Thanks, it was a learning experience for sure. I attended one earlier this year to see how it went but that was very early on. I was bummed the rest of the day on Saturday, but I was over it by yesterday. It was very eye-opening. Several of the guys from my gym were there in different age/weight brackets, each with varying success. There's another competition in December and I don't know that I'll sign up for that one, probably just go watch. I don't think I'll try another competition until next year.

My wife and kid came to watch, I think it scared my daughter a little bit. I had to remind her that I was okay wasn't hurt. That probably didn't help my pride too much by having them see me on what wasn't my best day. It was still a more preferable feeling than putting too much stock in Aggie football.

Hey, you had the courage to do something a lot of folks never do (enter a tournament). It's a whole different experience than training for sure.

Don't worry about the outcome, just find a couple things you want to work on and makes some adjustments. And just keep having fun with it.

Max Power said:

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Went to my first competition on Saturday and it went poorly. I wasn't expecting to win either match but I know I could have done more than I showed, 2 matches, 2 losses, no points in either, really disappointed in myself. First match was against another guy from my school, same age but he's a former wrestler and very strong. Once he was in mount I just couldn't shake him. Eventually he got shoulder pressure on my throat and I couldn't breathe anymore, I tapped. The second match was only like 5 minutes later due to the brevity of the match after my first one. He was about the same as me size and strength wise, but he was more skilled than me. I had a chance early and got him in a solid cross choke, I don't know how he didn't tap, his face was turning and my grip just gave out. After that he just worked his way up and had a similar result as the first match.

Trying to look on the bright side and I definitely know I need to work on improving when I'm in closed and half guard, especially against stronger guys. I don't really believe in moral victories but at least I tried, and I'm not making excuses, the better man won each time. I don't think I hydrated well before hand because I was so nervous but even if I was hydrated I wouldn't say that it would have changed the result. The intensity was certainly different than even the most intense sparring at the gym.

The final was those two, not sure what happened but the guy from my gym took a knee or foot or something to the nose and I think might have broken it. He bled too much onto the gi of the other guy who they called the match for as they DQ'd the guy from my gym because he couldn't stop bleeding even though he had the only points in the match. We chatted with the guy from the other gym and congratulated him, he was a nice guy and very gracious. One of the things I've enjoyed about BJJ is the mutual respect shown regardless of win or loss and he was no different.

I'll be back at the gym tonight, not letting a poor result deter me from getting better. I've got a lot to work on.

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Congrats!

I got destroyed in my first tournament. It was awesome. The next will go better.

Max Power said:

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Went to my first competition on Saturday and it went poorly. I wasn't expecting to win either match but I know I could have done more than I showed, 2 matches, 2 losses, no points in either, really disappointed in myself. First match was against another guy from my school, same age but he's a former wrestler and very strong. Once he was in mount I just couldn't shake him. Eventually he got shoulder pressure on my throat and I couldn't breathe anymore, I tapped. The second match was only like 5 minutes later due to the brevity of the match after my first one. He was about the same as me size and strength wise, but he was more skilled than me. I had a chance early and got him in a solid cross choke, I don't know how he didn't tap, his face was turning and my grip just gave out. After that he just worked his way up and had a similar result as the first match.

Trying to look on the bright side and I definitely know I need to work on improving when I'm in closed and half guard, especially against stronger guys. I don't really believe in moral victories but at least I tried, and I'm not making excuses, the better man won each time. I don't think I hydrated well before hand because I was so nervous but even if I was hydrated I wouldn't say that it would have changed the result. The intensity was certainly different than even the most intense sparring at the gym.

The final was those two, not sure what happened but the guy from my gym took a knee or foot or something to the nose and I think might have broken it. He bled too much onto the gi of the other guy who they called the match for as they DQ'd the guy from my gym because he couldn't stop bleeding even though he had the only points in the match. We chatted with the guy from the other gym and congratulated him, he was a nice guy and very gracious. One of the things I've enjoyed about BJJ is the mutual respect shown regardless of win or loss and he was no different.

I'll be back at the gym tonight, not letting a poor result deter me from getting better. I've got a lot to work on.

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First off, congrats on competing. As has been said, you did better than everyone sitting on the couch.

I got Merc'd in my first tournament too. I was actually pretty pissed at the NoGi situation to be honest, my oppoent was 100% sandbagging and I found out that the school he was from had a reputation for doing that.

I lost on points in the Gi division...BUT....I didn't get submitted either. Honestly, I had no idea how to score points in a tournament. Zero. I was doing it for the experience.

Keep rolling with as many upper belts as you can. Show up to open mat whenever you can. Mostly, just keep going.

