To perform under lights...

This post started out as being part of a series on an upcoming submission only event in Tasmania called “Caged Grappling”, however as with most of these things, it has gained momentum of its own. This is now the first post in a two part series on types of competition, in this post I will talk about participation vs entertainment based competition. In the second I will talk about whether competing in BJJ or grappling is “fighting” or “competing” and whether the same question can be asked of MMA.

So here is part 1.

When you are involved in Combat Sports it seems like everyone you know competes. Of course the reality is only a small percentage of people compete in any sport, let alone getting on the mat to do the whole “mano a mano” thing.

(the whole "mano a mano" thing)

It takes courage to compete, especially when the game is real like in BJJ, Judo or Wrestling, where your opponent is either trying to slam you down, choke you out or take your arm home. Not many people have that in them, and even though competing isn’t a huge part of my life, I am glad to say that I have done it.

However, if few people ever compete in Combat Sports, then a very small percentage take on the challenge of fighting on a show. They are two different things and are different for a number of reasons. Firstly when we look at grappling styles like BJJ, Judo and Wrestling the competitions are almost universally based on tournaments and more focused on the competitor than spectator. These are designed to compete in and try to win, they usually involve many competitors, sometimes hundreds or thousands in a day, but are only really ever spectated by people close to the sport. You could say that there is a level of anonymity in the large field of competitors that you sometimes find. With this most of the pressure in such competition comes from yourself, your commitment to compete isn’t necessarily public and is not contractual.

these are the sort of crowds I have usually competed in BJJ in front of.

There is a different kind of pressure that comes from fighting on a show where the focus is on entertainment. A fight show, whether it be Boxing, Muay Thai or MMA has few competitors and is often viewed by people without an in depth understanding of the sport solely for the excitement. As such deciding to fight on a show involves an agreement, often contractual as well as a hell of a time and life commitment. You agree, to put the work in to attain a certain weight, to be in shape, to fulfill public obligations and to fight one person…. A person that has agreed to fight you… A person that everyone knows about…. It is a different kind of pressure.

these are the sort of crowds I have never competed in MMA in front of.

Along with this pressure comes the expectation that you will be part of the show and try to make your entrance, match and even post fight interview entertaining. There is no doubt that a promoter wants a fighter with a personality, someone who can sell fights. I have personally never had a problem with the idea of entertainment, having been in rock bands for many years and been involved in various forms of public speaking. I like selling an idea to the crowd and enjoy planning ways to do it. The only problem is that I am allergic to getting punched in the head (…. don’t laugh, it is a legit condition) so I was never keen on trying out MMA. So in my case Caged Grappling gave me the chance to work on hype, plan an entrance and to perform under lights.

grappling and a show.....

Ultimately competition in any combat sport is a good thing and regardless of what sport or level you compete at it is a life changing experience. While “the show” might not be for everyone I am glad that various promotions like Boa Super 8 and All Styles Grappling are giving grapplers the chance to experience professional competition.

My next post will talk about “fighting in grappling” and “competing in MMA”.