{"id":20371,"date":"2023-10-01T11:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T16:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/?p=20371"},"modified":"2023-10-01T11:40:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T16:40:03","slug":"how-long-should-you-train-before-competing-in-bjj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/how-long-should-you-train-before-competing-in-bjj\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Should You Train Before Competing In BJJ?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is thriving in no small part thanks to its highly competitive nature. Tournaments are a vital part of it, and the nature of BJJ and the competition structure are welcoming to all kinds of people. Almost every practitioner has thought of competition, but you’re likely wondering: How long should I train before competing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A universal timeline or a particular skill set is not required before competing. But for most people, the recommended time is between 6 months and a year to give you enough time to get familiar with all the major positions and have at least some competencies offensively and defensively in each.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Deciding to enter a competition is admirable, and there is no recipe or an exact right time to do it. But certain clues can help you determine whether you are ready or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a lot of variables that determine when you are ready to compete. For most people, the period of 6 months to a year of consistent training is enough to familiarize themselves with the basic positions, which are closed guard, open guard<\/a>, side control, mount, and back control, and have reliable ways to secure them and escape when on the bottom. I believe this is the bare minimum for entering a tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The time this takes depends a lot on the person. For someone with no athletic background, the period will undoubtedly be closer to a year or even more because they must also build the necessary physical qualities and specific skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More athletic types will need less time. If the background is martial arts, things become even better. In my case, I had a lot of years of striking experience with a few competitions. I was already in good shape and knew what to expect mentally, so I entered a competition with only 3 months of jiu-jitsu training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other grapplers, like wrestlers and judokas, can transition even faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your coaches are the best people who can help you decide whether or not you are ready to compete. Ultimately, the decision is yours, but the instructors have a much more realistic outlook about your skill level and progress. In all stages of your journey, consult and listen to your coaches. They have much more experience than you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another factor that will give you a good representation of whether you are ready for competition will be your sparring success. More experienced people will smash you, so the important metric is how well you deal with people at your level and weight because your eventual competitors will be like them. Open mats<\/a> are a great way to gauge this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>How Long Should You Train Before Competing In BJJ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why BJJ Competitions Are Valuable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n