NoGi European Championships in Rome was a first for me. I lost the opening of my division, had the match bagged and got the door slammed on me. It made me take a step back and rethink all that I was doing. Sometimes it’s just how things go. You prepare and do great in the moment but they put it together better. Luckily, I got to register for the open and get a second chance.

I would be lying if I told you doubt didn’t challenge me today. It was a great reminder that the only thing I have to fall back on is the training and preparation in anticipation of each event. Not only the physical, but the mental, the technical. There were some key positions and movements I was looking to execute, and the tournament was great feedback.

But back to the biggest lesson of the day. We all have doubts, but if we followed through in our training, then that’s all we can do. Doubt fades with honest preparation. Each day is an opportunity to do just that. Competition or the test is simply an opportunity to perform what you’ve been working on. It’s quite simple and quite comforting if you followed through in the most difficult time of training.

Today was a good reminder to keep on riding the wave and trust the process that’s been planned out. There’s really no other option if the goal is going to be any more tangible. Not doing this would certainly be easier, but being able to follow through has taught me much about myself.