Any masters 4, 5 or 6 that got back into competition after years off? Life (injuries, moving, work) got in the way and I didn´t compete for a long time. Any experiences getting back at 50+ years young?
I'm preparing to segue into M4 next year, and due to a couple different surgeries this year, I don't forsee being in the condition to compete again until 2026, but I also don't really think it will be that big of a deal.
"No concerns really, just looking for any advice from someone that went through a similar situation. Thanks for the comment!"
Gotcha. Well, my advice would be to not make a huge deal about it, and just sign up for a few tournaments here and there.
Here are some common excuses I hear all the time for not competing, and my counter-arguments:
1) "I don't want to get injured"...
Sure, injuries can happen, but they can happen in the gym you're training at, and you're probably way more likely to get injured by some overzealous blue belt at your own gym than you are when there's at least one individual there who is watching your every move, directly next to you and your opponent (i.e. the referee).
2) "I don't have the money"...
OK. This might be the case, but is it really though? My gym has a "competitor relief fund" where my students can take any amount of money they want to sign up for a tournament if their choice. Almost nobody does this, so we have a huge fund rn.
3) "I get really nervous" etc...
This is an actual honest excuse, and I totally understand, and know how you feel. But I will say that most of us can condition this response out, to some degree, by... you guessed it... competing regularly.
4) "The referees suck"...
Then find a tournament that prioritizes referee quality.
There are always excuses of course, and I've probably got a counter-argument for it.
For you in particular though, being an aging black belt and all, here are some things to think about:
If you lose to a black belt, then oh well. You lost to a black belt. They're on average, really good at bjj. If you win, then great! Congrats on beating a black belt! Those guys are tough.
The guys you're competing against will be super happy that you showed up and gave them a match. They don't want to compete with the 24yr-old bb's either.
Literally NOBODY is paying attention if you win or lose or if you even competed at all, and if they do, they will have forgotten it even happened after a couple weeks. You're the only one who's going to be replaying your matches over and over again in your head.
Coming back after a long layoff probably makes all these scary feelings that much worse, but it's only because you've become unconditioned.
So, like I said before, just go ahead and sign up for a couple tournaments. If you don't make it out to be such a big deal, it won't be. Because it isn't.
