So I have a new thing: I will not compete until I feel confident I can win. I did more than my share of tournaments this year, even a national one (US Open). Every single one I felt either overpowered, outworked, nervous, or outcardio'd. To sum it all up, I was always under-prepared. There are a few select words that I have heard from the pros that sounds somewhere along the lines of "if you're prepared, you won't be nervous". I don't think winning or doing good at competition has anything to do with confidence or the frequency in which you compete...it has all to do with preparation. Sure there are some freaks of nature out there that can eat McDonalds everyday and do 3 push-ups and go out there and win just on raw "talent". But you never see that at high levels. I have heard many things in my short training, and one of them was to compete as many times as possible to get "used to it". I listened to this universal misconception, and every tournament I would get the same results which is usually win one and lose one. It seemed to also make my nerves 10x worse. What I thought was preparation, was really just normal training. When I heard about the things other schools were doing...I was just literally blown away and amazed. This has brought me to the conclusion that I am not ready and until I show discipline in other areas of this sport and my life, I will not compete. Technique. Nutrition. Cardio. Strength. All of these have to be on equal levels before I ever step on the mats again at any major tournament. I will not be unprepared again. The Evolution begins.
