Semi-Charmed Life

Losing is No Fun

After work on Friday, I went with some friends to Tattoo Culture, where Pat put in his down payment for the French guest artist in October. The guy that helped us at the counter had a pretty sick tattoo across his ribs. I love black ink tattoos . . . still trying to decide if I want color in my tattoo. Afterward, we got some grub from Endless Summer, a taco truck in the neighborhood. The food was decent but it was awesome bang for the buck.

Saturday was competition day and I was way more nervous than I had ever anticipated. I felt nauteous on the train ride to the tournament. When I arrived there and saw some familiar faces, the anxiety went away. I started worrying a little after all my training buddies asked me why I did not cut weight. They said my bracket was pretty stacked, with 16 competitors. I competed in the featherweight division (141-154) and I told them that when I weighed myself earlier in the week, I was 146 with the gi on. Prior to my match, I had to be weighed in and I came in at a whopping 141.5! I was at the very bottom of the weight class. I was shocked at how light I've become, especially considering the 141.5 took into account the gi I was wearing. Without the gi I was probably 138-139?

The match didn't go too well. I often hear a lot of people say nerves disappear when you're in the ring or when you're competing, but I was nervous as fuck while I was out there. My opponent went for my leg early and I have no idea why I did not defend it. I tried to fight it off, but it was already too late and eventually he got 2 points for the takedown. After the takedown, my main concern was to not let him establish a dominant position on me, but eventually he had me mounted, which was another 4 points for him. I lost 9 - 0. Not sure where the other 4 points came from but I'm going to review the fight footage to find out.

Overall I thought it was a very fun and worthwhile experience, one that I would do again. The downside though was that some of my friends who don't train came out to support me, and I felt like I let them down by putting on such a pathetic performance.  The upside was that one of my teammates ended up winning the division, which was pretty awesome.

This Saturday one of my favorite fighters in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, received his first legitimate career loss. I feel like I should be more shocked, but the only thing that comes to mind is "it happens."

At 1:09 into the first round of his fight against 2009 Abu Dhabi grappling champion Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko tapped out for the first time in his life during professional MMA competition.

There is always a silence immediately following events such as these. It happened for many the first time Chuck Liddell was knocked unconscious.

It is a silence of the inexplicable. The mind does not know what to do. The mind gets used to thinking a certain way, looking at things a certain way, believing in something a certain way, and when that image gets shattered the mind is stunned.

If someone never loses, it is likely they just have not fought enough people.

When Gus Johnson interviewed Fedor after the fight, he asked him, “How are you feeling right now?” And through his interpreter Fedor replied, “Frankly nothing. The one who does not fall, does not stand up.”

Everyone falls sooner or later.

Whether in competition or death, everyone will fall.

Even in defeat, he still inspires.