Cobrinha after winning the 2009 World Championship. Photo: Alicia Anthony.
The 15th reason to follow, and in this case compete in, the 2013 World Championship is about the competitor. For this type of motivation, you must be able to evaluate your training and yourself as you compete.
Reason #15: Win or lose, competing will allow you to test yourself against the best in the world.
Competing is always about experience. It’s a confidence booster and sometimes even a slap in the face to wake up and change your training approach. Sometimes it’s not even what you’re training but how. And sometimes it isn’t the amount of training you’ve completed to prepare but how you’ve been able to prepare mentally.
We often hear black belts talk about having a “good day” and that is what can determine who wins a championship. Other times, when asked about how they handle being at the competition the day of, they talk about how they keep their mind right with music or solitude in order to get ready for battle, so to speak.
The experience of competing, win or lose, is just that: Experience. You must be able to use the testing grounds for improving yourself, even if you are able to submit every opponent. If you lose your first match be it to a referee decision, you must be able to take the opportunity as a way to come back stronger the next time and not place blame on any outside sources. Simply take the loss and make it productive.
Rubens Cobrinha Charles is a decorated athlete who has won the World Championship four times and has always come back with motivation to compete. When GRACIEMAG asked how he finds this motivation these days, he said, “For me, it’s a challenge and as long as I have a challenge in my life I will keep working towards it.”
DJ Jackson is a newer black belt who has had his fair share of losses in the expert black belt division so far. But he always comes back for more better than he was before. He says, “The experience you get from competing is one of the best ways to improve your Jiu-Jitsu. You will be tested and you will make mistakes. If you fix your mistakes and don’t make them again you will see your Jiu-Jitsu skyrocket.”
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