I'm going to ask if I can do my first tournament this weekend, have some questions.

[ItsKYRO]

Hey i've been training BJJ for a month now and there's a small tourney going on this Saturday and I am going to ask tonight if I can compete in it. I am probably the person who struggles the most in class, and I haven't even been able to get one submission in sparring yet, but I just want to do it to get it under my belt and know what it feels like. If they say yes, I have a few questions.

The match starts on the feet, I haven't learned anything about on the feet yet.
Should I go for a takedown or just lay down and go into guard or what?

What is all illegal?
I know the toe holds and heel hooks and stuff are, which I don't exactly know what those are because I haven't learned them, but hopefully I don't grab something I shouldn't.
Basically what am I definitely not allowed to do usually? Like isn't there a rule about sticking to many fingers in somebodys gi or your own gi or something?

What if somebody starts choking me out and my hands are pinned underneath them, how do I tap?

Is it worth it to compete in a small tournament just to try it out this early or is it more likely I will get injured?

 

[GJJNY]

Which tournament? I ask because rules vary and your answer partially depends on that.

 

[flej]

You can tap w your feet, yell, gurgle loudly.
Your coach should know the rules, ask.
Ibjjf have their rules posted on their webpage, if you follow those you'll be fine.

 

[kimble09]

Hey i've been training BJJ for a month now and there's a small tourney going on this Saturday and I am going to ask tonight if I can compete in it. I am probably the person who struggles the most in class, and I haven't even been able to get one submission in sparring yet, but I just want to do it to get it under my belt and know what it feels like. If they say yes, I have a few questions.

The match starts on the feet, I haven't learned anything about on the feet yet.
Should I go for a takedown or just lay down and go into guard or what?

What is all illegal?
I know the toe holds and heel hooks and stuff are, which I don't exactly know what those are because I haven't learned them, but hopefully I don't grab something I shouldn't.
Basically what am I definitely not allowed to do usually? Like isn't there a rule about sticking to many fingers in somebodys gi or your own gi or something?

What if somebody starts choking me out and my hands are pinned underneath them, how do I tap?

Is it worth it to compete in a small tournament just to try it out this early or is it more likely I will get injured?

go for it...there should be a rules meeting just prior to the first matches at the tournament, where they will go over what's legal/not legal.

as far as starting from the feet...just grab a lapel and a sleeve and go with the flow, if you don't know the technique, probably best not to try anything crazy.

 

[MassMMAJudge]

Sounds like you should get more experience first. Going in without at least a decent grasp on the rules makes it really hard for you to perform at your highest level. I would look up the IBJJF rules to get an idea on them. Remember, you can always yell TAP or tap your foot if your hands are not free. I would ask your instructor to go over the rules with you, or possibly make a class like a sort of rules meeting to get the whole class up to speed.

 

[gocubs1815]

1. if you've only been doing it a month, don't do it.

2. Especially if you haven't learned ecen 1 throw or take down

3. Yes, pulling guard is legal

4. no leg locks for white belt

5. if you haven't learned all the different ways and reasons to tap, than you havn't been training long enough. You can say tap, scream tap, tap your feet, snap your fingers, etc.

6. you won't get injured if you know what you're doing

 

[Steelviper]

Whatever you decide to do, practice it (be that doing a takedown, pulling guard... or getting taken down). You don't want your first rep of something to be in competition, ideally.

I'd lean towards pulling guard (but practice it if you want to do that), but Kesting has a neat alternative about 2:00 in:


No neck cranks/spinal locks in the gi. No putting your fingers into the sleeves or pants of your opponent. (This is for your protection as well as for fairness.) Those are the big ones. Otherwise it can vary by competition so pay attention at the rules meeting.

ALWAYS say "Tap," as you tap. It's good practice for when you're otherwise unable to physically tap. You can also tap with your feet. Whatever it takes to get them to stop. Keep in mind that any sort of loud noise coming out of your mouth can be interpreted as a verbal tap, so if you're prone to making those sorts of noises it's best to keep a lid on them for comp.

I competed with a similar amount of training, and I still remember lessons learned from that day. I even won a match, though in retrospect the guy basically armbarred himself, and I just finished it for him. Just go in with expectations to learn (not win) and I don't think you'll come away disappointed.

