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Sizes of IBJJF Tournaments: Guide to Choosing Your Next Tournament

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Having just competed at Worlds in a division of 126 guys, I started to look ahead at what and when the next “big” IBJJF tournament is. I looked at Boston, Chicago, etc, and quickly realized that they are an order of magnitude smaller than the Mundials. So I decided to measure the relative size of the major IBJJF tournaments I’m aware of by what size the blue belt middleweight division was in 2011 for that tournament. This is usually one of the biggest (and often the biggest) division of the tournament. So I figured that it would serve as a decent measuring stick.

When considering whether to do a tournament, I’ll often just look at the next one, and decide based on how I’m feeling. But after doing the little research I mentioned above, it’s clear that it’s smarter to plan ahead to make sure that the division is big enough to justify the costs of travel.

So here’s the results. Below are the major IBJJF tournaments and in parentheses is the number of people that competed in the blue belt middleweight division for that tournament.

International
Worlds (104)
Pans (82)
Europeans (57)
Brasileiros (47)

No-Gi
No-Gi Pans (49)
No-Gi Worlds (38)

Regional
New York (37)
American Nationals (19)
Miami (18)
Houston (18)
London (16)
Las Vegas (15)
Asian Open (14)
Dallas (13)
Chicago Winter (13)
Chicago Summer(11)
Montreal (11)
Phoenix (11)
Boston (2)

From the above “results”, I draw several conclusions:

  1. I will not be going to Boston this year, lol. Come on, Bostonians, get your s*** together!
  2. The regional tournaments I’m considering are Miami in the fall, New York in the spring, and maybe American Nationals (since it’s both gi and no-gi and is pretty well attended).
  3. Since I have friends in Chicago, and the regional tournaments there are of a good size, it’s worth it to make a trip there.
  4. The two major IBJJF no-gi tournaments, while young, are really holding their own in terms of attendance. Just goes to show that the label of “World Champion” is worth a lot to people no matter how you look at it.
  5. All these tournaments are growing by leaps and bounds. Just in 2012 most of these tournaments had an extra 20+% of competitors in this division. The future of BJJ tournaments looks pretty damn good.
  6. And the biggest conclusion of all… the biggest and toughest tournaments are the Pans and the Worlds. If you go anywhere, go to those.

So here is my new strategy for choosing jiu jitsu tournaments to attend:

  • Do as many as I want that are within 2-3 hours driving distance.
  • Travel far only for Pans and Worlds, unless there is a good reason.
  • Do the closest World Pro trial (usually one in New York, or worst-case, Montreal).

Jiu Jitsu Calendar

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I came across a jiu jitsu calendar that’s pretty much what I’ve been looking for for quite some time. There are many calendars out there, but this is the only one that gives semantic value to the location of the tournament. That is, you can look for upcoming tournaments within 50, 100, etc miles of where you live.

I keep my own list of upcoming judo and jiu jitsu tournaments but it’s mostly for me and a couple people I train with. It’s nice to see someone put together a quality site aimed at the whole jiu jitsu community in the United States. It still lacks a few key features I’d love to see, as well as basic elements of good design. Plus, the ads are a bit too in your face.

iCompete.org is another good site I look to. But I feel like there is still no central standard place for jiu jitsu events. Part of the reason is probably due to the fact that there is still not international BJJ governing body (like IJF for judo). Of course, IJF only cares about major Olympic-level events, and doesn’t care about most local, regional, and even national tournaments, so I’m not sure an international BJJ organization would help organize (or at least sanction) local tournaments.

Competition Season

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There really isn’t such a thing as “competition season” for the Average Joe such as myself. There’s a judo or jiu jitsu tournament basically every weekend year-round within 2-3 hours of Philadelphia. Some are bigger than others. So mentally I prepare for the big ones, while competing at the small ones with the primary goal of relaxing and learning (as opposed to winning).

I took the last 2 months off from competition which for me is a very long time, and now I’m ready to get back out there and compete as often as possible. Here’s a list of competitions, training sessions, and clinics in the area in the next couple months. I keep this list mostly for myself but also for other people I train with as I work steadily to convince them to come along and split the cost of a car rental (and hotel if necessary).

Money is definitely tight for me. I’m still getting paid a student salary, so even though I’m being frugal for the most part, the cost of everything from training to diet is keeping me constantly at zero balance. I might do a few websites here and there that will help with the costs of travel and registration to these tournaments, but it’s still a constant pain. I hope I’ll be able to manage. The last thing I want to do is really want to compete but not be able to afford it.

The next big tournament for me is Starrett Cup on Jan 23. Again, check out the list of upcoming competitions. If you’re reading this, chances are I will probably be on your ass about coming with me to many of these soon.

Then again, the only people that read this are 1-2 bored friends and my mom who constantly tells me that I should be doing less judo and find myself a nice Jewish girl. PS: Love you, Mom.