BJJ COMP SYSTEM
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become one of the most popular competitive sports in the world. The world renowned combat system has created a cult following throughout the United States of America, and the rest of the world. The modern form of grappling has given a tremendous platform for athletes of all ages, and levels to achieve world class accolades. There has been a massive increase in BJJ competitions around the globe, as students of all calibers are lining up at the edge of the competition mats, looking to get their work done.
What This Article Covers:
- What Is the Atmosphere Like at a BJJ Comp
- What Are the BJJ Comp Rules
- How Hard Is It to Run a BJJ Comp
- Where Can BJJ Comps Take a Student
- How Often Should Students Compete
- Should Kids Compete in BJJ
The world scene of grappling is full of jiu jitsu legends, as many of them compete on a regular basis. Students these days are heavily influenced by high level athletes, and their innovations of the game. There are many grappling competitions that are televised through live streaming services like the ADCC, the IBJJF, Who's Number One, Fight 2 Win, Submission Underground, Polaris, and subversiv bjj. Through these platforms many superstar athletes are showcasing their skill sets, and inspiring students of all calibres to enter into their own local BJJ competitions.
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WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE AT A BJJ COMP
Walking into a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition arena, the first thing a spectator will notice is the overall atmosphere in the room. They will notice a swarm of spectators cheering on their competitors, and a buzz that is almost infectious to everyone in the stadium. Just looking around the room you will notice coaches teaching, students learning, parents ushering their kids towards the weigh in table, and referees standing in the middle of the mats adjudicating their matches. The room is full of goodwill, and humility, and students from each academy will socialise before, and after tournament matches. The competitors are warming up, and the ones that are on the mats, are engaged in a battle against their opponent.
At most competitions some of the best bjj teams will go head to head, as you can hear their support from the sidelines. Listening to a team of Brazilians chanting, and screaming towards their teammate is definitely something to hear. The one downside to this kind of atmosphere is every now and then two teams will have animosity toward each other, and this may be because one of their students swapped clubs, or there is some hard feelings between gyms over certain matches. This kind of issue won't ruin the atmosphere at a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu comp, instead it will just feed the competitiveness that all athletes bring to the competition mats.
WHAT ARE THE BJJ COMP RULES
Different competitions will have different sets of rules, but for the most part they are all very similar. It is important to know how long is a jiu jitsu match, as they are different for all ranked divisions. Matches for white belts have a duration of five minutes each, blue belts for six minutes, purple belts for seven minutes, brown belts for eight minutes, and a black belt match up will go for 10 minutes long. The rules are simple, two competitors will start on their feet, and shake hands before a referee will start the fight. Both competitors can use a variety of takedowns to get the fight to the mat, except they are forbidden from slamming an opponent hard on the mats, or driving them headfirst into the mats. There are two ways to win, one is by points which they will accumulate through control positions and certain actions, and the second is by submission. Points are awarded as follows; the mount is worth 4 points, back control or back mount is worth 4 points, passing the guard and securing side control is worth 3 points, a sweep is worth 2 points, a knee on belly position is worth 2 points, and a takedown is worth 2 points. There are also advantages, which is where a competitor gets an advantage point if they attack a submission, and their opponent defends it, or if they take their opponent down but land out of bounds they will receive an advantage point. Referees will also handout penalty points, and these can be given for competitors that break the rules. Most commonly they are handed out after a competitor has been given warnings for stalling.
The rules surrounding submissions will vary depending on a competitors rank. There are moves that are completely illegal for all competitors, and these are neck cranks, knee reaping, and any form of small joint manipulation. A black belt has the least restrictions, as they can do almost any movements in the BJJ arsenal. While a black belt is wearing the Gi, heel hooks, or any twisting knee locks are illegal. There are other illegal moves like the scissor leg takedown, which is a takedown that endangers an opponents knee. At the other end of the scale white belts have a lot more restrictions in place, and this is for the safety of these novice students. White belts are not allowed to jump guard, as this can put strain on their opponent's knee. They are also forbidden from doing any kinds of leg locks like knee bars, toeholds, or heel hooks, the only leg lock they can legally do is a straight ankle lock. As a white belt student moves up in rank, they will be able to access a wider range of legal manoeuvres.
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HOW HARD IS IT TO RUN A BJJ COMP
Running a BJJ competition is an extremely tough process, as organisers will have a nightmare trying to workout all divisions. Students will enter into different weight, age, and rank categories, which can force organisers to merge divisions due to lack of competitors. Some students will ask what is absolute division in jiu jitsu, as this division has no weight categories, meaning competitors of all weights can enter to see who is the number one competitor in their rank division. At every competition there is always people that complain about certain aspects of the rule sets, and this can be frustrating to an organiser, as all of their guidelines and rules are set out in black and white. BJJ competitions need to be run efficiently, and this can also prove difficult as matches will end quicker than the allotted time, or go longer due to injuries. This can cause somewhat of a nightmare to the scheduling, as quite often matches will be brought forward, or put back to further times.
