Why You Shouldn't Cut Weight

Advice for most people.

Austin, Texas — Photo by MJ

Jiu-Jitsu is the only sport that adults compete in where they will pay money to lose 10ish pounds (oftentimes more) in the most unhealthy way possible, get worse at the sport, and compete to more than likely win no money — only to finish the competition weekend with binge eating that they’ve been fantasizing about for weeks.

I know this from nearly 9 years of experience in the sport. I’ve done a lot of dumb things to make weight.

Weight-cutting in Jiu-Jitsu is crazy because most people do it wrong, shouldn’t do it at all, and don’t even really seem to understand why and when it should be done.

The hard truth is that most submission grapplers should never cut weight but they do because of social pressure, ego preservation, or a slew of other interesting factors.

Let’s talk about why weight-cutting sucks and why every time I’ve gone up in weight, it’s been a good idea.