If you wanna win, make sure you bring your B game

Hi everybody,

Dartanian here. I'm late again on the blogging, and crazy busy.

I've been going through physical therapy for a lateral menicus tear and subsequent surgery to repair my knee. I injured myself at a Judo tournament last august. I left a piece of myself at that judo tournament, but I took home the gold medal. I was also in another tournament 6 days prior to that one, in which I also took gold. As I've been dealing with getting back on the mat, it has become more apparent to me than ever that, if you want to win, you better bring your B game.

In each of those tournaments, my opponents were strong and hard to throw. I went into the matches with one idea of what I wanted to do and had to change to another plan in the middle of the match, because my opponent was on to me. I found myself thinking about trying throws that i had not done since my Kata test for black belt.

Things dont always go as planned, even when you end up winning. Sometimes your A game is the wrong one. What do you do when you find out that your best move is your opponents favorite one to counter? Or when you run into someone in a tournament that just doesn't move the way you need them to in order for your plan to work? I have seen this many times, and it has taught me to have a damn good B game.

I took 15 of my athletes to the GRACIE NATIONALS this past weekend, and I saw alot of people lose because they only had one plan. I was very proud of my team, they all fought hard and not one of them at any time showed a lack of sportsmanship.

We won 6 first places, 4 second places, 2 thirds and a fourth. Very good percentages. 15 atheletes ,12 podium finishes. I feel that a big part of those good results was that all my competitors had more than one game plan.

As I recover from surgery, I am often not able to do my favorite movements, since my knee is still weak. I have been playing alot in positions that I don't normally play in, and it has been a great experience. I can feel my B game getting stronger.

So train hard, and fight hard.

And if you really want to win, make sure you bring your B game.

See you on the mat, Dartanian.