BJJ Competitions and Courage

We just had an in house tournament this past weekend at our gym: it was a good time, a couple of other local schools were invited so people were able to get in a couple of matches with some other students they haven’t gone against a thousand times before. All in all it was pretty good.

One thing that I think some lower ranks tend to forget is that really any competition you go to, of course the ultimate goal is to win. You train a bunch for some of the bigger ones, hone your skills, maybe put down that extra slice of pizza if you are looking to make a certain weight division. But really the biggest part of the whole thing, and really the biggest win when you think about it is having the courage to step outside of your comfort zone and compete.

It’s part of the reason why you see so many inspirational quotes about competing and putting it all on the mat and all of that stuff. It’s because jiu jitsu people who have competed, fully understand just how stressful competing can be- and more importantly, how many people shy away from competing, for a myriad of reasons. They think they don’t know enough, that they aren’t good enough, haven’t practiced enough….The list of reasons why not to compete can literally become a mile long.

More often than not the person who is competing probably feels much the same way- the difference is that person has taken all of those things into account, and has still decided to test their skills against another person. Maybe they will do great and win, maybe they will lose, but that person has decided to pull themselves together and compete anyway.

It’s that part of the whole thing that your coaches or instructors look at: sure, they also want you to do well, and everyone comes from a different place and mindset, but for the most part coaches know that win or lose, ultimately it was the choice to face your fears and anxiety, and to head out onto the mat that really matters. That is a major win for the day, regardless of what happens during your matches.

Just some thoughts for the day- have a great Wednesday everyone!

 

The Appeal of IBJJF Tournaments for Women in BJJ

It was an interesting question posed on social media- they expressed frustration regarding their impression that in order to compete against more women, they had to sign up for an IBJJF tournament, which let’s be honest costs a lot of money. They person expressed frustration that they had to drive for a longer period of time and hand out more money than say going to a smaller tournament closer to home, and asked why so many women chose to sign up for IBJJF tournaments. And her question is totally reasonable: it does seem a little silly to pay over 100 dollars to drive 2 to 3 hours to wait another couple of hours to fight someone that may potentially train like, 45 minutes away from you and the two of you could have duked it out at a local tourney for 60 bucks.

There are a couple of factors that play into this: first and foremost, it’s one of the better known tournament organizations, and whether anyone likes it or not, it’s pretty much a gold standard when it comes to gi competitions, especially when it comes to their rule set. From what I can tell a number of other tournament organizations use IBJJF’s rule set as their own, so walking in you should have a good handle on what’s allowed. Some commented on this person’s question stating that IBJJF is one of the best run tournaments out there. I think when it comes to the bigger tournaments- Pans, Worlds, etc. they more or less smoothly, but there have definitely been times where they have messed: the displays shorted out, during this past Pans there was a mess up in their bracketing and scheduling software and a bunch of us who were supposed to fight on a Saturday thought our divisions were pushed up to a Friday night (we found this out after dinner 45 minutes away from the venue and the divisions were supposed to “start” in 30 minutes, so we were pretty much all freaking out to some degree until we were able to get a rep on the phone to assure us it was a mistake), there was one time where one of our girls was basically forgotten in the bull pen when her competitor didn’t show up and she was basically left there waaaaay too long- they are by no means a perfect organization, but they get it right more times than they get it wrong.

Also, from what I can tell it’s one of the first tournament organizations that really set out from just the local scene and decided to extend their reach- it’s sort of like the GoPuff of the industry: for anyone who may not be aware of what go puff may be, it’s basically a convenience store on wheels. Say it’s late at night and you suddenly fall ill and need some pepto bismal, or maybe you’ve gotten the munchies due to whatever shenanigans you’re up to and could really go for some junk food, but you’re all out! You log into the app, pick out your items and go puff will deliver those items to your door.

There are companies that are now trying to recreate that service and push into that market space, but since (as far as I know) GoPuff was the first to offer this service, so it has the brand recognition and had a chance to establish its presence as the main service. And even if they weren’t the first, IBJJF is possibly of the longest running and, to my knowledge, still expanding tournament organizations out there.

