When you’re going to compete in Brazil, you can be sure of two things:
1. There will be at least one pigeon in the gymnasium, no matter how fancy it looks
2. The bathrooms will be dirty
Mainly the bathroom can be an important challenge to overcome. The lack of hygiene and toilet paper are every nervous jiu jitsu competitor’s nightmare. To cope with these problems I apply a two part strategy that is yet to let me down. The first thing is that you should bring your own toilet paper to the tournament. It’s important to keep this roll hidden from everyone except your closest friends, because when your fellow competitors find out that there is no paper in the bathrooms, your roll becomes the highest valued possession of the competition. Forget about the double gold or that gi you can win. It’s all about the paper. Keep it in a plastic bag and when you go to the bathroom tuck it under your shirt.
Part two of the strategy is finding the hidden bathroom. Every competition has a hidden, clean bathroom. Your task is to find it before the rest does. Now we’ve got the bathroom strategy out of the way, let’s look at the actual competitions. There are basically two categories: local competitions and big competitions. Big competitions are organized by the IBJJF or the UAEJJF. Local competitions are organized by a great variety of organizations, and the quality varies widely.
Local competitions
From small championships organized by the municipality to big competitions where world champions battle for the prize money. The quality and level of local competitions varies widely. Use the knowledge of your friends and teammates to find out which ones are worth going to. To find and register for competitions, there is a very useful site. SouCompetidor: https://soucompetidor.com.br/
Making an account is easy, and through this site you can find out where the next competitions will be held, register for them and use your credit card to pay.
I cannot overstate this: the quality and level varies widely. Be prepared for at least a 2 hour delay. Also be prepared to fight the best of the best. You never know who is going to use the competition to get into shape for the next big one.