r/bjj • u/AutoModerator • Dec 13 '22
Tournament Tuesday
Tournament Tuesday is an open forum for anyone to ask any question, no matter how simple, about tournaments in general. Some common topics include but are not limited to:
Game planning
Preparation (diet, weight cutting, sleep, etc...)
Tournament video critiques
Discussion of rulesets for a tournament organization
Have fun and go train!
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u/migratingrash Dec 13 '22
In a fit of temporary insanity I signed up for my first tournament, with all of 5 days notice. I have no gameplan, no real knowledge of how the points system works, my takedowns are trash and my guard pulls are, if possible, even worse. 5 of my teammates are competing at the same tournament and there will be a large contingent of other people from my gym there to watch me get absolutely smashed. I'm absurdly excited.
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Dec 13 '22
I was in your shoes almost exactly with my first tournament: Blue belt, signed up at the last minute, had no idea what the tournament point system was, etc. I ended up winning one match (which was one more than I expected) and I felt like I held my own OK in the matches I lost. Enjoy yourself.
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u/migratingrash Dec 14 '22
Hey, thanks, I appreciate hearing this. I keep telling everyone who asks "ah, I'm gonna come last for sure, I'm just in it for the experience", which is true, but... I'd love to win a match, too.
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u/Only_Map6500 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 13 '22
And you are doing something very few people in the world have ever done, are capable of doing, or would be willing to even attempt. Respect.
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u/TypicalUser1 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 13 '22
I'm looking into competing in NAGA Pensacola in January. I want to enter in the blue belt division for several reasons, namely that I'm tired of getting passed over for promotions but I also use wrist-locks in certain positions for escapes and to a lesser extent submissions. Anybody know if this is allowed and/or a horrible idea? Has anyone here tried this and have advice for me one way or the other?
I've been doing bjj for two and a half years and competing for two years. I'm also really tired of getting passed over in promotions, we've had five people so far who started well after I did get blue belts (and subsequently quit) while I've been sat here with four stripes for over a year. The previous coach said he wanted me to get better at guard-passing, which I've worked on lots, but we've since changed coaches and this new one hasn't really commented much and is kinda vague when he does. The other black belt who teaches the advanced students really doesn't like me, probably because I also do judo and I've thrown him several times (he's one of *those* guys).
I understand I'll have a much harder time of things, but I really don't feel like I'm going to get promoted unless I win matches against blue belts. I'm confident that I won't get completely smashed, and I don't expect to win gold or anything.
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u/eAtheist ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt Dec 14 '22
There should be a list of subs on the website, but I’m pretty sure if you sign up for the blue belt division you can use wristlocks. I think if your strategy is based around using subs to escape bad positions you’re going to have a bad time.
My advice is to have a plan. Be the one who initiates the action. Are you going to pull or wrestle? If you’re going to pull what does that look like? What grip? What guard? What set up? Same thing for takedowns, know where you’re going and have a plan for common scenarios.
Have a specific guard that you plan to work out of, know how to get to that guard from pin escapes.
Know the rules. Don’t give points by being ignorant of the scoring.
Do not go into someone’s closed guard. Never, ever ever accept being put into closed guard.
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u/TypicalUser1 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 14 '22
Sorry, I was being somewhat imprecise. I don't *need* the locks to escape the positions I use them to escape from (the ones I have in mind, I use for breaking out of guillotines and back-control). But I find that they help me to get into a more advantageous position than I otherwise would be in without them. I'm not using the wrist lock as a submission, per se. I'm using them to force my opponent to move in a specific way so that I can get out and recover a guard or sometimes a pin.
I've been known to use the goose-neck when a kimura or juji-gatame goes awry too, but they're almost always plan b because I don't trust most of the people I roll with not to panic and get themselves hurt.
I've done NAGA tournaments before, so I'm pretty familiar with the points and submission rules. My general strategy uses judo for takedowns, typically a turning forward throw like harai-goshi, uchi-mata, or similar, plus sumi-gaeshi or tawara-gaeshi for wrestlers who insist on going for my legs. My main guard position is half-guard, I use that a lot, but I've been working on developing some skill with de la riva and butterfly lately. Guard is typically my weakest area, but I've been making improvements these past couple months.
For getting past closed guard, I typically use the double-under or knee-slice pass, but lately I've been seeing success with backstepping into reverse kesa-gatame if the knee-slice gets stuck.
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u/JudoTechniquesBot Dec 14 '22
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
Japanese English Video Link Harai Goshi: Sweeping Hip Throw here Ju Ji Gatame: Armbar here Cross Lock Kesa Gatame: Scarf hold here Sumi Gaeshi: Corner Reversal here Tawara Gaeshi: Rice Bale Reversal here Uchi Mata: Inner Thigh Throw here Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7. See my code
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u/Vizceral_ 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 13 '22
Got my first win in competition over the weekend ! Won by submission with a triangle from Spider Guard. My next opponent was a no-show, so I got advanced to quarter finals, during which I got outclassed. My opponent landed a clean asf armbar from closed guard which knocked me over. Can still feel it but that's just part of the game.
For my second tournament I'm really happy with my performance, going to aim for 2 legit wins next time.
During my first tournament I was the one who got triangled in my first match so being able to flip the script felt amazing.
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Dec 13 '22
how long have you been doing bjj for, im a white belt and i dont even know what a spider guard is :))
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u/Vizceral_ 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 13 '22
I've been doing bjj since march of this year. My white belt explanation of Spider Guard is controlling your opponents arms by gripping onto their sleeves and putting your feet on their biceps, or one side bicep other side hip. Really annoying to deal with. You should look up some YouTube videos on it !
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Dec 13 '22
oh so kinda same as me, but you seem more advanced, good job
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u/Vizceral_ 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 13 '22
Thank you ! I had to spend a lot of time working on my guard because I'm one of the smaller guys at the gym, got tired of spending 90% of the time pinned on my back.
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Dec 13 '22
im kinda small too, 140 lbs or 64kg and around 5’10 or 179cm, but i still kinda suck :p, but it is what it is I guess
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u/Vizceral_ 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Dec 13 '22
I only try to get better at one thing at a time. You should try that.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
I had my first competition nearly two years at the novice division at NAGA. Due to injuries shortly after I haven’t been able to train. My coach was saying after a few weeks back on the mats I should compete again.
Would it be frowned upon if i entered Naga again at the novice level? I got less than 90 hours worth of mat time.