Post tournament blues...

[Cash Bill 52]

Does anybody else get a little down after a big competition? Win or lose, I tend to look around and wonder if it was all worth it or not. Was it really worth all the training, dieting, and organizing my whole life around winning a piece of metal? What now? I tend to lose purpose.

I accomplished a ten year goal this past weekend by taking gold in the black master 5 heavy division at The Pan. My first Pan was 2008. Now, I have gold at purple, brown, and black. This was such a big deal for me for years. Now that I accomplished it; it doesn’t seem like any big deal at all. I should be feeling great and motivated. Meanwhile, I’m just chilling on my couch flipping through the channels and napping.

I realize this is a first world problem/subtle brag/just train post. I’m just reaching out to my sherbros to see if anybody else goes through something similar.

 

[KikoJones]

First congratulations on your accomplishment.

I thought I was the only one that ever felt that way.

When I first started grappling in my buddies garage we found a local NoGi tournament and I competed for the first time. I won second and performed really well for only training a few months. The post tournament adrenaline dump was incredible. For hours afterwards I was super depressed for no apparent reason.

After winning Gold at Masters I felt good but not overly elated. Not sure what thats all about.

You're not alone.

 

[Balto]

http://rough.asia/analysis/the-psychology-of-the-post-fight-blues/

Check out the link above. I saw it posted on FB by one of my MT fighter friends a little bit ago. I thought it was pretty applicable to BJJ as well.

Basically what you're going through is pretty common. I've dealt with it myself after tournaments also.

By the way Bill, congrats on your gold man! I was so pumped when I saw that you won. That pic of you bringing the gold medal back to your kindergarten class was amazing.

I hope to still be tearing it up like you are when I'm Master 5 someday.

 

[FatherSauce]

I didn't even notice at first but a while back I mentioned to my wife a similar feeling after a tournament or belt grading and she was just like, oh yeah you do that every time. Apparently it was common for me to stop training for a week after these major events cause I "didn't feel like it" which meant I was just feeling down about grappling in general. Never seemed to last more than a week though

 

[Cash Bill 52]

Wow! That article sums it up perfectly. I am not alone!!!
Thanks, Balto!

http://rough.asia/analysis/the-psychology-of-the-post-fight-blues/

Check out the link above. I saw it posted on FB by one of my MT fighter friends a little bit ago. I thought it was pretty applicable to BJJ as well.

Basically what you're going through is pretty common. I've dealt with it myself after tournaments also.

By the way Bill, congrats on your gold man! I was so pumped when I saw that you won. That pic of you bringing the gold medal back to your kindergarten class was amazing.

I hope to still be tearing it up like you are when I'm Master 5 someday.

Especially the “if you win” part. If you lose you know what you need to do...

 

[mattemate]

I haven't competed since I was 17 but I've gotten a similar feeling before when I bedded at 10 and realize it was no better than bedding a 6.

 

[TheGZA]

I haven't competed since I was 17 but I've gotten a similar feeling before when I bedded at 10 and realize it was no better than bedding a 6.

Pics of said 10 or GTFO.

 

[kenetics]

Does anybody else get a little down after a big competition? Win or lose, I tend to look around and wonder if it was all worth it or not. Was it really worth all the training, dieting, and organizing my whole life around winning a piece of metal? What now? I tend to lose purpose.

I accomplished a ten year goal this past weekend by taking gold in the black master 5 heavy division at The Pan. My first Pan was 2008. Now, I have gold at purple, brown, and black. This was such a big deal for me for years. Now that I accomplished it; it doesn’t seem like any big deal at all. I should be feeling great and motivated. Meanwhile, I’m just chilling on my couch flipping through the channels and napping.

I realize this is a first world problem/subtle brag/just train post. I’m just reaching out to my sherbros to see if anybody else goes through something similar.

I think we act liken this because we are older, (I'm 33 BTW ) I have won multiple tournament and recently won two fight2win pro events.

It comes down to that their are more important things in life then competing and doing Jiu jitsu.

 

[KikoJones]

http://rough.asia/analysis/the-psychology-of-the-post-fight-blues/

Check out the link above. I saw it posted on FB by one of my MT fighter friends a little bit ago. I thought it was pretty applicable to BJJ as well.

Basically what you're going through is pretty common. I've dealt with it myself after tournaments also.

By the way Bill, congrats on your gold man! I was so pumped when I saw that you won. That pic of you bringing the gold medal back to your kindergarten class was amazing.

I hope to still be tearing it up like you are when I'm Master 5 someday.

Balto, that was an outstanding read. Thanks for the link.

 

[mattemate]

Pics of said 10 or GTFO.

How bout pics of the 6?

 

[sb413197]

I can't speak to your level of BJJ success since I've not done anything like that! - BUT I have experienced similar feelings when reaching a longtime goal in other areas. I think part of the drive to achieve a lifelong goal involves a "everything will be amazing" type of mentality as part of reaching that goal; and when you finally reach it there sometimes is a bit of a drop-off. Some of my bigger life changes actually happened right after achieving sometime I had been seeking for many years.

In general, my solution has been to set a new goal - I kind of look at life as a big game now in that respect. In your case, there is a little something I've heard of called the Worlds....

 

[mattemate]

Pics of said 10 or GTFO.

Ok, ok.

 

[lts5025]

I don’t think it’s just a tournament thing. For me, I always feel a little down after any big event that required a lot of time and preparation. I remember feeling it after wrestling season in HS, after finals in college. Hell, I still feel that way every year the day after Christmas or after a big work project.

 

[mattemate]

I'm actually wondering if it has a similar etiology to crashes from cocaine and ecstasy. DooamDop, serotonin, and norepinephrine all spike, so the body's natural production of them falls off a cliff due to the feedback systems.

I would imagine the adrenaline high along with the euphoric sense caused by serotonin and dopamine all create a similar negative feedback loop. Those neurotransmitters are suddenly present at much higher than normal levels, causing their production to plummet. Three body probably returns to baseline after a few days.

 

[winterbike]

A friend of mine used to be obsessed with BJJ for years. He went on to win the gold at the nogi worlds at purple belt and said that the only thing on his mind while he was on the podium was ''that's it?'' He got depressed for a few months and he never was the same after that.