BJJ question

[dave coles]

I have attended Muay Thai classes at some very reputable gyms and drilled techniques, done a shit load of padwork too. However I have never sparred full contact Muay Thai. I was under the impression that I was training Muay Thai but perhaps you're right, maybe I was just pretending lol?

You are not 'pretending' to do Muay Thai, you are just not experiancing what Muay Thai is really about.

[zefff]

why are you getting personal? Relax.

1. I lol'd because if the arts was more important than the martial we'd all be doing water colours and expressive dance on the side after training.

2. Inhabitants of the British Isles. But if you want to be a pedant and pick it apart go ahead.

3. Avoiding uncomfortable situations in BJJ is like submitting to your own fears. Just like avoiding working on the weakest part of your game. I don't think Dave was saying you have to be a mundials gold medalist, you just have to experience what competition feels like even just once because it's not the same as gym time. It's much more intense and the intensity and awareness and experience of it can only make you stronger even if you still fear it.

[Darkne$s]

In the strictest of Japanese definitions, BJJ and Judo are not Martial Arts, they are Martial Ways.


I have the 'knowledge' to be great in lots of sports.

e.g.

if I was playing for Chelsea and their winger crossed the ball to me on the edge of the box I would control it with my chest and volley the ball into the top corner of the net. I have the knowledge to do that, but could I actually do it for real?

Is the ball in the net? Did what you just see happen for real or was it a hallucination or dream? If so... well you've just answered your own question.

Furthermore, we're talking about bjj which is more than a sport so the analogy kind of falls flat and to have the knowledge to be great in anything is very different from actually being great.

why are you getting personal? Relax.

1. I lol'd because if the arts was more important than the martial we'd all be doing water colours and expressive dance on the side after training. .

Arts is more than painting or dancing. Besides, some forms of dancing are tough as hell. Bolding something doesn’t automatically discount something else.

2. Inhabitants of the British Isles. But if you want to be a pedant and pick it apart go ahead.

Britons

3. Avoiding uncomfortable situations in BJJ is like submitting to your own fears. Just like avoiding working on the weakest part of your game. I don't think Dave was saying you have to be a mundials gold medalist, you just have to experience what competition feels like even just once because it's not the same as gym time. It's much more intense and the intensity and awareness and experience of it can only make you stronger even if you still fear it.

I find it amusing that you believe that it is related to fear. I have competed but right now I don’t fancy it. As I feel today I don’t mind if I don’t compete again, I can take it or leave it. One thing is for sure, fear has nothing to do with it. I have tapped many people more skilled than me and I get tapped all the time. It doesn’t bother me the slightest.

[thaison]

in which case I would ask him, why he does not want to compete.

Work, social circumstances, maybe they cant afford to travel and pay to enter tourneys, maybe they train for reasons other than to compete like fitness or learn self defense. I dont compete in BJJ because im busy with MMA. Not every one has a competitive nature.

We have two black belts in our gym Marcos Nardini who competes as much as possible and Doug McMaster who doesnt compete. Both are excellent, both have different games and skill sets, both have a a wealth of knowledge and a great understanding of BJJ.

In thai boxing probably less than 10% of people training compete id imagine that figure is similar in BJJ also.

[Gareth]

In thai boxing probably less than 10% of people training compete id imagine that figure is similar in BJJ also.

Do you mean compete regularly or have competed? I'd reckon 50%+ of our gym have competed/do compete.

[shakus maximus]

everyone has competed at my gym.
competition is healthy for your game imo.
Dave wants you to compete but does not make u do every comp and take a medal as some are implying. to get promoted at his club he is simply saying that competition is an important factor not winning medals
I got no problem with people that dont want to compete and as Dave has said earlier if you dont like his system then simply dont train there, go elswhere.
He has also said several times that he is not slating clubs that promote without competition, it is just that his feelings on the subject are based on his opinions.

people say "what if people are only training for self defence"? in my opinion then competition is even more important as there is nothing more scarey than a REAL violent situation. over the years ive seen so many "MARTIAL ARTISTS" fall apart at the first sign of confrontation as they dont know how to handle the adrenaline dump.
Competition gets you dealing with nerves and adrenaline dump which you dont get in a training enviroment.

just my thoughts

[The Last Starfighter]

people say "what if people are only training for self defence"? in my opinion then competition is even more important as there is nothing more scarey than a REAL violent situation. over the years ive seen so many "MARTIAL ARTISTS" fall apart at the first sign of confrontation as they dont know how to handle the adrenaline dump.
Competition gets you dealing with nerves and adrenaline dump which you dont get in a training enviroment.

This is a very, very good point IMO.

[markjitsu]

Hi Mark

thank you for the question.

The short answer is 99.9% yes.

Note there is a 0.1% chance of him being promoted, so to expand on your scenario, what is the reason this White Belt does not enter competitions?

Dave

hi, thanks for answering - maybe the guy competed once and just didn't really enjoy it, maybe financial or time constraints, maybe he just can't risk any injury due to job requirements, or maybe he just doesn't feel the urge?

cheers.

[dave coles]

Work, social circumstances, maybe they cant afford to travel and pay to enter tourneys, maybe they train for reasons other than to compete like fitness or learn self defense.....

Work: whilst I appreciate some people work weekends, I don't think there are that many who work 52 weekends in the year.

Can't afford to travel and pay to enter tourneys: where this has been the case I have paid entry fees and not taken petrol money off my fighters. Where events such as the English Open have involved an overnight stay in a hotel I have paid for this.

They train for reasons other than to compete like fitness or learn self defense: If they are training for fitness (maybe to lose weigh) then their reward will be when they step on their weighing scales. I don't award belts for loosing weight. If someone comes to join my academy and their only interest is self defence I will offer them private lessons or send them elsewhere. We don't do much in the way of strikes, knife defence, biting, eye-gouging etc in my BJJ lessons.

..... I dont compete in BJJ because im busy with MMA. Not every one has a competitive nature.

A few of my BJJ guys have fought MMA, and where they have used BJJ effectively in the MMA fight, this has been taken into consideration when awarding promotions.

In thai boxing probably less than 10% of people training compete id imagine that figure is similar in BJJ also.

Surprisingly 100% of the guys who train BJJ with me have competed.

[dave coles]

hi, thanks for answering - maybe the guy competed once and just didn't really enjoy it, maybe financial or time constraints, maybe he just can't risk any injury due to job requirements, or maybe he just doesn't feel the urge?

cheers.

Hi Mark

I coverd the financial / time constraints in the above post.

With regards to your question 'can't risk any injury due to job requirements.'

Several of the posters on here have implied that sparring in the club is just as hard as competition. If this is the case then there is no greater risk of injury in a competition than there is in the club.