The IBJJF World Masters Tournament is the biggest and most prestigious Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition in the world for athletes over age 30. This year we brought a team of 5 extremely dedicated and hard working competitors to the event. Two of the competitors have already earned World Titles in the past and were looking for their second, the others were new to the big stage but had a great chance at earning their first.
On Day 1 we had 2020 World Masters Champ TJ Cascio and NY Open Champ Brett Landrum competing, both brown belts. Brett started the day off strong for us with a 7-0 win in the first round, and a 2-0 win in the second round- both were hard fought matches and Brett showed his grit and determination along with his trademark pressure passing style. The third match didn’t go his way, as he lost a close match on points.
TJ controlled the pace and positions in the match but was unable to score. Despite having a near submission at the end of the match, the referee inexplicably awarded his opponent the decision. To say that we were surprised and disappointed is an understatement. We will focus on what we could have done better from a training, coaching, and performance standpoint, because those are the things we have control over.
On Day 3 we had our purple belt squad stepping on the mats. 2021 World No-Gi Champ Cathryn Millares, Washington DC Open Champ Mike Haile and Jason O’Neill were all ready to go. Cathryn had a fantastic match in the qualifying round, winning in the final seconds with a near submission and referee decision. Mike Haile won his qualifying round with a choke from the back after a flurry of attacks, and Jason O’Neill won his qualifying match also by way of choke after taking the back via crab-ride.
All 3 made it to the quarterfinals, and would be guaranteed a medal with just one more win. Unfortunately they ran into opponents who were able to outscore them and did not reach the podium.
Each of the competitors performed well, and all 5 of them had questions about things they could improve upon and moments in the matches that gave them trouble. This is huge! Too often competitors sulk and feel sorry for themselves after losing, without focusing on specific areas to improve upon.
The Paramount BJJ World Masters team showed all of the signs of becoming future (and repeat) World Champions. So now we look forward to the training and preparation for next year’s event, along with all of the milestones we’ll reach along the way.