September means one thing in the Australian Machado BJJ circles--the Nationals--or to be more precise the Australasian Titles.

This year saw another team head down from Advance representing all three satellite clubs--Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, and Coolum. The team consisted of seven people, who achieved strong results and brought home five medals including 2 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze.

Whilst the event was held on 11 September it's fair to say that it was the culmination of a lot of hard effort and dedication to training. The results achieved by the team were only possible because of the club efforts. We all need training partners, coaches, and fitness and technique advice. The team work and coaching throughout the matches showed that Advance has a strong team culture.

The first that strikes you is that the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre is massive and the 400 or so competitors surrounded by the strong crowd of supporters which all added to the amazing atmosphere. There were 6 mats running concurrently so there was non-stop action in every direction.

At about 10:30, the first Advance player stepped on to the mat and good times started to roll.

There were some very impressive performances. Ben Wesley dominated the white belt division scoring points and submissions at will. He was clearly the Advance competitor of the event. Joel Szepesvary was a force to be reckoned with in the blue belt division twice scoring so many points in the match that they ran out of numbers on the flip card. He was heading to a certain gold until he suffered from a rib related injury that impacted his breathing--still toughed out to take silver--a very impressive result against some very experienced blue belts.

The other stand out performance was from Dinny Kyle. He was probably one of the most nervous guys there before his first match and after toughing out a first round win, dominated in later matches. His third place was very credible against a big division with a lot 4 stripe blue belts in the mix so the 'Advance Most Improved' nomination goes to Dinny.

In the Masters Purple belt division at 82-88kg, Warren Darrah went up against Andrew Button (one of our former students who now lives and trains in Sydney), and with an even number of points at the end of the match, Warren was awarded the win by the referee. Both displayed very high levels of skill and technique stemming from years of experience and training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Special mention also should go to Zac and Andrew who came up against very good opponents (including place getters) in their first round. They both put on very good and competitive performances, and most importantly, they stepped on to the mat in first place.

It is important to remember that just stepping on to the mat takes nerve, courage, and commitment and you don't have come home with a medal to be a winner.

For those considering entering next year... I would commit to it now. It's great to have a goal and competing fits the bill. Again, it's not about winning or losing, its about having a go.