HUGE DILEMMA- Need help in trying to advance JJ career

[Arman Fathi]

I doubt you'll find anyone who has ever become the best and wasn't training daily under a high level teacher with an abundance of high level students to roll with. Without relocating to such a spot, you're going to have a hard time.

Would hespectfully disagree. It's probably the way to go and would undoubtedly improve your odds by a long shot but Ive heard from some horses' mouths that they've seen top, top level guys come out of gyms with lil more than whites and blues. Rare, tho so were the Chicago Bulls chances to win the 2008 NBA draft lottery with a 1.7% chance to end up drafting Derrick Rose thus saving our franchise. Wouldn't put my money on it, but sheeeeeit it could happen!

[Tori Applegate]

Rhetorical question: is competing the only way to advance one's jiu jitsu career? While highlight reels will undoubtedly help and could serve as a jumping off point, I'm curious as to what the long term goal would be. Perhaps seminars, privates, books, blogs, dvds, t shirts, merchandise, better yet running a successful school, but it all comes from people digging your jitz. I know a few people close to me that are married, and doing pretty well for themselves, cuz they're not out there looking for someone or caring about dating. They're focused. They invest their time on their lives and their goals. I think you have that working in your favor. The hungrier you are to invest in knowledge, fine tune what you already know, and make breakthroughs, improving the reflexes, never being satisfied etc., those financial things take care of themselves. If you invest in your jitz, then jitz will invest in you.

I feel like I titles this thread in maybe not the best way for what I meant. Should have worded it better.

I'm looking to challenge myself. I want to feel a higher level and see if I can hang. This isn't about my training, or my focus, my coach, my team, my drive, my location, etc. I've been competing locally for two and a half years and have been doing great for the past two. I went to Gracie worlds last year and got second. I had intended on fighting again this year for first. I want to fight the best girls I can. So, that is why I'm on the hunt for options.

[Tori Applegate]

The IBJJF American nationals are next month as I understand it. As a female, you may need the IBJJF more than the guys unfortunately. No where else can give you more matches or more prestige as an up an coming female right now. I sure don't like them though.

Yes, in Texas, NAGA Dallas has had 2000+ competitors at both their "NAGA Worlds" events the last two years. And NAGA in other places has bumped me two divisions just to get a single match, so, really its not so much the event but the location.

I would say a grapplers quest in Vegas would MUCH MORE than replace Gracie worlds in terms of prestige and difficulty. That's what I might look for if I was you. Any Large tournament somewhere like that would be just as big of a deal as Gracie worlds I'd say. Heck, a small tournament in LA that's cheap might attract some local beasts that wouldn't pay the different for Gracie Worlds, because outside of 10th Planet, "Gracie Words" has no prestige.

P.S. To Bruce, an old training partner of mine from Beaumont, TX has been on the IBJJ Worlds Gi podium... with a gold medal... He had basically no quality training partners his size at all to train with leading up to it, but still made it happen. You can make it happen if that's what you want. I, personally, could care less about being on an IBJJF podium though.

Thanks, this is super helpful!! I'm gonna check it out. I actually sent them an email today. I guess I didn't see that event posted. I will look into it some more. And I think you're right, Ibjjf it is...

[Arman Fathi]

I feel like I titles this thread in maybe not the best way for what I meant. Should have worded it better.

I'm looking to challenge myself. I want to feel a higher level and see if I can hang. This isn't about my training, or my focus, my coach, my team, my drive, my location, etc. I've been competing locally for two and a half years and have been doing great for the past two. I went to Gracie worlds last year and got second. I had intended on fighting again this year for first. I want to fight the best girls I can. So, that is why I'm on the hunt for options.

Seems to me the best option would be to identify the big tournaments that there's monster competition, settling on 4-6 a year I'd imagine with stellar competition, and taking those on with Sherlock Holmes intensity. I like what Galvao and Cyborg Abreu are doing, really starting to size up where their time is well spent and only picking those few events that they're gonna commit all their time to. This is one strategy. May not have the sheer volume of 'finding any and every tournament I can compete in', but saying that the ones that you DO compete in are definitely worth your time, focus, energy, and resources.

[David Rosado]

Interesting thread. Interesting perspectives.

[Martin Harris]

Tori - just curious.. do you have any interest in MMA? UFC is in need of women your size, you could make the UFC with less than 6 pro wins (You are pretty and have an exciting jiu jitsu game) which makes you a good candidate; if you can rack up those wins (not everyone reacts well to being hit) but you could definitely rep the 10, get some fame and make some nice money probably under 3 years time.

