How to Prepare For a Jiu-Jitsu Competition

A mega-guide to getting the most out of your BJJ tournament experience.

Photo via Jay Chow Photography

Ironically, the picture that I’ve chosen for this article is from a match that I lost.

However, I think that the possibility of failure is important to remember when preparing for grappling matches on any level. You can do all the right things, put in all the work, have a perfect weight cut, optimize every single little detail, and still go out there and just lose. Losing is a part of competition that is never going away.

When you sign up to compete, only 2 things are certain:

1. At the end of the competition experience, you will have a result.

2. At the end of the competition experience, you will have the possibility to learn important lessons.

Everything else is pretty much up in the air. Competition can be chaotic and even scary.

With that being said, here are some of the biggest lessons that I have learned from my years of competing and gathering all kinds of different results.

Here is, in my opinion, the best way to prepare for a BJJ competition.