My first tourny coming up

[Stevebjj]

Well, I went yesterday I helped roll out mats and move heavy things at The Revolution, a tournament held in Sumner, WA. I really regret not competing, even though I'd have my butt handed to me. It looked like a blast. They had over 140 competitors, and it looks like this particular event is going to need a bigger facility. They had matches running on two mats for 7 hours straight.

But on a good note, a tournament was being advertised up in Seattle on April 28th. I can't remember what it's called or who's hosting it, but it looked like it was going to be pretty big. I'll try and compete in the gi/white belt division at 185 lbs. So, there it is. I have about 1 1/2 months to learn a takedown or two, sprawl until I die, and drop 10 lbs.

I've never been involved in competitive sports or anything, so I'm a little nervous about getting out there and actually COMPETING. At my advanced age, my adrenaline will kick in and I'll need a nap! :D But, I speak in front of large groups of people almost every day, teaching classes of between 300 and 2000 students at a time. So, I should be able to manage my anxiety (yeah, right).

Any tips or advice for my first competition?

[slipthejab]

ahh good one.
Don't think about it... just get in and give it a go.

Chances are you will be able to compete more than just once. You're training should kick in. So just train like you normally would. You're instructor may have you doing a bit of extra stuff to build up your endurance as well.

Just go and have fun. :D
BJJ comps are a good time. The atmosphere is real postitive and you learn to get the heebie jeebies out of your system.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Stevebjj]

Will do. I'm sure I'll have stuff to say about it on my training blog.

[1bad65]

Work your cardio. Your nerves will sap some of your gas. My first match ever, my heart was racing. But I went for and got a double leg. Then, like Slip said, my training kicked in. I was less nervous and instantly thought about how to pass the guard.

Working sprawl and takedowns is good too. It sucks to be down 0-2 and it rules to be up 2-0 right off the bat. Do be prepared for 'guard pullers' though. Im my experience alot of BJJ scholls neglect takedowns so they just pull guard in tournaments.

Another thing I do, is at the end of class when I'm tired, I get guys to get me in bad positions(mount,back mount, side control) and work on getting out in 15 secs or less.