trouble winning in tournaments

[Shadowdean]

I am very light...112-114 lbs is what I weigh in at. I fight in advanced no gi 139 and under. There are no lighter weight classes. I wish there was something like 120 and under or something..or even 125 and under. So a big problem is I just can't put enough force into my techniques....I've lost a ton of matches, but now I am starting to place, earning 2nd and 3rd places. I probably can't be a world champion with the american weight system (139 and under) since a lot of people at that weight are even heavier when fight time starts BUT I do believe I can give anybody hell and eventually build a wining record.

[GoldenJonas]

How bad do you want to win when you do compete?

Do you wake up at night sweating having nightmares about losing? So insane that you will get out of bed to run at 2am until exhaustion so that you can finally sleep? Every meal do worry about weight? Every training session do you fear getting injured and missing training that your opponents will be engaging in?

Maybe I take my competitions way too seriously. Some people go "just to have fun". Or compete "just for the experience". That isn't my way. When I step onto the mat you are a nameless, faceless obstacle that I want to crush. The only thing that brings me to the highest level of joy is winning. I guess it's like a crack high. And I will do anything to get that high. And it sucks for my opponent. Especially if they are there "just to have fun".

So ask yourself.... how badly do you want to win?

Wow, just wow. Remember that scene in the movie "Knockaround Guys" where Vin Diesel confronts the town-tough-guy and give his "500 fights" speech...Yrkoon's post is the real life equivalent of that.

I am now very ashamed of my 5-7 competition record.

[J0hnny_Kickass]

In theory the more you compete the better your chances of winning become.

[Roidie McDouchebag]

I've recently changed my opinion on winning. Fighting smart and going for points over subs is the better game plan, for me at least, and it's also more conducive to MMA training, bad habits don't form.

[Yrkoon9]

I have no trouble winning on points.

Heck I've told this story before: Judo tournament circa 1994 - Dallas Open Invitational. I take my grip and make some footsweep fakes, positioning my opponent onto the red. He stays there for more than a few seconds and gets a penalty. We start again. Same thing. I position my opponent over the red again. Another penalty. The guy is frustrated but when we begin again I do the same thing. Match over. I win.

"That's cheap! That's dirty. That's fucking bullshit Yrkoon! If I am going to win I am going to get an Ippon, and I always go for submissions, I don't care about points, blah blah blah..."

Nah. Fuck you. I won that match using my mind. Not my body. And technique isn't just physical. Winning has more to do than just going balls out and hoping for the best. Strategy and being able to outthink your opponent in the heat of a match maximizes your chance for victory. In that match I simply understood the rules, my opponent, and was able to advance using better strategy. I laugh about it and that guy probably went home squeeling about what a bitch I was. Yeah. But he went home. I moved toward the finals. Had he played less defensively and opened up with an attack - maybe he would have won - or maybe I would have been presented with more opportunities to throw him for Ippon.

Now going back to points in BJJ or sub grappling tournaments. I've said this many times before. I have a solid strategy. I get the initial throw and immediately move to improve my position. Now I am way up on points. If we do nothing from then til the end of the match I have shown I am superior to him. But being ahead I don't *HAVE* to go for hail mary crazy submission attempts. I can play a solid game of position improvement until my opponent has no other options - he *HAS* to open up and go for it. That will allow me to finish without exposing myself to undue risk. Simple and solid.

Why would I give up a 10-0 lead in the last seconds of a match, by leaving side control or mount to go for a submission - get reversed and subbed - then kick myself all the way home for giving it all away.

I've told another story about a guy who was up on points, gave up position for submission right at the end of a match, only to have me reverse the position and pass for a 1 point lead to win. He probably went home kicking himself.

I am sure there are guys out there who talk about how shitty I am. And how I ruin the sport. Blah blah blah. I don't really fucking care. Eat a dick. I win the match. I move to the finals and take home the medal. They can go tell all thier friends how they *ALMOST* won.

