What it means to me………..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"article":"So, this weekend I am headed to Las Vegas for about the 8th time to compete in the IBJJF World Master competition.\u00a0 One of the things that I find so incredibly gratifying about this sport is that even at 55 years old, I have the opportunity to compete with the best people in the world at my age.\u00a0 As someone who loves competition and loves competing on big stages, this is only possible with organizations like the IBJJF that separate people into age groups, and label a tournament \u201cWorld Competition\u201d.\u00a0 It brings out the best competitors, that yes, can afford to travel to the competition.\u00a0 Certainly, there are very talented competitors that are simply not able to afford the trip, and maybe one day I will travel to meet them in Brazil, or Europe or possible Australia as well, but this is the pinnacle of competition for people over age 30.\r\n\r\nWhen I started competing at this event as a purple belt, I honestly didn\u2019t put much prestige in winning as a colored belt.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, I ALWAYS want to win, and standing on top of a podium at any event is awesome, but I realized that the brown and black belts would probably mop the floor with me.\u00a0 My perspective changed again, though, as try as I might, I just couldn\u2019t win.\u00a0 It IS a big deal to win this event at any belt color.\u00a0 My first year at purple belt I went in injured from a bad rib injury 5 weeks prior, having not sparred at all in those 5 weeks, won my first 2 matches and then lost a very close match in the finals, 3-0, to a competitor who has won the tournament at least 5 times and at every belt level.\u00a0 My second year as a purple belt I lost in my second match in the semis to the eventual champion.\u00a0 My third year, this time at brown belt, I lost again in the finals by 1 point by making one mistake.\u00a0 It was by far the most heartbreaking loss I\u2019ve ever had.\u00a0 The next year I started off by finally winning a tournament as I won no gi worlds as a brown belt.\u00a0 There was only one other person in my division, but it was a win nonetheless.\u00a0 That year at gi worlds, I finally put it all together and won all 3 of my matches to finally achieve my first big goal in Jiu-Jitsu competition: win worlds at ANY belt level.\r\n\r\nSuccess at the black belt level has been very difficult, as one would expect.\u00a0 I only have a couple wins against any black belts at any competitions, but my goal has never ceased in winning a World Master back belt title.\u00a0 This year, if my body cooperates, I have one of the best chances I will have ever had.\r\n\r\nIn the grand scheme of life, what does this really mean if I win?\u00a0 You may be surprised to hear me say\u2026\u2026..not much, actually!\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, I want to win this event with every fiber of my being, and it means an incredible amount to me personally.\u00a0 It is the pinnacle of what is realistically possible for me in competition at my age.\u00a0 But it will never define who I am, win or lose.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a competition.\u00a0 Too often, people tie their value to a trophy or a competition.\u00a0 Even winning these events, you only get to stand on that podium for about 1 minute, and then it's all over and it\u2019s time to get back to the real world.\u00a0 Those that are grounded in reality also realize that to TRULY claim a world championship, you must win the adult division (any age can compete), or win an ADCC event.\u00a0 THAT is the true pinnacle of the sport.\u00a0 I am under no false imagination that I could compete in the adult division.\u00a0 It is why I will always add the disclaimer of the age and belt rank of my victories, as anything less is doing a disservice to the meaning of these competitions.\r\n\r\nThat being said, I appreciate everyone at the gym suffering through the last couple weeks of heat and humidity in the gym as I went through my weight loss regimen.\u00a0 I appreciate everyone who sparred with me to help me get ready.\u00a0 I certainly would love to come back with a gold medal in my bag.\u00a0 But what this competition really means to me, is it\u2019s simply a way to judge myself against the best of my peers and continue to validate for myself that I am still headed in the right direction when it comes to teaching and leading others in this sport.","featured_image":"","featured_image_id":"","featured_article":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-448","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n