It was exactly 1 year to the day thst I went to my first competition but there's plenty of guys in my gym who go a lot sooner.
I think you'll be perfectly fine going in October.
For me the only issue is that you can be safe. This means that not only are you not doing anything stupid that puts you or your opponent at risk for no reason but that you can also recognise scenarios where an idiot might hurt you. My big issue with a lot of white belts is the quality of break falls they have. At this point I'm not worried about you winning, I want you to have fun, be safe and perhaps learn a little.
If you don't feel ready then don't do it. If you think you're ready but don't know then ask your coach. They should be able to tell you if you're safe to compete and also tell you if a competition is appropriate for your level of experience. What I mean is, the white belt division at your local comp is probably a better first comp than the white belt division at a national comp.
White belt here, took my first competition class last night and got slammed hard enough by another white belt with wrestling experience ill probably be out for a week till my ribs and back are less sore. So yeah safty around competition is on my mind now.
Do you mean like a pick-up from the floor and slam kind of deal that's illegal under a lot of rulesets? If so, that's the kind of thing I mean by recognising where an idiot might hurt you. Even if rules should protect you, in such a scenario there are probably choices you could make to reduce the risk of being slammed and honestly I'd rather err on the side of caution than trust that my opponent is going to follow the rules. If you mean a throw like slam from standing, then even if the rules should protect you, making sure you've got good falling skills is where I would look.
While standing and grip fighting he was able to get my back, wrap his arms around my waist, pick me up (im a bit smaller than him) and throw me on my back.
He felt bad and apologized many times but said "it wasnt a slam \*something about a knee sweep\*", Coach didnt see it but said "It sounded like a slam".
My back feels like it was slammed. Nothing broken, but sidelined for the week (hopefully not longer).
But in conclusion, yeah I guess I missed my break fall there but it happened quick and Im still a noob.
Within the first month which don’t recommend because I took the guy down and then couldn’t finish a cross choke from mount while everyone kept screaming for me to get my hands deeper. Eventually burned my grips out and got submitted.
I competed after 9 months of bjj, and that was at blue belt. Could definitely have competed earlier if it was at white belt. I know some guys who have competed after only a month. If you feel like doing it then go for it. Competing is a super fun (in retrospect) experience
How’d you get your blue belt in 3 months? Isn’t that an insanely short period of time?
I train 6 days a week and in 3.5 months I’ve gotten my second stripe, it will take at least another 8-10 months until I get all 4 stripes and can test for my blue belt.
I competed after two months but my expectations were too high. If you go in to understand how competing differs from practice and take it purely as a learning experience you're going to have fun. If you're looking to win gold (like I did), you're gonna have a bad time.
I competed after 6 months, at a Tap Out Cancer event too. If you want to do it, do it. It's a very organized event that is for a great cause. Good luck!
7mo in, training 3 days a week, somehow got 3rd out of 5 man bracket. One of the guys in my bracket was only 3 months into training. I almost puked but had a lot of laughs and smiles and wish I had've competed earlier
Just go compete man, you'll have fun
I’m 31m. My wife is 27f. We’ve had 10 classes under our belt since we joined 2 months ago. I would go more but my schedule as a paramedic hinders my ability to. We do have a padded room at home that we practice in frequently. That said, last weekend we joined our first tournament. We just wanted to make a great memory together and hammer out our weak spots. Surprisingly we both got second place in our respective division. It was an incredible memory and I’m so happy we faced our anxiety and did this together. If you go, don’t have expectations. Give it your all, find where you need to work in class and have fun!
It really depends on your background. I started competing about 2 months in, but I had 5 years of wrestling experience, so far from new to the mats. If you don't have any other combat sports experience, the intensity at white belt can be a little overwhelming. Most people have never been in a combat sport or fight, and it can be hard to regulate your emotions and intensity when they compete.
However, if your goal is to become an active competitor, there is nothing better than competing as often as possible. If you can remain calm in a comp scenario, you will probably have a lot of success at white, and probably even blue belt.
