The event has been announced. And all I can think of are the day-of weigh-ins.
Technically speaking, the Revolution event has night before weigh-ins. The problem is that those weigh-ins will be held at the tournament location, Bonney Lake, Washington. And while Bonney Lake is beautiful northwest country and a very nice drive, I have no intention of cruising down to Bonney Lake Friday night before the tournament to weigh-in. So I'll have to do it at the event.
As will the vast majority of Seattle-area competitors.
What's all the more problematic is the fact that the lightweight limit for Revolution events is four pounds lighter than usual at 154.9. This iwasn't been a big deal in the past, with night-before weigh-ins. But the idea of having to make 154.9 within hours of competing excites me very little.
Sure, the IBJJF does weigh-ins right before you go on the mat. But their lightweight limit is 167.5 with the gi. And I don't suspect many lightweights are competing in gis that weigh 13 pounds. After all, Howard Combat Kimonos' heaviest competition double gi jacket weighs four pounds.
The IBJJF's lightweight limit for no gi? 162 lbs. Grappler's Quest lightweight no-gi limit? 159.9.
Forewarned is forearmed, I suppose. And maybe there will be a Seattle-area location for night-before weigh-ins, after all. The good news is that I'm ahead of schedule in both my weight and my LSD conditioning - even as I've scaled back the day-to-day intensity of my workouts. I needed to be under 157.59 after Thursday's training and tipped the scales at 156.4.
That's almost half a pound lighter than I need to be in a week. My current cutting schedule has me weighing in at 154.53 after training the Thursday before the event.
We'll see what happens. I'll want to read up on some of my better research on day-of weigh-ins to get some refueling tips. Last time I tried to make 154.9, I ended up overshooting the night before and weighing in at 152.1 or something. I didn't have the energy I would have liked the following day, even though I managed to get the win.
So I'll have to do a better job this time. So far so good and my conditioning feels very good. I'm still needing to tighten up my guard passing, though I like the improvements to my guard that I've made by adding that "moth guard" sweep that Rodrigo showed us awhile back. More of this in a coming post.
