Links
Oct
12
My school, West Side Academy, competed in “The Skull Tournament” this past weekend and we did very well–we won. The tournament is an idea I had a couple years ago to compete in a submission-grappling tournament against a MMA/jiu-jitsu school in our town owned by one of my good friends, Dave Foley.
I had been thinking of ways to get my students ready for tournaments as well as let some guys get the feeling of competing without going to some huge national tournament that takes time and money and is filled with sand baggers. I called Dave up and basically asked if he wanted to do a free tournament that we could do once a year a “Foley’s vs. West Side” tourney. Dave liked it. I found an old acrylic skull I had lying around and that became the traveling trophy. We’ve had it for two years.
What I wanted to write about was the camaraderie there should be between schools. It would be great to have a free, friendly, and informal tournament with other schools in the area. I’m actually going to set up one at a school a couple cities away.
The Skull tournament is very valuable to everyone. It allows me to see how my students measure up compared to guys they’ve never trained with. It allows students to test their skills, and also to actually compete in front of people, as well as get used to the rules and time limits.
So, west side has captured the skull two years in a row, but more importantly we had fun training and competing with guys we like and respect.
Thanks for putting that together. Good turnout! So, what school are you talking about for the next tournament?
I’d like to do a gi tourney with Hybrid.