2015 Sanshou Team Trials

I recently competed at the 2015 USAWKF Sanshou National Championships and Sanshou Team Trials in Lubbock, Texas, and it was a really interesting experience! It was my first time fighting under Sanshou rules, and my bout was the same day as my 22nd birthday and the Rousey vs. Correia UFC fight! 

I weighed in for the 52 kg women's division, and unfortunately, there were no other adult competitors in my weight class! I was paired with one of the junior competitors for an exhibition match. I had some difficulties because I had to fight by the junior competition rules. I was informed just before my match that I was not allowed to kick to the head!!!! As a fighter with a strong Taekwondo background, I was rather dismayed to learn about this rule change! Haha :)

I did my best to adapt to the new rules during my match, but I felt uncomfortable engaging in serious striking against an underage opponent. I also learned that switching from cage-fighting to platform-fighting is HARD! I definitely need to start training in the proper environment so I can get used to that! I lost my exhibition match by ring-out, so I have a lot of training to do for the next competition! 

What?!? No head kicks??? D:

In case you haven't seen it, here is a video of the Rousey vs. Correia bout! Even though the fight lasted only 34 seconds, it was inspirational to watch. Just a couple years ago, I would never have imagined that a women's match would be the main event on a UFC fight card. This is such an exciting time to be a female martial artist!

Since I was the only competitor in my division, I was awarded the First Place title at the Sanshou Championships. Based on my performance in the exhibition match, I was selected for the US Wushu National Sanshou Team! This was certainly an unexpected result, as I was not expecting to make it onto the national team for any events before I left for China. After watching some of the other title matches at Team Trials and the UFC 190 fights, I am motivated to train seriously so I can honorably represent the US Team at the next level of competition!