| Ever since the world watched in awe as Brazilian Jiu | | | | There will be a fee to enter the tournament, and |
| Jitsu master Royce Gracie won the first, second, and | | | | depending on where you live you might need a license |
| fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships in the early | | | | from a sports governing organization such as the |
| 1990s, Jiu Jitsu has become increasingly prominent in | | | | Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). You will definitely be |
| the international martial arts community. Many people | | | | signing a waiver releasing organizers from liability |
| decided they wanted to begin training themselves | | | | should you get injured, but again, you don't have to |
| when they saw Gracie fight much larger and physically | | | | fear for your safety. These are not Mixed Martial Arts |
| stronger opponents from all kinds of other styles like | | | | cage fights where nearly anything goes. There are |
| boxing, karate, judo, tae kwon do, and wrestling, and | | | | strict rules designed for your safety. There will also be |
| time after time he would submit and defeat them all. If | | | | various categories of competition with classes for a |
| you've started learning Jiu Jitsu recently and have put | | | | range of age, gender, sometimes weight, and belt rank. |
| in some quality training hours already, then it's probably | | | | You won't be expected to compete with a master if |
| time to enter your first sport Jiu Jitsu tournament. Jiu | | | | you're a beginner. You should be competing with |
| Jitsu tournaments continue to grow in popularity | | | | people of roughly the same experience and ability as |
| worldwide so chances are excellent that there is more | | | | you so that it's a rewarding challenge and learning |
| than one near you. | | | | experience for everyone. |
| If you're a serious student, then the sooner you enter | | | | Search online to find Jiu Jitsu tournaments and |
| your first tournament, the better. Don't be intimidated, | | | | directories or contact local Jiu Jitsu clubs. |
| just get in there, relax, and have fun. You can't | | | | Once you enter a tournament, you will likely be added |
| continue to learn and progress in Jiu Jitsu just from | | | | to at least one mailing list. Martial arts is a tight-knit |
| study and practice alone, although of course they are | | | | community and word of competitions gets around |
| important. You have to spend a lot of time actually | | | | quickly. Also you'll be pleased to find when you finally |
| applying your newly learned techniques and skills in as | | | | get to your first tournament that there will probably be |
| close to a real-world fight as you can without getting | | | | a table or a bulletin board of some sort with flyers for |
| unnecessarily hurt; which is exactly why tournaments | | | | upcoming competitions within the area. |
| exist in all martial arts. | | | | |