It was my first time to visit the country of Portugal and let me say that Lisbon, Portugal is a great visit! I didn’t do much tourist things because I was mostly focused on the competition and being well rested for competition, but what I did do, I enjoyed.

It was a long trip there and back. Driving to San Francisco, flying to JFK, layover and then to Lisbon. The trip back was similar, but I stopped over in Boston in transit. The most difficult part was driving back from San Francisco to the Sacramento area where I live. I jokingly say I was hallucinating, but I might have actually been! The few dollars I saved leaving from San Francisco instead of Sacramento probably wasn’t worth the money adding 6 plus hours of driving round trip and paying for long term parking. Lesson learned.

I arrive on a Thursday, a little before noon and relaxed at the outside coffee shop for a few hours drinking some coffee and enjoying the warm weather. After talking some with a guy visiting from Scotland, I decided to take the metro to the Pavilion in Odivelas instead of grabbing a cab. It was very convenient and easy to get to. When I walked about 20 minutes from the station to the pavilion, but I needed to stretch my legs and that was a good little walk to see some of the city. Lots of graffiti, hills, and a landscape that seemed “European,” like in the Miyazaki Hayao films.

I used some melatonin on the plane to get sleep and had two more doses to I used it that night and the following night. Surprisingly slept very well, but having a sleep mask and ear plugs was a definite plus.

Friday was very simple. We went to the market to buy some groceries, hung out and I tried to find an open mat to roll but ended up walking to the local stadium, Estadio Luz. It was cool because they had free sports for kids under a certain age to play and practice. There were soccer fields everywhere I went. I also signed up for the open class. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do the open class or not. I had suffered a nasty injury on Sunday that almost kept me from coming on the trip. Thankfully I have an awesome rehab guy that patched me up and sent me on the way ready to compete.

Saturday. The open class didn’t start until the afternoon. I had breakfast and did some rehab before heading to the pavilion in Odivelas. I won my first match against Ruben Araujo Fonseca. An ultra heavy competitior from a gym in Portugal. He had solid grips and attacks from the feet and the guard. I won 3-1 advantages. It was exhausted after the match. (I probably should have gone on a really hard run or rolling session the very first day I arrived) I usually do but with my injury I was reluctant to expose myself to hurting it even more. In the next match I had Lucas Barbosa. Our 4th meeting in competition and although I was tired I was looking forward to putting the heat on. He wrecked me. Beat me to the grips and landed a great se oi nage, followed by attack the back to a clock choke. I need to go back and study the tape. My initial impression are two things: First, I need to work on some interval type training to push hard a recover from. Second, I need to work more in the art of grip fighting and grip breaking. On to the next day. That night I had one of the best salmon steak topped salads I have ever made! On the salad was avocado, walnuts, cashews, salmon and I also had some yogurt to go for desert! Delicious but maybe I ate too much? I had a little stomach ache that night for the beginning of the night.

Sunday was the weight class day. In the semi final I had Manuel Antonio from Gracie Barra, another Portugal native. I lost on points. It was a unique feeling to get beat on grip fighting for the second day in a row. I was surprised to get beat there because I had been working quite diligently on grip fighting and breaking for the last few months. The film will be a good look to study and learn from. There were a couple things that I noticed I did well, but didn’t stick with to assert my position. I’m glad I lost how I did. The take away is to increase my grip fighting and also my aerobic capacity. Probably from the trip, injury, and all I didn’t feel like I was able to catch my breath in the match once we were going. The only way to overcome this is to increase my aerobic capacity and be in better shape. From my experiences, there is a threshold shape that you need to attain for the outside stresses not to take a toll in competition. Once you are above that threshold, you are able to undergo more stresses without it having a significant effect on your performance. It was a good reminder that these cross oceanic trips require me to be in better physical shape.

That night I got to meet up with a friend Henri from Finland. I met him a few years ago in Redding before the world championships. He is a great guy and is currently teaching in Sweden. We ended up going to downtown that night to see some of the city. I had no intention to go do much on this trip, but hanging out with Henri and his friends was a good reminder that I need to enjoy these trips and see more than the air b&b and gymnasium when I travel to places. Thank you Henri!

Overall, the trip wasn’t a big success in performance. However, considering my injury it was a big mental triumph to go and compete injured. I’m glad I was able to do so without hurting myself even more. The competition gave me some insights into some things I need to work on in the Gi. Getting more comfortable with certain grip patterns on my feet is a definite must. I look forward to improving!