Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonah42
Had my third comp yesterday, won my first fight but was very tired after it. Was exhausted all the way through the second fight and ended up losing on points, and then promptly exited the building to throw up everywhere. This happened previously at my first ever comp, second comp I was fine as the subs came quickly.
Was supposed to have another match after the one I lost but pulled out due to feeling light headed and continuously vomiting. I'm definitely ashamed and embarrassed about pulling out.
I'm certain that I could have done better had I not been so fatigued. Straight after the match I found myself coming up with the solutions to the problems my opponent was presenting me with.
At the gym I can get through Rolling Classes which involve well over an hour of 5 minute rounds and 1 minute rests, so I don't know why I'm getting so exhausted in live competition.
Is it just down to bad cardio? Not relaxed enough? Poor breathing? Nerves?
I'd really appreciate input from anyone who's seen or has had experience with this.
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Probably these more likely than bad cardio. If you can roll full speed for 5+ rounds in the gym, especially against people better than you, then you should be fine for any tournament. The speed really isn't that different, though it is rougher.
I've had problems with nerves for years, you get gassed in your first fight from the adrenaline dump, and you're screwed. A few things have really helped me get over this:
1. Warm up thoroughly. Most people don't warm up enough. They do their normal gym warmups and are done long before their division starts...in the gym you would normally go through a whole class before rolling starts, you're not going to tire yourself out with easy warmups even if you do them for 30 minutes or so. A good warmup also takes the edge off your nerves as you force your (probably tense) muscles to loosen up and go through the motions. Long warmup, good stretch. And while you're doing this:
2. Don't watch other fights. It's hard to go to a tournament and not watch matches, but for me at least watching lots of matches gets me really jacked up and excited for mine...overly so. Especially, don't watch matches in your division. It's not like you're going to change your game in the few minutes before your fights start, you don't need to scout anyone. Watching your own division just lets your opponents get in your head. I don't want to know who I'm fighting until I step out on the mat. If I can warm up and take a nap until my division's called, perfect. I first got that idea from Marcelo and Kron, and it's worked great for me.
Breathing can definitely help if you're still too excited. If you have any meditation training, do that. I like to get on the mat as relaxed as I can, because simple being in competition gets me so jacked up that the best I can do is get back to a normal state of agitation. These things have worked well for me in avoiding being gassed.
