Everyone has a reason, and I'm sure many peoples are different. So what's yours? What motivates you to get in there and compete.. be it in jiujitsu, MMA, or what have you.
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Everyone has a reason, and I'm sure many peoples are different. So what's yours? What motivates you to get in there and compete.. be it in jiujitsu, MMA, or what have you.
To prove I have skills to win, but moreover, to prove I can get out there to compete. I know it could go without saying in such a competitive sport (so it tends to go unsaid) but it takes more guts to go out there and see what you're made of than to actually get a W. Skill and will meet in competition, You'll never know how much you have of either one unless you go out and do it.
To prove the 10th Planet style and my love for the game.
ive only done a few local grappling comps
but i did them to see where my skills where at and to see other guys go at it to hopefully pic up some tips
For the last few years, any competition I have done has been almost purely to carry the team flag. Every now and then I will get the bug to compete because I miss it. But generally speaking, competing makes me wanna shoot myself in the face.
I used to really love it. I'm not sure what changed for me as I got older.
I compete for the Boys, the rush, and the of pride I have for the system
I like the thrill of the competition (both training for, the day, and the first few hours after). Also it's a great way to test your skills against someone who doesn't know your game (usually) and you don't know their game so it's really pure and ad hoc. There are some days I am afraid of being injured or letting down/embarrassing myself or the system, but for the most part the pros outweight the cons (and the first junk food and beer you have after the tourney is over tastes sooooooo good).
To rep the system, my dojo, and to drive my focus at training.
I do it for the ladies.
I love competition. More so, I love to fight. Regardless of the outcome, like my performance at the State Championship, I love to throw my hat in the ring and try to overcome the will of another human being. We technically do fight in the gym, but it just doesn't have that same blood thirst that competing does.
Maybe my mind will change one day and I'll grow weary from the adrenaline dumps, heartbreaks, and physical abuse that come along with competition. But for the foreseeable future, I shall be repping 10P in grappling tournaments, and perhaps, eventually, in MMA, for a very long time.
^LolQuote:
Originally Posted by Scott Philips
Every time I compete, I fight myself. I put myself in a terrible position and force myself to push through. I'm forced to listen. Therefore, I am pushed to learn, to be a better all around person, and to increase my drive and my will power.
I fight because I want to be the best. I want to push myself to at some point be able to use all of my skills in competing. I want people to know who we are. I want people to respect me as a competitor and think I'm good because I am good, not that "I'm pretty decent for a woman doing Jiu Jitsu." I want to know that when I'm put in a high pressure situation that I got it, I can handle it. Fighting also helps me be tough and learn to control my emotions and as much as that sucks, it's good for me.
I compete because it is the best way for me to test my skills and progress. Even in competition I rarely get to go against girls my own size since I get moved up but it is still a way for me to see how I have grown as an athlete in the sport.
I also get anxious when I can't compete often. There haven't been in competitions in the Chicagoland area since early November so it's driving me crazy!
Love representing my gym and the system. You train harder when you're not just doing it for yourself.
To test myself and rep the system. I hate competing alone, and really have to push myself to do it, but I persevere because it's the only way to test what I am doing since I am a pure MTS Ronin with no formal BJJ training outside what I get from seminars.
There really isn't one reason why I compete. I do it pretty much for all the reasons all you guys said. I guess when it comes down to it, I really just do it for the love of the game. Before I found jiu jitsu my life had no direction. I was literally a walking zombie. Worse yet, I didn't even realize how "asleep" I was. No one really ever pushed me or guided me in any direction and I never had any perspective about life. No passions, no goals. A ship adrift at sea with no captain. This was probably a blessing in disguise because it gave me the opportunity to take control of my life and forge my own path. I can remember the EXACT moment where my whole world shattered before me and I could look at life with a fresh set of eyes. I was riding in a car with a friend when he played one of the many Joe Rogan clips on youtube. I was blown away. I had never heard conversation like this before. This was about three years ago. After that I was obsessed with JRE and naturally I came across Eddie Bravo. It was all downhill from there, or uphill however you want to look at it. Jiu Jitsu has literally become one of the few things that gets me up in the morning and it is never too far away in my brain. I think about it from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. In my short experience I have met so many cool people and pushed myself to do things that I didn't think were possible. Part of the reason why I travel, compete and attend seminars is to give back to the game that has given me so much and to leave my small, microscopic mark in jiu jitsu. I can think of no better way to honor this art than to put myself out there and rep jiu jitsu and 10th planet as hard as I can until the wheels fall off. I will do it until the day comes that I physically can not step on the mat again. Oss.
I didn't start jiu jitsu for self defense...I can typically stay out of those situations, and as someone who once got beat down by 3 dudes when I was younger. ..no form of self defense will get you out of that type if shit. So...I started because I used to wrestle...I sucked, but I enjoyed it. From the get go I knew I wanted to compete. I did a free month at a gracie gym to start with, and we it was a fine gym, it was very self defense oriented and almost discouraged competition (not totally, but they weren't encouraging competition). I then did 30 days at the hotbox I train at now. I was not very familiar with 10P at the time, but I learned quickly that it was very competition friendly.
I'm not sure why I originally wanted to compete. ..but I can tell you that now, it shows my wife and kids that I haven't been waisting my time at the gym (I.e. The time I sacrifice away from them). It helps me learn my weakness when I lose. It makes me feel good about myself when I win. It provides me some video to watch so I can break down my game (or lack of it) and make changes. It makes me proud of myself....even to just get past the nerves.
I personally compete to:
#1- Test my Jiu-Jitsu in one of the purest forms possible... One on One battle against a guy that paid $100 to win a medal and the only thing standing in his way is you.
