BJJ AGE DIVISIONS
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a dynamic Martial Art that involves transitional movements, positional control, high impact takedown maneuvers, and highly advanced submission techniques like chokeholds and joint locks. The art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has come a long way since the beginning of its creation back in the early twentieth century. This Martial Art began as a self-defense system and evolved into Vale Tudo, which was an early form of Mixed Martial Arts where athletes like Helio Gracie, Rickson Gracie, and Renzo Gracie dominated the Brazilian landscape. As the art continued to grow, many of the BJJ systems were altered to meet newer regulations of the competition standard, adapting to the changing dynamics of youth participation in the sport.
What this artcile covers:
- Preparing for BJJ Competition
- How BJJ Competition Works
- The Difference Between Divisions
- How to Train as an Older Athlete
- How to Compete Safely as a Child Competitor
Nowadays, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition is highly recognized around the world and televised for many fans to tune into across many streaming services. The rise of international grappling has seen many world-class athletes take the center stage and showcase all of their innovative skills within the Martial Art. There are different divisions inside of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition, which start from the kids divisions ranging through to the adult divisions, before moving into masters, and seniors divisions for older athletes. As an athlete gets older, it becomes significantly harder to win the adult BJJ weight divisions at the world championships, as these athletes are still in the prime of their life, compared to the slower, and less agile athletes. This has brought about a change in many competitions, as specialized tournaments like the Masters World Championships are available to athletes in a specific age level.
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PREPARING FOR BJJ COMPETITION
Preparing for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition has two major aspects, the physical preparation, and the mental preparation. The physical involves a tremendous amount of hard work, and dedication to an athlete's training. Athletes must work on their technical skills through constant repetition inside of their academies. Practising technique is only scratching the surface, and they must also work out how to train at high intensity, so they can simulate the competition level. Rolling against many of their training partner's is a good way to continue their growth, but to train for competition level they need to up the ante. Athletes can utilise a bjj gauntlet, which is where one student will roll against several other members of their academy in two or three minute intervals, without any break. As the student begins to tire, fresh opponents will come in to push the pace, and pressure the competitive athlete. This type of training is great for fitness, and recovery, and will ultimately simulate a competitive level match.
Along with all of their competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training, athletes must also add strength and conditioning, cardio based workouts, stretching for flexibility, and mobility exercise to their training regimes. Especially when a student is competing at the world class level, as many of these competitors have exceptional strength and conditioning. Students will need to balance their weight training with their cardio workouts, so they can maximise their efficiency on the BJJ mat. All athletes should be doing flexibility stretching before, and after training, as well as mobility exercises to help broaden their range of movement, and help to prevent injuries. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a highly strenuous grappling art, where injuries can occur quite frequently. This is why mobility exercise is extremely crucial, so that the athlete can still have a greater range of motion without inflicting damage. The hardest part for the athlete is balancing all of these acts together, because ultimately they also need recovery periods, so they can best prepare for competition. Athletes need to know what to eat before jiu jitsu so that their calorie intake is sufficient, and their energy levels are at their optimum peak.
Mental preparation is crucial for an athlete competing at the highest levels in BJJ. It is easy to overtrain, which can lead to stressful situations and significant injuries for the athlete. Becoming a successful competitor is all about balance, recovery, and understanding eligibility within one's age group, as an athlete needs to know when to rest physically and when their mind needs a break from training. Mental preparation can involve identifying their opponents' weaknesses and developing a stronger game plan to best prepare for their upcoming battle within their specific age range or age category. Preparation for a competition isn't always about training, as often a student needs recovery periods. This does not necessarily mean physical rest, but a mental rest, understanding the importance of taking time away to help balance out their training and personal life within their age bracket. Going to the beach for a swim, relaxing on the couch with family, or engaging in some of an athlete's hobbies are all great ways to help relax their mind, so that they are not overstimulated in the lead up to a competition.
HOW BJJ COMPETITION WORKS
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition is a tournament where athletes can battle other athletes in order to become the winner of each division. All tournaments have slight differences in the structure, and the rule set, and it pays for an athlete to research each competition so they know how to best prepare. IBJJF competitions work in an elimination style of tournament, where competitors will be matched up against other competitors in a bracket. Each loser of the match is eliminated, while each winner moves up to the next section of the bracket. This is repeated through the quarter, and semi finals until two competitors are left to contest in the final, until one winner is declared. All competitors must weigh in once before their matches, and if they are wearing the Gi then they are afforded a three kilogram weight advantage. This means they are allowed to weigh three kilograms heavier than the specified weight category that they entered, whilst wearing the Gi. Athletes must show a good bjj etiquette by waiting patiently before their matches, and following all the guidelines set out by the competition organisers.
