On the 13th of March 2019 I decided to go to Pattaya for an upcoming BJJ competition. I chose the cheaper alternative to flying which was the overnight bus ride, it was 16 hours but not so bad as you can sleep through most of it and see all the sights as you drive through thailand.
When i finally got off at Pattaya Sawadee Tour bus station I took a baht bus to Jomtiem Hostel. It was surprisingly nice considering how cheap it was (200 baht/night). I hired a bike and looked around the beaches, attractions and walking street that night.
The next morning was the day of the competition. The organisation was the World Muay Thai Festival and it was hosted at Legend Siam. When i arrived there at 4pm I was blown away by how nice the venue was, it was easily the nicest competition setting I’ve attended. After settling in I helped set up the mat area and weighed in. I warmed up and waited for my name to be called for my weight division to start.
My first opponent was a Thai who was under the Royal Thai Air Force national Judo team. I realised that I couldn’t wrestle with these guys as their throws are superior and the points they get from the throws could cost me the match, so I stayed low and shot in underneath trying for leg locks, in the end of the 5 minutes no points were scored, so I won on advantages (submission attempts)
My second opponent was a wrestler, I know this because of how quick he shot in for my leg as the match started. About 30 seconds in a took him down with a leg lock sweep and finished with a belly down kneebar.
For the final fight of my weight division and to secure first place I had to rematch the first Thai I fought earlier, the match went very similar to the first one, except I won by points from a take down.
The absolute division came soon after. My first match was against a bigger, stronger opponent, so I stuck to my strengths which is leg locks. I ended the match within the first minute or so with a rolling heel hook.
My final match which would secure me 1st place in the absolute was against another member of the Thai national Judo team, so again I chose not to wrestle with him. The match ended quickly as well as I tried for a few quick submissions but the one he tapped to was a straight ankle lock.
Afterwards I took my time to cool down and enjoyed some of the Muay Thai and MMA fights they hosted straight after.
Now I head to Koh Samui on the 24th March for another BJJ comp and then start preparing for my next Muay Thai fight on 8th April. To prepare for that I will be sticking to the fighters schedule we have, while also training BJJ and resistance weight training.
newshttps://www.revolutionphuketgym.com/news/lucas-cannon-cleans-up-elite-division-in-thailand-bjj-competition/