• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workout
      • Best BCAAs
      • Best Testosterone Boosters
      • Best Bodybuilding Supplements
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
      • Best Multivitamins
      • Best Collagen Supplement
      • Best Probiotic
      • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Magnesium Supplements
    • Protein
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain
      • Best Tasting Protein Powder
      • Best Vegan Protein
      • Best Mass Gainer
      • Best Protein Shakes
      • Best Organic Protein Powder
      • Best Pea Protein Powder
      • Best Protein Bars
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Functional Trainers
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Trap Bars
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Cardio Machines
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Weighted Vests
      • Concept2 RowErg Review
      • Hydrow Wave Review
      • Best Jump Ropes
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

5 Ways Competition Preparation Is Like College

I have advocated elsewhere that BJJ be treated like an academic discipline. Today I muse on how preparing for competition and studying for college exams are quite alike - in exactly five ways.

val worthington, valerie worthington, bjj, mma, brazilian jiu jitsu, grappling

Written by Valerie Worthington Last updated on Nov 22, 2021

I have advocated elsewhere that Brazilian jiu jitsu be treated like an academic discipline. I have argued that the domain of BJJ is complex and sophisticated, can claim experts who explore and contribute to the body of knowledge, and requires autonomy on the part of the scholar, much like the subjects you might study at a college or university. Indeed, grappling schools are frequently referred to as “academies,” and instructors as “professors.” Based on my experience with both academe and BJJ, I would estimate the typical black belt has been engaging with his/her subject matter for as long as at least the typical university assistant professor, if not a more advanced academic.

Now, as a fall competition season nears, I decided to comment more about ways grappling and academe could be argued to be first cousins, through the lens of a grappler preparing for a competition and a student studying for exams in college or grad school. I found five ways that seem noteworthy:

#1 – Group Work

Study groups abound in academic settings. Whether individual students are in the same class and pooling resources – notes, interpretations, instructor comments on previous assignments – or are working on a joint project, group work is a fundamental part of the higher education experience. In my own graduate school experience, I vividly remember studying with classmates for our comprehensive exam, which was a take-home essay test on all the material we had learned in the preceding three years. Working in a group to prepare for comps, even though we completed the exam individually, deepened my understanding of the content. It also provided much-needed comic relief and a sense of camaraderie, as I and my exhausted classmates laughed at jokes that weren’t really very funny (except for mine, of course) but broke the tension.

Similarly, preparing for competition requires at least one other warm body for drilling and rolling, and more often it happens in the context of a group, for troubleshooting, tinkering, strategizing, and moral support. Our instructors can target our training sessions for competition needs, and our teammates can help us build and maintain confidence.

#2 – Tedium

Preparing for competition is not always, or even usually, exciting. It requires consistency, repetition, focus, and denial of typical indulgences. It requires the competitor to commit to delayed gratification in the service of a greater goal. In theory this sounds noble, but in practice, it is a drag. In an academic situation, some of the same mechanisms are at work, where we may need to table pleasant diversions in favor of putting in the study hours: notecards, memorization, rough drafts, and outlines of papers. In both contexts, the tedium is not particularly enjoyable, but the idea is that it will lead to a meaningful payoff.

#3 – Hygiene/Housekeeping

bjj, college, bjj is like college, competition is like collegeOkay, maybe this is just me and I’m outing myself. But when I was studying in college and graduate school AND when I have prepared for competition, things such as laundry, dusting, grocery shopping, and the like have maybe been known to fall a tiny bit by the wayside. Since time and energy are in short supply, these things feel more like the chores they are. Even showering, which under normal circumstances is luxurious, can feel like just another thing to cross off the to-do list. Rest assured, I do shower, especially during competition preparation. I’m just not happy about it.

