thank you for posting, I did just my 2nd comp as white belt, it gets better and better in terms of adrenaline and fatigue. Just showing up to compete is a win in itself, respect
@@robrolls Same for me on the first one, I was completely wiped out after the first match. Second comp ~6-7mos later I knew what to expect and it wasn't nearly as bad. Still grueling, but less adrenaline fatigue. And from chewjitsu's channel I got turned on to a carb supplement called carbion which may or may not have helped... the prior stress inoculation and visiting other gyms' open mats may have been better than the supplement 😆😆
You brought up fatigue a lot during this, and one thing I would say is that you cannot forget about the adrenaline dump. First comp, it happens. Love your honest take aways!
@@robrollsI would say you kind of need to do the opposite. Have most of your rolls slower and more technical with only a few hard rolls. Really learn how to relax in situations so you don’t blow your load.
@@generalwoofles6240👍🏼 Yeah I like that, less hard on the body too! Trying to roll more relaxed now. In the match i was in such a rush for a finish while in closed guard.
Those feelings of fatigue in your first tournament doing back to back to back matches are indescribable to someone who has never done so. I’ll never forget lying on the floor after my first tournament trying my best to open a bottle of water but to no avail.
I appreciate your honest depiction of competition. I had a similar experience both of the times I competed. I did ok on one match, but I was exhausted for most of my other matches. Competition helped me realize where I was in regards to cardio and inspired me to work on extra conditioning outside of grappling. This video will also be good for you as you keep doing Jiu Jitsu because you’ll be able to look back on how much you’ve improved.
This was fun to watch and for me was a real flashback. I was a 42 y.o. white belt in my first tournament, and I am also a lanky grappler. A couple great observations you made. The grip intensity in tournaments is totally different than class, and will accelerate fatigue. Don’t feel embarrassed about your cardio in your first few tournaments. I trained hard for my first tourneys and the fatigue gets you no matter what. Having the guts to compete is a big accomplishment. I’m sure you’ve received a pile of advice, but if you like playing full guard in a gi tournament, think about attacking forms of cross choke when your opponent’s hands are occupied away from their neck. They’ll have to come back to defend and that will stymie their attempts to open your guard.
Thanks brotha that makes me feel better haha! Great advice, I was so focused on 1 thing.. I should be working on more chokes from there instead of triangles only. Looking forward to 1st comp at blue, prob dropping a weight class since all my opp felt 10 lbs heavier too haha appreciate the feedback! 👊
You being exhausted isn’t pathetic man. You’re doing so much more than an overwhelming majority of people at any age group much less 30-40 year olds. Youre a warrior for going forward and not quitting.
I’m 44, going on a year at white belt. I’m definitely getting the bug to compete and I definitely want to do it before I get my blue. I enjoyed this video, gets me excited.
Man, I can't believe you had those first THREE comp rounds back to back. That is terrible luck. I had about an hour in between first and second, and I swear I needed so much time to get my HR down. My left tricep was going into spasm. It was like I was going into shock. You're a hero for stepping into that third round.. I can't even imagine. The burn is real. There's no real preparation for the intensity of competition. Pressure and adrenaline.. thanks for posting, I appreciate the honesty.
Fantastic video brother. Only people who have competed understand what you went through. The nerves can be sometimes more than half the battle. It’s still something I struggle with. Of course not having a sufficient rest time didn’t help, but great job out there!
44 years old white belt here going into my first comp. today. Thanks for sharing this video with us and good job on making it through back to back to back fights.
Sick, thanks man! I recommend grabbing a purple belt to partner up with for technique and rolling! (if you decide to roll on first day) tell them it’s your first day. they should be helpful! They’ll still kill ya, but a slow, gentle death 😂 Good luck, let me know how it goes!
Oh ya! Ive tried the loop a few times but haven’t finished it yet! Definitely a sneaky one some black belts will get me with. Lookin forward to exploring more myself with some additional training and privates soon! Thanks man
Thank you for posting these even though you weren't just smashing the competition. I can definitely relate to your experience having just started myself.