Personally I think the strategy is solid, just like Cracky said, it transfers well into MMA or... streetfights. Get dominate position. So if push comes to shove you can dish out a beating. That's really where the point system came from. Who was dominant, and who had positions that could finish the fight. It depends on what environment and how you define "finish".

[Judobum]

Strategy is key in any sort of competition. Mine was usually like Yrkoon's, come out and throw my unorthodox throws out first and try to get an early score. Often this would lead to me winning the match early. If not, once I was up I could let him come to me and open things up a bit more allowing me to attack without breaking down a stiff armed defense. I have a lot of "set" attacks from certain positions which I can do generally without thinking about them but that comes from years and years of practice.

My approach to the mental side was to be an emotionless, cold bastard out on the mat. I put on my shark eyes and go out to finish my opponent. I love spazzy psycho guys because they usually come out flying at you and I usually just grab and slam them when they do. Control and relentless pressure is the key, maintain dominant grips and position and win the match.

[blindfury]

Man was to pretend the guy raped my mom


"Hey, that guy there raped my mom. I am going to murder that fucker!"

[benonmsn]

Thanks for more advice guys, i appreciate it. after the first few posts about being more agressive, i went to practisee and said hey! ill be more agressive. well easier said then done. being a methodical thinking player that i am, i didnt do so well. easier said then done. trying to go faster just made me give up my position, before submission/point etc. it really is going to have to be trained into me, and thats what im working on. i also pin pointed alot of issues i have. i can pretty much gaurante i will get the take down points, wether i initiate it, or am able to out sprawl/counter an attacker. But when im in some ones guard i found i am way to slow. get belt grip. elbows in, posture up, open their guard etc etc is way to slow. i am way to relaxed and take way to much time, giving my opponent tons of time to work on me, and broadcasting that im slow, letting them attack away. i have been going for more explosive type stand up guard passes, trying to outpace, and be a step ahead of their plan. its comming together slowly but i am really having to reinvent what little game i had, and it will take some time.

All of you guys have helped me, except for the people that said winning isnt important and i should learn to accept losing. i will never be happy losing, and never want to be. i dont even want to be accepting if i lose, i want to be mad, becuase it fuels me.

[benonmsn]

Man was to pretend the guy raped my mom


"Hey, that guy there raped my mom. I am going to murder that fucker!"

Im pretty calm, emotionally when about to compete. i dont get nervous, or angry.. just ready. im pretty much always really relaxed, which sometimes works against me when competing agaist an INTENSE person who can out power me and out muscle me. if some one can outwork me, and out power me, my wrestling control and pressure lose effectivness

[RobT]

Being aggressive isn't about being fast, just constantly attacking.

You can still be methodical but you should try to always be on the front foot, you should always be attacking. Attacking may just mean dominating the grip battle or working to secure a tight mount, it doesn't mean you have to be constantly trying to grab a sub.

[Aero]

I was a methodical player who realized that I should be more aggressive. I've been consistently training this aggression. My aggression has nothing to do with the mindstate of anger, although I can see how that would help some people. And although it does require you to do your moves forcefully, and at a fast or solid pace, you also don't need to spaz or waste energy uselessly (an advantage learned from being methodical).

Don't forget the strengths you have in order to change styles. I'll give you a more technical description of what it was like for me.


I started my guard work by working on not being passed, and I would look for opportunities to throw submissions or sweep. Generally my sweeps revolved around attempted passes, and my submissions hit during the basing/recovery phase from a decent attempt but failed sweep. I would try armdrags or simple submission setups but they rarely worked. (I responded to their game.)

My game changed. Now I will be putting in a constant workload. I do not settle for posture. I sit up into them, and try to pull them down, or try to sit out, or hip heist. If they are down, I climb guard as high as possible and actively fight for subs. I actively try to take my body out of a vertical line with their spine and fight for sweeps that I start. I try to use the sweeps I start with more sweeps that revolve around the defense, or try to spin up to the back. I constantly try to climb the back if I can't pull off high guard subs. If I stand out, I don't wait to wrestle, I attack via sprawl and go for chokes instantly. (I am attempt to defile any hopes they may have had, of accomplishing anything other than not getting fucked, at any point.)