 

[SLIMPIMPIN**]

Hey i've been training BJJ for a month now and there's a small tourney going on this Saturday and I am going to ask tonight if I can compete in it. I am probably the person who struggles the most in class, and I haven't even been able to get one submission in sparring yet, but I just want to do it to get it under my belt and know what it feels like. If they say yes, I have a few questions.

The match starts on the feet, I haven't learned anything about on the feet yet.
Should I go for a takedown or just lay down and go into guard or what?

What is all illegal?
I know the toe holds and heel hooks and stuff are, which I don't exactly know what those are because I haven't learned them, but hopefully I don't grab something I shouldn't.
Basically what am I definitely not allowed to do usually? Like isn't there a rule about sticking to many fingers in somebodys gi or your own gi or something?

What if somebody starts choking me out and my hands are pinned underneath them, how do I tap?

Is it worth it to compete in a small tournament just to try it out this early or is it more likely I will get injured?

you should not compete if you have only been training for one month. what makes you think you should compete in something that you don't even know the rules for???? You shouldn't be focused on getting comps under your belt at this point. you should be focusing on learning what jiu jitsu is

 

[SLIMPIMPIN**]

1. if you've only been doing it a month, don't do it.

2. Especially if you haven't learned ecen 1 throw or take down

3. Yes, pulling guard is legal

4. no leg locks for white belt

5. if you haven't learned all the different ways and reasons to tap, than you havn't been training long enough. You can say tap, scream tap, tap your feet, snap your fingers, etc.

6. you won't get injured if you know what you're doing

1 - 5 ....check.

6. Im going to have to disagree with you there.

 

[zackie777]

you should not compete if you have only been training for one month. what makes you think you should compete in something that you don't even know the rules for???? You shouldn't be focused on getting comps under your belt at this point. you should be focusing on learning what jiu jitsu is

QFT. I don't know any BJJ schools that would let a student compete who doesn't even have a stripe yet.

 

[Uchi Mata]

normally I tell everyone to compete ASAP, but in your case, it might be a little soon. One big thing: if you haven't learned how to fall, you could really get hurt by being thrown. You can't tap to a hip throw.

 

[bjjaz]

Judging by the questions you're asking, I would say maybe just watch this time.

 

[Wandgun]

I would encourage beginners to get their feet wet as early in competitions as possible, but I don't see what this will do for you other than get your nerves out of the way. If you could wrestle, the lack of submissions wouldn't matter as much, but since you lack both... I wouldn't waste my money. Wait another month or two and then try...

 

[Tru2DaGameJ21]

QFT. I don't know any BJJ schools that would let a student compete who doesn't even have a stripe yet.

I don't have a stripe and I'll be competing this upcoming month. I would study more often and go in with a small bag of move and stick with them. Goodluck

 

[bjjaz]

Some schools don't stripe either...

 

[Aussido]

I'd wait. What good is competing in grappling if you can't grapple yet? You aren't gaining experience or testing yourself if you haven't developed anything to show or walk away with.

 

[zemanjaski]

It doesn't sound like a good idea for you to be competing.

 

[Phreaxer]

Some schools don't stripe either...

true.


If you feel confident enough to give competition a try, go for it! You are likely going to lose, but you will learn a lot in the process and should have fun as well.

 

[ItsKYRO]

Thanks for the all replies.

To clear it up, it is a small in house tournament, basically a school or two brings their guys over and we do it in the gym, there will be about 40 adults at the most.

I was told I can do the tournament.
I also asked how often people get put to sleep in these and the instructer said it doesn't happen in these small tournaments. It's a tournament mostly for the low belts to get some tournament experience.

However, one post did make me a little nervous in this thread.
That I need to learn how to fall, and that I can't tap to a hip toss.
Would you care to explain these?

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

If you're not used to getting taken down, a lot of people will instinctively post with their hands to try to break their fall. This leads to a lot of wrist sprains, sometimes elbow damage, sometimes shoulder damage. Learning how to fall well is important. You also don't want to just land on your back and have all that energy transferred to your body cause that sucks.

Also, pulling guard in a tournament without giving up two points sometimes sounds a lot easier than it really is. If you're planning to not fight for a takedown and just try to get the fight started with you on your back, you should probably put together some kind of game plan and train it with your instructor a few times.


Does this tournament cost you money to enter? If it does, i might reconsider. Sounds to me like you're at a stage where you could learn just as much in a typical class as you would entering this tournament.