When a competition is run smoothly it can be a joy to compete, but there are times where the scheduling brackets are a nightmare, and students will be competing in two different divisions at the same time. They may also face issues like having their divisions spread out over the whole day, meaning one of their divisions might be at 9 am, where the other division is at 6 pm. It is issues like this that sometimes cannot be helped, as there is only so much an organiser can do to make competitions run smoothly. Along with all of the competition match setup, organisers will have to do an initial setup, and pack up, as this can take a considerable amount of time, and manpower. Organisers will need referees to adjudicate matches, scorers to score at the scoring tables, on hand medical staff to ensure the safety of competitors that might get injured, and now due to recent developments around the world, covid cleaners must come in and make sure areas are clean and sterilised. There is a lot involved in running a BJJ competition, as organisers will need many hands on deck to make the day run smoothly.
WHERE CAN BJJ COMPS TAKE A STUDENT
When a student begins competing at the competition level, usually they start off at smaller local tournaments. There can be many different open tournaments that students can enter to gain some experience, as they look toward the bigger and better comps around the world. A state championship is a competition that defines each winner as a state champion in their state. After this stage there is the nationals which is a combination of all states in a country to see who can become the national champion. There are other competitions like the pan pacific championships, the pan American championships, and the pan Asian championships which are there to see who is the best competitor within those regions. At the top of the mountain is the world championships, as these are usually held in California America, an are reserved for the best of the best, as many competitors will train hard to reach this prestigious level.
Training and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can take a student all around the world, as there is many famous competitions that they can enter. The Brazilian nationals, and the European championships are among some of the most prestigious competitions in the world, outside of the world championships. Nowadays there is an extreme amount of popularity surrounding some of the best no gi jiu jitsu fighters in the world, as they have inspired students to compete at prestigious tournaments like the ADCC. In these competitions students will need to win an ADCC trial, to secure a place in this prestigious tournament, the only other way to get in is through an invitation by the Sheik himself. The ADCC is fast becoming one of the most illustrious BJJ competitions in the world.
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HOW OFTEN SHOULD STUDENTS COMPETE
This topic is a huge talking point among many competitors, and teachers of BJJ. Every student is different and has their own physical pain threshold, and mental pain barriers. Competing in BJJ competitions can be physically, and mentally draining, as quite often a competitor will need to fight through several tough matchups to win competition gold. If a student is dominating competition, and is defeating all opponents, then there is no reason why they can't skip from comp to comp on a weekly basis. In every competition there can only be one winner per division, as every other competitor will lose at least one match, and for these competitors competing on a week to week basis can be detrimental to their improvement. It is important to note that when a competitor loses in a competition match they will often discover a part of the game they need to work on, so it is important for them to go back to the gym and train for another month to refine their skills.
An important aspect is not only refining a lesson that a competitor learns in competition, but is the build up towards a comp. It is important to take at least a month to train specifically for a competition. This becomes exceedingly important when competitors are competing in different styles of competition with different rulesets, as they need time to adjust their game styles to try and win competition. It can be important not to compete too much, especially if a competitor is losing, as this can be detrimental to their confidence. Everything is good when a competitor is winning, as they can get on a roll and move on to winning World Championships. Some active competitors can compete at least twelve times per year which translates to one per month, but these are competitors that are highly advanced, and have a tremendous amount of strength and conditioning. For the average student looking to compete, picking four comps per year is probably the aim, as competing too much can most definitely burnout a students passion for BJJ.
SHOULD KIDS COMPETE IN BJJ
Children are free to compete in BJJ competition, as this can be a great way for them to further their skills, and solidify their confidence. Competing for children is never expected from an academy instructor, but it is always highly encouraged. Competing at such a young age is a great way to build up their experience, which will serve them well later on in life. Many parents may wonder is it safe for kids to compete, and due to many of the factors involved, it can be extremely safe for children. All competitions have medical staff on hand to help anyone if they are injured, and all competition matches are adjudicated by black belt referees. Children are free to compete without fear of been badly injured, as all of the referees are there to make sure no child is endangered.
Children are also protected by the rule sets, and the guidelines in a BJJ competition. The extra rules put on children are there for their safety, and must be adhered to by all children competitors. Some of these rules include a number of illegal choke holds, and submission moves, and this is so that a child does not have their neck in serious danger throughout a competition match. Competition matches for children can be extremely safe, and are designed to get the best out of the child. Competing at BJJ tournaments is a great way to battle test every technique that a student has learnt, and is the best way for them to get real life experience, as a competition match is the closest they will come to a real life conflict scenario.
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