4 Pillars of Success in Martial Arts Competitions

Martial arts are great for melting fat and having a great time, and then there are those that rise to the occasion and want to compete. The first thing you should know about competing, and moreover, becoming a great competitor or champion, is that it takes sacrifice. Great competitors are not born, they are built through blood, sweat and tears.  Here are a few tips that will help your become a good competitor, and if you are already good, to become a great competitor.

1. Training and Growing your Library of Techniques

At the core of being competitive is your ability to do martial arts in a pressure-full environment. You have to always keep learning, drilling and discovering ways to use your God-given tools in better and better ways. Through experimentation you will find ways to tweak movements and techniques for your, but that takes constant, efficient training time inside and outside of regularly scheduled classes.

In regard to the efficiency and effectiveness of your workout sessions, make a plan for every training session. This plan will generally come through standard curriculum,  as used by your coach,  and additionally a plan that involves doing extra work outside of your core workout regimen.

Have a balanced approach  to training that is somewhere between the two extremes of ''let's just roll'' or ''let's just spar' and the opposite side, socializing, i.e. working your jaw muscles too much during your workouts.  Preparation time is work time. You need a training partner that understands these concepts, and is just as committed to progress as you are.

Become brilliant at the basics, because when you reach the point of exhaustion, you will fall back on your basics, and usually the person who wins when two people have reached the final limits of exhaustion, is the one with better basics.   In addition to becoming brilliant at the basics, become a specialist in a few great techniques that you can do at anytime, from anywhere, just like that.

2. Strength and Conditioning

Strength and conditioning is one of the more overlooked aspects of preparation. People seem to think that if they roll or spar long enough that their cardio should be good to go. This could not be further from the truth.

The best competitors spend just as much time in their cardio and strength training sessions as they do sparring and rolling. These competitors know that a few minutes truly going all out in the ring or on the mats can be the longest moments of your life, especially when you are out of shape.

The bottom line is that when you are tired your ability will start to naturally deteriorate, which is to be expected. However, the goal is to outlast your opponent.  Never slack on cardio, and stop cutting so much weight  so fast. It is harmful to your body. Besides, no matter how much you gain back before your actual competitions, you are not fighting at 100% whatsoever.

So, the question remains, "How much cardio should I do, and when do I know I am great shape." Well, that is a great question.  Please check out my other post called "Martial Cardio = The Rule of 5."

3. Developing a Strategy 

Do you have a competition strategy, and what is it? All great warriors and generals have a strategy, a method to their madness, even if it does not look like it. Just like any other sports activity, be keen in watching film and analyzing your opponents if possible. If you don't have film, then think your way through possibilities based on the information you do know about them.  This is a process called strategy mapping, which I will cover on a later post. For now, just remember that you need a basic strategy at the least. Just like the movies, if you go flying in without a plan, either you are one of those awesome action stars that can take down a whole army by themselves without even reloading their weapon, or you might end up as part of someone's highlight film... (=

If you don't have film and you don't know their background, analyze yourself and your weaknesses through the use of your own film, your instructors and peers. Put yourself through tough, but safe, workouts with your class mates, and analyze about how long it is before your form starts to break down, your clean technique begins to fade, your punches and kicks begin to lose power, or even when your grips begin to give out, etc. Data will help you to improve, so actually track it!

Don't be lazy! Sure people like to throw out the famous quote, "everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face," and although that is a great a quote, don't let that quote cause you to lazily prepare for upcoming competitions. Weave your natural talents into your strategy. As we mentioned before, become brilliant at the basics, and then a specialist in a few great techniques that you can do at anytime, from anywhere, just like that.

4. Mental Focus

The human mind is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, literally, but it has to be harnessed. You have to push yourself beyond your limits at every turn, and in the pursuit of becoming a champion at any level, you will find that you have no limits. It is all about what you are willing to sacrifice, and yes, victory comes at a cost.

Don't defeat yourself through lack of mental preparation. Mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation.  Many factors can weigh on your mental focus in training and in the heat of competition, and that is why you have to train your mind to perform at a constant, higher level.  Stay positive and conquer your fears at the earlier stages of preparation. If you don't conquer your fears, then they will snowball up until the day you compete. Don't use doubting words, and don't hang around or train with people that have something negative to say. It is not conducive to your preparation.

You can have the newest computer on the market, but if your hardware components can't handle the stress of the of the job you want your computer to do, then your computer will slow down or crash. Mentally, your brain has short term and long term memory, and your body has muscle memory as well.  Internal and external influences can hamper your capacity to function at the high operating level required for competition.  In other words you are going to push that computing power of your to the max.  If you currently find yourself overwhelmed, or getting trapped by techniques or challenges you should have overcome by now, then your brain needs more RAM.

The only way to expand your mental capacity for martial arts competitions is to not only train, but moreover,  trace, face and erase your fears. Erase the powerful inhibitor of fear,  and you will see yourself do better in those areas, your confidence will skyrocket. You will be ready for any challenge.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Just like any smooth running machine, the human body is little parts contributing to the success of the whole. Hopefully through reading this post, you now understand some of the factors that go into becoming a great competitor, and that small or large, each component in this machine of ours has a very important job to do.

Train hard to build muscle memory and confidence in techniques. Put in hard work during cardio and strength sessions. Develop a strategy. Squash our fears.

Wishing you the best in 2016 and beyond!


Benjamin Moriniere "Sensei" is a martial arts instructor, entrepreneur, consultant and motivational speaker who currently lives in Japan. His martial arts academy, Capoeira Academy Okinawa, has grown to be one of the biggest, most recognized academy's in Japan. @CapoeiraOkinawa

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