for those who don't compete

[eclipse]

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

yep. the nerves and anxiety and thoughts leading up to a competition let you know what its truly like to feel alive, it takes great courage to put yourself in that situation. and the feeling of winning one is like no other drug

 

[IM Your Daddy]

I can't fathom sitting around for 12+ hours to roll 1-4 times when I can just go to open mats for two hours and roll 5-10 times.

 

[irc]

Here's my question for those that compete a lot.

Do things calm down at purple belt level competitions? Because I'm a blue now, and in both white and blue belt competitions, I get spazzed hard on. Strength seems to rule over technique, guys just go crazy and don't seem to do much jiu jitsu. It's better at blue, but man I am SICK of it.

On Saturday I had some musclehead go totally nuts on me. I ended up with a rib that separated from the cartilage, and a strained hip. Screw that. I have comepted a bunch of times and am just kinda fed up with the craziness.

 

[Deloitte]

I can't fathom sitting around for 12+ hours to roll 1-4 times when I can just go to open mats for two hours and roll 5-10 times.

You can't fathom it? How about trying it?

 

[Deloitte]

Here's my question for those that compete a lot.

Do things calm down at purple belt level competitions? Because I'm a blue now, and in both white and blue belt competitions, I get spazzed hard on. Strength seems to rule over technique, guys just go crazy and don't seem to do much jiu jitsu. It's better at blue, but man I am SICK of it.

On Saturday I had some musclehead go totally nuts on me. I ended up with a rib that separated from the cartilage, and a strained hip. Screw that. I have comepted a bunch of times and am just kinda fed up with the craziness.

Unfortunately, strength and athleticism is always going to be a huge factor in competition.

 

[BoneSnapper]

yep. the nerves and anxiety and thoughts leading up to a competition let you know what its truly like to feel alive, it takes great courage to put yourself in that situation. and the feeling of winning one is like no other drug

I dont understand this selling point from clubs to compete. It takes courage to compete. Its sort of the way the club pressures their students into competing. Because if they dont they must be scared:icon_conf

Competitions are mostly pushed by instructors so they can get some advertising.

 

[yovan]

Just out of curiousity why don't you compete? In Bjj I just look at it as a way to roll with guys that I normally wouldn't get to roll against. The winning part is just a bonus, but maybe my outlook is a little uncommon.

Yeah, that's my mindset. It's a chance to get out there and roll with new people. Have fun with it!

 

[johil d'o]

Tournaments take a big money and time commitment, not to mention risk of injuries, etc. It strikes me as very weird that you'd compete just to get to roll with new guys???

 

[yovan]

Tournaments take a big money and time commitment, not to mention risk of injuries, etc. It strikes me as very weird that you'd compete just to get to roll with new guys???

Guys in smaller clubs can probably relate. It gets kinda monotonous rolling with the same 3-4 people all the time. I only go to local (driving distance) tournies anyway.

 

[Matt Majorz]

I know there are some gung-ho older guys that will compete until they can no longer do it, but I totally understand where the guys who don't compete/hobby guys are coming from. I'm no longer a spring chicken myself, and with a demanding job, family life, etc. my weekends are already tied up. If I was 20 or 21 again, I probably would eat and breath this stuff....but unfortunately life got in the way and that is not possible. I do it because I enjoy learning and practicing the art, not trying to prove I am better than somebody.

 

[eclipse]

I dont understand this selling point from clubs to compete. It takes courage to compete. Its sort of the way the club pressures their students into competing. Because if they dont they must be scared:icon_conf

Competitions are mostly pushed by instructors so they can get some advertising.

nothing to do with my club, thats my attitude.

and in my opinion people who arent competing ARE scared, and making many different excuses as to why they dont want to do it, like "i dont wanna wait around for 6 hours"
waiting around for 6 hours is sometimes what it takes to compete, so you do it!
true instructors might want to represent their club a bit, and thats fair enough but i dont see any pressuring to join comps where i am.

competition is what its all about if you ask me, to test out how good you are at your belt level and put your skills on the line

and for those of you getting hurt, then you probably arent good enough to compete if youre letting some guy spaz all over you and injure you, at least stall control him for fuck sake if worst comes to worst so he cant hurt you.

and yes things do calm down alot after purple level in comps

 

[SuperSuperRambo]

I think the competition/sport aspect takes away from the combative aspect, and to compete you have to train for sport bjj as opposed to a more combat-focused style. So I don't compete because I don't want to focus on my bjj for purposes of sport. I might do a competition down the line just to test myself against new opponents and see where I stand, but I don't plan on ever training just for the sake of competition, because I'm not crazy about the "sportification" of bjj, if I can make a word up to describe it.

 

[codemonkey76]

I think the competition/sport aspect takes away from the combative aspect, and to compete you have to train for sport bjj as opposed to a more combat-focused style. So I don't compete because I don't want to focus on my bjj for purposes of sport. I might do a competition down the line just to test myself against new opponents and see where I stand, but I don't plan on ever training just for the sake of competition, because I'm not crazy about the "sportification" of bjj, if I can make a word up to describe it.

