Competed for the first time in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — here is what I learned

After 9 months of training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I entered my first competition. I lost. It was the best thing that's happened to my development in the sport.

Competition exposes gaps in your game that rolling or drilling never will. My X-guard sweeps fell apart under pressure. My understanding of rolling was theoretical, not instinctive. I came home with a specific list of things to fix, which is more valuable than any win. the chess-like mental game was what I took away from the experience beyond the tactical lessons. If your gym trains you for competition, do it. It will accelerate you.