Competing In BJJ( My experience with competing)

This is going to be a different kind of post. Today, I’m going to discuss the idea of Competing In BJJ.

If you don’t know much about me. My name is Bobby Collins . I’m a 3 stripe brown belt and I would describe myself as obsessed hobbyist. I usually train 8-9 session per week.

I’m a personal trainer as well, I usually write about strength and conditioning for BJJ.

I thought I make a post about competing, it is something, I see a lot of people ask about in the groups I’m in.

I’m not an expert in BJJ, this purely based on my experience with competing in BJJ.

Why I personally like Competing In BJJ?

There are a few reasons, why I am driven to compete at times.

I seem to gravitate towards hobbies , where I’m physically pushing myself. I get a crazy amount of fulfillment from this. If that is lifting heavy in the gym or rolling hard on the mats. It gives me great joy.

I also think at some level, it is driven by the need for me to prove to myself, I’m not weak. Growing up as a weak and very anxious kid. This was once, a huge driver in my motivation to get into fitness and martial arts.

I seem to do well in my gym and I like to see how much my skills translate to other guys at my level and am I able to utilize my BJJ skills under high stress situations .

Especially, as I have ranked up. I don’t always get a chance to roll with many brown belts. It’s good to see where I stand

The benefits of Competing In BJJ, even if you get smashed.

I remember my first competition at blue belt and I was so pumped to dominate.

Then I showed up and got smashed and lost both my matches. Got humbled real quick.

Competing , even if you lose still helps you.

It exposes you and your weaknesses, with the right attitude you can take this to improve your game to a different level.

The speed and intensity of the competition is something else and is hard to duplicate in your home gym. Even when, I lost all my matches. When I go back to the gym , things just started slowing down and the rolls at the gym were much easier.

You get exposed to different styles. When rolling with the same guys at your gym, day after day. You tend to learn their game. It is good to see different styles of games, that you don’t see much in your gym.

What sucks about Competing In BJJ

I’m kinda of an anxious guys, the couple days before I tend to get anxious, the more I’ve competed the better this gotten.

The day is long, I’m traveling from an hour away and then you have the waiting game. Matches get delayed and guys no show. This is probably the worse part for me

How To Get Strong & Conditioning For Your Next Competition?

Competing is very intense and is completely different animal then your rolls on the mat.

If you want to perform , it makes sense, that you should be in great shape going into them.

Depending on your fitness level and how long you have to prepare. You might focus on different qualities.

I would say, if you don’t have a good base of power, strength and aerobic fitness, start there.

Build a solid foundation, this not only going to help you get ready for your competition but build a body that holds up against the hard training leading up to competition.

As you get closer to competition, I might focus on more specific qualities for BJJ competitions like

Iso metric focused strength trtaining

Harder conditioning session like alactic and lactic intervals

If you’re someone who wants to compete and would like me to get you in tip top shape for it.

Go here and apply for my coaching program,