My Journey to the Grappler's Quest: Part 2
By
Jesse Cohen
this is part-two if a two-part series.
The nerves didn’t hit until I walked into the Las Vegas Sports Center for
Friday night weigh-ins. As I looked around the large event center, I spotted
numerous UFC fighters, world champion grapplers, cauliflower ears, Mohawks, and
tattoos (and of course scantily clad fighter groupies). Intimidation set in even
more as I sized up my competition during the tense weigh-in process. The next
day, some of these fighters would be my opponents with full intentions of
breaking my arm or choking me unconscious! Negative thoughts started to flood my
mind. Had I trained hard enough? Was my skill level ready for a tournament of
this caliber? I quickly pushed these thoughts out of my head when I recalled one
of my favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes: “The mind is the limit. As long as
the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long
as you really believe 100 percent.” My confidence was immediately boosted.
I really thought that it was likely that none of the other fighters had
trained half as hard as I did. Then I started to think that maybe I could win my
class in Grappler’s Quest. Wait, I will win Grappler’s Quest. As I waited
in line for the scale, I quietly said “Jesse Cohen: Grappler’s Quest champion”
to myself repeatedly until I started to believe it. I weighed in with a
confident (maybe even cocky) smirk on my face feeling sorry for anyone who had
to fight me the next day. They were going to lose.
After successfully making weight, we (my dad, my teammate, and I) journeyed
next door to a Chipotle burrito restaurant. The post weigh-in meal is one of the
greatest meals one will ever eat. Weeks of strict dieting, days of water and
sodium restriction, and hours in a sauna trying to sweat excess pounds had left
me thirsty, hungry, and very irritable. Driving past the Chipotle on the way to
weigh-ins was pure torture, but tasting the gigantic burritos afterward was
heaven. After devouring two chicken burritos, a gallon of water, and some
Gatorade, I retired with my travel companions to the hotel.
I didn’t sleep very well on Friday night. A combination of anticipation,
anxiety, and adrenaline kept my mind in turmoil as I dozed in and out of
consciousness before finally rising around 7:00 am. After a carbohydrate filled
breakfast, we headed to the Sports Center around 9:00 am. Little did we know
that we were about to have a very long day.
With the stands beginning to fill and most of the fighters arriving, my
teammate Travis and I found some space on a practice mat and began to warm up.
After breaking a sweat, we headed back to our seats where I put my headphones
on, listening to heavy metal as I started to get mentally prepared. All that was
left was to wait for my name to be called before my first victim would be sent
home a loser. I wound up waiting all day.
At 7:00 pm, after 12 hours of fitfully waiting and multiple warm-ups, I
finally heard the announcement calling all men’s welterweight Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu fighters to check in at mat number two immediately. As they posted the
bracket, I saw that I was lucky enough to have a first round, which gave me a
chance to get loose again. The last time that I had warmed up was around 5:00
pm, after waking up from an hour nap. I stretched and studied each fighter as I
watched the first round and selected three fighters who I thought I might meet
in the championship.
Finally, after seven long weeks of training camp, four weeks of rehab, and
dozens of hours spent in the gym, I heard the words that I had been yearning
for—“Jesse Cohen of Zingano Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, please enter mat number two.”
I stepped on the mat without hearing my opponent’s name. I saw a patch on his
pants showing that he was fighting out of Arizona. He was nowhere near as
muscular as me and had an anxious look in his eyes. “Easy first fight,” I
thought to myself.
He was better than I had anticipated, as he blocked my first two takedown
attempts. I quickly clinched and pulled guard, as I just wanted to get the fight
to the ground. Once we were on the ground, I locked in tight head and wrist
control, allowing me to rest and regain my composure. It was incredibly loud in
the arena, but I could still hear his corner yelling advice.
“Get your posture!”
“When he re-guards, pass!”
“Watch for the arm bar!”
I looked at the clock. One minute down, four to go. “Time to start scoring
some points,” I thought.
I loosened my grip just enough to see how he was controlling his body and
posture. He had decent body position, meaning any submission attempt that I
tried would be risky because he was blocking my legs from an arm bar or triangle
choke. However, I noticed that he was postured further back than he should be,
making it an ideal time to start my offense. As I opened my guard, he started to
stand up, allowing me to easily sweep him onto his back. After a quick scramble,
he tried to re-guard, but I was too fast for him. I quickly passed his open
guard, earning two points for the sweep and three points for side control.
