first BJJ tournament. Machado hosted

**sn7** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 1:38pm

im planning to enter the Machado tournament that is going to be held in February. it is my first tournament and i will be entering as a white belt. I hear it is pretty tough to win on points in that tournament if your fighting a Machado guy (people believe they are buyest)

what do i need to watch out for? are there a lot of sandbaggers? how is that prevented?

is there such thing as illegal submissions?

I hear that crossfacing is illegal in some tournamenst, but legal in others. since Machado tournaments are pretty well-known, perhaps someone can shed me some light on what to expect.

thanks in advanced,

sn7

**Shuma-Gorath** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 1:43pm

Originally Posted by sn7

im planning to enter the Machado tournament that is going to be held in February. it is my first tournament and i will be entering as a white belt. I hear it is pretty tough to win on points in that tournament if your fighting a Machado guy (people believe they are buyest)

Unless the hosting school is supplying all the refs this should not be the case.

what do i need to watch out for? are there a lot of sandbaggers? how is that prevented?

Since you go by belt level you'll have to watch out for people with a lot of experience in Judo and Wrestling. Practice your takedown defence.

is there such thing as illegal submissions?

I hear that crossfacing is illegal in some tournamenst, but legal in others. since Machado tournaments are pretty well-known, perhaps someone can shed me some light on what to expect.

Read the rules on the signup sheet.

**sn7** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 1:56pm

much appreciated

**Carbon** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 2:05pm

The Machado tournament in Dallas? I am thinking of entering the tourament as well as a white belt.

I think the competition is going to be tough, but I am not doing it for a win, just to compete and get some experience of what tournaments are like.

I hear they are very nerve racking and sometimes the brackets are setup bad and you have to wrestle again 5 - 10 minutes after just finishing a match.

So the best advice is, get up on points early and then just do casual work.

**Carbon** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 2:17pm

I now am looking at where you say you are from, so....I guess it's not Dallas since it says you are from Maryland.

**Shuma-Gorath** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 2:26pm

Nonsense. Work on your conditioning from now until the tournament, then play the top and go for the submission. Playing the top as a white belt is especially important since your guard is probably not good enough to save you if you really get in trouble.

Playing for points so you don't get tired dishonors your club and jiu-jitsu as a whole.

**sn7** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 2:28pm

im actually in arlington at the moment, carbon.

what school do you go to? the only school i can think of right now is NDBJJ and molars

**Carbon** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 5:19pm

I go to mohler's, so Dreadnought going for submission attempts and actually puting on a good show you think is an important part of bringing respect to your school?

I can do both, I always go for submissions. I just have never competed and I don't know what to expect.

**Red Elvis** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 9:50pm

"Playing for points"

Now I remember why I left BJJ years ago!

**Shuma-Gorath** · Posted On: 1/03/2006 9:57pm

Originally Posted by Carbon

so Dreadnought going for submission attempts and actually puting on a good show you think is an important part of bringing respect to your school?

In the white belt division no one really cares about the results since you're white belts. But an active game from the top should be your strategy since it will net you points as a consequence. I'm not saying don't keep track of points, but don't look to them to win unless it's late in the match and, for example, you're in the guy's guard and only have time to pass. If it's tied you will win on advantages for being more active and on top.

Now, having said that, when I competed as a white belt I would run into a lot of wrestlers with gis so when I got picked up I would immediately secure closed guard and work the submission as soon as I hit the ground (hopefully before the guy could posture). I've hit a lot of triangles but I've also been passed and lost on points, so it's not where I want to be.