Monica Nakatsuka, the Women’s BJJ Coach for Endurance Training Center in Zionsville, traveled to Miami this past week to compete in a new BJJ division on an international level. Following up her stellar performance and 3rd Place finish at last year’s Master / Senior World BJJ Championships and only 4 short weeks after being promoted to purple belt, Coach jumped back into the competition circuit in a brand new division with full force.
Coach won her first jiu-jitsu match against a very tough opponent who seemed to have a lot of competition experience in this division. Monica did not waste any time once the match began and she quickly got her takedown with an armdrag into a single leg. Monica ended up in her opponents half guard, which she quickly passed as well. As her opponent turtled up to avoid the pass points, Monica took her back and established a dominate position. Her opponent was able to fend off the a submission and gain a reversal but not able to come back from the 6 point lead Monica established early in the match, which put Coach into the BJJ final’s for the division.
Once in the finals, Coach was against another tough opponent who also had a lot of experience in the division. As the match began, both Monica and her opponent were aggressively fighting for the takedown. As it happened, Coach ended up injuring her knee in the exchange. She reluctantly withdrew and had to forfeit the match, earning a 2nd Place finish. Though it is never how a competitor wishes to win or lose a match, it was a wise decision since future competitions are on the horizon.
The Zionsville team plans on competing in several other jiu-jitsu tournaments this year, including the Chicago BJJ Summer International and the 2016 Master / Senior BJJ World Championships.
Endurance Training Center is the premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and self-defense academy for adults and children serving the greater Indianapolis area, Zionsville, and Lebanon.
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