I really enjoyed watching this. I am only three weeks into BJJ and I got so excited and was shouting 'go on' when you applied the triangle. Hats off to you for entering any tournament as they must be nerve wracking enough. Amazing effort!
I’ve only been training about 2 months and have never done a competition but I have felt this level of exhaustion twice in class. Doesn’t feel good but you fought through it. Mental toughness is a huge factor in bjj. Nice job man. 🙏🏼
dude I feel like you did amazing. you really fought hard and never gave up which is soooo admirable. comp is NOT like rolling in class lmao. the exhaustion is crazy. i won gold at my first comp and barely won/ survived both matches. great job :)
That first roll you show is what it's like for me against a couple of guys in my gym. I'll pull guard but they never try and pass, they just grab my wrists and don't do much else except stack. You do a great job being patient and just maintaining your gaurd. You can tell he's frustrated but he never really tried to pass your gaurd. Nice work!
Im a little over a year in and started jiu jitsu when I was 37 and im now 38. I was in the exact same situation as you in my first tournament so this video was really familiar to me. I had a tough no gi match first, then within 5 minutes was being called for my gi match. I was exhausted, and had to scramble to get my gi on and never really caught my breath when I started my gi match. You're so right too, you feel like you roll hard in the gym and think a tournament will be no different than those tough rounds in the gym, but its a whole different level of intensity! Its also hard when you're that tired and you can hear your coaches telling you what to do, but your body wont respond. I'm sure the nerves and adrenaline play a big roll in the fatigue during competition. Good job though, win or lose, you learn, and you get back in the gym and keep working. osss brother!
I did my first white belt competition a while ago, it’s really hard and new it’s not like a rolling with partners it’s so much harder and so much pressure. Thank you for making a video.🎉🎉
Man much appreciated, I joined black lion gym in Michigan and it was amazing and haven’t been there in a year but train with my brother and watch lots of matches in my off time and always wanted to compete so this opened my eyes.
Nice work! Newly promoted blue belt here, won gold my last tournament at white (3rd tournament at white belt). You did a very nice job in your first match holding the closed guard. The only suggestion I would give is to decide on whether you are pulling guard or shooting for a take down and be first. The rest is reps with drills, more matches, more tournaments, highly recommend attending open mats at new gyms. Gives you an opportunity to work your game on someone who doesn’t know you. Best of luck!
Hey thanks for the feedback! Ya on that second match i needed to go! Good idea on open mat i have another gym close to home my son was straini g at, be great to get more content at new gyms as well! Thanks 🤜🤛
Such an amazing story. I havent competed yet and I started rolling a couple months. Your video motivated to look at competion and cardio , but being aware of the adrenaline aspect you mentioned. Great job getting the gold still.
Yes, definitely have some competition like rolls leading up so you can feel the intensity! Bringing some electrolytes might be smart to haha Thanks and good luck! 🤜🤛
Que incrível o conteúdo, muito obrigado por compartilhar. Iniciei no bjj tem 1 mês e estou na fase de me sentir perdido e cheio de dores, mas nao vejo a hora de evoluir. 38 anos e acima do peso, mas vou buscar evoluir.
Absolutely! I can roll at least 3 times at the gym before having to take a good break. My first match at the comp, I was exhausted right after it. Another obstacle to overcome!
Thanks for sharing! Good stuff. I think the biggest benefit is that you can look back and learn from the experience. You win some and lose some. Just have fun, and keep improving.
I started 10/2022 at age 42. 14 months later I'm much more relaxed than when i started, but endurance just doesnt come easy. So many things i could relate to watching your video. The nerves and unfathomable fatigue...Thank you for sharing your journey. Maybe our paths will cross one day. We'd be in the same bracket
Right on Justin! Yeah hard to relax the body when it know a battle is gonna take place in a few hrs haha i remember my heart rate was up at home even, the anticipation of it was tiring. 🤜🤛
Great job, everyone who's competed understands the fatigue that you're talking about, after my first competition match my body was destroyed and it stayed like that for like 3 days, those 5 minutes in comp felt harder than 30 minutes of straight sparring.
