Earlier this month, CTA Irving sent three of its students to the Nytex Sports Centre to represent at the IBJJF Dallas Open. Our squad of Rico Payne, Christi Record and JW Brown all worked incredibly hard for weeks to perfect their technique and to ensure that the best versions of themselves showed up. Whether it was scheduling, injury, or simply just work/life balancing, these three all dedicated themselves to their preparation and it showed.
JW started our day with two awesome victories, bringing home a Gold Medal in his division. The hard work at his own academy in Oklahoma coupled with the repetitions put in on our mats are definitely showing. It’s an honor to be a witness to your success – huge congrats JW!!
Christi suffered a bad ankle injury in training right before the tournament. The last month of her preparation was more focused on recovery and healing than turning up the intensity and dialing things in, but she stepped up to the challenge and did awesome, walking away with a Bronze.
Rico finished our day by competing in both the Medium Heavyweight and Absolute Divisions! Competing in one division is challenging enough, but doing two in one day commands a different level of respect. After two tough opponents, he claimed a Silver and Bronze for his efforts.
After a long day, we all discussed the victories and defeats from throughout the day. Lesson learned, notes to take forward, outdated versions of ourselves left behind. Can’t wait to see what we do next!