The competition has finally arrived. I stayed up until 3 a.m. the night before with excitement and overthinking, planning what I would do and my game plan. After a restless 4-hour sleep and an enjoyable 21 km bike ride, I got to the competition just in time for the weigh-in at 8 a.m. The event was held at the local sports center in Bình Tân District. It featured only one mat, so it took a bit long.

My first match started around 1 p.m., almost everyone on my team had already finished their matches before me. My game plan was to fight for the inside position and go for the Osoto Gari takedown, which I’ve found quite effective in recent practice, and continue from there. As my match was about to begin, the coach told me my opponent was quite strong and would likely go for a double leg. I started rethinking my game plan a bit, considering ways to counter the double leg—closing space, putting pressure with the hand fight, sprawling. Should I revert to my old competition game plan, which is shooting for the single leg? Should I…? Then my name was announced over the speakers; my match was up next.

Seeing everyone had their first match and being in the room for a while eased my worries a bit, but I couldn’t stop my legs from shaking when I stood across from my opponent. I could feel my calf twitching, and there was a voice in my head telling me to run away. I kept reminding myself to stay calm and that I was safe, so my fight-or-flight response stopped going off.

My opponent was an older guy, 35 years old, who weighed in at around 85 kg—5 kg heavier than me. I’ve always struggled rolling with bigger guys, so I was a bit anxious standing across from him. We shook hands, waited for the ref, and put on the red and blue bands on our ankles. I got 4 points thanks to the weight difference, which eased me a bit, knowing that even if I got taken down and lost 2 points, I’d still be ahead. We shook hands, and the match began. We started with the hand fight; there was a voice in my head (or maybe my ego) telling me to keep going forward and get the inside position. I did just that while gauging the intensity and strength of my opponent. After about two laps circling the mat, I saw an opening in his lower body. I ducked down a bit to grab his thighs, attempting a double leg. I was able to lift one of his legs and kept driving until I took him down, winning 2 points. We went out of bounds, so we reset to side control. My heart was racing, and my body was still tingling from the excitement but definitely less nervous than before, starting from the control position. Once the ref told us to continue, I moved to mount but got swept pretty quickly. I maintained closed guard for most of the match, focused on breaking his posture and going for the kimura grip. His forearm was big and strong, so I had quite a hard time controlling and keeping the kimura. I was able to sweep him twice. There was a time when I was in mount, attempting the Mother’s Milk, thinking it would be a funny joke, but I got swept immediately after. I also attempted the Americana or some sort of armlock but wasn’t successful either. My coach and friends advised me later that I should prioritize control and stay in mount longer before attempting any submission, but I guess I wanted to end the match quicker since my gas tank was running out fast. I also thought about going for the Omoplata but didn’t dare to open the closed guard. Toward the end of the round, my teammates advised me to save energy for later rounds.

The match finished, and I won by points, around 12 to 0. My arm was raised with cheers and congratulations from my teammates. I was dripping with sweat by then, trying to calm my breathing and ready myself for the next match, but it didn’t come—another contestant in our bracket pulled out. We went to the podium, and I won a shiny medal. My team put on quite a performance, winning 5 medals, including mine. We took a lot of pictures and celebrated with beef hotpot afterward. It was a lovely day to support friends and hang out with people sharing the same passion and hobbies.

I was really happy with the takedown I did, but I must admit I had no idea how I pulled it off when I did it. I’ve been watching the replay no less than 10 times now, haha. My friends and coach also complimented me on the takedown. I wished I had another one or two matches, though. My coach later advised me to be calmer and maintain the top position more. The whole competition was a great experience, and I’m looking forward to the next one. I kept replaying and reliving my moments from the match. I wonder if I’d be less nervous at the next one, haha. I will update once there’s more content of the competition.