First BJJ Tournament

[karategirl]

Hey guys,
Next weekend I am competing in my first BJJ tournament and am looking for any advice that you may have on it.
I am really nervous as I have no idea what to expect, but I have been working hard on my takedowns and basic chokes and armbars.
I have never trained against females, before so my competition may be different to my training which is usually all 200lb + guys.
So was there anything that you wished you knew before going into your first BJJ fight?

Just trying to calm my nerves,
Thanks,
KG

 

[ersatz]

Is this a sport jiu-jitsu tourny, ie no striking of any kind? Also is it gi or no-gi? Do you plan on cutting weight for the event?

As for nerves, there's not much you can do about it. At the event itself though you might want to listen to some music beforehand or talk with your coaches. Any kind of distraction to keep your mind off the fight.

 

[karategirl]

Yes its a sport tourney, I will be fighting middle-weight with a gi.
I am not going to cut for this event, but if I do really badly, I will cut down to lightweight for the next one.

I compete in karate sparring all the time and have no problem with that because I am used to it, but this is all brand new to me.

Thanks

 

[Rodja]

Have you ever experienced any grappling tournament in person? The main thing that you will notice is that the vets will be very calm. Try to relax, make sure you are hydrated and that your electrolytes are in check. Nothing is worsse than cramping in the middle of rolling.

 

[karategirl]

Thanks Rodja,
I have not been to watch a tournament before, they are pretty scarce in this area, although I think I have exhausted youtube for videos.

I am hoping that because I am competing as a white belt, I will be up against people who are as crap as me

 

[Rodja]

Thanks Rodja,
I have not been to watch a tournament before, they are pretty scarce in this area, although I think I have exhausted youtube for videos.

I am hoping that because I am competing as a white belt, I will be up against people who are as crap as me

Check dailymotion for another source for MMA/grappling videos. There are several Rickson Gracie and BJ Penn videos from the Mundials.

 

[glg]

I found that when I trained my female students (TKD/JKD/Kali?Hapkido) that they fought differently when the opponent was female. With males they would be aggressive and "tougher in attitude" but when they fought females they would back off and start to match the energy levels of the opponent.

My recomendation would be to fight the way you have trained. I know that we must always adapt to our opponent.

I don't know how to say this other than what I would tell my students "quit fighting like a girl'.

Not very PC and maybe not the case for you but watch how they fight and comapre it to how you usually fight. You may see a suprising difference especially if they do not regularly go at it with the bigger guys.

Best of luck & proper application of skills

 

[karategirl]

Thanks guys.
I will video my fight whatever the outcome and post it online, you can always learn experience.

 

[diminuendo]

Since it is your first tourney, you are doing this for the experience, not to be a world champion.

Don't mess with your game before hand, stick with what you do well. In class you are used to going for submissions as the end-all-be-all, in a tournament it is a point and advantage system of scoring.

The best fighter is the one that imposes their game on the other person.

Don't think to much about the girl issue, as whomever you will be fighting is most likely the only (or one of few) girls at her gym too.

First and foremost relax, relax, relax. Do some breathing exercises, get a good nights sleep and make sure you eat correctly. Hydrate.

That's all I can think of as I run out the door. good luck, and oh yeah, use double attacks if you are comfortable with any, whitebelts don't usually anticipate that well.

 

[Beowulf]

Never competed, but I want to say good luck :thumbsup:

 

[size]

I suggest being forceful. If you take down, be forceful, if you sweep, be forceful, if you pummel, be forceful. It is you way or no way.
Best of luck.

 

[papa G]

From personal experience whenever I'm nervous I perform better. Being nervous before competition is perfectly normal. Moderate amounts of anxiety are what keep your drive and awareness up. Its always been times when I have been too relaxed or too confident that I have gotten complacent. Once the match starts you will feel much better.

Just go in there and do your best and you'll be OK. No matter what the outcome is you'll be that much better next time around. Most MMA fighters I know still get nervous before their fights and many of them have at least 5 fights under their belts along with the many grappling/standup tournaments they have had.

Sorry about the rambling Karate girl (I tend to do that when I type) but no matter what the outcome is you have at least gave it your all! Good luck!!

