Andy Murasaki had an incredible run at Europeans 💪🏽
In his first fight of the tournament, Andy fought an opponent who tried to play a lot of deep half guard. He did an amazing job of controlling the situation and eventually passing the guard with a knee cut. He ended up winning the fight with a triangle submission.
The next day, Andy fought in the quarter finals and also submitted his opponent after transitioning beautifully to the back.
In his next fight in the semi finals, he fought an opponent with a really good guard. Andy used a good leg drag to take the back. Although he did his best to finish the opponent with a rear-naked choke, his opponent was tough and defended really well. Andy won this fight by points to progress into the finals.
In the finals, Andy started off doing really well against Mica Galvao. As everyone knows, Mica is a top competitor nowadays 👀 Most people were expecting Andy and Mica to face each other in the final.
Andy made a small mistake by accepting Mica’s closed guard, as that’s a position that Mica’s really strong in. At this point, the referee gave Andy two penalties, but it was very hard for him to posture because of Mica’s grip on his belt. I think the referees didn’t understand how difficult it is to be held in a position like that, especially by a very strong opponent like Mica 😤
Andy tried to open up the game. He had a nice long step, but I think he needed to have better control over at least one of Mica’s legs.
That allowed Mica to set up his “Choi Bar” which he used to finish the fight.
Like Mica, Andy’s still really young and we’re going to keep working. I think that he looked really sharp. However, at the highest level, you really can’t make any mistakes.
We’re looking forward to the next tournament which will be Pans. I know that Andy has no doubt in his mind that he can become World Champion this year, and so that’s the goal we’re working towards 🔥
As important as it is to celebrate our wins, it’s important to acknowledge, and learn from, our defeats! From my experience, it’s the students who are most willing to learn who have the best chance of success.
Let’s go!
Andre
Andre Galvao
Atos Jiu-Jitsu Head Coach
Jiu-Jitsu Hall Of Fame Member
