Why you should or shouldn't compete in BJJ/Grappling competitions.
The idea of competitions to test your prowess in a real fight is ludicrous. A real fight has so many variables. So many things you can never imagine until you are in that given situation. Is it night or day? Inside or out? A phone booth, a train or an open street? Is it raining? 10 degrees and windy or 100 degrees and sweltering? Is your 3 year old son present? Is there 1 opponent or 4? Is there a weapon? Do you even know the answers to the previous 2 questions? These questions, and about 100 more will make the fact that you are stepping on a mat to "grapple" someone else who has decided to also grapple is very far from testing if you can fight. So, knowing that, you can move on to the idea that you are simply deciding to compete in a sport. Similar to football or boxing or tennis. Not NASCAR or chess. I said sport. And not Golf. I didn't say elitist pastime that takes up way too much space in our country. Sport.
Now, knowing that you are simply competing in a sport, you can check your ego about how "badass" you are. Hell, you aren't even really testing how good at BJJ you are. You are competing under a given set of rules in a given weight class for a certain amount of time. I can spout off at the mouth about how in BJJ as a fighting art you can strike. You can 't butt scoot because the guy can use that moment to pick up that large metal bar and beat your legs with it. You can slam someone who is triangling you. Better yet, you can slam them on the edge of the curb. You can gouge their eyes, bite, blah blah blah blah. You get the idea.
So why should you compete? My personal number ONE reason is because it makes YOU a better person. It forces you to look upon yourself as an outsider and see your faults. Not only with a certain aspect of your game, but with your life. Are you dedicated enough to train as you know you SHOULD leading up to the event? Are you able to watch your diet and eat right? cut weight even? Or are you still skipping classes because you want to drink the night before, sleep in, play video games, or take someone out on a date in hopes of something else getting you to the ground later? It will make you see what you NEED to do to be successful, and then make you see if you take the short cut. And I'll tell ya, A LOT of competitors don't train as hard as they should. Often times, they take YEARS of not doing as well in competition before they decide to seriously train. You might not make it public, but you yourself will know deep down what you're made of.
Reason TWO would be the increase in your BJJ skill that inevitably takes place when you compete. You will train harder, and with more focus, leading up to the event. You will form strategies, as ALL sports require one. The Cleveland Browns walk on that football field and play poorly every week as a result of a game plan. I love my Browns, but people will often argue over had the game plan been different, would the Browns have won that particular game? BJJ is no different. Game plans will win or lose a match oftentimes. In learning this fact, you will grasp how important something as overlooked as a takedown can become, and train that aspect harder. In addition, you will inevitably find holes in your game that you will then concentrate on making better. Competing will make you a better BJJ fighter in the long run.
Reason THREE is because it is fun. Pretty straight forward and simple. There is an adrenaline rush that accompanies competition. You and you alone can make the decision to step on that mat, and although your coaches and teammates help all the way up and through those matches, it is YOU who has to perform. And on that ONE day, in that ONE place, YOU can be the best person in that building if the stars align. Very few feelings rival that moment and the self respect that you will feel afterwards.
And Lastly, I want to point out why the outcome doesn't really affect whether you were a winner that day. I HATE people who say "winning or losing doesn't count, it's how you play the game." or "winning isn't why we are out here." CRAP. Winning is the MAIN reason you are out there. They wouldn't bother having a ref if we weren't bothered with who wins. Your whole goal on that mat that day is to EARN and TAKE the respect of every single other human being in that building. If you lose, you want them to NEVER EVER want to have to face you in order to win a tournament again. And if you WIN, you want them to be afraid you'll beat them even worse in the next tournament. Now, with that said, you are on the mat. Most people don't have what it takes to train BJJ or other similar grappling arts. It's hard. VERY VERY hard. It isn't a self esteem builder purchased by wrapping a different color cloth around your waist every 3 months because you know a certain kata. You bleed. You sweat. You often puke. And you are almost always injured. Out of those people who train the art, even LESS decide to step on the mat of a tournament and see how they're doing. You are allowing other people who don't know you to judge what you hold dearest. YOUR BJJ. So, know that out of all the people who train BJJ in your state and surrounding areas, only 2,4,8,30,60 of them have decided to shut up and put it on the line. And you are one of those people. THAT is why you should hold your head high when you walk on and OFF that mat. Because there is NO WAY when that match ends, that you are not a better BJJ player and person. Period.
Well said!!!
ReplyDelete