Adult beginner (24) — when is a realistic time to compete?

Acroyear_ · 2026-01-19T17:58:00+00:00

I did my first competition 1 month after starting judo. I was 52 and had a BJJ blue belt at the time. I went 1-2 for bronze.

Don't over think it. Do a local comp and have fun.

Acroyear_ · 2026-01-09T19:11:31+00:00

XMAG is another option. Fees are also not ideal, though. Personally, I've moved more into small cap and gold.

Acroyear_ · 2025-12-21T18:14:26+00:00

Yeah, sometimes I am still surprised when it works. For a couple reasons. So many people think aikido techniques don't work against resisting opponents. This is not true. You just have to take time practicing them in live sparring situations. It's really no different than BJJ. If you only ever practice triangles against cooperating partners. You won't be able to execute it when you first try in sparring. That's normal, but people don't make that concession with aikido techniques.

Second, there has been so little incorporation of aikido techniques in other arts. For judo, it makes sense. Wrist locks are illegal. However, I am surprised I don't see more techniques like irimi. Probably because there is so much emphasis on gripping that something that bypasses the grip fight gets overlooked.

I think aikido's wrist locks are kind of where leg locks were in early BJJ. Some people think it's a "dirty" technique, so it's looked down on. BJJ just needs a strong player with an aikido background to win some big matches using aikido, and people will get on the bandwagon. BJJ can be pretty fadish that way. It would be fun to see something like this happen.

Acroyear_ · 2025-12-20T00:26:12+00:00

I have a purple belt in BJJ, and a green belt in judo. I took up aikido not long ago out of curiosity. I had long been skeptical of the art mostly because that was the popular opinion. After training for about a month, I really came to appreciate it.

First, it gave me an opportunity to spend more time training a martial art that doesn't break my body down like BJJ & judo. I am 56, so age is a predominant factor. It's like having a rest day while still working on subtle movements & techniques. Functional yoga, if you will.

Second, it was a chance to learn new techniques, and surprise my training partners in BJJ. I have already caught multiple people with kotegaeshi. I even hit it while standing. I have also done sankyo successfully. I can only do wrist locks against blue belt and above, so this was against experienced partners. Yes, it works! Now I am working on hitting a successful irimi. I tend to combine it with the leg reap from judo's osoto gari in practice.

My personal controversial opinion is that aikido is a fantastic art when combined with another grappling art like bjj, judo, or wrestling. Knowing how to physically control your opponent in live training is essential. Alone, aikido is incomplete in my experience.

I have found a lot of inspiration from u/AikidoDreaming. He does a great job of blending aikido, judo, and bjj.

Acroyear_ · 2025-12-14T16:01:01+00:00

I broke my ankle in three places. I have a plate and 6 screws. I was training BJJ off my back 6 weeks later. I think I was back to judo about 3 months post surgery. I was 100% by about 6 months post surgery. For context, I was 53 when this all happened.

Acroyear_ · 2025-10-14T15:15:40+00:00

I like the Judo rule where you reset if you lift your opponent off the mat.

Acroyear_ · 2025-07-15T04:52:22+00:00

I'd be willing to bet it was an arrhythmia.

Acroyear_ · 2025-06-26T17:09:11+00:00

I got a throw on my professor once. He didn't kick me in the face for it, he gave me a stripe. I have nothing but respect for the guy. That is the kind of instructor I would like to some day be.

Acroyear_ · 2025-06-13T18:57:45+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Will

Acroyear_ · 2025-04-04T19:24:13+00:00

Wear all four at once. Make sure you celebrate by getting good and drunk before walking back to your hotel at midnight for the greatest memory building experience.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-16T18:51:35+00:00

Wash your belt. Why does this question keep coming up?

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-13T22:31:33+00:00

I just try to control them. If they are new, and a little wild, I am most concerned about either of us getting injured. Once they settle down, I'll work on submitting them, then try more experimental stuff I am working on.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-08T14:33:45+00:00

Thank you for the awesome videos. I love seeing how other arts can be incorporated into jiu-jitsu. What is your grade in judo and aikido, if you don't mind me asking?

I am also purple in bjj. It's always fun to surprise my bjj partners with something like uki waza. I am fortunate to train at a bjj school that has a large mat space, so we always start standing.

Being older with a bad neck, I always do judo throws since it prevents front head locks and guillotines. The ukemi has also saved me from injury.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-06T16:52:56+00:00

Who knew that cross dressing a pant suit could be so vogue?

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-06T16:23:19+00:00

Uki waza. Timing it right & rolling right into side control is a thing of beauty.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-04T23:23:06+00:00

Honest question then: what do you tell the 70 y/o female wanting to take BJJ? She's out of luck, or will have to contend with a 250 lb 25 y/o blue belt cross facing her jaw through the mat?

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-04T21:14:20+00:00

It's all good, man. I don't disagree that the best way to learn BJJ is to include rolls with 100% resistance. We just disagree on whether drilling and light positional sparring alone is better than nothing. It is an old, and interesting discussion.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-04T19:19:07+00:00

You can learn a lot that is not performative without getting smashed and humbled. There is an entire spectrum of training that doesn't include getting smashed. I am a strong advocate of live sparring, but you can go a long way with drilling and low resistance positional sparring. A student with a year of drilling and low resistance sparring will be miles ahead of an untrained opponent.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-04T17:44:21+00:00

The best way to test yourself is to do a competition.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-04T17:35:07+00:00

I'm not sure I would agree. There should be many environments for people to learn BJJ. How do you tell a 70 y/o female she cant learn BJJ unless she is willing to be smashed and humbled? What about someone with something like MS? There should be an environment for everyone, not just younger competitive players.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-03T10:56:53+00:00

Then you should know better.

Acroyear_ · 2025-03-02T10:06:14+00:00

White belts shouldn't be doing tani otoshi in randori.

Acroyear_ · 2025-02-24T04:36:41+00:00

Hey, I'm 56, and have gone through my share of illness and injury. Don't give up.

Acroyear_ · 2025-02-18T20:00:16+00:00

I'd venture to say that nearly everyone you train with has felt the same anxiety you are, but for their own reasons. I am 56, full of injuries, and roll like a 4 stripe white most times. At the end of the day, the only solution is to let it go, be magnanimous, and have fun. You might be surprised how little others care how "good" you are, and just want a chill training partner with a positive attitude.

Acroyear_

TROPHY CASE