So you have a recognizable, long running tournament with a clearly established and well known rule set- that frankly you know top competitors compete in, and are motivated to do so now because of the points system they recently implemented as a qualifier for some of their larger tournaments…. it’s no wonder that women tend to gravitate toward those tournaments. It would be nice to see more women in local tournaments, but really I’m happy to see women competing anywhere, and if that’s at an IBJJF tournament, so be it.

Will there be a change? Honestly, probably not. There are a good deal of tournament organizations out there, but unless they can find a way to top IBJJF’s popularity in the market- maybe by specifically reaching out to women? It will probably remain the same.

If there’s another tournament organization that you would love to see take off, please by all means let me know. Otherwise, have a great day everyone!

 

 

 

Happy Friday! Sometimes You Compete, Sometimes You Support the Competitors

Happy Friday everyone!

I pretty frequently go to some of the smaller, more local tournaments to coach my teammates, sometimes to act as their videographer and sometimes just to offer support as a friend and teammate. While I get it, it’s a long day to sit around in a gym, if you can, I would encourage you once in a while to go and support your teammates if you aren’t competing. While it’s not a deal-breaker if you don’t, it’s nice to know sometimes that someone is in the crowd rooting for you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

You Can Compete Against Someone and Still be Friends with Them

I think this is something we all know, but not really something we talk about in jiu jitsu. I’ve had conversations with other jiu jitsu women where this is sometimes the elephant in the room that’s danced around, and I think that it’s time we explicitly state it.

You can compete against someone and still not only have the upmost respect for that person, but you can in fact be friends with them.

There are plenty of other women in the jiu jitsu community that I have competed against, and regardless of winning or losing I am always thrilled to see them at the next tournament. And they seem pretty happy to see me as well! We chat, talk about how things are going, so on and so forth.

While the sport is growing in popularity, it is still relatively a small sport. Particularly as you gain more rank, you’ll see more and more of the same faces at tournaments, the same people standing across from you to shake your hand to start a match, the same smiles on the podium as you sit there and wait for that one guy to get out of the photographer’s way so you can just take the damn picture… It seems kind of silly to see someone a bajillion times (granted, at one specific function, but still), and not at the very least exchange a few pleasantries.

Anyway, my point being that there are times where it seems to be a bit awkward: you’re not sure if someone is willing to extend their hand in friendship after a match. And some won’t, if we’re being totally honest. But more often than not they will, and to me that’s also part of what competing is all about: of course the main purpose is to step on the mat and do your best with the intent of winning, but win or lose it’s also about meeting new people and having a chance to connect with other people in the sport.

Just some thoughts for today: have a great day everyone!

 

Back from a Long Writing Hiatus…

Oh man, it’s been a minute… Coming back and writing is something I’ve thought about often, but just haven’t had the chance due to life and such.

Actually, I’m not being totally honest: there was also someone that was connected to my social media accounts that at the time I couldn’t block or unfollow and didn’t feel comfortable sharing anything with, and so in response I withdrew a lot from social media. Anyway, that person is pretty much no longer in my life, so they are no longer on my social media and I’m slowly coming back around to posting stuff online again. I hate admitting when things are not ok, but it also doesn’t feel honest to not address that part of the whole thing.

Anyway a (somewhat) quick recap of the more interesting things that have happened over the past… goodness, 9 months? Dang….

• Went to Costa Rica: It’s a beautiful place with some amazing beaches, rainforests and volcanoes: however, a lot of people will tell you that ‘everyone there speaks English’. MOST speak English, but not everyone. I think every time I failed to say something in Spanish, somewhere in the world my old high school Spanish teacher felt a twinge of sadness (…Lo siento?). I would still highly recommend visiting.

 

•  Training, training, and trained some more.

And we’re in a new space- with huge windows!

• Competed in a couple of tournaments: didn’t really do anything amazing at any of them, but that’s just fine. I did the best that I could at the time, and I’m ok with that. I don’t really dwell on “could have, should have, would have” scenarios when it comes to tournaments and instead prefer to look ahead to the next challenge. Made some friends along the way, which is also great fun and something I always enjoy.

Competed against Emily Kwok! Lovely person to lose to….

• Co-taught my first seminar! I was asked by Girls in Gis a few months ago to go through a little mini teaching session with another black belt in the area, Jen Russell. I didn’t really teach anything super cool, but everyone seemed to have fun, which is really more of the point.

