GI Weight class: How much does it matter?

[dazed863]

i think it depends on how many matches you'll have. i know some people who have gotten lucky and only had two or three.... i guess if you knew coming into your bracket how many fights to expect it might not be a bad idea.

on the other hand i always seem to find myself in a situation where i have like 6.... in may i had 8 (181) our bracket was two pages long

a better bet imo is get an accurate body fat % reading and adjust your diet accordingly. i would shoot for 5-10% and if i was over i would consider dieting into the lower weight class.

 

[yovan]

I do option B. I walk around at 178 and compete at 175.5

So it's not really a cut, but I am at the top of the weight class. Sort of a mental edge I guess.

 

[DiscipleOfPog]

I usually lose about 5-6 lbs when a tourn is coming up to make the 181 lbs class.

I actually feel like weight means less in No-Gi, though.

 

[wOg]

I walk around at 158 - 162 and compete in the 167.5 weight class. I eat whatever I want and I don't bother with any kind of weight cutting. I compete as purple master and I have no desire to cut down to feather although I am sure I could do it. I compete for fun, I am not a professional athlete and I don't aspire to be one. I see no reason to be miserable cutting weight for something that is pure pleasure to me. I like to compete, but I am not looking for every possible advantage I can get to win. I just look to have a good time. As far as I can tell when I lose its got very little to do with me being smaller and a whole lot to do with technical mistakes I make. Ill let the young guys who are hoping to make a career out of BJJ do the weight cutting.

I agree with this 100%. If I were 20 years younger, then I'd be thinking about cutting to featherweight. But as it is (Senior II), I'm much better off just competing at my walk-around weight.

 

[codemonkey76]

cutting water weight correctly is very effective. cutting 10+ pounds is really easier than people make it sound. you just can't be a dumbass and sweat it out through exercise.

properly rehydrating is the most difficult part

Yeah, sure when it's MMA and you have a day to re-hydrate. Most BJJ comps (IBJJF) have you weight in 5 mins before you step on the mat.

 

[Anac0nda]

thank you for all your information. Nice feedback and suggestions. I guess I am going to lose the fat over time rather than going to a match dehydrated. Makes a lot of sense.

 

[Lutador011]

B)

I weigh about a 100 kilos and i loose how much I need to get to the -100.5 category. Those 2-5 pounds mean the difference between fighting guys my weight or fighting guys that are 10, 20, or sometimes 50 pounds heavier than me

 

[platfox]

I just try to be at the top of the weight class no matter which weight. I've competed at a different weight every time I competed.

If I'm close to the bottom, then I cut. If I'm close to the top, I bulk.

 

[MUFC]

I agree with this 100%. If I were 20 years younger, then I'd be thinking about cutting to featherweight. But as it is (Senior II), I'm much better off just competing at my walk-around weight.

I'm 20 years old and compete at walk-around weight.

I don't think 10lbs makes a massive difference. Sometimes, actually, being smaller can be an advantage depending on your game.

I also like the 10lbs cushion so I can eat a good breakfast morning of.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

In the tourny over the weekend, the guy who ended up winning my division 180-189.9 told me at the podium he weights 210 and cut 20 LBS to make 189 division. I really wanted to compete vs this guy because he was all strength. I am very strong for my size and could match that with him plus technique. I hate when a guy wins the divison and doesn't submit one person the entire time!

FYI: gassing out or "having an adrenaline dump" is the worst thing in tourny. I feel like I should have placed first in last 2 tournys if it wasn't for that. A teammate of mine won his no gi division (150-159) and had 5 matches. The guy could have kept going, his cardio is sick.

 

[Jim J]

a better bet imo is get an accurate body fat % reading and adjust your diet accordingly. i would shoot for 5-10% and if i was over i would consider dieting into the lower weight class.

If you are measuring 5% bf, it's probably not accurate.