#2- I have panic disorder and prior to training jiu-jitsu, I was prone to panic attacks... since training/competing, I went from having one every other month, to one time in the past 3 years (and it was stress related)... I'm no Doctor, but I think that there is definitely a direct correlation.
#3- My dad was all talk and no action... and when I have kids, I want them to look up at my medal rack and (atleast one point in their life) say "Damn, my dad was a bad mother fucker." :)
Epic reply...Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Philips
I figured enough people would post legitimate responses. In all reality, I just enjoy Jiu jitsu and have always been competitive so it's quite logical that I would also enjoy competing in bjj. Enough people basically said that so I threw up some motivational gangsta shit.
I think to be legit, you got to test yourself at that level, at least a few times under 10th Planet.
How else will you have tried and true 10th Planet technique?
I know when I see instructors getting on their students for not competing or whatever, and they aren't themselves competing, and they are capable of it, you gotta question things.
for the love of competing, regardless of what the competition is.
It's the only place I can wear vale tudo meat huggers and not be ostracized by the general population.
I compete because it brings me to a state of mind that I can only slip into when I step onto the mat to fight my competitor, and I love the feeling. I also get to show off and improve my skills. Competing always shows me where my strengths and weaknesses are. All in all its just something that I really enjoy doing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slick Rick
WORD x1,000
Haha. WIN!Quote:
Originally Posted by Conner MACHINE Gibbons
There are so many things I love about competing.
The change of scenery and opponent makes jiu jitsu feel fresh. The mystery of not knowing what the other guy will do and if I will be able to counter. I get a rush just thinking about the fact that I don't know if my A game will work against a person I don't roll with much. When a person is twice my size or has twice the experience it's even more fun. The bigger the challenge the better.
I think the most important life skill I have obtained from competing is the ability to be happy and still love myself and my life even if I get destroyed. I won't always be able to win but I can always improve. Jiu jitsu taught me to love progression and competing exposes the parts of my game that need it the most.
I love competing because of what it does to me. It forces me to find my head space. It makes me find my inner peace while still remaining sharp and my inner confidence while still remaining humble. I have to strive for excellence in the gym because I know I have a competition coming up.
Competing shows me exactly where I'm at in my Jiu Jitsu journey. I can see why people say one tournament is like 6 months of training. I like the fact it's like going against the unknown. You've never rolled with certain people so you don't know their tendencies like you do your training partners. There's also seeing your friends from across the state, country, or world. Like a family reunion where you show up to choke people.
I do it purely to lead by example. I'm with Brandon. I think I would feel be better about it if I could compete with people my own age and weight. Over 40 advanced no-gi under 160 seems pretty rare except for biggest comps. Other than in the 10th planet system, seems like older people are in the gi, or just done with comps, or have a gym and don't even roll in the gym anymore, just have nothing to prove anymore, or focus on being the coach during the comps.
I love the core of competing, as in, facing a skilled opponent in a full force match and proving the validity of your game to yourself . However, I hate the officialism of competing. I hate the crowds of people, the loud noise, the venues that are always too damn cold, the amount of money I spent when I show up and find two guys in my division. I'd much rather just competition roll with a variety of opponents in a comfortable setting.
So, really, I just compete because I'm supposed to in order to advance in the system. I don't enjoy it.
1) It's just fun. Plain and simple.
2) During the fight, nothing else in the world exists. Whatever problems, insecurities, etc I have in my life go away and there's only the fight. It's simple in that there is only me and him and if I don't hurt him, he's gonna hurt me. (That's more mma than straight jiu jitsu.)
3) To test/better my skills. (More straight jiu jitsu than mma.)
4) Having my hand raised in front of a cheering crowd after defeating someone in combat is fuckin' waaaaay better than any drug I've ever taken.
Nate, is was cool to read your last line, then look at your profile/avatar photo immediately afterwards. You're walking the talk for sure.
Nate, I envy your gladiator spirit. I flow in more of a ninja direction (kick ass and bounce before they catch your name). I don't really like attention, so a crowd of people cheering for me is an uncomfortable situation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate Harris
I've been in too many real life altercations, and I feel that it's made it difficult for me to get a good adrenaline pump from jiu jitsu, especially since I can't help thinking of other grapplers as brothers/sisters instead of enemies. To me, rolling, even competition pace, is a very calming, meditative experience. I'm sure it'd be easier to channel the bloodlust if I tried MMA, but on the mats I'm just too zen to go full scalp-mode. Not that I take it easy. I just have a lot of fun with the chess game. Getting a perfect sweep is more fun than pulling someone's head off, even though the latter should really be my priority in comp. I have a bad habit of forgetting that, and it can really screw you on points. (Why can't there be more sub-only tourneys?)
My greatest joys in jiu jitsu have come from private one-on-one marathon rolling sessions with incredibly skilled opponents. It doesn't even get good until hour two. That being said, I am definitely working on improving my competition mindset. In the meantime, I'm glad there are killers like you out there reppin' the system so viciously.
Hey Ryan, that is fantastic! Eddie and Joe have inspired an amount of people that can't be counted to this point!! I have the same mindset. I will compete or train as long as I am physically possible. As far as why I compete, I still compete in MMA at 46 yrs old so I still here that alot. Why:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Boor
1) I'm a fucking warrior and that's what warriors do.
2) It's the ultimate test of skills and physical ability.
3) Motivates me to continue to train/stay in shape.
4) I'm an adrenaline junky.
5) Probably the most important, the comradery. I'm retiring from Active duty Army after nearly 24 years and the bond I've built with this family ranks right there.