With the Nationals just three weeks away I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on competing.

It’s an oddity of martial arts that people will train in the sport without competing. There’s the greater piece of the sport vs. self defence argument which means a large number of people will take up MMA for something other than a competitive element but that’s not the point of this blog entry.

If you were to enter any other sport, such as athletics, tennis, rugby or God forbid soccer, you’d compete. In fact, it would seem strange if you just trained in any sport without some competitive element. There’s usually not an agreed definition of sport but I’d say it’s any activity with physical exertion playing a major role in the outcome and having a competitive element.

I’ve never had anybody lose affection for MMA/Submission Wrestling as a result of competing, but I have had a lot of people who’ve really grown to love the sport and committed to it as a result of competing. Apart from that one principle reason I’ve listed some of the other benefits of competing below.

Competition is humbling: When you compete, you put yourself out there to be judged by everyone else. Your performance will be noted by the officials, in the records, and (perhaps most importantly) your peers. Competition is that time when you’ve to stop talking and just do. And for that alone it’s worth competing in some respects.

Competition helps increase your focus in other areas of your life, and actually promotes life balance. Some people don’t want to compete because they can’t invest the time or energy. What I’ve found is those same people are probably squandering hours away on useless activities or things that they really don’t want to do or give them no benefit. When they commit to competition, they suddenly get their ass in gear. You’re more efficient because you leave work early to make training, or you don’t spend so long watching TV because you want to hit the weights.

The knock on effect is that since your more focused in one area, you can set goals and strive towards them in other areas of your life. Who wouldn’t want that benefit? Athletic competition is a gate way to whole life improvement, really. In the words of MuscleForge, “In movement we find freedom.”

Competition forces you to improve your game: I can’t imagine anyone saying they don’t want to get better in any endeavour, but a lot of the time we aren’t willing to put in the extra effort to raise our game. I’ve noted over my time coaching that those who show up and go through the emotions of training don’t get anywhere near the level of satisfaction as those who push themselves time and time again in training and competing. Not to mention the other effects of a better workout and a steeper learning curve.

So what if you don’t like competition? That’s cool. But try it first. If you decide the dedication required to compete in the sport is more than you’re willing it’s okay. But compete first! I’ve never had an athlete stop training because of entering a competition. If afterwards you feel like MMA for you is just a way of raising the heart beat and a pleasurable activity to look forward to then that’s cool. I encourage that as well. We can’t all strive to compete at Irish pro level or International level but we can always find a way to challenge and develop yourself, whatever level you’re at.

Which begs the question why don’t I compete?

MMA success as an athlete is simply not a goal of mine. I’ve competed in MMA and Sub Wrestling, had experiences where I’ve loved it, experiences where I’ve hated it, and in between. To me, the challenges I set for myself are to be a great coach – to develop athletes as efficiently as possible so that they may compete and excel at whatever level and discipline of martial arts best suit them. In a way, I’m competing with other coaches when my athletes step on the mats.

But the ideals of competing – setting challenges; personal sacrifice; personal development; expanding your boundaries of what you believe are capable – for me personally exist in other areas of my life. For example, right now Crossfit is a big goal for me. How well can I compete at the sport of fitness? I post my times/rounds/weights on the Xfit comments and provide a diary of sorts on this site. In that way I’m viewable and accountable the same any other athlete would be when they compete.

To me, the accountability and honest appraisal of one’s performance is the greatest benefit of competing.