Tournament training and competition are different than BJJ. Tournament training and competition is a game where as BJJ is an art. In competition the person who best executes his or her game plan will win if they have a good game plan. In BJJ the goal is to constantly improve and become more well rounded.
Example: Dustin Denes is a very well respected black belt with huge wins in his career against guys like Marcelo Garcia and Jeff Monson. Dustin took some time off from competition only to make his return at the Pan Ams this year. He was shut down by a HUGE point margin of over 20 points if I remember correctly.
BUT, anyone who has the pleasure of rolling with Dustin will tell you how dominant he is on the mat and how effortlessly he handles black belts of all sizes.
Conclusion: It is fun to be good and practice both! I love when a game plan comes together. I also like experimenting with new things while I train. Tournament training does not allow for that as your objective is to be perfect at a few things from each position. The best part about competition is the reinforcement that what you are training is paying off.
Check out the stuff I ordered for competition training! Score boards and official IBJJF belts and wristbands. I want to make the experience as authentic as possible. I want to increase everyone's tournament experience and knowledge of scoring.
-- Edited by John Fain on Saturday 7th of May 2011 08:30:59 PM
