for those who don't compete

[lechien]

I don't compete at the moment so I guess it is no longer a sport for me.
It has become a hobby.
However, I am still involved in official and referee roles at the BJJ competitions.

 

[lechien]

I don't compete at the moment so I guess it is no longer a sport for me.
It has become a hobby.
However, I am still involved in official and referee roles at the BJJ competitions.

 

[lechien]

I don't compete at the moment so I guess it is no longer a sport for me.
It has become a hobby.
However, I am still involved in official and referee roles at the BJJ competitions.

 

[SilenceKit]

Rolling and doing randori in class is one thing, actual competitions tend to be hard on the body. once you get into your 40's. Though its sometimes tempting to fight in the master's division ... its mainly other poor working sods, so there's a tendency to go easy on the throws

I'm 40 myself, and I completely agree. Sometimes if you throw one of us old guys, you can hear us let out a "doh" long before we hit the ground as we are already anticipating how sore our shoulder/knee/hip is going to be for the next week.

I'm as strong as ever, still more athletic than most folks, but the recovery time gets longer and longer.

 

[brianX]

Yeah, I'm 41 and in my last tournament, I entered advanced adult no-gi on a lark. After winning a couple of matches, I hit a solid purple belt in the final and he put me in an omoplata. My shoulder started popping and I thought, you should really tap out. You're too old for this. Your wife will kill you if you get hurt.

But I didn't tap and ended up getting out of it (and then losing the match). No real damage, but I'm definitely more competitive in competition--probably stupidly so.

It made me think twice about competition. I'll probably still do a couple of tournaments a year, but hopefully in a more recreational way.

 

[FLMikeATT]

I don't do competitions simply because I'm lazy, there are none within a 2 hour drive, and there's no way in hell I'm getting on a plane to go to a comp.

Don't get me wrong, I'm addicted to jiu-jitsu. I go 4 days a week, look at new techniques/buy BJJ books, dvds, and think about what I can improve on every day, but I just don't like driving far away for a comp in which I might not even fight within 6 hours of arriving.

I train because I love doing it. I don't care about winning trophies and placing in tourneys, I just like getting on the mat and rolling.

 

[BoneSnapper]

You should try to compete. There's a 5th gear most people have that doesn't get engaged until you're in a tourny situation. That were the real JJ lives.

I find this is a common attitude in BJJ that is driving me away from it. When I started BJJ it was for pure mma and street defense skills. But after training for awhile you seem to get pressured into competing. I hated every competition I have entered . I have placed but not gotten gold and often lost against guys I know and many others said I should have cleaned up. Were they better? I don't think so. They coped better performing in front of a crowd is all and dealt with anxiety better.

But a lot of BJJ guys will tell you your technique is crap unless its tested in competition. I am thinking to move to another MA after 4 years of training.

 

[Graunie]

I find this is a common attitude in BJJ that is driving me away from it. When I started BJJ it was for pure mma and street defense skills. But after training for awhile you seem to get pressured into competing. I hated every competition I have entered . I have placed but not gotten gold and often lost against guys I know and many others said I should have cleaned up. Were they better? I don't think so. They coped better performing in front of a crowd is all and dealt with anxiety better.

But a lot of BJJ guys will tell you your technique is crap unless its tested in competition. I am thinking to move to another MA after 4 years of training.

I don't buy that arguement. I think that the anxiety level of an MMA fight or a street fight would be much higher than a BJJ tourny and by a lot. I don't think there is anything wrong with not wanting to compete and it sucks that you are getting pressured to, but the way you worded your statement it sounds like an excuse or something.

 

[BoneSnapper]

I don't buy that arguement. I think that the anxiety level of an MMA fight or a street fight would be much higher than a BJJ tourny and by a lot. I don't think there is anything wrong with not wanting to compete and it sucks that you are getting pressured to, but the way you worded your statement it sounds like an excuse or something.