You can still train combative style and compete. I try to finish all my opponents with submissions, not wait out the clock... it can get frustratin when an opponent stalls, but think of it thi way, you can only control your actions in a fight, not your opponents, an opponent could stall you on the ground waiting for his friends to kick the shit out of you.

True, I might stall if there is only a few seconds left and i am just in front, but generally, will always go for the finish.

 

[Reveen]

I think the competition/sport aspect takes away from the combative aspect, and to compete you have to train for sport bjj as opposed to a more combat-focused style. So I don't compete because I don't want to focus on my bjj for purposes of sport. I might do a competition down the line just to test myself against new opponents and see where I stand, but I don't plan on ever training just for the sake of competition, because I'm not crazy about the "sportification" of bjj, if I can make a word up to describe it.

That's pretty much how I feel. Well put.

 

[nholmes88]

Grappling is basically offensive chokes, slams, punches, or your on the defense. Better to be on the offense, if he goes for the grapple, hit him in the face.

 

[BoneSnapper]

nothing to do with my club, thats my attitude.

and in my opinion people who arent competing ARE scared, and making many different excuses as to why they dont want to do it, like "i dont wanna wait around for 6 hours"
waiting around for 6 hours is sometimes what it takes to compete, so you do it!
true instructors might want to represent their club a bit, and thats fair enough but i dont see any pressuring to join comps where i am.

competition is what its all about if you ask me, to test out how good you are at your belt level and put your skills on the line

and for those of you getting hurt, then you probably arent good enough to compete if youre letting some guy spaz all over you and injure you, at least stall control him for fuck sake if worst comes to worst so he cant hurt you.

and yes things do calm down a lot after purple level in comps

Have you tested it in MMA comp yet?

 

[eclipse]

I think the competition/sport aspect takes away from the combative aspect, and to compete you have to train for sport bjj as opposed to a more combat-focused style. So I don't compete because I don't want to focus on my bjj for purposes of sport. I might do a competition down the line just to test myself against new opponents and see where I stand, but I don't plan on ever training just for the sake of competition, because I'm not crazy about the "sportification" of bjj, if I can make a word up to describe it.

that doesnt have anything to do with it

if youre good at sport bjj, youre the best at combat bjj, plain and simple

if youre the best at sport bjj, you can sweep people, get to control positions and submit people, how is that not good for combat or self defense ???

 

[eclipse]

Have you tested it in MMA comp yet?

no but im training mma as well and its on the cards soon. i know it needs to be done and im not going to back down!

 

[BoneSnapper]

no but im training mma as well and its on the cards soon. i know it needs to be done and im not going to back down!

Cool,so you have not tested it yet? As we have seen good bjj guys in comp do not mean good bjj in mma which is closer to a street altercation but still not the same.So actually the only way to prove your techniques are more affective is to fight a guy outside on the pavement and do you stuff.

I am not against comps. I have competed in the past and may do again. I compete in kickboxing. I have used bjj in street altercations in my job. But I am not going to go saying my bjj is more effective than Jo blows because he doesn't test it on the street. Each to his own.
Winning bjj comps means nothing more than you are good at BJJ comps IMO. And bjj comps require no more courage than it does to get up and sing in front of a large crowd. Some people just are not keen on getting up in front of crowds.

I am guessing that you a successful bjj competitor. Seems that guys that have some success hate when people deny them that they can kickass better on the street because they have gold.

 

[skinny_dan]

I don't compete but of course that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not competitive.

I think that not competing gives me a laid-back approach to training. I work best when I have SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound), and it's definitely true that if you're a competitor you must be bound to such goals- but as long as I set those goals, as a non-competitor, I come out all right.

I'm like you, it's all about the journey, not necessarily the destination. I find that not competing leaves me caring less about my rank, nor do I focus on what other academies are doing. It's a very zen way to go about training. It's a good way to keep from getting angry over losing, getting overly upset about minor injuries, or getting too worked up over diet/exercise leading into a match.

I like being the guy that comes in, does his thing, and then goes home and doesn't have to spend every waking moment thinking about jiu jitsu (it's good to think about it, but you can't let it run your life...at least I can't let it run my life).

I wish I had more time to devote to training, but I work full-time, go to grad school part-time, and I also block out time during the week to jam with my friends (a great way to keep your relationships strong is to make music with people), and (I might get flamed for this) my girlfriend and I take dance classes one night a week...she loves it, I enjoy it, and I love that she is so appreciative that I am willing to do that with her.

I lift weights and run 3-4 days a week. I used to lift purely for aesthetic reasons, but after I began training I've incorporated both strength and endurance workouts into my typical hypertrophy-focused workouts.

As far as my game goes, I'm always trying to work on new aspects of it. Currently I'm trying to work on sweeps from half guard. I'm also more than happy to put my game on hold to focus on what my training partners want to work on.

I think it's good to have a guy like me around, who is willing to help competitors get ready for tournament. I understand that this is an individual sport, but it is a team effort.

Sounds like you're aiming for a balanced life, that's always a good thing.