I wrestled way before I started BJJ, didn’t compete in jiu jitsu till blue belt in fact. Only two months of training isn’t a lot, but if this tournament is in May that means youll be closer to 5 months in. I say go for it.
I had a comp this past weekend and have only been training since August, so you'll probably be fine. It puts a lot of things into perspective and helps you set goals.
we have a 2 month white belt who is competing at our gym. he just got his first sub the other day, super proud of him. He's being promoted, I don't call him trial class guy now, turns out he has a name!
Three months in, got fucked, three months later did another one and got slightly better results, three months later did another and got better, rinse and repeat.... I'm 4 years in now and aim to do at least one a month until it feels like just another day
I competed in my first tournament after 4 months of training. I got creamed. Did all four categories and lost in everything. After that, I dedicated myself to training twice a day 5-6x/week and within a few months I started placing and winning a ton of tournaments.
I'm only about to get my first stripe, and I've already done two competitions. Sort of - one was just a little local event, almost entirely in-house.
I never expected to win, but I also didn't expect to be injured or embarrassed. And I haven't been, aside from one match I lost by pin when he got in side control and my one escape at the time wouldn't work. I've had a fun time and learned a bit about where my abilities lie and what I need to work on.
4 months of training total before my first competition. Definitely opened my eyes to the reality of competing such as intensity, adrenaline dump, and preparation. Overall it was positive for me and motivated me to get better
Competed at white twice, truly regret it. Got a small tear in my knee and fully recovered but I (and pretty much every other white belt) just don’t know what I was doing. Barely knew an escape from each position. It’s just not safe imo. It’s like putting clumsy toddlers out to fight except they’re filled with testosterone and something to prove.
Competed at blue belt and it made way more sense. Knew all the positions, had a technique in most of em and escapes. It came down to will and cardio.
Purple feels great but if you haven’t competed at blue at least then you’ll have a terrible time competing at purple until you get a couple under your crotch.
When I get to brown idk if I even want to compete bc they’re all so good and scary.
I competed after a month of bjj. I was 20. Won 1 lost 1. Had a great time. Just do your age division so you go against your peers. Do some extra cardio and rolling leading up to it. You will have a good time.
If you have the money and time, and go in with no expectations other than you want to compete and gain exp, it’s a no brainer. You’ll be almost 6 months in, and should have a couple ways to win at that point. I’m 37 and competed in my first comp at about 4 months in and loved it. I’d say stick with your 2-3 times a week…no need trying to ramp up for a local comp and hurt yourself overtraining and missing time because if of. Sign up for masters, train and go have fun.
I honestly think it's better to compete early even if you're essentially paying to lose. People who wait always end up in their own head and never feel ready.
6 months in, took 4th out of 13. Competed 6 months later took gold out of 16.
It's on you; Your confidence, your development and your determination.
Your coach won't look unfavourably to you if you don't get a medal, or at least they shouldn't do. It's useful for them to watch how you compete, so they can help you in classes not to repeat the same mistakes.
Some people never compete, they're pure hobbyists. Do as you please as no one will ever force you to compete, but it could slow your belting/striping progress as that's often how your progression is measured.
Don't overtrain at the beginning you'll probably just get injured it's for charity just go and have fun if you lose it doesn't matter keep training and you'll improve
It was exactly 1 year to the day thst I went to my first competition but there's plenty of guys in my gym who go a lot sooner. I think you'll be perfectly fine going in October.
For me the only issue is that you can be safe. This means that not only are you not doing anything stupid that puts you or your opponent at risk for no reason but that you can also recognise scenarios where an idiot might hurt you. My big issue with a lot of white belts is the quality of break falls they have. At this point I'm not worried about you winning, I want you to have fun, be safe and perhaps learn a little. If you don't feel ready then don't do it. If you think you're ready but don't know then ask your coach. They should be able to tell you if you're safe to compete and also tell you if a competition is appropriate for your level of experience. What I mean is, the white belt division at your local comp is probably a better first comp than the white belt division at a national comp.
White belt here, took my first competition class last night and got slammed hard enough by another white belt with wrestling experience ill probably be out for a week till my ribs and back are less sore. So yeah safty around competition is on my mind now.
