I could probably make a list of the top frequently asked questions asked in grappling pages and groups on social media, and the one in the title would be in the top 10, and probably crack the top 5 if I am being perfectly honest. It makes sense; many people are unsure of themselves when it comes to such a hands-on sport, and they may not understand all that competition entails. It can be scary and intimidating to put yourself out there, and anxiety tends to creep in along with the worrisome thoughts of letting people down. However, no one is ever disappointed with our performance as long as we put the time and dedication into the preparation. Sometimes mistakes happen, where it just isn’t our day, and sometimes we even surprise ourselves. But without ever stepping foot on the competition circuit, how would we know?
I know there are some people out there where competition simply is not for them; and that’s perfectly okay. These type of people are strictly hobbyists, not out there to chase belts or ranks, and content with training every so often for enjoyment. However, I will always strongly advocate competing at least once, especially if you are really trying to grow and earn new accolades and climb up in your skill as a Jiu Jitsu practitioner. Your professor and coaches and those evaluating your performance for promotions can most fairly assess you when you compete against others your size, age, and of equal rank. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have someone of equal caliber at our gyms, so seeing it in competition is the best way to see how you measure up. A good coach won’t just “judge” you on your win/loss ratio, but they will be out there to see if you are doing the right things at the right time and displaying your knowledge of what you have learned in Jiu Jitsu that shows you have learned as their student.
That being said, I know I have spoken about finding matches in my previous blog posts. Especially as an outlier (female, upper-ranked, and on the smaller end of the weight spectrum); however, in cases where I can see the sign-ups beforehand, I will always move around in age or weight where possible. I don’t believe in ‘default’ gold medals (one you receive if there is no one in your bracket) if I had the opportunity to switch brackets prior to competition (though sometimes you may exhaust all other avenues and you still did the work to be there and should be proud). There are occasions where it happens if there is a last minute no-show, but I’d rather pay and travel and get my booty kicked by switching divisions than to display a gold medal on my social media profile that was simply handed to me as a false pretense. I am many things in this life, and being brutally honest to a fault is for sure one of them. Hell, read enough of my blogs and you will see how often I cry or doubt myself or feel undeserving of certain things. It’s a character flaw and we are working on it, okay?
They say the best way to quell nerves and competition anxiety is to *simply* compete more. Well, I hate to tell you this, but I definitely still get nervous. However, these days it is more of an excited nervous versus a shit your pants and possibly throw up due to hyper-ventilation type of nervous. I am nervous more-so for the fact that I don’t want to make a stupid mistake. But this rarely happens regardless because I put in so much time to my competition prep and training that I try and make most things muscle memory so I don’t hesitate and make a gaffe when it comes to performance. When I lose, I know it is because my opponent performed better than me on that day and not because I didn’t train to prepare and don’t deserve to be there. I always want my teammates and students to see me always trying my hardest and never giving up, and most of all, having a super fun time in the process. Competition is amazing for seeing us truly push past our limits and seeing the capabilities we have that we never would have thought possible.
At the end of the day, it is possible you may fail, but hear me out here, what if you don’t? How will you ever know if you don’t try? They don’t make movies or write books about the person who sat on the sidelines and watched life pass them by. I can live with the disappointment of trying my best and coming up short, but I could never live with the feelings of “what if?” Sure, it’s scary to compete, but life itself is scary! Out of the 100 million sperm released to fertilize an egg, you were the one that prevailed. I refuse to let that be the last time I beat out anyone (though technically I am a triplet so I guess I was a tie)? Go out there and give it the ol’ college try, make some new friends along the way, and gain some admiration and respect for yourself for being brave enough to drown out the negativity and persevere. Should you compete? I say this with my whole chest, nipples and all, that the answer is most definitely yes.
