No Desire to Compete = "Gym Hero"?

Sounds to me like you don't like the stress. I know a lot if guys like this. I don't see them as gym heros...just guys that don't like to compete in tournaments.
 
If you dominate in the gym but look like crap in tournaments you are a gym hero. Sorta like of you do amazing things at the driving range in golf but you play like crap in a full round or when guys are betting, they call you "ranger Rick"

If you choose not to compete, you just don't want to compete. We have plenty of guys at my gym, myself included, that train for self defense as the primary reason.
 
Haha op and i are kindred spirits. I have been trainjng just on 7 years and have lost the will and fire to compete these days. Im not worried about losing but feel like ive outgrown the super competitve part of bjj. When i started i was very unsure of myself, single and never been in a fight. 7 years later im married with three kids, fought in mma and competed a bunch of times. I feel a bit pressured to represent but feel like i ticked the boxes that got me on the mat in the first place.
 
Also like to add that i hate the build up and stress about weight. Back in the day the stress was worth the reward but im a distant and distracted dad and hubby these days if i think about competing
 
I have no interested in competing in grappling. Never really have. Done Mundials and others.

Rather just roll with my mates. I do train at different schools for freshness. Not exactly the same as competing though
 
Does it really matter? You listen to Mastodon so in the end you are a winner no matter what. :)
 
nomoremondays said:
How does one 'prove' to others that you choose to not compete not because of fear but because of disinterest?

:confused:

lol!
Click to expand...

After a certain point in life, you realize you have nothing to "prove" to anyone in life except yourself.
 
Grapplingwizard said:
Yes, but they aren't on a team practicing. When you do BJJ, you affiliate yourself with a team. You never see a kid join a baseball team but never play in a game. the equivalent of shooting hoops would be rolling out mats with friends and grappling at your house. A bjj class with a team is a legit team practice.
Click to expand...

BJJ is not a team sport. It is an individualized sport where people with common interests can TEAM in terms of practice. The competition is completely individual experience on the mat.
 
Grapplingwizard said:
The thing about not competing though is where are your proving grounds? Where do you show your skill and technique against someone that is trying to beat you the best they can? Certainly not the gym.
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You're BJJ guy must completely suck then.

Because I get challenged and prove my ranking every time I step on our mat for sparring classes.

Competitions only prove who can be the best at competitions in that particular format. Even Saulo Ridiero said that competitions only show the smallest sliver of what someone's BJJ is really like.

It's why promoting solely based on competition wins is flawed too (like promoting based on having attended a specific number of classes instead of simply looking at the person's actual skill).
 
I only compete a couple of times a year, but I tool most everyone except the instructor. I don't like competing as I get too nervous and can never sleep the night before so I am always tired as Hel going into my fights and underperform. I guess that makes me a gym hero or some bullshit.
 
luckyshot said:
(Long read - Cliffs at bottom)

It's been a while since I've competed in a tournament. My coach has been encouraging everyone on the team to do the upcoming NAGA. I don't really want to, and I've been trying to figure out why.

It's not that I'm scared of losing. I've won and lost before, so no big deal. It's not that I'm trying to protect my ego; I have no illusions about being a top level competitor at this point in my life. I definitely don't want to diet, but I could just go in at higher weight, so that's not a problem. And it's not that I am not competitive - all of my training partners will vouch for that. So what is it?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you just do not care. Simple as that. You already said you know you are never going to be a top level competitor. I am very similar. I do BJJ for fun. its an awesome sport and I train 4-5 days a week. But I will never make any money from BJJ and have no illusion of me ever being a pro. In fact, I am in my 30s, I have a good job, wife, family, mortgage, etc. I could care less about competing. In fact I hate it. Competing = traveling to tournament, sitting around all day long, maybe getting 2-4 matches, spending $100 to compete + food/gas, and giving up a weekend day that I normally have off to spend with family and do house work. I honestly just do not care that much. And there is nothing wrong with my attitude. Not everyone has the same goals. Everyone trains for different reasons. As long as people train hard and have fun, not much else matters.
 
I'm scared of competition, and that is why I do them. I wish I could go to the europeans later this month, but alas, injuries and lack of money plus studying keeps me from it.


To me, having the balls to go to a 100% sparring tournament, were the risk of injury is probably 20% times greater than in training because people go all-out, is bad ass. Not everyone who competes are bad asses, but as a general rule I am impressed by people who dare do it, because I think many "normal" people do not dare.


I had four losses at one day at a Naga tournament, and the feeling of... defeat was the heaviest I've ever felt. Losing in games never meant anything to me, my whole life. Because its just a stupid game. But with BJJ it feels like my opponent is taking my life from me - and my power. He used his entire being, physique and mental strength to best me, and he did it before three judges, our couches and teammates and participants. It's a heavy defeat.


BUT... These losses made me much stronger. Immediately afterwards I was so happy I had done it. It was a powerful experience, I felt alive, the people at Naga had done a good job doing a 1000-people tournament in a single day, and I had four matches even though I lost all. Thats a lot of experience and mat time. Sometimes you go to a tournament in another country, gets tapped out 2 minutes in, and it's over. I felt I got my moneys worth here, and it was an experience that helped me grow.



But I am still scared of competing. But I am glad when I have done it. But I've also gotten sick right up to competitions. Started feeling ill, not being able to sleep, and thus having let my teammates and couches down. That saddens me, when my fear gets a hold of me and it manifests into disease.




TL;DR - Competing makes me stronger, and even though I don't enjoy the process - I actually hates how it makes me feel. The anexiety, the fear, the dread, the pressure to perform. It's all the opposite of what I feel during training. But a part of BJJ is being proactive, leading the initiative, and using your window of opportunity. Secondly, participating at tournaments support the sport we all love, itself. I just wish sports BJJ was easier to watch for non-BJJ folks.
 
I have the same issue about competing against guys I don
 
Also I do like the fact that competition is 100%,

There is no excuses, if he gave up an arm to me, I made him, he was not playing his B game and trying something new. He was not holding back on strength, he was not taking it easy on me, he was doing his best and I am doing mine.

I really like that.
 
BJJ should be open for all and no one's views (if healthy) should be questioned. Being seen as weaker bc you don't compete is silly. At lower levels you can have a handful of takedowns you're better at and just more raw brute strength and find success at lower belts...doesn't mean you're the end all be all of grappling. Just means whatever you do works in those parameters.

I like BJJ guys that travel and roll everywhere and leave a positive lasting impact on gyms they pass through. That's what I'm aspiring to. That I can travel anywhere and people will feel like I brought something to their gym...a positive vibe, some new ways of doing something, etc. I also hope to win a medal or two down the road, but as those are only once in a blue moon I'm much more concerned about what I'm giving all those regular days of the week.

That daily give is contributing to the guys that do win the consistent medals.
 
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