So I asked a hypothetical question on Facebook today.
Question to all the BJJ practitioners. Would you rather be competitor A or B?
Competitor A : Wins almost every match, consistently at the top of the podium, but is boring. Will get ahead on points by a pass or sweep and ride it out to win. Rarely submits opponents.
Competitor B: Wins most matches, consistently medals, but stills loses from time to time. Is exciting to watch. Many wins are by submission. Takes chances and goes for it regardless of the point spread.
I hope the cogs in your brain are turning and considering the choices! While you’re considering your options I’ll explain where the question came from.
I was recently browsing through http://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/ and saw a response to a video of Rafael Mendes vs Gianni Grippo which said something to the effect that the kimono makes BJJ boring. That when BJJ competitions are in the gi guys just get tangled up and it’s becomes slow and boring. He went on to share that he thought no gi BJJ was by far, more entertaining to watch. I myself, completely disagree with this thinking.
I don’t believe the kimono makes a grappling match innately boring. My belief is that whether its gi or no gi is irrelevant to the speed and excitement of the match. In my opinion it is the mindset of the competitors that will ultimately determine the pace of the match. Are you skeptical? Well, here’s why I believe this. If you do a search and watch certain BJJ competitors, some guys are just exciting and go after the win. You can’t find a boring match of these guys! Whether it’s a gi or a no gi match, they’re fun to watch. Then there are some competitors that are notorious for being snoozers. They will do just enough to win. Get a pass and sit, get a sweep and sit, wait till the last minute and score a takedown. These guys are just not entertaining to watch regardless of their match being gi or no gi.
I value the perceived fearlessness of a competitor that attacks and goes for the win rather than plays not to lose. These are the people who stick out in my mind and make me love BJJ competitions. I was curious about the mentality of some of the other BJJ players I know, so I posted the question.
What am I?
For myself personally, I am a B, but I end up an A from time to time. I perceive Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as an art form. Just like an artist tries to translate what he feels or sees inside to canvas or a writer to paper. I’m trying to take the techniques and abilities that I have worked to develop in the gym and display them on the tatami during competition when anxiety and fear are at a maximum. There have been numerous times where I won a match but felt dissatisfied after. The guy that won wasn’t me. I failed to display my true Brazilian Jiu-jitsu abilities because I was afraid of losing. Fear won, not me. In many cases these matches are boring because I failed to open up my game. These matches bother me so much. Then there are those matches where I end up losing but I feel very happy with the outcome. Even though I lost I was able to be myself on the mat. I opened up my style to the best of my abilities and went for it, and, even though I came up a little short I am content with the fact that I (big emphasis on the “I”) lost that match. I didn’t allow the fear of losing to prevent me from playing my game. Finally there are those perfect matches. You play your style perfectly and come out on top. They’re the best because it means I accomplished my objectives in a match. . . to dominate my opponent with my style of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and to be free of any fear of losing. I conquered my opponent and myself.
The Ancient Greeks said that Phobos (fear) rules the battlefield. I think it rules the mats too. If you become too afraid to lose, you don’t play your game and really go after the submission, which in the end, is the ultimate objective in BJJ and grappling. Of course, this is simply my interpretation and belief and many think differently. Again I see BJJ as an art and there is no right or wrong, just different. Well there are some things that are wrong. . . like giving black belts away. . . or not protecting your neck. . . but you get the idea. I’m just trying to not come across as if I am bashing all the A’s out there. I’m not. I just feel as though many competitors get so focused on winning that it renders them afraid to lose, which in turn, leads to boring matches where we don’t get to see the competitors open up and attack. In short, we don’t get to see who they really are on the mats.
I’m curious as to your view on the subject. From an instructor’s standpoint I love knowing what makes BJJ players tick. I find it incredibly interesting, so please comment and share whether you’re an A or a B and why.
As always, Thanks for reading.
Here are some of the responses I got from Facebook.
“B”
“A. Position before submission all day.”
“B….i rather lose like a man than win like a coward”
“B”
“B all day.”
“b. all my wins have been by submission. and there are quite a few”
“b. Call me many things, but please don’t ever call me boring.”
“If your goal is to a world champion, I would want to be competitor B until the worlds. At that point I would have a Competitor A attitude. Competitor B mindset would allow you to push your limits and be prepared for a lot of different scenerios.”
“I’m definitely a B competitor, until pans/worlds…”
“A. Make some money”
“B! I don’t believe in points… I wish all tournaments were true submission only… though we would likely still be watching the 2008 Mundials LIVE”
“If you are primarily a competitor you have to understand that you are playing a game. The goal of the competitor is to win. If I chose the competition route then I would play whatever style would get me the most wins.”
“I think thats true. To be the best competitor u must be smart and even conservative at times.”
“B but if it was a crazy big tournament and my opponent was super technical then A.”
“Competitor C. pull double guard, go for toe hold win on an advantage…… But seriously, B”
“B”
“I would go B but if it was a really big tournament I would probably be competitor A”
“Smaller stuff deff B. More prestigious events competitor A.”
“B. Its all about fun”
“A. complete control of what i do…not there for peoples amusement.”
“B..someday. 8)”
“Im more of a C. I win some. I lose some. But I always have a really awesome time and am really stoked to have rolled. Even when I lose. The couple of no gi matches I had with you, you totally crushed me. But i had a really awesome time, and was just stoked that I got a couple of rolls in with you.”
“B! Still working on it!:-)”
“A.. if your not first your last.. (Talladega Night’s)”
“B”
“B !all day long with no lunch break… Always looking for the finish! I would rather win by submission any day rather Than points. In my mind and heart I know I went for it and gave it 110%”
“A is a good way to think when it comes to self defense; every point is a chance at injury. B is the way you should “play” bjj during a competition with not much on the line but a trophy. I would rather be competitor B.”
“B! Submission only all day err day!”
“Anthony says B”
“B”
“B”
“B for sure!”
“B, what is life if you just ride it out all your life”
“B…..Go for the kill…..I mean submission. “
“B all day!”
“Kind of a loaded question. Do you want to be boring or exciting?”
“Even if B were to lose most matches, I’d still rather lose an exciting fight than win a boring one.”
“B”
“Duh. Lol”
“No one remembers points, go big or go home.”
“B”
“Sorry guys I’m an A…….I hate to lose….”
“can you make another option that wins all the time and submits?”
“Depends on the setting. If it’s a tournament that isn’t the pans or some big stage tournament like that then B would be the way I would go. Less to lose, in my opinion. If it is a bigger tournament I would play it safe and try my best to get to the top.”
Last Thursday I had the honor of promoting 21 people. 11 Blues and 10 Purples. I have always been very stingy with belts. I refuse to water down the sport and just give belts away. I think that by being slow to promote, it allows people to focus on what really matters. The community, getting better, competing and learning more about your self through hard work. But I messed up. I didn’t have a clear cut idea of what each belt should look like in my gym. You know. . . when you get your black belt its not like someone hands you an instruction manual on how to run a program. Instructing and running a program is unique to each gym and instructor so I had to develop my own views and ideas that matched up with that of my academy. When I finally finished ironing out what I expected out of each belt, I realized that during the last 2 years while the gym has experienced some incredible growth, many of my students were beyond where there current rank would suggest. Many of them had been at their current belts for 2 years and some up to 4! Yikes. So I had to reward their hard work, and to make it more fun I decided to do it all together. It made for a really fun day. My hats off to my students as I have not once heard a complaint or ever been asked for a belt promotion. Not once. So I am glad my students understand the whole point of this pajama wrestling stuff. Its not about the dyed cotton around our waist. 
