Part 1 of 2: First Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament Reflection

Last year to mark the start of a new vocational transition in my life after 28 years of government service, I entered my first International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) tournament. It’s an open event where practitioners can test their skills within a structured environment with judges and spectators. I was not only concluding over 28 years off government service that weekend, but it was also my birthday. I wanted to do something for myself that would commemorate the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.

On a Saturday afternoon about two months after my decision to begin a new way of serving others, I was watching the 1985 classic Vision Quest, a film about a high-school wrestler who moves up a weight class his senior year to challenge the reigning state champion to test himself. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend. I thought to myself while sitting on my couch in my basement, maybe I needed to test myself physically, mentally, and emotionally one more time. A few of the senior students at my jiu-jitsu school had asked a couple of times if I wanted to join the team for the upcoming tournament but I kept telling them I would think about it.

That day I signed up. I would later tell my wife all I wanted for my birthday is for her and my kids to come support me. I told my father, and my mother called me the next day to let me know my father wanted to fly down to be there for my tournament and birthday weekend.

I had been training for just over two years at that point and entered the tournament as a white belt (beginner) in the Master’s V (older) bracket, in the under 208 lbs (heavy weight) category. A jiu-jitsu tournament was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone. I had competed in karate tournaments and done a little sparring in boxing and kickboxing, but that was around 30 years ago. I also had to make weight, which I’ve never had to do before.

I began a diet to lose one and a half pounds a week. The dieting was very challenging and a spiritual journey in itself. It took daily discipline and discomfort to be a a calorie deficit for six weeks but it kept me focused preparing for the tournament.

I can’t say enough for the support of my BJJ school, coaches, and teammates. On their own time, several of the senior competitors organized an extra weekly training session on Sundays to help us get ready. At the beginning of our first training session, one of the black belts said that in the tournament, the body responds as if you’re in a fight. Your body is flooded with adrenaline and you have to be prepared to manage your body’s response. You can’t always go hard in normal training, but to prepare for the tournament, you have to push your body harder, at the risk of injury. You have to be ready for the intensity of someone going at you at 100%. Our training sessions were significantly more intense and grueling and it had been years since I pushed myself that hard.

To scout out the event, I drove down with my father and two friends from my gym, one of whom has competing in a younger bracket. As white belts, we would compete the next day. The first day was for blue belts participants and above. As we entered the convention center, I saw there were hundreds of competitors and spectators. The tournament was packed and people were shouting and cheering.

Walking in from the cold air, I could feel the heat from the crowd and seemed to be able to smell the cortisol and adrenaline in the air. We watched several of our teammates’ matches and cheered them on in support. As I witnessed the event, I began to have feelings of both excitement and self doubt. Later, as I drove home, my friends and father shared stories and observations on what they saw. I was focused on the drive and was relatively quiet, thinking to myself that maybe I had made a mistake in signing up and over extended myself. I was concerned I would embarrass myself in front of my family and teammates who would be there, and my friends who would be watching the live-stream. It had been awhile since I went 100% physically and mentally with consequences on the line.

I went home that night and had a very light meal of vegetables and protein to make sure I made weight, and tried to get to sleep early..

To be continued…

The next day of the tournament will be included in Part 2 of this story which will be published next week. Thank you for reading, time, and support!