Butterflies in the stomach and the mental paranoia of failure circling around your mind days before a competition can lead to questioning why you might even be doing this in the first place, but regardless if you feel these things or not, it is completely normal. Over the past few years I have upped my rate of competing to test myself and my jiu jitsu and I never have regretted a single one of those events. Successes and losses have never been a ruling factor to compete; simply to just get an opportunity to play the game.
Let's steer back into the idea of these competition jitters and how they can be dealt with. Coming from personal experience I never focus on the matches at hand or the event in great detail when I am preparing. When I use the term 'preparing,' I am not really changing too much of my normal routine. I already train consistently, it's the adaptations of how I train that changes before an event. Intensity is a huge factor, and being able to amplify it will lead to greater success of having a solid performance come competition day.
With the training volume remaining the same, I usually prefer to oscillate the rate of intensity because going hard all day every day leads to burn out and injury. There was an event last year where I had increased the volume of work in addition to the intensity of each workout, which led to me getting sick and needing to pull out of an event. Nothing feels worse than doing something like that.
This means assuring that I have rest days, whether that is an active rest day or a straight up recovery day is up to you, but your body needs time to heal. Some days may call for you to slow things down and get more technical with your approach to reserve that energy for the next session. The point of the matter is you need to be confident in your preparation approach in order to cut down on added stress. The better your plan, the less you have to worry come 'game day.'
Staying on a balanced diet is crucial during your training sessions, but can be very difficult when you need to cut weight. I've had a few small weight cuts in the past and they were not unpleasant because of the approach I took. However certain diets restrict the fuel you need to recover properly, so be sure to have a good idea how to fuel yourself during these times. The last thing you want to do is experiment with a new method days before an event. Practice these things before hand and dial them into a science.
I had been a big advocate for a long time of not having a game plan for competition, and time after time again it came back to bite me. Here and there I would get lucky, but most of the time I would not see much success. Ahead of time you should plan out your game based on your style of grappling and try your best to stick with it. When you do this you can find common points in your jiu jitsu to funnel the opponent into a strong area of yours and up your rate of success. Once again, planning reigns supreme for collecting those 'W's.'
The next part circles back to the recovery process, but it is crucial to assure your are well rested and hydrated especially on the day of the event. Two simple things that can make or break an individual's performance is lack of sleep or being dehydrated. Do not lose the match before you even show up! Practice good sleeping habit and hydration habits throughout your training and this part will be natural.
On the day of the event, I usually like to show up to the event early. When I say early, I usually get there hours before I am supposed to be there. Why? Because I hate being late and the stresses of driving on the day where my focus should be solely on the task at hand need to be cleared from my system. I need time to mentally prepare; I need time to zone out and get into the groove. I'll warm up a bit, but no more than I normally would in a regular session. Why start a new routine before a match when you don't normally prepare that way? It's counter-productive.
Lastly, try your best not to let a win or a loss go to your head; it is simply a result of the day, not the overall time put into training. There will always be another match/competition, but know that the passion to do jiu jitsu is everlasting and ever-evolving. A competition helps shine light on your strengths and your weaknesses, and what you do with that information can determine if you will continue to improve or stay the same. I would take the latter if I were you!