I didn't understand the scoring before either, they've talked about it in class before but they don't teach the class in a way to maximize points. Which at white belt that's a good thing, we shouldn't be focusing on points when technique is the more important aspect. I got to talk to my professor some at class yesterday and he was surprised my second opponent didn't lose points for stalling. Evidently he had me in side control and was just holding on, not really trying to advance, I thought he had mount but I couldn't really notice because of how he was holding me. I definitely came close to hyperventilating in that second match, I just couldn't calm myself down. That used to be a problem for me in class which was the first thing I worked on getting better at, the competition environment was so much different that I just mentally wasn't in the right headspace. It was like I was in my first class again.

Eventually you'll have to learn the scoring system. White level competition is pretty much a free for all mess where anything can happen. But when you get to upper blue and purple things stall out pretty fast and it becomes a lot tougher to get an actual submission so you have no choice but to think about advantage points, etc. Sucks, but that's the way it goes.

There's also submission only competition but you better have good cardio for that.

Yeah, I agree with MHH. Easy enough rule set to learn, but also one that rewards some boring BJJ and some downright weird positions....berimbolo, 50/50, worm guard, etc.

White belt matches are probably the most fun to watch at tournaments, because they're wild, spazzy and really unconventional. Black belt matches (with a few exceptions) are typically really predictable, low scoring and slow paced.

However, what the Ruotolo brothers are doing is just crazy exciting/good.

But back on topic.....a lot of white belts get overly focused on scoring points and some tricky submissions, and they never learn fundamentals like passing, posture and top position. And it works fine against a bunch of white and blue belts.....but it pretty much stops there.

Moral High Horse said:

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Eventually you'll have to learn the scoring system. White level competition is pretty much a free for all mess where anything can happen. But when you get to upper blue and purple things stall out pretty fast and it becomes a lot tougher to get an actual submission so you have no choice but to think about advantage points, etc. Sucks, but that's the way it goes.

There's also submission only competition but you better have good cardio for that.

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Honestly, I'm not in it to compete so learning the scoring system is optional. Its good to know, but its not mandatory.

Having said that.....where the hell are we on the TexAgs BJJ Tournament, hosted in Reed Arena???

Gonna have to be a football weekend

Registration for IBJJF Dallas in March just opened. Anything going to compete?

I'd been planning on doing waco ibjjf all year but am enjoying some glute strain. I may try to come to Dallas since I'm skipping the Waco one

I just moved back to Texas and it looks like I'll be living in the Georgetown area.

I went to the Humaita gym in Cedar Park (sheepdog) because I'm from a Humaita school previously, but I got some serious sticker shock when I saw how much they charge per month.

So, I'm looking for a gym in the area. Also keeping in mind traffic/distance etc etc. Anyone have a good recommendation?

Edit:

Joined Gracie Humait Austin Paulo Brandao is the lead instructor. Royler will be there in February.

2024 who is still rolling?

Going to my first class of the year tonight.

Getting back into next week. Want to try and attend more no-gi in 2024.

Still at it. Just did one class last week.... this week will try to get at least 2-3 in with an open mat.

First class of the year will be tomorrow. Last class I was able to attend was 2 weeks ago since they've been closed a good bit for Christmas and New Years. I've lifted a few times during the break but I'm looking forward to being back on the mat. I just can't get the same kind of workout on my own. I've eaten poorly the last couple of weeks, but shouldn't take long to shed the extra weight, but I haven't put much on.

The school is having a belt promotion on Saturday which should be cool because two of the coaches are getting their black belts. During the last class they made it a point to bring up that they've been doing this for 13 years, most of their lives, since they were little kids. My immediate response was "13 years ago I was 30." That got a good chuckle out of the class, I don't mind being one of the old guy white belts.

Not rolling much at the moment, but recently got my first degree and it reminded me how much BJJ has meant to me over the years.

But before I can get back to rolling I need to give a partially torn quad tendon time to heal.

We are off to a strong start in our gym this year. Our professor showed up on our off day wondering why we didn't show up.

I don't know if anyone is interested in this one, I'm not tournament ready at the moment.

https://rrsportscenter.com/events/ibjjf-austin-open/

I have the ringworm from last week.

I will be abusing all suspects when I return.

O.G. said:

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I don't know if anyone is interested in this one, I'm not tournament ready at the moment.

https://rrsportscenter.com/events/ibjjf-austin-open/

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Will be there to watch some teammates compete.

Pretty excited about this- Marcelo Garcia is coming to our gym (Marcelo Garcia Dallas) for a seminar in February. I think they will announce it on his Instagram page in a day or two if you are in Dallas and that sort of thing interests you.

Stepson has been trying to get me to go to a gym and I told him to go find a good one (he is a black belt in 2 other martial arts but not BJJ). Sounds like he found a decent one that I will probably be trying tomorrow

Good luck. Don't be scared to try all the ones in your area.

