Team Punishmnet Tryouts

2 days of EVERYTHING!

   The Tryouts for Team Punishment were held at PTC which is a great gym. The turnout was solid, lots of guys ranging in weight from 135 to heavyweight. Coach Tito Ortiz, Coach Ricardo Abreu, and Coach Rob Emerson worked us hard from the get go. At the same time were all very supportive and  positive as they got the most out of us.

   Day: 1 started with cardio, a 5 min circuit. 5 stations for 1 minute and then a 1 min rest, sort of like fight gone bad. We did 4 rounds ( I think... it was super intense). I felt like all the high intensity work I have been doing really helped me threw this portion. Then we moved on to BJJ. They ran us threw various positions and scenarios and we worked with a range of partners. My wrestling helped here a lot as did the CATCH, but I wont lie and say BJJ is my strongest skill. Still, I did what I know how to do best, push the pace and create a scramble, make my opponent uncomfortable and force him into action. The first day had ended and I felt much better about my performance then anticipated. (Landing the the occasional toe-hold or north south choke works wonders on my confidence!)

   Day 2: Morning arrived and I was feeling every bit of 37years old. I'm pretty sure I am the oldest guy at the tryouts and with striking up first I planed on using all the old age and treachery I could muster. We hit pads and the heavy bags before sparring to wear us down a little bit. But in the end its a tryout and we all want to make the team so sparring went as expected. HARD! 

   I may not have the best technique in the world but my cardio helped me immensely but I was able to push the pace and work to the clench without taking to much damage. Even with 160z gloves and headgear, getting punched isn't a lot of fun. So I did my best to put my opponent against the cage and work for takedowns while landing short punches. "Dirty boxing" for the Dirty Wrestler. There was a lot of cheering, and a general sense of camaraderie which seemed to help everybody make it threw a tough session.

   At last we got to WRESTLING!!! we wrapped up an intense day with a few rounds of IRON MAN. We called it king of the mat, it works like this. 2 men in the middle, if you get the takedown you stay in, if you get taken down your out and a new guy comes in. Repeat this over and over. (I pulled out every trick I could muster. low singles, ankle pick, sugar footing to invite the shot so I could work chin picks and pancakes.) I knew that being average in striking and BJJ I had to make an impression here. I feel like I succeeded and got to end the day strong.

   When it was all over, I felt pretty good. I  got interviewed for the video and I got some coaching requests from the other competitors. Mostly I think we all were glad to have survived and nervous about the selection process. I will find out on the next week (on the 1st) if I made the team. I'm staying on my cardio and keeping my weight down, just in case I make it...

Tito Ortiz, me, Ricardo Abreu