This was a lot of fun to watch man. Ive got my first comp in november. Ive got the same problem as you, im tall and skinny so i get wrecked by stockier oponnents
Appreciate your post. Not sure if i could push the way you did. Thinking about starting Jui Jitsu. It's good to see ppl starting their journey at an older age. I'm exhausted just watching.
You did well mate. I started in January as well, aged 42. I was impressed that you even had a game plan and can commentate the roll pretty well. I only get to go 3 to 4 times a month and still barely know what's going on. How often do you train?
My first tournament I developed adult asthma from getting so winded. Fast forward two years and my couch wouldn’t give me a blue belt until I walked through NAGA masters nationals heavyweight, 30-40 decision with all subs via Americana lol. What a difference two years can make! Much respect my brother, you’re doing awesome!
@@robrolls I got an inhaler, plus the Adrenalin dump has gotten better with practice. Mad respect to you for doing this and being honest about how hard it really is. Everyone wants some gold medals, no one want to admit what that looks like. Thank for posting brother 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽
Good post. I’m 54 and been at it 6 weeks. I’m athletic and giving some blue belts a real fight BUT I am not as brave as you. I can’t face that disappointment so I am not going to compete I believe. Besides I’m a real fight I’m focusing on my striking. Wishing you much success!
Definitely helps I work on armbar and triangle movements a lot. But you can work on the technique that you learned in class and get reps in. I got the one that stuff yourself so it was less than $200
What made you decide to compete in 2 age divisions? Also the fact that you were exhausted but still gutted out 2 matches with younger competitors and almost got a finish in one of them you should be proud. A good way to know if your jiujitsu works is to see if its effective when you are injured and/or exhausted. I think you did great for your first comp. Make all the mistakes at white belt so you dont make them at higher ranks. Keep it up!
Well there was only 1 guy in the 40 yr old bracket when I registered so I thought why not enter in 30 yr old to get an extra match or 2 for $30 haha. Thanks I appreciate that! I thought I was in a little better shape 🤣 🤜🤛
@@robrolls I understand. $30 well spent. You won your division and you got the experience of 2 additional matches. You ended up with a great result. If you had only done the over 40 division you would have still won gold but lost out on the additional 2 matches. You've proven a lot to yourself which is going to make you much better.
@@robrollsI’m 52. How does that work if few (if any) people are in your age division? It just dawned on me that in a few years I’ll get the senior discount at iHop!
In the first match, do you not usually sweep to your right? Feels like his base is frequently compromised and vulnerable to a scissor sweep. See how much he tilts left at 4:45.
Yeah exactly, ended up on the weak side more than I thought I would haha. Just got the grappling dummy though so I’m definitely going to be drilling both sides more!
You can roll as hard as you want in class, but nothing compares to a competition roll. Took me a while to learn how to pace myself and not let the adrenaline take over.
