First of all, I don’t push competition on people. In fact, I don’t push much of anything on people. I like to reinforce what I think is important and talk about ideas, so please don’t feel I’m pushing the need to compete in tournaments.

Having said that, there is a mental shift that takes place when people compete.

First, lets define the differences that should exist between practice and competition. Practice should be a “fail safe zone” where people can try things and make mistakes. Get beat without being judged. A varsity superstar can get taken down, and a white belt can tap a purple belt. Competition is just the opposite. You are trying to win. The goal is to get your hand raised at the end.

Second, let’s talk about what happens when people don’t compete. Practice becomes competition. This isn’t always true, but I believe subconsciously it just, kinda sorta, happens. The consequences are the opposite intentions of what practice should be. You judge yourself and your peers who get taken down or tap to a submission. You take less risks and chances because you are trying to win rather than trying to experiment and learn about a position. When practice becomes a competition arena, you win or you lose.

Practice should be preparation for competition, and as a result you train differently. You train to improve yourself in positions. EVERY TIME YOU PRACTICE TO PRACTICE YOU WIN. You win because you are taking risks for the sake of learning the minute subtleties of a position. You will “get beat” in the technical sense, but for the sake of learning you are a super star! When practice is preparation it doesn’t matter that someone beat you. In fact, you should intentionally put yourself back in that position over and over again to learn more about it. However, in a competition the opposite should take place. You resist allowing yourself to be put into their power positions.

For example, if someone has a great closed guard, I’m going to put myself in their closed guard as much as possible to learn and improve my reaction from that position (in practice). In competition, I’m going to avoid that position like the plague. The less time I spend in their closed guard the better chance I have to win. BUT in practice, I WIN when I develop a better understanding for a position. LEARNING is WINNING.

So, regardless of you being a competitor or not, remember the goals of practice and competition. Try not to mix the two. The end goal of practice is to learn and improve, while the end goal of competition is to win. Most importantly, avoid making judgments about the RESULTS of practice. Instead judge what learning took place. Competition is where the results will be judged, and give you an opportunity to go back to practice with positions and movements in need of exploration.