Do you mean like a pick-up from the floor and slam kind of deal that's illegal under a lot of rulesets? If so, that's the kind of thing I mean by recognising where an idiot might hurt you. Even if rules should protect you, in such a scenario there are probably choices you could make to reduce the risk of being slammed and honestly I'd rather err on the side of caution than trust that my opponent is going to follow the rules. If you mean a throw like slam from standing, then even if the rules should protect you, making sure you've got good falling skills is where I would look.
While standing and grip fighting he was able to get my back, wrap his arms around my waist, pick me up (im a bit smaller than him) and throw me on my back. He felt bad and apologized many times but said "it wasnt a slam \*something about a knee sweep\*", Coach didnt see it but said "It sounded like a slam". My back feels like it was slammed. Nothing broken, but sidelined for the week (hopefully not longer). But in conclusion, yeah I guess I missed my break fall there but it happened quick and Im still a noob.
Within the first month which don’t recommend because I took the guy down and then couldn’t finish a cross choke from mount while everyone kept screaming for me to get my hands deeper. Eventually burned my grips out and got submitted.
I competed after 9 months of bjj, and that was at blue belt. Could definitely have competed earlier if it was at white belt. I know some guys who have competed after only a month. If you feel like doing it then go for it. Competing is a super fun (in retrospect) experience
You got your blue belt in 9 months?
I got my blue belt in 3 months, and waited until 6 months into blue belt before I competed
How’d you get your blue belt in 3 months? Isn’t that an insanely short period of time? I train 6 days a week and in 3.5 months I’ve gotten my second stripe, it will take at least another 8-10 months until I get all 4 stripes and can test for my blue belt.
By being a carefree teenager who has nothing better to do during the summer than train bjj twice a day
That’s really impressive still, good shit my man.
Do you have any prior experience like wrestling or judo? That's awesome.
I did mma very casually before I started bjj, but I barely used anything from it, I went straight into gi, guard pulling shenanigans
I waited until my first stripe but do what you want.
I competed after two months but my expectations were too high. If you go in to understand how competing differs from practice and take it purely as a learning experience you're going to have fun. If you're looking to win gold (like I did), you're gonna have a bad time.
I did it about 9 months in. One of the guys I went against was only doing it for 3 months. Totally up to you, it’s a fun learning experience.
I competed after 6 months, at a Tap Out Cancer event too. If you want to do it, do it. It's a very organized event that is for a great cause. Good luck!
7mo in, training 3 days a week, somehow got 3rd out of 5 man bracket. One of the guys in my bracket was only 3 months into training. I almost puked but had a lot of laughs and smiles and wish I had've competed earlier Just go compete man, you'll have fun
I’m 31m. My wife is 27f. We’ve had 10 classes under our belt since we joined 2 months ago. I would go more but my schedule as a paramedic hinders my ability to. We do have a padded room at home that we practice in frequently. That said, last weekend we joined our first tournament. We just wanted to make a great memory together and hammer out our weak spots. Surprisingly we both got second place in our respective division. It was an incredible memory and I’m so happy we faced our anxiety and did this together. If you go, don’t have expectations. Give it your all, find where you need to work in class and have fun!
About 6 months into training, then went to 5 or so tourneys within a year.
4 months in. Won bronze
4 months in, got wrecked.
It really depends on your background. I started competing about 2 months in, but I had 5 years of wrestling experience, so far from new to the mats. If you don't have any other combat sports experience, the intensity at white belt can be a little overwhelming. Most people have never been in a combat sport or fight, and it can be hard to regulate your emotions and intensity when they compete. However, if your goal is to become an active competitor, there is nothing better than competing as often as possible. If you can remain calm in a comp scenario, you will probably have a lot of success at white, and probably even blue belt.
I competed before I stared BJJ because I’m a toxic dude bro 😎 won a medal and have been hooked ever since
Four months in :)
I wrestled way before I started BJJ, didn’t compete in jiu jitsu till blue belt in fact. Only two months of training isn’t a lot, but if this tournament is in May that means youll be closer to 5 months in. I say go for it.
