A competition game plan plays an important whole when your emotion becomes overwhelmingly turbulent. People are different and handle competition events differently! Out of the blue, you just know nothing about BJJ and it seems you have never trained before. But calm down, experience on competition mats and having a game plan is literally a game-changer.
IS IT WORTH CREATING A GAME PLAN?
Game plan guides you when emotions take over your body. It gives you confidence to play what you have trained and put in place your best moves. If you are a guarder, you will play guard. If you are a passer, you will take the opponent down and pass his guard. Simple as that. Stick to what you have trained and planed for the fight.
HOW CAN I CREATE A GAME PLAN?
Your default techniques should be your best techniques (or the techniques that you are the most familiar with). If you can come up with one technique per situation, can you come up with two?
Write down on a paper the following situations and come up with an action for each of them:
STANDING GAME:
Sits down:
Pull guard:
Judo stance:
Wrestler stance:
PASSING THE GUARD
Open Guard:
Closed Guard:
Half Guard:
MAINTAINING YOUR GUARD
Open Guard:
Closed Guard:
Half Guard:
YOUR WIN CONDITION
Submission or Points?
GAME PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Perfection comes with practice. Drill to Win. Roll to Win. It must come second nature.
What matters is that you have a plan and you will stick to it. Doesn’t matter what happens you will have a plan. Start out small, and slowly incorporate more go-to techniques for each new scenario you encounter and don’t have an answer for.
WHAT IF I LOSE?
It is hard. None likes losing. But it doesn’t matter. You had a plan and you stick to it. If your game didn’t work with a specific opponent, for example with big guys on the open division, talk with your coach to come up with a specific situation.
WHAT IF I CONTINUE LOSING?
A few things to consider before you start freaking out about your image: none cares!!!! And you shouldn’t either. On the other hand, if you want to be a top-level competitor, have this in mind:
What is your belt?
How long have you been training?
How may competitive matches have you done?
Unless you are a top-level black belt that has spent the last 20 years on the mats, these losses are learning opportunities.
HOW DO I GET BETTER AT COMPETING?
REGULARITY!
RECORD & ANALYZE
CRITICAL FEED-BACK
PLAN & STRATEGY
So, long story short, sit down, have a plan and have fun on the mats!!
Gracie Sydney Team.