tournament results...
round one:
Short, stocky guy with a faux-hawk and little designs shaved into head. He pulled guard and started working for collar chokes. I hate collar chokes. No, really... I do. I kept my chin tucked deep, and made it difficult for him... then got a deep grip on one of his collars and pulled it tight across his throat. Ok... maybe I only hate collar chokes when people are using them on me. Anyhow, managed to get his guard open, passed into side control - then quickly jumped to mount. I still had the collar grip, and started working towards an ezekiel choke - but then he did what I'd been waiting for... he rolled onto his side to loosen the choke... leaving his arm exposed. I grabbed the arm, rolled with him and pulled it tight for the tap.
round two:
Older guy with salt-and-pepper hair. He'd received a bye through the first round, so I didn't really know what to expect - except for someone who wasn't tired. He tried to pull guard, but didn't quite make it... so ended up in half-guard this time. Started working for a kimura. I don't think I've ever gotten anyone to tap from a kimura. This was no exception. It did, however, allow me to escape half-guard and take side-control. After a brief struggle I hopped into mount. He immediately tried to shrimp away, which allowed me to push forward and secure a mounted triangle. I couldn't quite get his arm across, and I don't think he was ever really tempted to tap... but it did eat up a lot of time on the clock, while using a minimal amount of energy. I let the clock run out and took the match 7-0 on points.
round three:
Young kid with curly hair. He'd gotten a bye through the second round. In fact, everybody else that made it to the third round had received a bye except me. Oh well. Match begins... and... again with the guard pulling. He's got an aggressive guard, but I'm postured up and trying not to give him much to work with. As I'm standing up he grabs my right wrist and jerks it back, he leg is directly behind my elbow. I tap out quickly. I'm still not exactly sure how it happened, but my elbow is a bit sore. He proceeds to win 3-0 on points in the final.
round four - consolation:
Finally someone who doesn't pull guard! We lock up and I see an opening. I shoot for a fireman's carry, he drops his hips so I switch to a single leg and get the take down. I end up in side-control and quickly hop to mount, secure an arm-bar and bring home the bronze medal.
All-in-all... In four matches I didn't allow a single point against me, and won two by submission. I slipped up once, and got caught in a submission... but was pretty dominant in my other three, and pulled out two submission victories of my own. I'm pleased with the results... hopefully it'll help my chances of finally getting promoted to blue belt.
At any rate, although I achieved the same result, I feel like this was a much better experience than the last tournament... I had twice as many matches as the last one, and they were a lot more exciting to be in. Last time I was happy to get a medal, but wasn't really sure I'd earned it. This time - I really feel like I won something.