Competing in IBJJF tournaments means that every individual competitor can win a gold, silver, or bronze medal if they finish in the top three competitors of their division, subject to the age limit or age requirement for each category. Each podium finish will also accumulate points that go towards their team's overall points tally. The points are accumulated over the whole event and added up to see which Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy wins the team trophy. Each competition has a different star rating, which makes the points for each medal worth more or less, considering the age restriction for each category. Athletes will start off at local competitions before moving onto their own countries' State Championships. The next step is the National Championships, subject to the age restrictions, before moving into the Pan Pacific, the Pan Asian, or the Pan American Championships. There are also the European Championships, and finally, the IBJJF World Championships that are highly sought after by many athletes in the combat sport, adhering to the specific age bracket for each competition level.
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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIVISIONS
There are distinctive differences between all divisions at a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament. The IBJJF runs weight categories that range from children's divisions through to ladies divisions, adults divisions, masters divisions, and seniors divisions. There are many different weight categories that athletes can enter, and each category is separated by roughly eight kilograms. Each division is also separated by rank, and age limitage requirement, meaning there can be a multitude of divisions at every Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition. Any competitor that is over eighteen years of age can compete in the adults division, but be warned this division is usually stacked with athletes in their prime, and athletes striving to become world-class. Athletes over thirty are allowed to enter the masters divisions, which are separated by five-year age gaps. Master one is 30 to 35 years, Master two is 36 to 40 years, Master three is 41 to 45 years, Master four is 46 to 50 years. The last two Master categories are also known as the Seniors division, which are 51 to 55 years, and 56 to 60 years of age, adhering to the specific age limit or age requirement for each division.
All divisions are also separated into Gi, and No Gi divisions, competitors are free to choose one, or both divisions in their weight category. There are also open weight divisions in Gi, and No Gi, which are also known as absolute divisions, where there is no weight category. This division is designed to see which practitioner is the best pound for pound BJJ competitor within the tournament. There are jiu jitsu tournament rules that govern all competitive uniforms, and students need to adhere to these guidelines. The IBJJF only allows three specific coloured Gi's, and these are white, black, and royal blue. All Gi uniforms need to be checked to make sure that the lapels are not too thick, and that the sleeves are not too short, this is so it is fair for an opponent when they are trying to grip onto the Gi fabric. In the No Gi format, competitors must wear rash guards that have 10% of their belt colour, with the predominant colour of the rash guard to be white, or black. These rules are in place to make scoring easy for the referees, and so there is a unified look within a tournament arena.
HOW TO TRAIN AS AN OLDER ATHLETE
Becoming one of the older athletes inside the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy means they must think about longevity in the sport. Injuries always play a part in older students, as their body will break down as it gets older. This is the reason why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions have adult divisions, and masters divisions, so that the older athletes don't have to compete against an athlete who is faster, younger, and more mobile. The older athletes need to take longer rest periods, and this is because it takes longer to recover from the daily grind of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Some older athletes are still as strong as ever but have issues with their knees or other areas where the tendons, and the ligaments meet the joints. This is where doing mobility exercises is extremely important because this will enable an older athlete to increase their range of motion, which will help them prevent different sorts of injury. A good tip for older athletes is to continue to keep up with their strength and conditioning, as even though they are aging, and it's harder to recover, keeping their bodies strong will help them considerably with their grappling. It is important for these students to roll less frequently, or more lightly, and this doesn't mean they can't roll hard; it just means it has to be less frequent. Knowing your limits is crucial to an older athlete's preservation, and if they take this seriously and train with a good balance in mind, then they too can train like Helio Gracie well into their 90s, understanding the importance of age qualification in their approach to the sport
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HOW TO COMPETE SAFELY AS A CHILD COMPETITOR
There are many different age, rank, and weight divisions for children at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. The children's divisions are extremely stacked, as an abundance of kids across the world are all joining the ranks of BJJ competition. Kids are notorious for being reckless, and this can lead to injuries while they are competing. It is important to teach children to be humble and to tap before they suffer injuries. This also means to learn to let go of submissions before they cause their opponent significant harm. Even though competition is all about winning, the greatest lesson for children's competitors is humility. Children are relatively safe due to the age, rank, and weight divisions that are scheduled by the event organizers, ensuring an appropriate age class, rank, and weight level for each participant.
There are no open weight divisions for kids, and this is to protect them from getting injured by a bigger, and stronger competitor. There are certain rules in place for children so they don't get injured, and these are simple rules like certain submissions that are illegal, and certain positions that can't be obtained. All children's divisions are adjudicated by high level referees, and in most cases they are black belt competitors themselves. This means that the kids are governed, and protected by highly professional athletes that know when to stop a fight before a child breaks a bone, or tears a muscle. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition for children is a lot of fun, and instills discipline, humility, and camaraderie into the child, and is all done with the utmost safety of the child in mind.
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