Lucas Singleton, bass player, sent me a track of him slapping the bass for a little pre-judo tournament inspiration. Ladies and gentleman...Lucas Singleton.
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Here's an updated schedule of tournaments I could potentially compete in:
May 2-3, 2014: Nationals, Irving, TX May 17: Garden State Judo Classic, New Jersey May 23-24: Am- Can International, Grand Island, NY June 7: Summer Slam, New Jersey June 27-28, 2015: Pan Am Open, El Salvador July 19: Liberty Games, Scotia, NY July 25-26, 2015: Asian Open, Taipei, Taiwan Aug 24-30: World Championships, Astana, Kazakhstan October 10-11, 2015: Morris Cup, Burnt Hills, NY Oct. 31- Nov 1 – Quebec Open – Montreal, Canada Nov. 7-8 – Ontario Open – Toronto, Canada November 7-8, 2015: African Open, Port Louis November 13-14, 2015: Oceania Open, Australia November 22, 2015: President’s Cup, Irving, TX Another thing I learned on this tour and competing at the elite, international level is this: Confidence is keyEven if you have a better grasp of the game, a better strategy, more athletic, better technique, stronger...even if you are all-around better--if you lack confidence in your game and/or in yourself, there's a pretty good chance you're going to lose. A player with shitty technique but lots of confidence will probably win. This is because they aren't second-guessing themselves; they aren't over-thinking; they commit, 100%, to what they are doing without a shred of doubt in their mind. That is invaluable. Dr. Alan Goldberg, a renown sports psychologist, explained it best when he said, "self-confidence can give an average athlete or team the courage and focus to defeat a stronger opponent. Self-confidence can motivate you to attempt and accomplish the impossible. Likewise, lacking self-confidence, an athlete or team will consistently perform way below their potential. Low self-confidence can kill an athlete's enjoyment of the sport and turn him/her into a dropout statistic." I couldn't have said it better myself. And during the last 3 weeks I learned this lesson the hard way. Moral of this story...find ways to grow your confidence. Hopefully within the next few months I can give you some strategies to try and fill you in on what's worked and hasn't worked for me. God knows I need to build confidence in my judo game!
Buenos Aires, Argentina/Providence, Rhode Island - Athletes from the Glenville, NY based Jason Morris Judo Center (JMJC) shined in both Americas, March 21, 2015. Ashley Hejlik (28) led the way for the JMJC contingent who competed in the Argentina World Cup in Buenos Aires making it all the way to the 48kg medal round to place fifth on the third and last leg of the South American tour. Hejlik jumped 10 spots on the world ranking list with this result and has risen to #74 which is a remarkable considering she has been doing Judo such a short time (4 years). Alex Turner (22) posted a 1-1 record for the third straight week losing again to his North American rival, Etienne Briand (Canada). Dave Harris (29) dropped his first bout to Lucas Godoy (Brazil) eliminating Harris from his second international tour event. Meanwhile at the 10th Annual Ocean State Judo International in Providence, RI, Burnt Hills High School Sophomore, Quentin Cook (16) & Burnt Hills graduate, Hannah Martin (26) led the JMJC gang winning titles in their respective divisions. Cook was a double Gold medalist winning in dominating fashion the 66kg under21 category and the Senior Elite 66kg weight class. Cook was awarded the "Most Outstanding Male" for his efforts along with winning the $250 first prize purse. Martin eased to the 63kg crown and was named "Most Outstanding Female" as well as picking up the $250. Dave Dippel (7) won the gold in the 7-8yrs. 27kg division. Burnt Hills graduate, Chris Alaynick (19) continues his improvement as he was a double medalist, winning Silver medals in the 81kg under21 category as well as in the Senior Elite 81kg weight class. Alexa Silao (12) won a silver in the 11-12yrs. 40kg division while Mason Scruggs (9) picked up a bronze in the 9-10yrs. 34kg weight class. Hannah Stoitchkov (8) also won a bronze in the 7-8yrs. 30kg category. Burnt Hills graduate, Eric Skylar (18) won a bronze in the 90kg under21 division to close out the JMJC medal count. Now on my way home from a whirlwind, 3-week South American tour, I've been able to reflect a bit. The biggest lesson I've learned from this trip is this: you can't win if you go in scared. This pertains to anything--a judo match, a job interview, a conversation, life, etc. Here's how I learned this lesson the hard way: The importance of this tour was beyond anything I've ever encountered in my judo career. I put too much pressure on myself to perform. I HAD to win a few matches, I HAD to place at a couple of the tournaments, I HAD to bring home a medal (for my own satisfaction), I HAD to win that Pan Am slot, I HAD to win that World Team slot. I HAD to do all of these things