My 11-year-old son has been training Jiu Jitsu with me on and off for about 2 years with about 1 year in total training time. Recently, we both decided to enter our first local Jiu Jitsu tournament together. I was very surprised to see that my son agreed to do the tournament with me as he had never competed in a physical activity before and was still relatively new to training Jiu Jitsu regularly. I was a 40-year-old blue belt hobbyist with a 9-5 job and a family to support was on the fence about competing. I felt that this was a hobby just for fun and fitness and risking injury for a 5-dollar medal wasn’t worth it. I was however doing very well against my teammates at the gym including giving just about everybody a run for their money when live rolling. I was intrigued to test my actual skill in a live competition against similarly skilled and sized opponents. My son having the courage to enter the tournament was just the push I needed to enter the tournament myself.
I ended up entering the tournament and signing up for 4 divisions, two absolutes and 2 weight/age/rank divisions in both Gi and No Gi. You can read about how my competition went in this article:
40-Year-Old Blue Belt Competes in Jiu Jitsu Tournament for the First Time
My son wanted to compete in both Gi and No Gi divisions. In my gym kids are promoted roughly every 3-4 months using the common kid’s belt colors with stripes. My son was 11 years old, had a 4-stripe white belt, and weighed 82 pounds. I initially signed him up for white belt/beginner Gi and No Gi less than 85-pound divisions. The day before registration ended, he didn’t have any competitors in either of the divisions. The tournament tries to move competitors around so they get matches, but I didn’t want him to compete above his weight division so I ended up moving him up in skill level to grey/intermediate Gi and No Gi divisions for his age and weight. After moving up in skill level he had 3 competitors in Gi and 2 competitors in No Gi.
At the tournament, I got to compete myself and not only watch my son’s matches, but had the absolute pleasure of coaching him from the coach’s chair in every one of his matches. What transpired throughout the day was an amazing experience for both my son and myself that I soon will not forget.
First division GI Kids / Grey / 10-11 years / -85 LBS
Match 1
Before the match, my son seemed very calm and collected. I was very proud and envious, as earlier I had my first competition match and I was very anxious and nervous. We spent about 10 minutes warming up and light stretching before he would have his first match.
To start the match my son’s opponent attempted to swing him down by the lapels in a failed attempt. My son was able to stay on top and was awarded two points for a takedown. After about a minute in closed guard, the opponent was able to score 2 points in a near cross-collar choke stopped out of bounds. The fight was returned to the feet and my son’s opponent pulled guard and the match ran out of time with my son in closed guard and his opponent attempting a few cross-collar chokes. The score was tied 2-2 and my son’s opponent was awarded the referee’s decision.
Overall it was a great first fight for my son. I felt the out-of-bounds call and point award was a bit generous, but my son also didn’t do much to escape the closed guard. He was winded from his first fight experience and I congratulated him on having the courage to fight and doing a great job.
With three other kids in the division, the format was round-robin and he would have his next match in less than 10 minutes.
Match 2
In his next match, my son would face a young lady who displayed excellent Jiu Jitsu skills. Right off the bat she snatched up a single-leg takedown and transitioned quickly into side control and then into mount. The next minute or so, she showed great control by keeping my son pinned to the mat in mount. Eventually, she attempted an armbar from mount, which my son was barely able to escape. As he pulled his arm out of the armbar she did an amazing job of transitioning to a triangle. My son was able to escape the triangle out of bounds and they were returned to their feet for the closing seconds.
The young lady again went for a single and this time my son was able to sprawl out and prevent the takedown eventually flattening her out and getting to her half-guard. Time was short though and he lost the match 8-2 on points.
Though my son was controlled most of the match, I felt the score and result didn’t tell the whole story. My son probably would have had more of a chance if he had more time to operate on top, but again it was a great effort and I was very proud. This young lady had great technique and would go on to win gold in this division.
Match 3
During the second match as my son was posturing out of a triangle, it went out of bounds and he knee planted off the mat onto bare concrete. He was pretty sore from the concrete bump and had some pain in his knee. He wasn’t sure if he could continue. We tested out the knee for mobility and he was able to bend it with some pain so we thought it was more of a hard bump rather than a pull or tear. I let him know that it was up to him whether he would continue or not. As his match got closer I saw him again dig down deep and agree to finish out the bracket for his last fight.
For the first 2 of the 3 minutes my son and his opponent grip fought. Eventually, my son attempted a double leg and got sprawled on and flattened out into side control. His opponent was awarded 3 points for side control. My son was able to retain closed guard a few seconds later but time was very short at that point. In an awesome last-second move my son was able to hit a double ankle grab guard sweep. His opponent fell backward, but as the time expired before my son could come on top for points and he lost the match 0-3 on points.
Afterward, my son had red watery eyes and I think he was disappointed in losing all three matches. I reassured him of a job well done and that I was very proud he even stepped on the mat.
No Gi Kids / Intermediate (Grey) / 10-11 Years / -85 LBS
At the event, there was a shortage of referees and they couldn’t use all of the mat space so there was quite a bit of time in between divisions. My son had about 2 hours between his divisions and had recovered well from his first competition Jiu Jitsu matches. In his No Gi division, he had two competitors both of which were the same kids he fought in his previous division. For his first match, he would face the gold-winner young lady from his second match and the boy that beat him in his third match.
Match 1
To begin this match the opposite happened with my son snatching up a single leg and finishing a takedown where he was awarded 2 points. After being on top the position reversed itself, but not via a sweep. The rest of the match was a grind session with my son breaking his opponent’s posture and his opponent attempting to open his closed guard. Time would expire with my son exacting revenge and winning the match on point 2-0. His next fight would be for gold in the division to an opponent that had beaten him earlier.
Match 2
What a match this was! Very similar to their first match, both kids spent a good amount of hand fighting and looking for takedowns. Eventually, my son would shoot in and miss the takedown, ending up in side control for just enough time to have points awarded to his opponent. While in bottom position my son showed awesome guard retention preventing side control and getting back closed guard quickly. After a back-and-forth retention and pass battle my son was down 0-3 with about a minute left. As his opponent was trying to pass my son shot up a triangle and quickly got into the triangle lock position, adjusted, and fully locked it in. After a few seconds of fighting the submission, my son’s opponent gave in and tapped out. My son had done it, he won gold by beating two great kids that had defeated him earlier, I couldn’t have been prouder.
The event was a huge success for my family, my son, and myself. My wife was able to attend and watch all of our matches. I think she finally got to see all the hard work we put in come to fruition, maybe even understood why I’m so obsessed with the sport/hobby. My son learned so many lessons at the tournament that it’s even hard to quantify or describe. Some that come to mind for me are never giving up, using Jiu Jitsu to win, the feeling of defeat, the feeling of winning, and his raw Jiu Jitsu skill improving just from a few matches.
For me, I won 2 gold medals out of three divisions but could care less as the real victory was being a part of my son’s experience in his own Jiu Jitsu journey. We both got to stand atop the podium with gold medals and his performance is something I will never forget as he grows and we both continue our Jiu Jitsu journey.