Competition time

Well, here we go, just about two days until my first competition. I've trained hard, feel confident about making weight and I have a gameplan of sorts - part of which includes faking an injury and heading for the bar if things head south!!

At this point, there isn't really much left for me to do. I have one more training session tomorrow night just to iron out a couple of kinks and make sure that I have everything in the right place, I won't say I'm 100% prepared, but I don't think you ever really can be. All I know is that I have tried to train hard, regularly and intelligently. I have tried to listen to my coaches and argue with them where I thought it necessary, or when I was being pigheaded (sorry!).

This being my first competition, I'm not expecting much from it, or at least, that's what I said when I entered. All I talked about was doing it for the experience. However, now, after all the hard work I've done, experience be damned! I want to leave the mats with my arms raised once - just once, that's all I'm looking for, after that, as the indomitable Mr. Goh says, 'it's beer and chicken wings!' I also want to make sure that I compete fairly, with honour and dignity and that I am as humble in a hoped-for victory as I will be in defeat. I hope I can show I am a martial artist, as well as a fighter!

So, how do I feel? To be honest, similar to my previous boxing match (lost by first round TKO if you're interested...), I'm not feeling much. I have been through most of my emotional ups and downs and now I'm just not thinking about the fact that I have to fight on Saturday. Right now, I'm trying to reduce it to an intellectual experience, rather than an emotional one as I think about my weight, think about my travel arrangements and think about the techniques I'm planning to use. Come Friday night and Saturday morning, I think that will all change of course and I'll desperately be looking for a plane to the farthest place from Kuala Lumpur possible! Right now though, I'm just glad there's not too much hard training or dieting left to do and that, win, lose or draw, I'll be having a few (or more than a few) beers on Saturday night!

All that's really left for me to do is what I can do on this blog. I want to thank each and everyone that has worked with me, rolled with me, shouted at me, laughed at or with me and encouraged me. I want to thank all the training partners that have taken the time to point out flaws in my game (often painfully), that have broken my confidence so I can build it up harder and stronger and that have not let me quit, even when I wanted to. I want to thank everybody that has taken the time to support me and spend some of their own precious training time with me.

There are far too many names to mention, but here we go -

Firstly, thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, Fatemeh, for putting up with me tired and for being understanding about the training hours - thanks honey, nearly there! (And of course little Sonia for helping with diets and general encouragement!)

huge, huge thanks must go to Aaron Goh, who has spent so many extra hours talking with me, drilling with me, going over gameplans with me and basically being a rock to support or, as needed, crush me - thanks bro!

Same to Ian Lee, who has run some excellent training sessions and, in his inimitable manner, has taken time to roll with me and give me plenty of feedback whilst crushing the breath from my body and bending my limbs in odd ways. He has also taken the time to add a few nice little touches to my arsenal.

Lim Fang Han, one of the nicest people to ever put on a gi. Thanks for all the drills and encouragement man!

Nikola Cicovic, my fellow 92kger for all the laughs, as well as the odd serious training moment!

Evan Chee for keeping me humble with his human spider act - technique does beat strength!

The Basics BJJ crew - 'Wild Zebra', Patrick Versace, Gunther and everyone else that started with me and has kept at it.

Mag and Su Ling for always being ready to roll and poke yet more gaping holes in my game!

Josep "Sexy White' for helping with so many little details of positions and subs, and being willing to let me practice my hamfisted attempts on his neck, all with amazing good humour and grace.

Of course, Professor Marcos Escobar, for being a constant inspiration and for providing us all with the opportunity to take part in this great sport - sorry you won't be there boss, I'll do my best for you!

Sorry that this has started to sound like some sort of farewell or victory speech, but I do think it's worth taking the time to say thanks now and again. I would just like to thank every single person at Leverage Combat Academy - too many of you to name one by one and I think you know who you are anyway - for everything. I don't promise to win, but I hope I can at least make you proud of me. Good luck to everyone else that's competing on Saturday - I hope our opponents are prepared, because we certainly are! OSSS!!