Written by Daniel De Groot (Check out his Youtube channel)
As you might have read in my last article, competitions in Brazil are one of the main reasons Brazilians are still at the top of the sport. Competing in Brazil is a unique experience and it should be on the bucket list of every serious BJJ practitioner. In this article I’ll teach about the different competitions and how to enter one.
Things to keep in mind
Competition nutrition
Most tournaments have a canteen or food stands outside. There will also be people walking around selling chocolates, water and sometimes even packed lunches. This is not guaranteed though, so when in doubt bring your own food as well. Also bring a big bottle of water, functioning drinking fountains are not guaranteed.
Showers
Most jiu jitsu tournaments in Brazil don’t have showers available to the competitors.
Bringing a kilo of non-perishable foods
This was weird to me at first. Almost every competition requires you to bring a kilo of “alimento não perecível”, non-perishable food. Usually rice, beans or corn flour. Either to enter the gymnasium or to pick up your tournament t-shirt. The food is used to donate to the impoverished.
Don’t worry if you didn’t think of bringing a kilo of rice with you to the tournament though. Almost every tournament has a vendor selling a kilo of this kind of food. It will set you back 5 to 10 reais.
Local competitions
From small tournaments organized by the municipality to big competitions where world champions battle for the prize money. Use the knowledge of your friends and teammates to find out which ones are worth going to.
To find and register for competitions SouCompetidor is a very useful site. (https://soucompetidor.com.br/). It serves as a universal tournament agenda where all organizations can promote their tournaments. Registration is also done through the site.
Making an account is easy, and through this site, you can find out where the next competition will be held, register for them and use your credit card to pay.
The quality and level of local competitions vary widely. Some local tournaments run like clockwork, have clean mats and great refs. Others don’t. Show up on time but be prepared for at least a 2-hour delay. Also, be prepared to fight the best of the best. I’ve had easy wins in my division and then got my ass kicked by a world champion in the absolute. Be ready for everything.
Big competitions
The Brazilian chapter of the IBJJF is called the CBJJ (not to be confused with CBJJE, that organizes local tournaments in Sao Paulo). To avoid this confusion, we will keep calling it the IBJJF.
When you’re competing in an IBJJF competition in Brazil as a gringo, you need to be registered to the IBJJF, no matter what your belt level is. The whole process is explained here:
https://ibjjf.com/athlete-membership/how-to-register/
The big IBJJF competitions in Brazil are The Brasileiros, held in São Paulo at the end of April, The Brasileiros Sem Kimono, or Nogi Brazilian Championship, held in Rio in September, and the South American Championships, held in São Paulo in November.
