The Four Horsemen in Portland

The other weekend, team Wakizashi headed down to Portland to participate in NAGA Washington. My crew was made up of the many of the same people that did Ground Warrior, Proving Grounds, and the AX Fight Night 5 over the past five weeks.

As I reflect back on that weekend, the tournament was the main event of the trip, but it really comprises such a small portion of the memories that I have from those three days. The team brought back a ton of hardware like usual, but really just hanging out with the team that was the highlight for me. I've tried to put the experience into words, but I've found myself lacking the artistic ability to do so. I typically just touch on the trip itself and things like where we went to eat (Post competition meals are simply the greatest 💖) but this time I want to write about the conversations in the car during the five-hour drive down to Portland. The great time that we had grabbing a coffee before and dining out after competing. How we laughed in the hostel room until 2 a.m. at night over some stupid joke, that I can't remember now, but was so hilarious at the time that I howled until tears ran down my cheeks and my ribs ached. Then Jules would burst out laughing again and we were in fits all over again. I want to somehow express those good memories into words. I lack the ability to do so though. So I can only say that while the tournament may be the main purpose of the trip, It's really the time spent with the team that is the best part of going. 

With that being the case, maybe I'll just go ahead and leave the words out of this one and instead treat it as a picture collage from pictures we remembered to grab in-between fits of laughter. 

Sleeping Arrangements

The "Godfather" Jules

Every good post needs a good meme

NAGA

The Team before ready for action

Podium Pictures

Action Shots- A huge thank you Matthew Serjeant Photography for catching some really awesome pictures from the day!

Food! Post competition food (especially after dieting and cutting weight) is simply the best!

Overall this was one of my all-time favorite competition trips and will be one of my favorite memories of my time in Washington.

About the Author:

Steven McMahon earned his Kyuki-Do Black Belt in 2011 from Grand Master Kim at Kim's Black Belt Academy and his  BJJ Purple Belt in January 2017 under Professor Charles Nunley. He trains out of Cornerstone BJJ in Fayetteville, NC. He is an active competitor at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Army Combatives tournaments.