Hmm. no you are wrong IMO. I work as a doorman and have been an many street brawls since a young guy. I dont want to get into a tough guy argument. I have never had anxiety or nerves in any altercation on the street. It is a simple reaction to a situation. I don't have to go through mind games of waiting for my match and performing in front of hundreds of people. I would be surprised to hear anyone gets anxiety/nerves in street situations. I am not saying competitors in bjj are not street prepared I am saying it doesnt mean they are or the person that doesnt compete isnt. BJJ comp and self defense are not the same IMO. Unlike guys that get a high out of competing that claim their BJJ is more effective than all the losers/non competitors .There are many factors.
I never said I competed in MMA. I train at an MMA club. I compete in standup though.
I think you will see most of the winners enjoy perfoming for crowds which also improves their performance.

 

[sssleeper]

I don;t compete, mainly because I've only been doing it for 3 months. I was supposed to compete in a white-belt tournament this saturday on the advice of my instructor, but the school had to withdraw due to clash with a seminar or something like that. Anyway I'll be open to trying my hand at the next first timers tournament to see where I'm at and how I fare.

But before I even had the desire to compete, I had love for this sport, so I was rolling upto 6 days a week and when I wasn;t I was watching instructional videos and incorportated sport specific exercises to my gym routine, not to mention extra cardio. I was doing all of this because I wanted to see a difference on the mat and be ahead of the people of similar experience in my class.
I'm lucky as a I have a mate at the gym who has been doing various grappling arts for a long time, and likes to roll with me and give me tips. at the same time it keeps him in shape too since he doesnt do it as much as he used too.
I find that I'm always trying to improve, if i get caught or stuck ill look up an escape online lol, or roll a little more with my instructor and ask him what I can do not let it happen again.

I also just really enjoy training even when we are doing an hour of burning exhausting drills and at the time I'm thinking how much I hate my instructor I feel much better afterward and am happy to be doing it deep down. It clears my head out, and is pretty much my outlet for anger/frustration that I accumulate during the day.

 

[codemonkey76]

Hmm. no you are wrong IMO. I work as a doorman and have been an many street brawls since a young guy. I dont want to get into a tough guy argument. I have never had anxiety or nerves in any altercation on the street. It is a simple reaction to a situation. I don't have to go through mind games of waiting for my match and performing in front of hundreds of people. I would be surprised to hear anyone gets anxiety/nerves in street situations. I am not saying competitors in bjj are not street prepared I am saying it doesnt mean they are or the person that doesnt compete isnt. BJJ comp and self defense are not the same IMO. Unlike guys that get a high out of competing that claim their BJJ is more effective than all the losers/non competitors .There are many factors.
I never said I competed in MMA. I train at an MMA club. I compete in standup though.
I think you will see most of the winners enjoy perfoming for crowds which also improves their performance.

can't you agree that competing in a BJJ competition more prepares you for the adrenaline dump you will get in a real life confrontation more than rolling in class will do?

 

[Oldguy]

Another thing I HATE about tournaments is the inefficiency. You spend your entire day to roll a couple times. You spend 99% of your time waiting around. They almost always start late and are chaotic.

My days off are just too valuable.

 

[BoneSnapper]

can't you agree that competing in a BJJ competition more prepares you for the adrenaline dump you will get in a real life confrontation more than rolling in class will do?

hmm. From my experience I have two totally different feelings in both situations. Some people feel an adrenalin rush in bjj competition. I do in standup comp for some reason and lack any draining feeling. In bjj comps I feel nervous to the point I can barely have enough energy to breathe. Never felt that in a defense situation. I feel more good adrenalin rushes and extra strength. Which some people feel in bjj comp and others don't. Wish I did as I am competitive and accept nothing less than gold. But I simply do not perform my best in comps and realize this.I also find it offensive to hear people constantly say the only way to prove that your subs work is to get gold in bjj comp or some shit. Especially when I see guys winning that you can dominate most of the time. I don't buy the fact that they let you win or aren't trying hard. So at the end you feel any accomplishments in training and performing techniques against a resisting opponent do not mean anything until you do it in comp.

I know I am waisting my time with this as the heart of bjj is competition.You wont be respected in your rank unless you have gotten gold in it. Thats why I feel I should move on. Almost due for my purple so wish I didn't feel this way, but I really am tired of the whole bjj competition and elitist attitude.

