First Competition..need help!

[u1ysses]

One of the guys at Kin-Tora used to have trouble back in the day with some Bulgarian or Serbian or some kind of Eastern European guy who competed in judo out of Canada in his division. One of the problems was that the guy's coach spoke the same language, so all the coaching was indecipherable to the Kin-Tora guy.

[indy007]

My last match in a comp i had no team mates there to cheer or whatever. She did though, it was very handy as they gave her advice that i could instantly use against her.
Like "you have a key lock there!!"
Not any more, thanks for pointing it out.

Yeah it does work both ways. I could hear Saul talking to his guy and was using that also to make my own adjustments.

[syberia]

Having training partners I could hear clearly was helpful too.

My last match in a comp i had no team mates there to cheer or whatever. She did though, it was very handy as they gave her advice that i could instantly use against her.
Like "you have a key lock there!!"
Not any more, thanks for pointing it out.

[indy007]

How do you guys deal with the nerves though? Just thinking about it has me excited/nervous/scared and all these other emotions wrapped up into one.

Contrary to all the jibber-jabber about "Brazilian Time", my first match started 5 minutes early, and was the very first of the day. I didn't even have my gi on yet. No time to get nervous. The ref said go. I went after the guy with the mantra "stay on top stay on top stay on top stay on top" being the only thing wedged into my brain.

Having training partners I could hear clearly was helpful too.

[Keyboardsamurai]

Yeah I'm definitely going to post up videos here. I don't mind the criticism as long as its constructive lol. Going to bring my ipod too that should help tons.

I remember going to a grappler's quest just to watch and just the thought of competing made my stomach turn. I guess I'll get over it with time.

[syberia]

I have to agree on the cutting issue, samurai. You'll be nervous, but just get into a groove of warming up before your match. Until then, work on cardio, dont injure yourself and work on the basics. dont try to master something tricky or fancy to use. Take what you know now and solidify it a bit more, while tuning up technique.

Depending on the set up of the day but you might be waiting around a while. Watch your team mates fight, if none are, watch other fights. Dont spend all day warming up, you'll wear yourself out. If music helps you relax a bit, take your ipod or whatever for while you're waiting.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck, you'll be fine. Definatly get someone to video it. You dont have to post it or show anyone if you dont want to (you might want to show your coach if s/he doesn't catch the fight) but its a valuable resource.

[1point2]

I've had success with positive visualization, jumping up and down/shaking my arms out, and using breathing techniques to overcome pre-match jitters, which I get pretty hard.

[Keyboardsamurai]

Thanks for all the advice. I didn't think about taping it so I can review my performance later. That's a great idea! Yeah looks like I won't be worrying too much about cutting weight as this is just my first competition I'll just go out and have fun.

How do you guys deal with the nerves though? Just thinking about it has me excited/nervous/scared and all these other emotions wrapped up into one.

Last time I was ever in front of a crowd in a competition was in a chess tournament in 4th grade and I almost threw up =(

[ignatzami]

Don't worry about weight.

Go out there, fight, tape the match. Watch the tapes afterward, learn, adjust, and do it again.

If you feel you are too heavy then diet, intelligently, and slowly loose the weight.

I'm down 25lbs, slowly, and without cutting just from diet, and Judo. You are competing, it should be fun, have fun and don't worry about the weight.

[indy007]

Why is that indy007?

Felt like shit, couldn't think straight. Had my first opponent in a gogoplata, rear naked choke, and kimura that I just couldn't finish. 4 mounts... no finish. Had to go the full 6 minute round, win on points, and drain even more energy. Made a stupid mistake in my second match and got armbarred, while winning on points, with 30 seconds left.

Had I been fresh, I wouldn't have made so many simple mistakes.

[u1ysses]

My impression is that the most important thing for first tournaments is cardio (it's definitely the case in other competitive sports I've done). Weight-cutting can be detrimental to that depending on the shape you're in and how much you cut.

[Keyboardsamurai]

Why is that indy007?

[indy007]

I cut some weight before my first tournament. I seriously regret that decision.

[Keyboardsamurai]

Thanks HailtotheKing! After every class I do lose about 5-6lbs of water weight and I don't feel too shabby. I'm going to try my hardest to get to 169 just because I'm afraid of getting steamrolled by the bigger guys.

[HailtotheKing]

169 is doable by the 15th but by someone who knows how to cut weight, and then it still wouldn't be much fun. I don't think its dangerous, as long as you don't dehydrate yourself too much. The rule is if you can get within 10 lbs of the target weight, you can cut the last ten lbs a few hours before the weigh in.

Since you are new to it, I wouldn't try it. You should do a weight cutting practice when you don't have a comp coming up, weigh in, then fight 5 rounds with your friends the next day to see how you feel.

If you try to cut and make it I'll be surprised. And even if you do make it, I'll be surprised again if you have any energy the next day.

Competitions are great fun, I wish you all the best luck. At your level, just going to the competition is the win.