because (I thought) so many people were relying on me, counting on me to do so. I HAD to do these things so I wouldn't let everyone down. I HAD to do these things so I wouldn't let myself down. Guess what--I didn't do it. I didn't win a single match until the last tournament. It wasn't until I didn't give a shit about my results, that I was able to perform. The first two tournaments I was focused, determined, I had a game plan--a strategy to win, I researched my opponents, I warmed up properly, I had my 'game face' on...I knew what I had to do in order to win. I to put too much pressure on myself, I went into each match (subconsciously) scared...because I had so much to gain if I won and so many people to let down if I lost. I was more focused on the result--and petrified to leave with this goal unaccomplished--than on the actual match. I lost every--single--match, even matches versus girls that I should have beaten...until I had nothing left to lose. It wasn't until the last tournament that I changed up my preparation strategy. I figured, heck...the 'super-focused', 'ultra-determined' fighting version of Ashley the Athlete didn't work the last two weeks--time to experiment. My experiment was this: to see if the way I went into a match (prepared/focused versus relaxed/having fun) made any difference whatsoever in the way I fought and how I experienced the tournament. So the last tournament, my mindset and preparation looked like this:
Guess what--it worked. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe I just didn't fight as tough of opponents--I don't know. But what I do know is that in the third tournament I went 2-2 and took 5th place--I even got to a medal round (fighting for third). The conclusion I came to is this: I was relaxed; I enjoyed my time; I was able to play MY judo and take in the experience...and guess what, it worked for me. My mind wasn't clouded with fear and anxiety. I was able to let my body do the work and my brain do the thinking. Moving forward, I may stick with this strategy (or one similar to it). Moral of the story: You can't win if you go in scared. Find YOUR way to relax and be confident in your life. Let me know what's worked for you! UPDATE: Pan American Open Buenos Aires, Argentina-CONGRATS!!! MEN: - DESILETS, Everet -73 kg / BRONZE WOMEN: - DELGADO, Angelica -52 kg / GOLD - SUZUKI, Anne -48 kg / BRONZE Other mentions: - HEJLIK, Ashley -48 kg / 5th place - NAKAO, Janine -63 kg /5th place - BOUYSSOU, Katelyn -48 kg / 5th place - AKIYAMA, Leilani -63 kg / 7th place Argentina Continental cup 2015. Angelica Delgado going for the gold!!! Going for bronze Katelyn Bouyssou, Ashley Hejlik , Anne Suzuki, Janine Nakao andEveret Hamaktima Desilets.
Below is a picture of myself with Edna Carillo, a fellow 48kg judo competitor from Mexico. Edna is the #1 ranked girl in Mexico, is ranked 22nd in the World and is currently directly qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. This picture was taken at the last day of training camp in Santiago, Chile. She's one of my favorite players in 48kg and is a super sweet girl. It was an awesome experience to get a chance to train daily with some of the top judo athletes in the world.
I didn't get a chance to get a photo taken, but I was also able to train with Paula Pareto from Argentina. She's ranked #4 in the World and is the 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist! This girl is TINY, but she is a badass! Again, she is also a very sweet girl and great competitor. It was truly an honor to train with such amazing athletes! Spring will be incredibly crazy. Here's a shortlist of tournaments that I'm planning on attending the next few months. I could use a cheering section! ;) March 7-8, 2015: Pan Am Open, Chile March 14-15, 2015: Pan Am Open, Uruguay March 21-22, 2015: Pan Am Open, Argentina March 28, 2015: Liberty Bell Judo Classic, PA (tentative) April 23-25, 2015: Pan Am Championships, Alberta, Canada (tentative) May 2-3, 2014: Nationals, Irving, TX June 27-28, 2015: Pan Am Open, El Salvador July 25, 2015: Asian Open, Taipei, Taiwan Click Here To See The Full List of Tournaments Hey all! I'm heading to South American in a few quick days! Help me get there, if you can! :) We all need some advice every now and then. This quote from Jackson Brown Jr. is pretty much the best advice, in one succinct quote, that I've ever read or heard. Enjoy! So, I tried another "dinner for one" type meal. I have to say, I'm getting REALLY good at this. Maybe a little too good. :) Anyways, so I threw together this super quick and healthy pasta dish. It may look like a lot of ingredients, but it's really not. This meal literally took 7 minutes to put together--as long as it took for the noodles to boil. And, I have to say...it was ridiculously delicious. I made extra (the following day) to have a few portions for multiple dinners for the work week. Ingredients:
It's as simple as this:
The result! |
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