needed to give myself a week to make a decision based on how my knee would handle drilling and heavier weights. I also had an Australian competitor as a replacement ready to take my place if needed be, which was a very tough conversation for me to have.

With two weeks to go I drilled and specific trained and my knee was ok. It didn’t feel right, but with changing my game I had a feeling I would be just fine. In my final week at home, I had a few panic attacks. First one happened when Lachie called me out to do our usual Wednesday night competition rounds. I started shaking, was pretty close to tears and literally wanted to run out of the gym. However, the deal was that if I couldn’t get through that at training, I wouldn’t go to Brazil. So I took a deep breath and tapped hands. I survived, felt good and my knee didn’t combust. My knee only ‘gave way’ during my one and only team competition training before I left. It made me feel sick to the bone, but at least I knew which positions I needed to avoid when fighting. During the final few days, I still wanted nothing to do with leg locks, so of course Lachie and the boys specific trained with me all scenarios imaginable where I could get knee barred, ankle locked or toe holded. There were many panic taps and a lot of fear but by the time I boarded the plane I was very confident in my defences.

I will be forever thankful for the help from my teammates who pushed me to my limit without injuring me further, the constant encouragement from Lachie and my sports psych Anthony, who always tells me like it is and provides me with the tools to get my mental well-being just right.

@ Hannah Gorman

JitsnTits

I had a lot of time to think on my 40 hour journey to Brazil and came to the realization that the enormous pressure I was feeling is a total privilege of an emotion. I felt grateful that I had the opportunity to do what I was doing, with so many people behind me. It took an incredible amount of courage to get myself ready mentally and physically.

During media day when I was giving an interview, it occurred to me that I perform best under pressure. I have been on big stages before, not only in BJJ, but also when I raced bikes on the velodrome in front of thousands of people and as a rhythmic gymnast as I learnt to perform around the world from the age of 7. I have competed with serious injuries and fought in 4 World Championships finals. This was my playground.

@ FloGrappling

The day before Copa Podio, I went to visit my second family at Alliance Sao Paulo whom I have missed so much. Michael Langhi, who is my BJJ idol, would be coaching in my corner and even volunteered to study my opponent’s game. Together we formulated a game plan for my fight. I was there when Michael tore his ACL 2 months before Mundials, so his words of advice and encouragement were comforting and meant the world to me.

During the weigh-ins I looked around me and realised what an honour it was to be there. I was surrounded with world’s best heavy weights and people I have looked up to since I was a white belt. Now I was going to be fighting amongst them, on the same show. Right there and then I made a decision to do this for myself and forget everyone else watching me.

@ FloGrappling

I woke up early due to jet lag, but I didn’t really care how I was feeling. I had no doubt in my mind that my fatigue and knee pain would be forgotten as soon as stepped on the stage. We got to the venue 7 hours before I was due to compete and I even managed a nap an hour before my fight. However as soon as I put my headphones on, it was game on. If I wanted to win, I needed to keep my focus for the entire 8 minutes.

Walking out on the mat holding Australian flag was a feeling I won’t forget in a hurry. I enjoyed every second. We tapped hands and it was finally time. I pulled guard quickly and as per Michael’s instructions played spider guard. I desperately wanted a sub, but couldn’t quite get there. I had many opportunities to come up for a sweep which I didn’t take because my knee wouldn’t handle more than a couple of minutes on top and there was no way I could risk it giving way on me during the fight. I eventually managed to sweep, but just when I tried to settle into my passing rhythm, I found myself in an arm bar. It was never really on, but as soon as I managed to get out of it, Emilia was attacking my leg. I quietly thanked Lachie for trying to rip my legs off every day from that exact position. I was able to get into a smash pass position and nearly get the pass, but Emilia turtled. I am not quite sure why I let go of the harness and went back to guard, but I think I freaked out because of possible leg attacks. I still cringe when I watch all the mistakes I make in the final 2 minutes of the fight. Although I wasn’t the most happy with my jiu jitsu that night, I was very proud of myself for doing what I had to to win, for changing my game and for not losing the plot entirely with stress.

When I finally heard the bell to signify the end of the match, I was flooded with relief. I stayed safe. My knee was a little sore, but it was ok. I was ridiculously happy that I won.

@ Copa Podio

@ Copa Podio

Absolute MMA – my team’s support is second to none

Straight after walking off the mat, Emilia and I high-fived and congratulated each other on leaving it all on the mats and putting on a good show. Emilia is a lovely human with beautiful BJJ and I was so glad to be sharing those moments with her.

We finished the night off with some well deserved drinks and it was a pleasure having a laugh with our competitors. Emilia, Ben, Tommy and I caught a few rays of sunshine the next day lazing by the pool and eating acai. It was the perfect ending to my short time in Sao Paulo!

I made the heart breaking decision to sit out of No Gi Worlds and get my knee well enough to handle the 2017 season. My year of competition comes to an end now and I am back at the gym learning new skills, developing a new game and getting bloody strong. My knee is holding up sometimes, but also gives me a lot of trouble if I get ahead of myself and revert back to playing my normal style of passing. It’s scary and upsetting, but I am really looking forward to turning it into a positive and expanding my BJJ like never before.

Bring on 2017!

ACL rupture & 3 week rehab journey to Copa Podio

competition , injury , Jiu Jitsu , Uncategorized • Nov 1, 2016

3.5 weeks ago I completely tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee during training. Last weekend (3 weeks after the injury) I competed at Copa Podio in Brazil without an ACL and won the fight (more on that later).

Initially we thought it was a partial ACL tear, but later a sports physician confirmed it was a complete rupture, which broke my heart.

I have documented the emotional roller-coaster that was the last couple of weeks by mumbling quite a bit on video and also recorded a small portion of my ACL rehab program, strengthening and sports specific drills, which helped me be as physically ready as I could have been given the circumstances.

Enjoy!