 

[Kegger]

good luck, you will have fun! Trust me, there is nothing to be nervous about. Look at it like this, the worst that could happen is you lose your matches but you end up getting some really good tournament experience that will only make you better.

Remember to breathe and conserve your energy, its not always the most agressive of the two that wins the match. Most white belts are still early on in their competing career that they think they have to be constantly explosive. Before I go into a match, I go over different scenarios in my head for submissions, sweeps, takedowns, etc. Visualize yourself forcing your will on your opponent and make it so!

Good luck girl!

 

[karategirl]

Thanks for all of your advice guys.
I have been training every day this week, and practicing my 5 minute rounds so that I can work out how the points system works and such.
I feel much more confident than I did at the beginning of the week.
Yes, the worst that happens is that I loose within 10 seconds, get up and learn from my mistakes.

I'm getting excited now

 

[warriorway]

Good luck Karategirl!!! Try not to overtrain the week before your fight. Just have some nice light workouts so you don't get injured or anything. And so you have your full stamina for the tourney.

 

[Kegger]

Just wanted to say good luck tomorrow! Let us know how you did on Monday.

 

[karategirl]

Thanks guys - I have been feeling sorry for myself this week.
I entered the tournament as a middleweight beginner. Well I got there and there were only 8 girls in total - so they decided to combine all divisions and all weights into one big womens category.

I won my first two fights, both went the full 5 minutes and I won on points.
The final ended up being me (a middleweight white belt with 5 months experience) against a girl (an advanced heavyweight with 5 years experience, who was also a cage fighter and a jiu jitsu instructor).
It was not pretty
I now have a torn meniscus in my knee, a broken tooth and a swollen elbow.
Yeh - I'm sulking because I can't train and I can't lift

I have the fights up on you tube:
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haLylkpYImU"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4u4VKvBa7g"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/nomedia]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYvVqb1QLEs"]YouTube - Michelle Final Fight[/ame]

I learned a lot that day, and I hope that I'm going to be able to heal quickly as I am so frustrated.
Anyway - ended up taking second place overall which I am really proud of.
KG

 

[size]

Good job on your first two matches. The third one is just ridiculous on the part of the tournament, but still it was good that you gave it your best.

One thing I think you could use some work on is the take down but for only 5 months you look really good. Try not always standing upright but with more bent knees as this is good for defense and offense when standing. Admittedly though, I do submission wrestling which is a little different so I look more for driving takedowns.

Keep working and enjoying it.

 

[glg]

yeah that was another experience I didn't think of. Used to happen a lot in my organization. You plan for several divisions and only enough show up for one. not just in the women's it used to happen in the older men's divisions also. Would wind up fighting a 20's something because they were in the same rank division ( I was in my 40's ath the time). But for the women it happened most often in the regional smaller tournaments.

Well I would say that this is probably what you will be looking at in the future also.

Of course in the 'OLD DAYS' when I was taking Kodakan there really weren't any rank divisions. but you also had people who didn't want to go up in rank because it would put them in different groups when a tourney was split up. I had my butt handed to me as a white/green belt by 2-4th BB several times. but that was the way it was back then.

I quit going to open tourneys for my TKD when things just never seemed to get any better or organized...just stayed in my own group. I know that isn't possible in some styles/organizations and sometimes a person wants to go to different venues.

i think you did very well for a first outing and in a difficult competition group.

I agree that you need to start in a lower on guard position. I also don't like going down right away. Focusing on the mat is very necessary but a lot should be done upright first.

You also did it the same way in the first 2 mathes which gave your more experienced last opponent an idea of how to fight you right away.

Just some thoughts...

But as I said i think you did very well!!

 

[Kegger]

Looking good for your experience level! There is an extremely easy way to get out of that armbar.....and you would have had all the time in the world to pull it off too. I wish you were local so I could show you how. Trying to explain it in words just won't work.

Great job nonetheless!

 

[karategirl]

Thanks so much for the support guys.
I am so much more determined in my training now, and it was the first time I had ever rolled with girls.
I am working on my armbar escapes and more defense positions, as well as my posture.
I am glad to have these video's as it will help me to track my progress in the future