Not sure what area you're in, but have a great time and enjoy it. The first class can be a little overwhelming (which is normal).

Let us know how it goes and what questions you've got. There's a range of experience on this board/thread with a variety of perspectives.

Quote:

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he is a black belt in 2 other martial arts but not BJJ

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Are you & your son both starting, or just you?
If he is a black belt in Judo, it would give him a great advantage in stand up for BJJ.
If it is karate/TKD/etc.... he's going to be as lost as the rest of us were when we started!

Good luck! I would say commit to at least 6 weeks of training before making any decisions about quitting. I've seen lots of guys come in and not give themselves the chance to get over the wide-eyed "WTF is this" phase. Unless you've done other grappling like Judo or wrestling, BJJ is like nothing you've ever done before.

Apache said:

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Quote:

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he is a black belt in 2 other martial arts but not BJJ

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Are you & your son both starting, or just you?
If he is a black belt in Judo, it would give him a great advantage in stand up for BJJ.
If it is karate/TKD/etc.... he's going to be as lost as the rest of us were when we started!

Good luck! I would say commit to at least 6 weeks of training before making any decisions about quitting. I've seen lots of guys come in and not give themselves the chance to get over the wide-eyed "WTF is this" phase. Unless you've done other grappling like Judo or wrestling, BJJ is like nothing you've ever done before.

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Yeah, the only advantage I would say having a BB in Karate or TKD would offer is having good body control. That should speed up the learning. None of the skills will be transferable though


Definitely commit to a few months before starting. BJJ is very difficult to progress if you are not committed to it. Even then, it takes a few months before you can expect the submit anybody, much less submit anyone reliably.

I have some experience with martial arts so it won't be a shock, I have never done a program, just went to my stepdads classes when I was around 17-18 and they often wanted me to spar. Got my butt kicked most of the time with 2 pros being there but they took time to teach me a few things. I had a pretty good standup but my grappling sucked back then since I had no technique. When grappling my stepdad would not only get me on technique but he would also do things to make it as painful as possible like knuckles to the ribs. He was very old school.

Son does have a TKD black belt that he got when he was younger but switched to something similar to kuk sool won that is a good overall mix. He figured out TKD is almost worthless in the real world and wanted something more realistic. He said they did throws but often not at full speed, when they did throws is was with something the same or higher belt.

I told him I didn't have the time to try out all the gyms but if he found one he liked I would give it a shot. This one sounds pretty decent so we will see. Owner is a retired SEAL and most of the people there have been training for over 5 years.

Have fun and just go in with a blank slate, even if you've rolled a little bit before. BJJ is unlike most other martial arts (except Judo and Wrestling) because of the wide variety of styles/approaches.

Heck, even Judo black belts and good wrestlers struggle with parts of BJJ when they first start. So don't sweat it if it feels crazy. There's days I'm struggling with new BJJ concepts (and I have a decent level of experience).

That is what I did, told the guy I haven't been on the mats in 20 years so I know nothing.

Was a pretty good class, since no one in the class is going to compete he focused more on the self defense aspects of the moves. They have 3 classes for like $30 so I will give it a shot and my son and I will eventually do it. Plus I want to get my kids out of TKD and they have a family deal that makes financial sense

They make you sign up for a year (you can still pay monthly) since he says most people quit within the first 3 months.

Good deal. Yeah, the first drop is 3-6 months in. The second one is at blue belt (which for most is 12-18 months in). Variety of reasons.

I'm probably one of the older people training at my gym (52 and have been training/coaching BJJ for 16 years), but it's still fun despite being age disadvantaged.

Most the men there were 40s and 50s so I was one of the younger (went to the 11am class so not a surprise a lot of younger people weren't there), most were barrel chested/beer bellied which changes things up more than I thought. Was nice rolling with a few people, they wanted to work on defense and knew what I was doing and each gave me different pointers.

Yeah, BJJ is one of those sports where you can't judge a book by its cover (physique wise anyway). Anybody at any size/physique can be dangerous, even those old guys with big bellies.

I'm generally one of the smaller guys on my side of the mat (5'11", 178) and going up against big guys takes a different approach. Just part of the fun.

Sweep4-2 said:

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Yeah, BJJ is one of those sports where you can't judge a book by its cover (physique wise anyway). Anybody at any size/physique can be dangerous, even those old guys with big bellies.

I'm generally one of the smaller guys on my side of the mat (5'11", 178) and going up against big guys takes a different approach. Just part of the fun.

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This.

Dude at my old gym was one of the old guys with a big belly, but he's a black belt. If he got pressure on you, and he usually did, you had about 20-30 seconds, tops, to figure something out or it was lights out.

I told him it was like watching lava flow slowly down a mountain. You can spray water on it if you want to, but your house is still gonna burn down.