Smack Girl Grappling Tounrmanet Winners.

That is exactly what happened. I decided at the last minute to participate, but didn't fully realize what kind of competition it was until arriving at the location July 23rd and seeing all the pro-fighter's names taped to the wall. Smack Girl even flew in Eddie Bravo's black belt Felicia Oh from the United States. It had been a challenge to mentally prepare myself for the fight, since I wasn't quite sure who I would be fighting or what scale it would be on. I was also afraid that since I'd taken some time off due to injuries, my cardio would be bad. It turned out my cardio was fine, so I went into a competition in good condition.

Normally, I work straight from 8:30AM to 5:30PM on Sundays, but was able take the day off. The Gold's Gym in Oomori, where the tournament would be held, was about an hour and a half from my house. I stayed over a friend's condo the night before, and in the morning, she braided my hair and sent me on my way for 10 o'clock weigh-ins. Being in the open-weight division, I could eat whatever I wanted for breakfast- a blessing that I appreciated whole-heartedly. About six of my teammates competed in other divisions, plus one of two MMA fights of the day.

Roxanne trying a triangle on Felecia.

Going into the fights, I was determined to beat everyone with my new favorite move: the triangle.
"I suddenly realized in practice last night that I was good at the triangle," I told Dio, one of my coaches, the week before the competition.
"What do you mean, 'you realized?'" he laughed.
"I dunno. I worked with this guy last night and taught him this finish he didn't know, making me realize, 'Hey, I know a lot about triangles.' I'm gonna tap everyone with triangles! Sankaku!"
For the rest of the week, I cried "sankaku," the Japanese word for "triangle," when grappling. Much to my shock, I started tapping people. I hardly ever tap people in practice since everyone's so good.

In the tournament, I fought three times. My first opponent was from Megumi Yabushita's team, ten centimeters taller than I and solidly built. Early in the match, I managed to sink the triangle, but was unable to finish it. I almost got the choke or arm bar a dozen times, but she held on, nearly choking me using a throat crush and stacking me. The ref didn't stand us up. The five minutes ended in this way, and I won the decision by advantage points. Spectators laughed staggered off the mat, my legs cramping from holding the triangle for so long.

Roxanne and K-Taro at the dojo.

My second fight was with Keiko Hattori from the ALIVE dojo. I sunk the "sankaku" on her but she escaped. The fight went back and forth for a few minutes before she caught me with a straight arm lock. I was extremely impressed at her skill and grateful for the way she slowly applied the arm lock as to not rip my arm off. I should have tapped, but the ref stopped the fight. I need to fight her again now, of course.
My fight for third place was against Felecia Oh, who had already fought a bunch of matches in another division. It was a good back and forth fight. She had a great open guard, but I managed to win the decision by advantage points from scrambling on her back in the last ten seconds.

All my teammates won at least one match, a few placing third or fourth. Takayo Hashi was a machine and not only competed in two divisions, but won second place in the 58 kilo one, losing only to Judo black belt and MMA fighter Hitomi Akano. She went on to win the open weight division by beating the girl who beat me. I'm extremely happy I didn't have to fight my teammate. Although I spent all week trying to mentally prepare myself to fight her, I still had such an aversion to it that I was worried I would have lost had we fought.

Once the divisions finished, we watched Kanako Takeshita fight Moboroshi in MMA and win by arm-bar. She was so happy that she put on a mayonnaise suit that her crazy corner man had came out with. No one blinked an eye, whereas in other countries.... well, you be the judge.

Many other teammates competed in late July, including Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura, who defeated Ronald Jhun by his trademark back-choke in the first round in Hawaii, July 21st. This earned him the Pacific Rim SHOOTO middle-weight title. Tetsu Suzuki, another teammate I train with regularly, won his SHOOTO fight July 28th. I also want to congratulate my American coach Kirik Jenness for his MMA victory June 3rd in Mass Destruction 22.5.

Man cutting up a whole fish.

Outside of the fighting world, I've been working hard to enjoy my summer and the nice weather, such a nice change from Boston where it's cold for half the year and then scorching hot in the summer. I bought a barbeque set for twenty dollars, and although I haven't used it yet, managed to find the time and the occasion to do a mini-marshmallow roast with Neveen by the Sagami River near our apartments. I hope one day we don't get arrested for making a fire. I asked around and people have always said, "It's probably okay..."

One day, I went with my friend and training partner Mizuho to a grocery store below the department store, Takashimaya, in Shinjuku city. We saw "mirugai," crazy-large shell fish, that were still alive. I poked its butt, not knowing it was the butt, and it spit water at me across the floor. Maybe it was the mouth. I'm not big on mirugai anatomy. I'm embarrassed to say I screamed in surprise. Like a girl.
"Are those crabs alive, too?" I asked the man hawking the fish.
"Well, let's see!" he shouted a little too loudly for normalcy, seizing one of the long-legged crustaceans displayed next to the mirugai.
"No, no," he said, returning it and picking up another. The third one twitched. "Ah, this one!" He cried, almost shaking it in front of us.
"But it's cold and almost dead, so it's all right! No problem! See?"
He set it back down, poking a finger into its head. I watched numbly as the paralyzed creature twitched again. "Mou daijoubu da! It's all right!" repeated in my mind. "How can that be 'all right?' The poor crab. I have nothing against eating raw fish, but I prefer to buy it dead."

Watermelons are in season. The Japanese have a traditional activityof smashing the expensive fruits with a stick and then eating them.
It seemed incredibly strange to me, and when I asked my students and friends, nobody could tell me "why." It all made sense once I realized it was kind of like a Japanese pinata. I never actually took part in this.

Other seasonal things in the supermarket especially amused me this month, including frozen squid on a stick for a dollar, and a live demonstration of a fish butcher cutting up a fish in front of crowds of excited, chattering old ladies.

There are a few possibilities for fights in Japan this year, and a few next year, so hopefully I'll get back in the ring or cage before long.
It's nice to be able to enjoy the summer, though. It has officially been one year since I moved to Japan, as of July 17th.

It's Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean!

To e-mail Roxanne, please click here!

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