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There are many down sides to competition. I have met many who avoid it because they feel that it promotes the wrong attitudes, poor sportsmanship, bravado. Some get turned off by the risk of injury, others find that the constraints of a given format are not a true indication of one's skill.

Many times I have seen students who get intimidated by the aggressiveness of other competitors. Anyone who has officiated at a tournament will immediately recognize a given competitor as being either a fighter or fodder. There are those who simply are not ready for the experience, and there are those who are. Either way, I argue that there are aspects of the competitive experience that are beneficial to both.

If you are considering entering a tournament, there are several things that you should consider. Do you have the resources necessary to prepare for this event, for this type of fighting? This goes well beyond simply knowing the rules or the scoring system. There are essentially three levels of preparation: physical, tactical and psychological.

Physical preparation involves conditioning, strength training, preparing the body for the stresses involved. Preparing the body by developing your attributes, which will improve your performance level.

Tactical preparation involves the strategies and tactics you will employ to exploit the rules, to out-think and surprise your opponent. This includes repetition of the specific techniques that you will use, developing your accuracy and timing. This involves the movement necessary to set up the technique you plan to use, learning to use the ring and the positioning of the judges to your advantage.

Psychological preparation involves the mind game. Can you get past your hesitation, fear, intimidation, etc.? This involves the visualization necessary to be on the top of your game, the mental fortitude necessary to stay focused under duress. It also involves the ability to get in touch with the darker side of your human nature - learning to tap into an emotional drive without becoming lost to it. Some refer to this as "taking the dog off the leash."

If you are planning to enter an event, you should carefully consider what resources are available to you to help you prepare. Other considerations include the time commitment, money for food and supplements, your present physical condition, and your experience level.

Despite the popular misgivings about competition, there is much to be learned from the experience. The first thing of course is that winning or losing by the terms of the competition is mostly irrelevant. If you are on top of your game, and have invested years to become a serious career competitor in this area, then winning or losing the match, the division, is important. For most, however, the benefits of this experience have very little to do with whether they won or lost. For many the experience serves as a transformation, an opportunity to learn more about themselves. Below are a few lessons that we can learn from any type of competition:

Dealing with disappointment

The first time you compete, you will probably lose. This has to do with psychological preparation. So the first lesson to be learned is to exercise a change in perspective. There is a saying that "on any given day, anyone can win and anyone can lose." If you lose right off the bat, the question then becomes "What was successful about your performance?" There are always lessons to take home from any performance.

Dealing with Shock & Intimidation

There are often two types of fighters, those who have a natural competitiveness and take well to challenges, and those who have to learn it. Many will find that they get intimidated by their fellow competitors, and shut down psychologically. Competition offers an excellent opportunity to exercise overcoming one's fear. Even if the fear is not debilitating, the competitor still needs to learn to cope with the adrenaline dump that will happen throughout the day of the event. For some this is the point of the experience.

It is also important to learn to change your associations. Remember the saying: "On any given day, anyone can win and anyone can lose." This serves for more than just a statement of consolation, but also one of encouragement, a challenge. Looking at your competition, do not assume that they know more than you, or that they are automatically going to win. This change in perspective is very important, as many times people will be initially defeatist in their outlook. If you believe you can win, you can win, but if you believe you cannot win, you certainly won't.

Exercising control, restraint and good sportsmanship

Some fighters have the opposite problem, competitiveness is natural to them, their dog is on a long leash. For them the question is "Will I fly off the handle again?" Competition offers an opportunity to practice constraint, respect and self-control. Good sportsmanship and safety are always more important than winning or losing. In this regard a fighter can win and lose at the same time.

Preparation

There are few things more valuable here than the experience of preparation. This involves having a game plan, determining what is necessary to prepare for the event, and taking those steps in the face of a deadline. "There is no stimulant like a deadline," one of my teachers was fond of saying. Personally I find this to be the most intriguing aspect of competition.

This step begins with a thorough understanding of the rules, an honest evaluation of your skills and ability, and the amount of time (number of hours remaining) before the day of the event. If you are lucky enough to have training partners who have experience in this form of competition, all the better. If not, part of the test is whether or not you can find the resources to help you prepare.

I have a friend who teaches Wing Chun, and he has his fighters prepare for tournaments by determining a specific tactic that will be the crux of their strategy. For them, the question of win or lose becomes mostly irrelevant in comparison to their underlying goal. The question then becomes, can they operate within the parameters of this competition without abandoning that tactic? This requires a rare type of discipline.

There are goals, and then there are goals. One of my training partners lost a match in NAGA because he decided for himself, before the event, that he would not stall for time in any of his fights. During this match he was four points ahead and was moving well against his opponent, but knew he could not honestly just sit on him until the round ended. Instead he sacrificed good position to take the risk of attacking the opponent, which gave them the opportunity to reverse the position and secure a submission which won the match, in spite of the point advantage. In his mind, however, my friend was successful for keeping his promise. What is important to you?

Once you have determined a game plan, the next step is to look at the time remaining between now and the event and structure it well. Disciplining your training habits is a very valuable skill, and requires that you make the most of each hour of training, vary your training enough to avoid injury, boredom, stagnancy, and insure growth and proper conditioning.

Review and adaptation

After the competition, especially if you are fortunate enough to get video of yourself, you can take a critical look at your performance and determine where you were successful and where you still need work, most important, the areas where you were completely unprepared. This is time to sit down with your coach or trainer and start a new list of training priorities. The best time for this is after the competition is over. The worst time for this is immediately after your performance. It is easy to get caught up in comparison, looking at the performance of others. The performance of others is mostly irrelevant to this central question - "How well did I do?"

One of the side effects of regular competition, perhaps most clearly seen in the system of Brazilian Jiujitsu is that of adaptation. Competition spurs creativity. Experienced fighters are constantly coming up with new strategies to deal with common problems. The technique evolves, and what was indefensible one year may be easily countered the next. Your experience can be a goldmine of opportunity for adaptation.

Sometimes, if you pay attention, you will get lucky and a lesson you learned in competition will have an application to other areas of your training, possibly even as a life-lesson. Movement tactics I have learned in stickfighting have helped me in kickboxing. Elements of conditioning in grappling have helped me prepare for other types of competitions. There is a lot of overlap between types of competition.

Keeping your eyes open

During the event, the question is "Can you think on the fly?" Competition offers an opportunity to put your wits against that of an opponent, who may try anything. Will they catch you in a trap? Will you catch them? Did they surprise you?

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of competition is being aware. This includes learning new tricks from more experienced competitors, new strategies or training methods. After your event, you should try to take the time to speak with those fighters who demonstrate the skills you wish to possess. Often times they are very open to sharing their insight and encouragement.

Likewise, you should be willing to give advice if approached. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who stated that when speaking with those above you, leave them with a good impression of yourself. When speaking with those beneath you, leave them with a good impression of themselves. Encouragement should be universal. Part of any gathering of fighters involves making new connections, new friends, possibly even new training partners.

Greater appreciation

Last but not least is the benefit of gaining perspective. I recently entered my first grappling competition, not because I consider myself to be a serious grappler, but because I knew that it would better my skills and widen my experience. By trying new things you may discover a new found appreciation for what it takes to be a professional-level athlete in that area of training.

In our Brazilian Jiujitsu class, we have a saying - "If you're not tapping, you're not learning." Be fearless in losing and you may end up learning a great deal.