Without hesitation, I garnered six more points as I transitioned to the
knee-on-belly position (three points) and full mount (three points). I glanced
again at the scoreboard. I was up 11–0 with about two minutes to fight. I felt
my lead was comfortable enough that I could start attempting various submission
attempts. Sure enough, as he tried to push me off, he left his arm in the open,
and I temporarily secured a tight arm-triangle submission. I returned to side
control, earning three more points as I worked on choking him unconscious with
his own arm. He was able to defend my submission attempt because I didn’t have
ideal hip position to finish the choke, but he gave up his back in the defense.
I scored four more points as I locked down full back control and glanced at the
clock again. I was now leading 17–0 with thirty seconds left.
As he squirmed underneath me, I locked my legs around him even tighter and
rested. The bell finally sounded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did
I just win my first fight at Grappler’s Quest, but I had absolutely dominated my
opponent. I looked in the crowd and saw my dad glowing with pride. I was so
happy I had to restrain myself from jumping up with joy. However, my euphoria
didn’t last long. As I walked off the mat, the referee informed me that I had
about two minutes until my next fight.
I drank some water and made a mental note to thank my team for pushing me so
hard during training camp. My conditioning felt phenomenal. I was sweating a
little, but my heart rate felt like it was still under 100 beats per minute
after my first fight. I walked back to the mat to meet my next opponent. It was
the tall, San Diego-based fighter I had picked as the number one contender who I
would meet in the championship. He had beaten his first two opponents in under a
minute, and I knew right away that the winner of our semi-final match would win
the championship. We shook hands and started fighting.
He immediately shot in for a takedown, but I was able to sprawl and trap him
in tight head and arm control. As soon as we returned to our feet, I tightened
my grip and threw him to the ground, landing in side control. In the first
twenty seconds, I was already up five points. I relaxed and started to work my
offense. I couldn’t get a strong position on him, and he was able to pull guard,
where he started to work some submission attempts. After a failed attempt, we
both started to scramble.
I then made the fatal mistake. Instead of pulling guard and remaining five
points ahead, I took an ill-advised, lackadaisical single leg takedown shot,
which he easily stuffed before taking my back. As he worked for different
positions and chokes, I checked the scoreboard. I was still up 5–4 with two
minutes to go. I was calm and defending all of his submission attempts with ease
and knew a quick escape would keep me in the lead and place me in a dominant
position. In a split second, he trapped my arm with his leg and sunk in a deep,
rear naked choke. I entered survival mode, trying frantically to pry his arms
off of my neck. The choke became even tighter, and I started to see stars. I had
no choice but to tap out.
I felt as if my journey had ended in failure until my dad, my teammate
Travis, and a few spectators commended me on a great showing. The positive
comments helped boost my spirits, but I was still upset because I would be
returning home without the first place finish. I congratulated my opponent on
his win and cheered for him as he won his next fight in thirty seconds for the
championship.
I began to experience mixed emotions. I proved that I was ready to compete at
Grappler’s Quest, yet I had made a stupid mistake that cost me the championship.
For comparison, I felt like a quarterback who was playing a near perfect game
but throws an interception for a touchdown in the last minute of the game and
his team loses. After hearing reaffirming comments from my mom, my coach, and a
few of my teammates on the phone, I decided to stop hanging my head. We were in
Las Vegas, and I did make it to the semi-finals competing in my first Grappler’s
Quest. It was time to celebrate! We went to In-N-Out Burger for a late dinner
and then headed back to the hotel to shower and party on the strip.
I no longer feel any shame for losing at Grappler’s Quest. As I reflected on
the journey, I realized that I had trained and competed to my full potential and
that makes me proud. I didn’t win this tournament, but I can guarantee that I
will win championships in the near future. I was incredibly nervous, but that is
normal for all athletes while competing in their first, large, athletic event. I
reviewed the film with my coach and found mistakes that I had made even during
my winning fight, which I have started to correct during training. I’ve already
designed my next training camp for the Fight2Win tournament in February.
I hope I meet the fighter who beat me at the Grappler’s Quest in the future.
If he’s reading this, this last note is for him:
You submitted me at Grappler’s Quest Las Vegas on December 6, 2008.
Congratulations on your win. You deserve it. I will make no excuse for losing.
You were the better fighter that day. But cherish your victory over me. It will
never happen again. I hope to have a rematch at a future tournament. Just know
that I will be training harder, lifting heavier, and winning more tournaments
than you. Not winning Grappler’s Quest fuels my fire to train harder and get
better every day. You are the reason I did not get my championship. The next
time we meet on the mat, you will lose.
Jesse Cohen is a speed and strength coach at Next Level Performance in
Golden, Colorado. He can be reached at
jessecohen10@comcast.net.
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