 

[Reveen]

Hmm. no you are wrong IMO. I work as a doorman and have been an many street brawls since a young guy. I dont want to get into a tough guy argument. I have never had anxiety or nerves in any altercation on the street. It is a simple reaction to a situation. I don't have to go through mind games of waiting for my match and performing in front of hundreds of people. I would be surprised to hear anyone gets anxiety/nerves in street situations. I am not saying competitors in bjj are not street prepared I am saying it doesnt mean they are or the person that doesnt compete isnt. BJJ comp and self defense are not the same IMO. Unlike guys that get a high out of competing that claim their BJJ is more effective than all the losers/non competitors .There are many factors.
I never said I competed in MMA. I train at an MMA club. I compete in standup though.
I think you will see most of the winners enjoy perfoming for crowds which also improves their performance.

Correct.

 

[daninnashville]

I was terrified of competition for the first year of my training. Just scared at the thought of losing and getting hurt made me withdraw from it. I also actually had a real fear of sparring for a long time as well (several months) and wouldn't go hard or really test my skills on the mat.

Then something changed.

It wasn't overnight or due to some cosmic energy force. I just simply asked what I might have to lose in trying hard. I haven't come up with a sufficient answer to keep me from competing yet. I realize everyone has different reasons for what they do. But as a person who was passive his whole life and afraid of competition/confrontation...I feel that facing the fears in a tournament can really help you develop confidence.

I should add that I have lost in every tournament I've been to as a white belt...and that number is 4. I've placed in a couple as well. I haven't reached gold but in the process I've learned more about "me"...than I ever could have by not competing.

I'm going to the Worlds in 3 weeks...and have been training very hard. It is a completely different level of training than I am used to. 2 a days, lots of intense sparring and drilling, and just an overall level of work I'm not used to. But what's happened is that the guys in my gym have rallied around me and are helping me right and left with my technique and my game. It's been overwhelming really. I guess the point is I'm making new friends along the way because they want to see me do well in competition...and they know how far I've come from the scared dude who sat in the back and didn't really work.

Just a different perspective. Whether you roll in a tourney or not...enjoy the experience! Regardless of what happens at the Worlds...I have no regrets and will have a blast.

Dan

 

[TacWar]

I do it for recreation, and I do it because I enjoy it. I like to train it gives me an outlet to forget every damn thing that goes wrong during a day and then I get to hang out with some new people and enjoy learning. I focus on my overall game. I change my focus every few months and that is usually from focusing on how to win tournament matches (even though I don't compete), to protecting myself if a fight goes to the ground, to even thinking about MMA grappling.

I don't plan on fighting in a tournament any time soon, fighting MMA ever, and lets hope I never get in an actual fight. I enjoy learning BJJ, hell I enjoy learning as much as I can and gaining knowledge but also thinking critically and thinking ahead.

I'll probably never feel that I deserve a black belt, and that's cool by me. I'm not going to win Pan ams, Mundials, and i'll never get to open my own school but hey as long as I'm enjoying what I'm doing and i have the time I'll continue.

As for conditioning, most my conditioning comes from practice as I don't have a whole lot of other time on my hand. I'm sure if I could get a bit more organized I'd run outside of class so I can help push some of our guys that compete a bit more in the wind department, but for now I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

 

[IChinaManI]

I can't relate, I pray I never see the day where I can't compete. The anxiety before you hit the mat, the bad thoughts etc. I find you learn the most about yourself at competitions, and that competing is one of the biggest rushes in my life. Some people like bungee jumping, I like competing.

 

[eclipse]

Sorry guys i can't relate at all... Jiu-jitsu is the be all and end all, I think about jiu-jitsu nearly every waking minute of my life, and half of the sleeping minutes too, i value consistent training, i am normally first to arrive and last to leave and if there is a tournament coming up, i am there.

I think there are basically 2 typed of jiu-jitsu practitioners, those that get so hooked on it that it becomes their purpose in life, and the other type that enjoys it but sees it more as a hobby.

im with you

 

[Reveen]

Sorry guys i can't relate at all... Jiu-jitsu is the be all and end all, I think about jiu-jitsu nearly every waking minute of my life, and half of the sleeping minutes too, i value consistent training, i am normally first to arrive and last to leave and if there is a tournament coming up, i am there.

I think there are basically 2 typed of jiu-jitsu practitioners, those that get so hooked on it that it becomes their purpose in life, and the other type that enjoys it but sees it more as a hobby.

That's awesome. how often do you train?

 

[Penkis]

I don't understand how you can't compete.
It's so fun.