#4 – Weird Eating Habits

College and graduate students might be all about ramen, pizza, can after can of diet Coke, and pot after pot of coffee. A college friend of mine used to eat an entire brick of cheddar cheese throughout the course of an all-nighter. (She also had the metabolism of someone with a very high metabolism.) Competitors, on the other hand, are frequently watching the scale to make sure they make weight, and even if they are on target, they are likely to be trying to eat “clean.” So they might be involved in grilled chicken and steamed vegetable situations. There could be some protein powder, and perhaps some pre-training shakes in there as well. I don’t think I’ve seen anything more forlorn than a table of grapplers who are getting ready for a competition trying to order dinner at a restaurant.

#5 – Post-Event Freakout

How many readers who are also athletic competitors have spent some of the hours leading up to tournament time daydreaming about their post-competition plans? Frequently, these plans involve indulging in some kind of food or drink that has been verboten during the training interval, as well as staying up late or otherwise indulging in more, let’s call it “frivolous,” behavior. After the last time I competed, I ate a bunch of processed sugar and flour and then spent the entire night dry heaving in the bathroom.

Ibjj, college, bjj is like college, competition is like college swear I didn’t have a drop to drink, but needless to say, things didn’t go as planned. But this tends to happen with me after some protracted pressure has been lifted. When I was in graduate school, each semester I would endure what I started referring to as my Holiday Barf; after I had met all my deadlines, it was as if my body recognized that the “danger” of finals period was over and it could finally relax. Until the next push, when the cycle would begin again.

So there you have five ways competition preparation and studying for academic exams are similar endeavors. Some of these relate to the actual endeavor of learning a subject matter, and others have more to do with lifestyle. What’s your experience like? Does this comparison resonate with you, as a grappler preparing for a competition, as a scholar preparing for exams, or both? (And of course I would argue that there isn’t much distinction between the two.) Feel free to share your observations in the comments section.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

val worthington, valerie worthington, bjj, mma, brazilian jiu jitsu, grappling

About Valerie Worthington

Valerie Worthington has been moving her body since before she was born, for many reasons and with many outcomes. She really started to pay attention to how, when, and why her body moves when she began training in Brazilian jiu jitsu in 1998. From then on, she became hugely invested in educating herself about how to optimize her body movement for BJJ and how to support it in doing so. She has observed that these endeavors require her to invest herself not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, fueling a particular interest in the influence on her life of these dimensions of athletic activity.

Valerie has developed as a BJJ practitioner via her own training and competition preparation, teaching and coaching other practitioners, and writing about her life as a jiu jitsu devotee through the lens of her education, personal experiences, and professional background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State University. She is a first-degree black belt in BJJ, as well as co-founder and proprietor of Groundswell Grappling Concepts. She trains at Princeton Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Princeton, New Jersey.

Most recently, Valerie is the author of How to Love a Grappler: A Guide for People Who Love People Who Love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

View All Articles

Related Posts

Fergus Crawley 5K Run Tips Photo
Fergus Crawley Shares 5 Tips For Running a Better 5K
Actor Chris Hemsworth in gym performing dumbbell row
Chris Hemsworth Diagrams a Killer Upper Body Workout Fit For an Action Star
Hugh Jackman Deadpool 3 Workouts Spring:Winter 2023
Hugh Jackman Returns to Wolverine Condition in Workouts for “Deadpool 3”
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

New Year’s Fitness Sales (2025)

XWERKS Motion BCAA Review (2025): A Registered Dietitian’s Honest Thoughts

Assault Fitness AssaultBike Pro X Review (2025): Assault’s Best Bike Yet?

13 Best Exercise Bikes for Home Gyms (2025)

Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine Review (2025): The Key to Post-Workout Recovery?

Latest Reviews

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt Review (2025)

Omre NMN + Resveratrol, Lifeforce Peak NMN, and partiQlar NMN on a red background

Best NMN Supplement: Fountain of Youth in a Bottle? (2025)

The Titan Series Adjustable Bench on a red background

Titan Series Adjustable Bench Review (2025)

A photo of the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Dumbbells on a red background

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbell Review (2025): Are These Value Dumbbells Worth It?

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About