By Cassandra Rivers-Blaso
Two weeks before the most important day to come, I found out about the ADCC (Abu Dahbi Combat Club) North American Championships. This Championship allows those who are invited, a chance to compete in the World Abu Dahbi Championship that is held every two years, somewhere in the World. In 2007 it will be held in the U.S.A. After hard training for the past three years at the Monkey Bar Gymnasium and in Brazil with Luiz Claudio Combat Team it was time to go fight against some of the best female grappler’s in the U.S.
I had decided to cut weight down to the Lightweight category cutting 14 lbs in two weeks! With the guidance of Jon Hinds, Owner of the Monkey Bar Gymnasium, Personal Trainer, and Mentor, I was able to stay strong while cutting a large amount of weight in short notice while still keeping the right amount of nutrients in my body. (Not implying this is the best way to lose weight).
My lovely husband and my father decided to support me at the ADCC Trials on October 28, 2006 in Wayne, NJ. We flew out to some windy weather and drove straight to the weigh-ins. Unfortunately, I happened to be five ounces over but took care of that by using garbage bag with a few holes in it to poke my head and arms through, and ten minutes on the treadmill. After I hit 131.8 lbs. It was time to gain back anything I might have lost while dieting. I ate and ate and ate until it was time to sleep. Ha ha.
Eight in the morning, the alarm goes off. I jump out of a restful long ten-hour sleep and get ready to set off for one very important day. We arrive at William Patterson University so I could check out the competition and focus a few hours before the fights begin. One of the first females to walk in, in a pink sweater is a friend of whom I have fought in a grappling tournament in the past, Shayna Baszler. I mention the pink sweater because it was ironic for her intense fighting personality. She had informed me about the event two weeks before it occurred. I am glad to have met her at NAGA tournament or I wouldn’t have been able to go. Thanks also to the event promoter Brian Cimins for inviting me at the last minute.
It’s about 12:30pm and the butterflies are flying like crazy in my stomach. Good thing the morning breakfast stuck to some green tea and apples. I also drank some water and a little powergel provided by Shayna.
The Female Lightweight division is called to approach mat number three. I see all the girls in my division, some with smiles and some without. All in all everyone looks very serious.
My first fight is at the table…Cassandra Blaso vs. Marie Colangelo, one of the toughest girls in grappling and MMA. It was an honor to be able to fight her in this event. I am the first to step onto the mat after a bow. I look over in her direction to picture the fight and get worked up and ready. Next, we slap hands and the fight begins. I pull guard by jumping to wrap my legs around my opponent’s waist. We go to the ground and I go to set up a sweep and took a triangle choke by using my legs to choke her. She defended great. We battled for the whole eight minutes with no points scored on either side. We go into over time. My opponent shoots in for a takedown. I go with her and took the opportunity for another triangle choke, this time I sunk it in for the tap. This girl was so tough, but never stopped fighting the choke. Finally, I saw her hand come up…tap….TAP! I screamed! My mind was racing. I’m in the next round! My hand is raised, exposing the yellow and black LCCT triangle tattooed on my left arm. I thank Marie for a great fight and walked on to give my husband, Thales a big hug.
There are five more brackets of fights ahead of me. This is great! It gives plenty of time to regain my strength and control my heart rate. About thirty minutes pass and the next fight approaches. Michelle Mills vs. Cassandra Blaso. This girl just had won her last match in this event with great control and a beautiful fireman’s carry takedown; a popular wrestling move. We step onto the mat, shook hands and wished good luck. Being that she knows some wrestling, I wasn’t taking any chances. She got really low to the ground so I went low too. I went in for the clinch and jumped guard again. Right away, I pushed arm across and “swept” her so I ended up in a mount position. As soon as the mount was taken, I took her arm and applied a shoulder lock called an “Americana.” She defended well but I continued to attack using my head to break her grip. She tapped. No way! I’m in the finals? I run over to my coach/husband and jump on him. The excitement too much and I loved every minute of it. The hands were raised and we shook hands.
Ok….five more brackets ahead. Thirty minutes to go. It’s really time to focus. The girl I’m about to fight has been pulling ankle locks and heel hooks all day. Well, she isn’t getting any in on me. Laura D’ Auguste vs. Cassandra Blaso. We get on to the mat, and wait a little bit until it was time to shake hands. She knew I was going to jump guard! Hey, it’s my game! We moved around standing for a bit and then I jump guard. Since we’re in the finals, -1 point for jumping the guard. I made a sacrifice, which means I had to tap her in the first half of the time limit. I swept her so I had mount but she escaped. In the first five minutes, no points are added. Five minutes later “POINTS” gets yelled out at the judge’s table. Now is the time where I have to tap her out or score points. She escapes my guard and fight for a submission as I go for an ankle lock. She sits up and gets in my half guard with one of her legs caught in mine. She almost gets the mount but I switched to the other side for half guard/ At this point, I’m exhausted and dehydrated. I hold the position for about 30 seconds to regain my strength. I then popped through and took my opponents back; fighting for the hooks, I score three points. Towards the end, I scored two more points to score enough to win the match. 5 minus 1 for jumping guard ending 4-0. Is this possible? Did I just become the ADCC North American Trials Champ? Yes! I give Laura a hug and thanked her for the fight. I run over to my husband, Thales and we celebrate with a hug. I get congratulations from some of those who watched. It felt great! All of that hard training paid off and with many to thank for their time and support.
We go pack up our bags and wait to get called to the podium. Laura and I step up onto the podium. My friend Edgar is there along with the other photographers. I hold up my Brazil Combat shirt with the Luiz Claudio Combat Team patch secured onto it and smile. The announcer places the belt around my waist. “ADCC Women’s Lightweight: 55-60kg (121-132 Lbs.) Trials Champion. What a feeling. At the last minute, the promoter handed me a check to pay for expenses. Wow! This is one of the best experiences in Jiu Jitsu since the beginning other than fighting in the Worlds in Brazil.
After talks and photos later, we say goodbye to our friends at the event and head out to eat with our friends Sandra and Edgar before they head back to Connecticut; and of course, Sandra makes me wear the belt. It was actually kind of fun to do that aside from being a little embarrassed. We had a great time talking about everything from our lives to the most recent events. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. The rest is just a happy ending and I look forward to fight in the ADCC World Championship in 2007. The biggest submission-grappling event in the World!
Click here to see photos of Casey’s bout!