jluchau
04-17-2007, 07:40 PM
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h315/JDizzle_23/202.jpg
Result wasn't quite what I wanted
Sentinel Sports Reporter Jeremy Luchau is training to be a mixed martial artist, a project which will end with a bout in the Palace Fighting Championship at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in October. His column appears every second Tuesday.
Virtually everyone had something nice to say.
A compliment here and a pat on the back there.
But I couldn't help but leave the Samurai Dojo in Exeter on Saturday a bit disappointed.
Exeter's Greg Seitz stopped me by arm-bar submission in the second round of a submission wrestling bout at The All Valley Spring Break Smoker hosted by the Samurai Dojo and FUnews.net.
The overall experience was a good one. I accomplished many goals, but the outcome was just not exactly what I wanted.
I was able to reach my goal weight of 165 pounds, which is what I stressed over most. I wanted to test cut for this match to see how the whole cutting weight process worked, since I've never cut weight in my life.
In roughly two weeks, I cut 21 pounds.
That didn't seem to matter much, though, since Seitz was 179.
"You can be proud. You gave up like 14 pounds and I think you showed a lot of poise," Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino Entertainment Director Christ-ian Printup said. "It's all a process and now you have more of an idea of where you are. There's no substitution for live-action experience with spectators."
And that was noticeable.
I didn't think I would be as nervous as I was when I crawled through the ropes and into the ring. I could feel butterflies in my stomach and I felt fatigued right away.
It showed in my performance too, as I took a lazy shot that was stuffed by Seitz early in the first period and I was forced to pull guard where the whole two-minute round played out.
I attempted a few sweeps from my back, but Seitz was strong and had a good base. When the round ended and I went to my corner, my legs were shaking and my forearms were on fire.
All I could say to my Team Ochoa coach Medo Morales was "this guy is big."
It wasn't an excuse, it was just how I felt at the time.
In the second round, I again took a lazy shot and Seitz stuffed it. I pushed my way forward and pressed him into the corner where I tried to finish the takedown, but with my head on the wrong side I couldn't turn the corner and put Seitz down.
I ended up trying to pull guard and Seitz worked the side mount pretty well. He eventually worked to a kimura arm lock and transitioned to a straight arm-bar.
I did my best to try and fight out, but just lost my grip and had to submit.
"Talk about heart, you really showed it today and I am very proud of the way you gave it your all in that ring," Team Ochoa teammate Jacob Jeff said. "Although you didn't pull out the win, you did get to work your kills. Now it's time to work your hands."
I wasn't upset I lost, but more about how tired I got in a hurry. I didn't think the whole "first-time jitters" would come into play as much as it did.
"I thought you did a good job," Morales said. "The more you compete the better you'll get. Consistency is the key. Keep your head up."
The smoker was well-run. All the staff at the Samurai Dojo was helpful and courteous. The competitors were very respectful and there were a lot of fans who cheered on all the fighters.
"I thought that you did a pretty good job," said Lemoore's Kenny Ento, who is a pro fighter with a 6-2 record. "You need to work on some escape drills. It seemed like it took a while for him to secure the arm-bar and that's when you need to escape."
I was happiest with my weight loss over the two or three weeks leading up to the event. My fight weight in October will be 155 pounds and it's been weighing on my mind on how I was going to accomplish that goal.
With the help of Supplement Direct's Inez Rodriguez, I reached 165 with ease.
Rodriguez helped design a diet that mostly consisted of tuna, chicken breasts and salads. I took in all my carbohydrates early in the day and utilized vitamins, protein shakes and Hydroxycut Hardcore.
"That was a lot of weight to lose in a short period of time. You dropped 21 pounds in roughly two weeks and you achieved it the right way," Rodriguez said. "I could tell there was some frustration at times, but overall you handled it well and I could tell that your body adjusted fine."
There were times when I felt weak, but I never felt like I couldn't train or that I needed to just quit. In fact, on the days I cheated, like on Easter, I came back and had little to no gains in my weight.
"This was a lot different than someone who is trying to lose weight for an event like a wedding," Rodriguez said. "You had a lot of stress during this time and I think that you handled it well. You felt good and the changes you made in your diet and the physical stresses your body went through didn't affect you negatively. You did it safely and that's important, too."
