How to Prepare for "Big" Jiu-jitsu/Wrestling tournaments

I recently got a question on my  podcast about this topic and you can listen to the episode by clicking the link but I thought I would write out my response as well  because it would be easy for people to refer back to.

So, the Question i got from IG was, “ I have my first IBJJF tournament coming up, its a big tournament, and I’m very nervous, what can i do to relax and perform at my best?

This is a super common question, from everyone I coach that competes whether its jiu-jitsu or wrestling or if it was judo or MMA back in the day.

The first piece of advice I can give is try your best to not qualify events as either “big” or “small”,  instead think of it like this, the effort that you put in every single time you step on the mat is what's important 

A lot of times, guys/girls don’t perform at their best because of the weight they put on the event. For example, for something like the International Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Federation  (IBJJF) tournaments which the message asked about, those 5 letters give people what I call 

“Initial paralysis” because their mere inclusion before a tournament can cause people to lock up and make it something more than what they are.

Now it is true that the circumstances of the tournament certainly change. For example  at this years ADCC, which is basically the world championship of no gi grappling, there were 12,000 spectators, it was broadcast on flograppling, there was a ton of production value lights, music etc. 

Same goes for the postseason in wrestling,  the gyms are larger, there's more competitors, maybe more events surrounding the tournament but at the end of the day what does it break down to?

What is at the “Smaller” tournaments?  Exactly the same as the above right?

So, why should your effort change?  What if you didn't think of training “ harder”  or “amping up” your training  but simply kept the same consistency while adjusting  your strategy and tactics to perform at your best?

The value we sometimes place on things can be the largest source of our anxiety. This  goes for all areas of life as well. So, let's say you start your  working career as a teenager  behind the counter as a barista at starbucks  but you spend all your time worrying about when the bigger, better, job is going to come along thats going to cause a ton of anxiety, worry, stress, etc but what if you put all of your effort into making the job in front of  you the biggest  job that you have? Learn to make the best cup of coffee,  how to serve the customers the best, so then when you get promoted, or you get that “big” job that you always wanted, the only thing that changes is the circumstances around you.

In short. Make the “big stage” wherever you are.