Why do you compete/fight?

[Nate Harris]

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.

[JHouse]

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.

[Nathan K.]

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, 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.

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.

[jaywatkins67]

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.

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:

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.