With the IBJJF Worlds approaching, serious competitors in academies all over the world are preparing for their challenge to be named a World Champion in their category.
What factors are involved in preparing to compete at this high of a level?
Alliance black belt competitor Jon Thomas, who won gold at purple belt and has gold at the Pan Americans, shares his opinion on the five most important aspects of competing in BJJ.
Here they are.
Technique
This is the most important aspect of preparation. You may not be confident, but if you have good technique, you will still do well. Thomas recommends specific training and film study to boost your technical knowledge.
Mobility
Thomas says that this might be the easiest way for competitors to quickly improve their jiu-jitsu. Technique changes take a long time, but improving your hip mobility and range of motion will yield immediate dividends.
Strength
You need to be strong enough to execute your preferred positions. Every position has a basic strength and mobility requirement. Is your grip strong enough to play spider guard, for example?
Endurance
Thomas prefers to do separate conditioning to build cardio endurance as opposed to multiple rounds of hard rolling. Speed drilling for two minutes is one of the methods he recommends to build competition level cardio.
Mindset
Thomas doesn’t delve into competition mindset here. He does admit that he entered competitions with a low level of confidence his technical level got him the victory.
What did you think of Jon Thomas’ advice?
