7 Game-Changing Tips You Need to Know About Competing in the IBJJF

This is what the best competitors aren't telling you.

Photo via Giselle Villasenor Photography // For some reason this shade of bleach blonde made me look like a high school bully.

Whenever I teach people Jiu-Jitsu and the possibility of competition comes up, I always say this:

Learning to compete is not the same as learning Jiu-Jitsu.

Learning Jiu-Jitsu for self-defense is one skill. Learning Jiu-Jitsu for MMA is a different skill. Learning sport Jiu-Jitsu is different too.

But I’ll even take it a step further: learning to compete and win in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is an entirely different skill set from learning to compete well.

That’s why I wrote this article.

Before we get into the 7 things you need to know about the IBJJF, let me break down these 4 separate skills for you so you can understand some context:

1. Jiu-Jitsu for self-defense: Self-defense grappling emphasizes de-escalation first and foremost, factors in striking and other components that are not included in sport Jiu-Jitsu, and focuses primarily on handling an untrained opponent.

2. Jiu-Jitsu for MMA: I’m not an MMA fighter, so I won’t act like I know everything about Jiu-Jitsu for MMA, but generally, I think of Jiu-Jitsu for MMA as similar to Jiu-Jitsu for self-defense, with the exception that the training is primarily done in preparation for a skilled opponent.

3. Sport Jiu-Jitsu: This is what most of us do in the gym when we train. We’re training against skilled opponents in grappling. No strikes are allowed. It’s not a real fight, it’s grappling with the goal of submitting your opponent.

4. IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu: If you are good at Sport Jiu-Jitsu, you can absolutely win in the IBJJF. However, at the highest levels of the IBJJF, you absolutely must have a very strong understanding of the rules of the game. The specific details of the game are what separates the world champions from the rest of the athletes on the podium and those who don’t even make it. It’s a game of inches.

This article focuses on details that you absolutely need to know in order to succeed in the IBJJF. I’ve had around 150 matches in the last 5 years in the IBJJF, and I’ve won nearly a handful of IBJJF gold medals and reached the podium at several of the majors, including a world championship in 2019.

Here are the 7 most important IBJJF-focused competition tips you need to know: