This is our beginners guide to BJJ tournaments for parents of young competitors.
If you want to:
Learn the benefits of jiu jitsu tournaments and how they work
Discover what to expect at competitions
Get tips on how to prepare your child for a successful tournament
Then this is the guide you've been looking for.
Contents
What Are Jiu Jitsu Tournaments?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments are competitive events where Jiu-Jitsu practitioners compete against others in matches to put their skills to the test.
Participating in tournaments give competitors the opportunity to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their game against practitioners that train outside of their home academy.
Tournaments typically involve both Gi, the traditional uniform, and No-Gi divisions, where competitors typically wear a rashguard and shorts.
A Brief History of Jiu Jitsu Tournaments
It may seem like Jiu Jitsu is a relatively young martial art, and most would be surprised to learn that Jiu Jitsu’s roots date back to the 8th century in Japan.
Informal challenge matches and Vale Tudo (Portuguese for “anything goes”) fights in the early 1920s paved the way for the development of the first organized Jiu Jitsu competitions in Brazil in the 1970s.
The organized tournaments we know today are largely a result of the formation of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) in 1994 by Master Carlos Gracie Jr., the son of Grand Master Carlos Gracie Sr.
Through to present day, BJJ competitions continue to gain popularity worldwide, with notable competitions including:
IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (Mundials)
Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championship
Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship (Pan Ams)
Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship (World Pro)
How Do Tournaments Work?
Jiu Jitsu tournaments have a Gi division, No-Gi division, or both. These two styles of jiu-jitsu work together to help you excel in adapting to different opponents and improving your techniques, ultimately helping you be a well-rounded competitor.
Gi matches focus on making specific grips on your opponent’s Gi, using them for control, submissions, and sweeps. These matches tend to be slower in pace as grips allow for more efficient and strategic positional control over your opponent.
No-Gi matches require greater speed and athleticism due to the lack of grips to help slow down the pace. Submissions in these matches lean more towards techniques like leg locks and chokes.
These two styles of jiu-jitsu work together to help you excel in adapting to different opponents and improving your techniques, ultimately helping you be a well-rounded competitor.
Jiu Jitsu Tournament Structure
Tournaments are split into divisions based on age and gender, belt rank and weight class. These divisions are important parts of the registration process that help ensure the safety of competitors and fairness of matches.
Age Categories:
The kids divisions can begin as early as 4-5 years old. These matches are designed to be a fun, safe environment for the youngest competitors to focus on basic techniques and develop good sportsmanship.
The kids divisions are divided into smaller age brackets, ensuring competitors are of similar age and developmental milestones. Teenagers up to 17 years old compete in the juvenile division.
Weight Divisions:
Kids divisions are divided by weight class to ensure fairness and safety between competitors. The range for each weight class may vary based on the governing organizer and age group.
Tournaments generally follow this weight division structure:
Rooster
Light Feather
Feather
Light
Middle
Medium-Heavy
Heavy
Super Heavy
Ultra Heavy
Belt Divisions:
Belt ranks are divided into athletes from 4-15-years old in the kids divisions and 16-years old and older for adult athletes.
Kids have a more extensive range of belts to indicate their progress. Each belt, with the exception of the white belt, has 3 sublevels consisting of a color belt with a white stripe running through the middle, a solid color belt, and a color belt with a black stripe running through the middle.
IBJJF outlines the belts for athletes up to 15 years of age:
During competitions, kids compete under the belt division based on the solid color their belt falls under.
Once Jiu Jitsu athletes turn 16 years old, they are eligible to be promoted to the adult belt ranks. The adult Jiu-Jitsu belt system consists of 8 belts: white, blue, purple, brown, black, red and black, red and white, and red belt.
Parents Guide to BJJ Tournament Preparation
Tournament Registration
If your child is interested in competing in a Jiu Jitsu tournament for the first time, speak with the coach. Coaches assess a student’s progress as well as physical and emotional preparedness to handle the pressure of competing. They can offer personalized insight on strengths and areas of improvement to help set realistic goals for the competition.