The sports reporter can be reached at jluchau@Hanford Sentinel.com or 582-0471, ext. 3055
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h315/JDizzle_23/214.jpg
Result wasn't quite what I wanted
Sentinel Sports Reporter Jeremy Luchau is training to be a mixed martial artist, a project which will end with a bout in the Palace Fighting Championship at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in October. His column appears every second Tuesday.
Virtually everyone had something nice to say.
A compliment here and a pat on the back there.
But I couldn't help but leave the Samurai Dojo in Exeter on Saturday a bit disappointed.
Exeter's Greg Seitz stopped me by arm-bar submission in the second round of a submission wrestling bout at The All Valley Spring Break Smoker hosted by the Samurai Dojo and FUnews.net.
The overall experience was a good one. I accomplished many goals, but the outcome was just not exactly what I wanted.
I was able to reach my goal weight of 165 pounds, which is what I stressed over most. I wanted to test cut for this match to see how the whole cutting weight process worked, since I've never cut weight in my life.
In roughly two weeks, I cut 21 pounds.
That didn't seem to matter much, though, since Seitz was 179.
"You can be proud. You gave up like 14 pounds and I think you showed a lot of poise," Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino Entertainment Director Christ-ian Printup said. "It's all a process and now you have more of an idea of where you are. There's no substitution for live-action experience with spectators."
And that was noticeable.
I didn't think I would be as nervous as I was when I crawled through the ropes and into the ring. I could feel butterflies in my stomach and I felt fatigued right away.
It showed in my performance too, as I took a lazy shot that was stuffed by Seitz early in the first period and I was forced to pull guard where the whole two-minute round played out.
I attempted a few sweeps from my back, but Seitz was strong and had a good base. When the round ended and I went to my corner, my legs were shaking and my forearms were on fire.
All I could say to my Team Ochoa coach Medo Morales was "this guy is big."
It wasn't an excuse, it was just how I felt at the time.
In the second round, I again took a lazy shot and Seitz stuffed it. I pushed my way forward and pressed him into the corner where I tried to finish the takedown, but with my head on the wrong side I couldn't turn the corner and put Seitz down.
I ended up trying to pull guard and Seitz worked the side mount pretty well. He eventually worked to a kimura arm lock and transitioned to a straight arm-bar.
I did my best to try and fight out, but just lost my grip and had to submit.
"Talk about heart, you really showed it today and I am very proud of the way you gave it your all in that ring," Team Ochoa teammate Jacob Jeff said. "Although you didn't pull out the win, you did get to work your kills. Now it's time to work your hands."
I wasn't upset I lost, but more about how tired I got in a hurry. I didn't think the whole "first-time jitters" would come into play as much as it did.
"I thought you did a good job," Morales said. "The more you compete the better you'll get. Consistency is the key. Keep your head up."
The smoker was well-run. All the staff at the Samurai Dojo was helpful and courteous. The competitors were very respectful and there were a lot of fans who cheered on all the fighters.
"I thought that you did a pretty good job," said Lemoore's Kenny Ento, who is a pro fighter with a 6-2 record. "You need to work on some escape drills. It seemed like it took a while for him to secure the arm-bar and that's when you need to escape."
I was happiest with my weight loss over the two or three weeks leading up to the event. My fight weight in October will be 155 pounds and it's been weighing on my mind on how I was going to accomplish that goal.
With the help of Supplement Direct's Inez Rodriguez, I reached 165 with ease.
Rodriguez helped design a diet that mostly consisted of tuna, chicken breasts and salads. I took in all my carbohydrates early in the day and utilized vitamins, protein shakes and Hydroxycut Hardcore.
"That was a lot of weight to lose in a short period of time. You dropped 21 pounds in roughly two weeks and you achieved it the right way," Rodriguez said. "I could tell there was some frustration at times, but overall you handled it well and I could tell that your body adjusted fine."
There were times when I felt weak, but I never felt like I couldn't train or that I needed to just quit. In fact, on the days I cheated, like on Easter, I came back and had little to no gains in my weight.
"This was a lot different than someone who is trying to lose weight for an event like a wedding," Rodriguez said. "You had a lot of stress during this time and I think that you handled it well. You felt good and the changes you made in your diet and the physical stresses your body went through didn't affect you negatively. You did it safely and that's important, too."
The sports reporter can be reached at jluchau@Hanford Sentinel.com or 582-0471, ext. 3055
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h315/JDizzle_23/214.jpg