At competitions often see situations where athletes blame the rules for their
lack of skill. They complain that the grappling organization puts too much
emphasis on takedowns or that the rules only give points for a clean sweep.
There are many athletes that downplay various grappling organizations because of
nitpicky details such as these. They pretend that because the rules or referees
aren’t in their favor that somehow the organization must be the one at fault and
that their personal grappling game is much better than what the rules allow.

To me this is absolutely insane. I cannot think of a single organization that
doesn’t have at least some slight variation in how and why they award points.
However I cannot think of a single athlete that would not improve by competing
in all of the various organizations that promote grappling events. 

The very essence of competition is to challenge your current ability against
that of another athlete of equal or greater skill to determine your current
quality. It is the real time problem solving that must take place in the face of
opposition, regulations and adversity that is the test of character, skill and
physicality of the athlete. Understanding this is an integral part of becoming a
better competitor. 

Today’s grappling athletes live in a unique time where there are multiple
world level organizations that promote several events throughout each calendar
year. There are amazing opportunities to grapple here in the US and also
overseas. I encourage you to take advantage of as many different flavors of
grappling as you can. 

I often think of the Machado brothers, early pioneers of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,
and how they competed in as many varied types of grappling styles as they could.
In their formative competitive years they didn’t have the luxury of choosing
from hundreds of different competitions in gi and no gi every year. They didn’t
have the ease of online searching for tournaments. They competed in everything
they could enter; wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Sambo and Eskrima just
to name the ones I’m familiar with. 

This type of willingness to explore and adapt their grappling abilities and
applications helped the Machados become not only the best in Jiu Jitsu and
Grappling but the best in the world as martial artists. They came to understand
more applications for their art and developed it in a way that others could not
match. If you are unwilling to lose they you will never have the same level of
richness to your art as someone that is willing to take the risk.

If you haven’t competed take the plunge and start competing. If you are a
competitor be bold and try out a new grappling organization that you may have
previously neglected. Try training and competing in a completely different
grappling style than you are used to. 

Do not let how the rules are regulated and the officiating dictate your
development as an athlete. Learn to work within the rules and use your skills to
their greatest advantage. Be an explorer. Be a pioneer. Be willing to make big
strides in your journey of grappling.

Recently I was at one of the local high school wrestling tournaments watching
some of the athletes in my club. I was pointing out various things to them as we
watched some of the matches. There was one match in particular that was very
interesting to me. The two athletes were wrestling for placing at the tournament
and they were both very skilled. 

Athlete A was very talented on his feet and scored a beautiful lifting
takedown and near fall points putting him up 5-0 within the first 30 seconds.
Athlete B was a very talented mat wrestler and he proceeded to capture the top
wrestlers arm and leg and Granby roll in order to score a reversal. Athlete A
had to fight for all he was worth to avoid giving up points on the Granby, his
arm looked like it was getting pretty tired and he was in danger of going over
on several occasions. Finally he did get reversed and Athlete B was able to
control the end of the period on top. The period ended and the referee proceeded
to the coin flip to determine the starting position of the second period. 

The coin came up in favor of Athlete A. He deferred his decision until the
third period so Athlete B was able to make his choice. Athlete B chose the down
position again and began to work on his Granby roll. The second period was
basically a replay of the end of the first. Athlete B caused Athlete A major
fits and created very dangerous situations for Athlete A. Athlete A narrowly
avoided being reversed multiple times and the score remained unchanged.

At the start of the third period it was Athlete A’s choice of position. For
some reason he didn’t know exactly where he wanted to be, a common problem among
high school athletes, consequently his coaches gave him the most common answer
that coaches give and told him to choose the bottom position. Their assumption
was that their athlete would be able to escape and gain a point. 

I quickly pointed out some very important information to my own athletes as
this was a very opportune moment to learn something that most people clearly
overlook. It was simply using solid strategy which Athlete A and his coaches
seemed to know very little about. 

Now you may be asking yourself what’s wrong with choosing down? He got a
takedown easy enough he should be able to escape and do it again.

 I reminded my guys that Athlete A had scored 5 relatively easy points from
the standing position and that he had to fight his butt off the rest of the
first round and all of the second as soon as they got on the mat. Athlete B was
crafty on top and all signs pointed to him being a good pinner if he got the
opportunity. I pointed out that Athlete A was giving up his best option in place
of one that was potentially dangerous to him. 