[Cora Sek]

Iron sharpens iron at all level. Everyone probably put in the same amount of mat time, but the difference is if it's quality mat time with quality training partners. As an example, AOJ has the best kids program in the world, hands down. But how do they get to this status in just 3 yrs from opening their door? Well other kids from other gym see what kind of result the Mendes bro are getting so they come and train at AOJ. Now they have something like 20-30 orange belt kids training together everyday, this is why their kids are so tough to beat. Here we couldn't even find a handful of tough orange belt kids in all of Houston to cross train with. And some gyms don't even allow their kids to cross train with other gym, even if those gyms are affiliated...yes sounds rediculous but it's true. I can't even make this up if I wanted to. Anyways, how can we alone compete with the likes of AOJ?? I know other places can produce top level champions but it rare when compare to gyms that are in Cali and NY. Look at how many guys are on EBI and where they are from. Where are all the EBI winners from? Maybe master Eddie will one day put a women tournament up and I won't be surprise if the winner of that come from CA or NY, or even most of the contestant come from those two states.

[Cora Sek]

On another note, here is our strategy in finding more competition and it might work for you as well. Since the start of this year, at every tournament, we sign Cora up for 5 to 6 divisions. She would do her weight (90-99) and go up to 100-109. Then she go into the absolute or up an age group to the 13-14 yr old. This way at one tournament she come out with 10-12 matches with 8-10 different kids. This way we maximize the tournament experience. I just hate traveling 4 hrs to get 1 match vs 1 kid. You know? Hope this idea helps.

[Tori Applegate]

Yeah this is tough love, but the data seems to back this up. I'm having a hard time coming up with names of guys who dominate and live anywhere other than the places Ben mentioned. (obviously we need to add Brazil to that list)

If your instructor is not a world champion, and you are not training with world champions, you are probably not going to be one either.


All that said, there are certainly many levels of achievement below world champion that are still monumental milestones, certainly worth being extremely proud of.

Cyborg is out of Florida, Lucas lepre is out of Atlanta, Alan Jouban came out of Louisiana, Meisha Tate came from Mississipi.. Good Jiu Jitsu and Mma, world class even, can come out of the south. I intend to be one of those people one day. Like I said before, Atlanta is def a Jiu Jitsu hub. Maybe not as big as Cali yet, but it's pretty big.

Also, if I recall correctly...Nathan Orchard didn't train with a world champion coach or only with world champions teammates. He got a group of students, competed like a crazy man. Now he's one of the best people in the game and one of the competitors I idolize the most.

Tori - just curious.. do you have any interest in MMA? UFC is in need of women your size, you could make the UFC with less than 6 pro wins (You are pretty and have an exciting jiu jitsu game) which makes you a good candidate; if you can rack up those wins (not everyone reacts well to being hit) but you could definitely rep the 10, get some fame and make some nice money probably under 3 years time.

It's not my passion. I certainly could do it. I would probably eat up most of the army's around here bc they have no Jiu Jitsu and their game all around is sloppy. But that's not what I want for real. I have no interest in going to the UFC.

Iron sharpens iron at all level. Everyone probably put in the same amount of mat time, but the difference is if it's quality mat time with quality training partners.

Where are all the EBI winners from? Maybe master Eddie will one day put a women tournament up and I won't be surprise if the winner of that come from CA or NY, or even most of the contestant come from those two states.

I agree. My training partners are awesome. We have a killer group of blue belts. That may sound dumb to some people, but I've seen them tap purple and browns that visit our school. We are constantly evolving and sharing techniques trying to make ourselves better. We compete every month and re-evaluate our game, tweak it, drill it and roll more.

There have only been three EBIs so far. I'm sure someone will rise from the south. And yea for woman, I'm sure most of them will be from Cali if he's looking for the top black and brown belts because Jiu Jitsu is more popular there. In fact, he may have to get in touch with women from Brazil. There's not a lot of women to choose from. That's probably why no one has put a women's event on, also you have to find women with entertaining styles.

[Kevin Gibbs]

I've done two pgl matches, I was invited, however you can also just hit them up to see if there is a spot. Odds are there will be. They like to do female matches and 10th planet is a known name that they can use, I'm pretty sure they will put you on.