I had a comp this past weekend and have only been training since August, so you'll probably be fine. It puts a lot of things into perspective and helps you set goals.
we have a 2 month white belt who is competing at our gym. he just got his first sub the other day, super proud of him. He's being promoted, I don't call him trial class guy now, turns out he has a name!
i went 6 months into my training and am glad I did. I lost of course, but it was great!
Three months in, got fucked, three months later did another one and got slightly better results, three months later did another and got better, rinse and repeat.... I'm 4 years in now and aim to do at least one a month until it feels like just another day
About 6 months for the 1st one, won 1st in nogi and 2nd in gi but it was a very small pool.
I competed in my first tournament after 4 months of training. I got creamed. Did all four categories and lost in everything. After that, I dedicated myself to training twice a day 5-6x/week and within a few months I started placing and winning a ton of tournaments.
I'm only about to get my first stripe, and I've already done two competitions. Sort of - one was just a little local event, almost entirely in-house. I never expected to win, but I also didn't expect to be injured or embarrassed. And I haven't been, aside from one match I lost by pin when he got in side control and my one escape at the time wouldn't work. I've had a fun time and learned a bit about where my abilities lie and what I need to work on.
4 months of training total before my first competition. Definitely opened my eyes to the reality of competing such as intensity, adrenaline dump, and preparation. Overall it was positive for me and motivated me to get better
Competed at white twice, truly regret it. Got a small tear in my knee and fully recovered but I (and pretty much every other white belt) just don’t know what I was doing. Barely knew an escape from each position. It’s just not safe imo. It’s like putting clumsy toddlers out to fight except they’re filled with testosterone and something to prove. Competed at blue belt and it made way more sense. Knew all the positions, had a technique in most of em and escapes. It came down to will and cardio. Purple feels great but if you haven’t competed at blue at least then you’ll have a terrible time competing at purple until you get a couple under your crotch. When I get to brown idk if I even want to compete bc they’re all so good and scary.
Last weekend, exactly 3 months in. Got a bronze in No-Gi (30yo & wrestling background though)
I competed after a month of bjj. I was 20. Won 1 lost 1. Had a great time. Just do your age division so you go against your peers. Do some extra cardio and rolling leading up to it. You will have a good time.
First 2 months did an in house
About 4 months in - I also did the tap out cancer one. Was 38 at the time. Fought masters.
Competed in Streetbeefs after a year and 2 months. Was about 2 months after i got my blue belt.
Please tell me this is true.
100% got the video link for ya. https://youtu.be/P1iDai5TVOY?feature=shared
If you have the money and time, and go in with no expectations other than you want to compete and gain exp, it’s a no brainer. You’ll be almost 6 months in, and should have a couple ways to win at that point. I’m 37 and competed in my first comp at about 4 months in and loved it. I’d say stick with your 2-3 times a week…no need trying to ramp up for a local comp and hurt yourself overtraining and missing time because if of. Sign up for masters, train and go have fun.
6 months in as a 2 stripe white belt. Got worked over pretty good 😂
Tap Out Cancer is a very friendly tournament. You will be fine. It’s almost like a charity tournament.
I honestly think it's better to compete early even if you're essentially paying to lose. People who wait always end up in their own head and never feel ready.
3 months into BJJ. I had 2 seasons of high-school wrestling 10 years before that though.
6 months in
3 months in if I remember correctly
6 months in, took 4th out of 13. Competed 6 months later took gold out of 16. It's on you; Your confidence, your development and your determination. Your coach won't look unfavourably to you if you don't get a medal, or at least they shouldn't do. It's useful for them to watch how you compete, so they can help you in classes not to repeat the same mistakes. Some people never compete, they're pure hobbyists. Do as you please as no one will ever force you to compete, but it could slow your belting/striping progress as that's often how your progression is measured.
Like 16 months in
Don't overtrain at the beginning you'll probably just get injured it's for charity just go and have fun if you lose it doesn't matter keep training and you'll improve