For the 1 point that he and his coaches hoped to gain they overlooked that he
would now be giving his opponent the opportunity to score from the top position.
With only two minutes left Athlete A was leaving himself open to a huge upset if
he made any mistakes. 

Athlete B didn’t disappoint in his ability to give Athlete A’s coaches a
coronary attack. Athlete A was immediately put into a leg ride, flattened out
and cranked on for the next minute and a half. He was only lucky in that Athlete
B couldn’t quite seal the deal with his turns. Athlete A by sheer force of will
and strength managed to get away with very short time remaining and then added
one last easy takedown to win the match by a large margin of 7-2 that belied the
actual closeness of the contest. 

I told my athletes that rather than always taking the common path they must
pay attention to the match itself. They have to be in tune with their opponent’s
strengths and weaknesses. 

If Athlete A would have thought it through for even a few seconds he could
have chosen neutral rather than deferring until the later round. He could have
scored another takedown to back-points combo and put the match completely out of
reach if not winning it outright by a pin. 

Instead he made choices that would most surely have gotten him beaten if his
opponent were even 10% stronger. Much of what saved Athlete A from going over on
several occasions was his physical strength. At any point in the first and
second periods he could have let go and just given Athlete B the escape and
started working his takedowns, the ‘Catch and Release’ game of takedown and let
go to avoid tough mat wrestling situations. All 7 of his points came via the
takedown. This would have been his best option. 

We had a discussion of the why’s and why not’s related to this match and I
could tell what I had just shared was a new concept to these young athletes. It
started them on a new path and I could tell that their minds were contemplating
the new found power in this ability to strategize. I could tell that they were
ready to start thinking and acting in a new and more productive way on the mat. 
 
Your toughest opponent may not necessarily be your opponent. It might be the
way you’re approaching you opponent. Your real problem might not be the problem
at all, maybe it’s the way you’re trying to solve it. 

Whether you’re on the mat or you’re grappling with a day to day situation
take a moment and take a look at “where your points are coming from”. Determine
what your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses are. Most importantly determine
what your own strengths and weaknesses are. Take a look at how you can leverage
your abilities to succeed. 

If you start doing this your ability to strategize will increase and you will
begin to see new and better solutions for your situation. You will begin to find
ways to succeed where before you had none. The ability to strategize and develop
solutions will become a great asset and it will help you on to the ultimate
successes that you are looking for in life.

For me getting ready for a competition is always more motivating and
stimulating than just training for training’s sake. I like to have goals and
something to shoot for. I always like the test and thrill of combat and the
opportunity to test myself to find out where my skills are at and what I do
well and what needs work.
 
In order to be fully prepared for competition you will need to
develop a ‘base’ level of: skill, strength, conditioning, and mental
preparation. This should be an ongoing process that includes a regular strength
and conditioning program, grappling classes and private lessons, strategy and
game plan development and adversity training. To be truly competitive this
process should be year round.
 
When training for a specific competition your training needs to
be similar to what your competition will be like. More emphasis should be placed
on situational drilling, live sparring and conditioning. A moderate to shorter
duration grappling workout with a higher output of intensity is best. 
 
This type of grappling workout should be planned for the last 4-6
weeks before your competition. Usually about an hour and a half is good to shoot
for. 2 hours can be a little long and sometimes leads to less effective use of
time. Make sure that everything you have planned for your grappling session has
a purpose.
 
Including actual “Live” matches where time and score is kept help
add with the preparation. When possible, schedule “Live” training matches so an
“audience” can be present. Invite friends or family or even have fellow students
be part of the “crowd” and simulate a real tournament environment. 
  
The week of the competition plan short, low intensity workouts so
that you can maximize recovery and take full effect of your body’s adaptive
capabilities. You should also plan in a day (or two) of full rest during that
week. I usually try to rest up the day before I travel because I know that
traveling will take a toll with additional stress of flying or driving,
unfamiliarity with the environment and/or foods and other possible disruptions. 
  
When I get to my destination I like to have a short intense
workout to help me get the ‘gunk’ of travel out of my system and settle in
mentally. I have found this is very beneficial over the years of competition
experience. It is also relaxing because your body has a chance to release some
of the nervous tension that comes up prior to competition.