Now maybe I've just gotten a little bit better in my understanding of the game, I mean there certainly was this evolution over a period of time. But I've basically realized that I don't train just to train. Every day that I go into class, I am there to train for a competition. I don't worry about gassing myself, I try to push my limits. I try to roll tired. I don't settle for bad position and I remember that I should always scramble my nuts off because I plan on fighting.

But my point that I'm still the same core fighter. There are a million armbars I could throw from a high guard that would get me stacked immediately, crushed out, and passed. I don't need to freak out or try to kill.

I need to be constantly using aggressive grips, constantly taking advantage of things that I accomplish, and otherwise remaining just as chill as ever.

PS : I had to get fucking crushed by a few people like Yrkoon before I realized that I needed to try to dominate their entire life and that I wasn't there to play "physical chess".

[Roidie McDouchebag]

Yrkoon, did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be?

[Bustardo]

Last time I went to compete I thought of Yrkoon's advice. I tried to just smash the guy I was against. Unfortuantly he was just simply better than I was. The next guy I went against I friggin killed to take third.

[new2bjj]

I have no trouble winning on points.

Heck I've told this story before: Judo tournament circa 1994 - Dallas Open Invitational. I take my grip and make some footsweep fakes, positioning my opponent onto the red. He stays there for more than a few seconds and gets a penalty. We start again. Same thing. I position my opponent over the red again. Another penalty. The guy is frustrated but when we begin again I do the same thing. Match over. I win.

"That's cheap! That's dirty. That's fucking bullshit Yrkoon! If I am going to win I am going to get an Ippon, and I always go for submissions, I don't care about points, blah blah blah..."

Nah. Fuck you. I won that match using my mind. Not my body. And technique isn't just physical. Winning has more to do than just going balls out and hoping for the best. Strategy and being able to outthink your opponent in the heat of a match maximizes your chance for victory. In that match I simply understood the rules, my opponent, and was able to advance using better strategy. I laugh about it and that guy probably went home squeeling about what a bitch I was. Yeah. But he went home. I moved toward the finals. Had he played less defensively and opened up with an attack - maybe he would have won - or maybe I would have been presented with more opportunities to throw him for Ippon.

Now going back to points in BJJ or sub grappling tournaments. I've said this many times before. I have a solid strategy. I get the initial throw and immediately move to improve my position. Now I am way up on points. If we do nothing from then til the end of the match I have shown I am superior to him. But being ahead I don't *HAVE* to go for hail mary crazy submission attempts. I can play a solid game of position improvement until my opponent has no other options - he *HAS* to open up and go for it. That will allow me to finish without exposing myself to undue risk. Simple and solid.

Why would I give up a 10-0 lead in the last seconds of a match, by leaving side control or mount to go for a submission - get reversed and subbed - then kick myself all the way home for giving it all away.

I've told another story about a guy who was up on points, gave up position for submission right at the end of a match, only to have me reverse the position and pass for a 1 point lead to win. He probably went home kicking himself.

I am sure there are guys out there who talk about how shitty I am. And how I ruin the sport. Blah blah blah. I don't really fucking care. Eat a dick. I win the match. I move to the finals and take home the medal. They can go tell all thier friends how they *ALMOST* won.

Personally I think the strategy is solid, just like Cracky said, it transfers well into MMA or... streetfights. Get dominate position. So if push comes to shove you can dish out a beating. That's really where the point system came from. Who was dominant, and who had positions that could finish the fight. It depends on what environment and how you define "finish".

This is so true, about, well, a lot of things. Winning ugly is still winning, and it sure beats the fuck out of losing. It's the same way at work, and especially in sales. What he said, plus, whoever said go to as many tournaments you can possibly afford. The more you go, the more you get the benefit of the doubt on the points. It's like anything else, if you ask a bunch of girls to dance, you'll dance, same thing with the phone numbers.