So anyway, that’s more or less a quick recap of what’s been happening over the past several months. I’m hoping to get back into a more regular posting schedule- I may even try to redesign the look of this blog (whaaaaaat…). It’s been what, 8 or 9 years, at least? Probably time for a little- er, a lot, rather- sprucing up.

Anyhoo, for anyone who still checks in now and again to read this, let me know what you’ve been up to, and see you later!

 

Article on Weight Classes

Hey all, there’s an interesting article from Jess Fraser about weight classes and a lot of the weird weight issues that come with it.

I agree with her that for a lot of women it turns into an obsession to lose weight, to just get to that lower weight class, and easily becomes a fertile breeding ground for some real eating disorders and a variety of psychological issues. As someone who used to be heavier, it has often felt like a personal failure when I couldn’t get to that next weight class down that I was trying so hard to get to. Now? There’s still a little bit of that struggle, but frankly now I just sort of shrug my shoulders. I still work to lose weight for tournaments, but I’m not as worried about it. There have also been a series of tournaments where I’ve just said “screw it” and have registered for a higher weight class, just so I didn’t have to worry about making weight and could use that focus on other, important elements of my life.

And when I’ve done that, I’ve gotten questions from my fellow competitors about why I registered up a weight class, or even a look or two from the people running the tournaments when I weigh in way under the limit. It happens, but oh well- I’m there, I’m competing and I’m not being disqualified so let’s get the party started.

I wish I could impart that feeling on other competitors- and hell, even myself on those bad days, but it’s going to take a while before we all get to that point.

Anyway, check the article out and have a great day everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BJJ and Competition: It Pays to Be Nice

I had this conversation recently while at a function over the weekend: most of the time in sports, but particularly in BJJ it really pays to engage in sportsmanlike conduct on the mat, and to be nice off the mat.

Part of it really has to do with attrition: as you advance in the sport, more and more you will find that you are fighting the same people. You start to recognize faces, you remember names (even if you are terrible at remembering names like I am). And the higher you go, the more often you will see that person- if all of you decide to continue competing.

It’s much easier on all of you to continue competing if you are on good terms with everyone. Think of it this way- what situation would you rather walk into, a tournament where you are basically meeting up with old friends, you all duke it out and win or lose  you are shaking hands with everyone while laughing and smiling? Or you walk into a tournament where you have a problem with everyone, and everyone has a problem with you, and all of you awkwardly ignore each other before and after you fight? Personally, I would prefer the former, but to each their own.

And also, it’s just plain common decency to be nice to one another. We’re all taking time out of our schedules and lives to fight one another, which should be acknowledged and appreciated.

So, in summary be nice to one another, because you never know when you are going to meet that person again…and again… and again…

Have a great day everyone!

 

Article on the Top 10 Jiu Jitsu Fighters of All Time

Good morning everyone!

BJJ Heroes has an interesting article about the top bjj fighters of all time, based on point talleys from some of the highest level tournaments that take place throughout the year, such as ADCC, Pan Ams and more.

Three from our association are on the list, specifically Xande (labeled the “King” of the heavyweights), Saulo and Raphael Lovato Jr.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Interesting Article on the Top Finishers in BJJ

All the major adult tournaments are over (Master Worlds in September: can I get a hell yeah) and Bjj Heroes has an interesting article on the top finishers for the year.

There are a number of names that I’m not surprised to find on there, such as Faria, Galvao- but I was actually surprised by some of the other names on the list: particularly Cornelius, the Miyao brothers and Caio Terra.

I also appreciate that the site explained why women’s stats were excluded. It sucks, but at least there was some method to the madness.

Check it out, let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Updates to the 2015 ADCC

So the past couple of weeks I’ve been living under a rock (actually it’s been more work, train, sleep, rinse, repeat) but this article on BJJ Heroes caught my eye regarding the under 99kg division of the 2015 ADCC- taking place August 30th in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are some big names on the list, including Rodolfo Viera, Xande Ribeiro, Joao Assis, and Dean Lister (invited, response pending, I believe), so that’s neat.

Check it out, and you can follow the other links on the site (and there’s a tab on their home page) for more information regarding the tournament.

Have a great day everyone!