When registering your child for a competition, you’ll need to enter information including their birth year, belt rank, and weight.
Governing organizations may have varying policies for uniform requirements (including color, patch placement, and measurements), weight allowance, and registration change/refund. Understanding the different competition rules and scoring systems can better prepare your child for how to approach their competition training.
Getting Competition Ready
Preparing to compete in a Jiu Jitsu tournament involves multiple factors: training, nutrition, and sleep.
Competition training is a level up from regular instruction, where athletes focus on sharpening techniques they are proficient at. Competitions are not the place to try new techniques, and coming with a refined arsenal of techniques can greatly improve your child’s results and experience.
Children are still physically developing and for their safety, there are a number of techniques that are illegal, including the guillotine choke, leg lock, knee bar, wrist lock, and slamming. Use of an illegal technique is dangerous and, in competition, may lead to penalization or disqualification.
Balanced nutrition and hydration are crucial to optimizing your child’s performance and energy. Avoiding heavy/greasy foods leading up to the competition and sugary foods and drinks can help your child compete at their best. Cutting weight for children typically is not recommended as they are growing and need the nutrients to support their natural grown and development.
The nerves that kick in the night before a competition can make for a rough night’s sleep. Help your child establish a wind down routine at night where their body receives the signal that it’s time to relax and prepare for sleep. Reducing screen time prior to bed helps limit blue light exposure, which affects the body’s production of melatonin.
While your child is resting, packing their Gi and/or No-Gi gear, valid ID, water bottle, and light snacks can help make the following day go smoothly. If your child is competing in the Gi division, make sure their belt is packed too. It doesn’t hurt to pack a spare Gi.
Competition Day
The day of the competition can bring on a range of emotions from excitement to nervousness, especially if it’s your first time attending a jiu jitsu tournament. While your child gets ready, make sure their nails are trimmed short and any long hair is tied up securely.
When you arrive at the venue, competitors will need to check in with valid ID. Depending on the organizer, spectators may need to pay an entrance fee.
The atmosphere at Jiu Jitsu competitions is busy and energetic, especially with multiple matches occurring simultaneously. You’ll often find the tournament schedule with athletes’ names, match times, and mat assignments near the entrance.
Utilize the time prior to your child’s first match to help them warm up and manage nerves, as needed. Weigh ins and uniform checks occur prior to the first match. If your child exceeds the weight class limit (and weight allowance, if applicable) or their uniform does not meet the requirements, they may be disqualified. Should a disqualification occur, consolation matches are at the discretion of the tournament organizers.
Watching your child compete in a tournament can be nerve-wracking. If your child’s coach is able to attend, allow the coach to be the one to guide your child through their matches. Echoing what the coach is saying during their match can be helpful to your child, especially since they’re accustomed to hearing your voice.
Following the match, encourage your child to build good sportsmanship by showing respect to their opponent and opponent’s coach, referees, and event organizers. Your child’s coach will have notes on what they did well at and what can be improved to make them a stronger athlete.
FAQs:
Does my child need to compete in tournaments to improve?
Competing in Jiu Jitsu tournaments does have its advantages to helping improve a child’s Jiu Jitsu, and there are cases where competing may not be in their best interest:
Child has no desire to compete.
Child is not prepared to either win or lose.
If your child hasn’t had enough training and preparation, they may not be well-equipped to handle the pressure and intensity.
Child is feeling excessive pressure to compete from outside sources.
How long do matches last in kids Jiu Jitsu tournaments?
The duration of a match varies based on age and belt rank. Typically matches can last anywhere from 2-5 minutes, and tournament organizers specify the duration for each division.
Are Jiu Jitsu tournaments safe for children to compete in?
Safety is of the utmost importance in kids tournaments. Referees are specifically trained to closely watch matches and stop the match if a child is in danger of being injured. Most tournaments have trained medical personnel on-site in the case of any medical emergency.
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