LOL I remember the first time I ever competed and after that first match my whole body felt drained too. Muscles burning and lungs ON FIRE and you are questioning "What the heck did I sign myself up for?!?! How many more matches??? UGH!" But its ok, it'll pass. Neat thing is you come from professional poker so it is all about that poker face in between your matches. Congrats, you now have gone thru your trial by fire. Win/lose doesn't matter, you put yourself out there and gave it your best shot. You are walking away with something better than a medal or a NAGA Sword (still don't know why they give little kids full swords, anyways) You are getting experience. I know that sounds corny and not a lot but experience can become quite the useful tool. I bet you are probably going to take that experience and be thinking about every little move you/your opponents made. And those thoughts can lead you to coming up with nice answers to plenty of the situations you came across. Another step in your Mexican Ground Karate journey. 👍
Haha thanks Mark! Ya man what a shock it was, and another humbling experience. It’s wild how its already kinda a blur now, that’s what exhaustion does to ya. Yes, definitely have went over all the matches several times looking at where I missed sweeps and certain details I missed on finishing a few of the sweeps so looking forward to improving technically. I’m not sure if I was breathing either 😂 but ya a great learning experience 💪🏼
Good job and congrats !!! I was exactly like you. Won my first match and lost my second match to an opponent which was his first match . Completely gassed out after my first match and I never expected that as usually I am able to roll a few rounds with lesser rest time during open mat. I think it was because I wasn’t breathing much too during my first match. 😂
😂 yeah same! I think I was in a rush in close guard instead of relaxing. I was really forcing to try and look for a finish, instead of chillin and waiting for openings. Probably wasn’t breathing myself lol so tense
Tournaments are tough. It's different to sparring. YOu have to get used to that & become compfortable with competing. Your experience is very relateable.
Thanks, go for it! Its hard to be cool and calm day of comp but its just another roll with someone new thats all 😅 try and have fun its not too serious especially for us older guys haha
Thanks! Well, there was only one guy in the 40-year-old bracket when I initially signed up and I heard for $30 more you could sign up for another one lol. Thought why not have another match or 2 😂. Thanks man 🤜🤛
@@robrolls Im 62, took up Jujitsu and went to classes. even doing private lessons. rolled for first time and was gassed out in one minute. still wiping my tears.
The great thing is you’ll fix pretty much everything you identify, things that happen in competition tend to stick with you. I bet you finish triangles at a much higher rate from now on. Well done champ, the adrenaline dump is real it’ll get better with experience, but try and focus on breathing over everything in class for a while to keep your heart rate down.
I'm curious about that call in match 1, no shade on you but if I were the ref I might have called double stall, since you never opened up your guard to make an attack.
Like everyone said, the first comp is ROUGH and full of great learning lessons. Two things that can make a huge difference with the fatigue: Thorough warmup before the matches begin. Light rolls, air squats, jumping jacks or whatever. Just get warm and try to get rid of that adrenalin. Secondly, be purposeful with your breathing during the match. Breathe through your nose and don’t let yourself end up holding your breath because you aren’t mindful of the breathing.
Grazie per questo video. E' facile trovare video di cinture viola o cinture nere che si, sono belli da vedere, ma non sono utili quanto il tuo video. Io tra poco farò la mia prima competizione con cintura bianca e sono molto agitato. Tu come hai gestito lo stress e la paura prima della gara?
Cool thanks brother! Honestly, I was trying to just breathe and relax and stretch but mentally your body knows you’re about to go into a battle with someone new so I felt my heart racing all day! Haha I would say, just don’t forget to breathe in your match and maybe not take it so serious try and be playful like you would in class Easier said than done though, the pace is different. Good luck!
La gara non è andata molto bene e ha vinto il mio avversario con un bel arm lock! Però il mio avversario più grande era la paura e la preoccupazione, andando alla gara li ho vinti!
I am 42 yo and started 2 months ago and for me it is fucking tough, I used to gas out within seconds with each roll but nevertheless, it is tough rolling with younger people
You had plenty of Oppt. To grab an inside leg and rotate for a straight arm bar attempt to sweep Brudda?! Sometimes letting go of the guard will help you. I’d recommend drill some solo rotations. Great video and narrations. Keep it up, you looked good! Ooosh!
Yessir! Up i til this point I hadn’t worked much on armars from closed..thats obvious🤣 Also wasn’t confident to open my guard in fear of getting passed but its comin brotha! Need way more drilling with the arm, guys always rip out from closed guard so im missing something! Thanks man 🤜🤛
Is the reason you are allowed to fight in 2 age division is because you are 40+ and went down to 30+ and that is harder? vs. someone who is 30, wanting to fight in the 40?
