2013 Mundials... The World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships

I sit here typing three days (Friday at 4:45 to be exact) out from what promises to be the biggest, toughest, most challenging tournament I have ever entered; the Mundials, AKA the Worlds!  Considered by most in BJJ circles to be the pinnacle of tournaments, the Mundials pit the best of the best against each other with no age restrictions.  I have wanted to compete at this level for years and figured I am not getting any younger, and most likely by next year I will be a fresh brown belt, so this was my opportunity to test myself and fight on the biggest stage out there for BJJ. 

I have been through a LOT in the last year or two, and I look at the preparation for this tournament as my therapy, my church, my zen meditation if you will.  I do not feel right if I miss rolling for a day or two.  Setting a goal such as the worlds puts ones game into perspective and offers an opportunity not only to test oneself, but to really hone ones specific skills.  Regardless the outcome Friday evening my training has been a huge success!  I truly feel like I have a game plan and I have the confidence to impose it!  I am excited to test it out on my opponents as I never have felt so well prepared.

  

And I owe a lot of that confidence to my training partners.  Much thanks goes out in helping with preparation for this, but especially Shadow, Denise, Scrappy, Motorcycle Matt, Kamau, Big John, and the others who put in extra time and training.  Also a big thanks to my coach who is much more then just my coach.  Brian, I hope to represent the academy, and the Machado family strongly at the Worlds.  May my luck with tournaments that contain the word "world" in them continue. 

I am honored to be the first "official" representative fighting under the academy name "North West Jiu Jitsu Academy," as we just became an IBJJF recognized academy last month.  This is a great first step towards creating a world class team right here in the Pac NW!  

I also want to thank my sponsor 1914 Kimonos  as I will be sporting there gi's this weekend.  Also a shout out to Arm Bar Soap Co.  and my bud Chad (hit me up at the worlds bro!), and also to Cooper Foto who will be doing dedicated coverage of my fights where I will offer up a review of his excellent services.  For those of us whom fight, there is no better coverage you can ask for then John Cooper and his staff.  Just wait to see the great shots! 

For those die hard fans you can tune in online for full coverage of the entire tournament at IBJJFTV.COM!  

Hey if you see me at the Mundials stop and say "Hi!"  I am the big bald dude, purple belt, with a silly grin the whole time I am sure! 

Cheers, and best of luck to everyone fighting this week! 
Jake