There’s a HUGE difference between training and competing, not only in how hard you go, but also in the strategies you employ.
The priority in competition is winning, but the priority in training should be learning.
That’s why if I run into something new in training – a weird grip, a submission, a leg entanglement – my reaction is probably going to be, “Oh, how interesting, let’s see where this goes.”
Even if I get sucked deep into the quicksand and end up in a submission, it doesn’t matter. I can always get out by tapping, and now I’ve learned something new.
To learn new things, you need to deliberately put yourself into new situations, even if it means “losing” that particular round.
Competition, on the other hand, is entirely different.
In a tournament, you should avoid new situations like the plague.
This was summed up by Roberto Leitão, a legendary Luta Livre coach, who once said, “If I don’t know, I will not allow it”.
It’s infinitely easier to counter a technique early as opposed to late. Therefore whenever you see your opponent trying to set something up, shut it down before it starts.
Keep the match in a zone where you can use your A game. If your opponent beats your A game, then he was just better than you. No harm, no foul.
But don’t go blundering into Terra Incognita if you can possibly avoid it.
To summarise, be open to losing spectacularly in training if you can experience something new. Be explorative in sparring and use games in training so you can make all your mistakes on the training mat.
Then, in competition, take all that experience, don’t give your opponent an inch, and force the match to stay on your highest percentage routes to victory.
Training and competition are two very different things.
Stephan Kesting
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