I've been wonder how could one go about seeding (domestic) BJJ competitions... any ideas?
Presently my preference would be by # of months graded as their current grade - sure you'll have some oldies sitting around divisions for ages, but at least over the course of time, it would be pretty obvious if people are sandbagging.
What are your thoughts
I dont think that the months preference would work, because of people who train sporadically, and people who train every day of the week being at different levels.
How about people realise that winning a white belt tournament doesnt mean shit?
Bingo
rza & Kingy: any alternatives then?
Rza,
"winning a white belt tourny dosent mean shit", It does to the beginner, and by the way i know plenty of white belts that can tap blues at will, that probibly doesent mean shit ither though.
Should be based on previous performances. No previous results, then no seeding and random draw.
Elvis
I think we should drop belt divisions all together and just compete according to weight, same as Wrestling and Boxing.
$0.02
I think we should drop belt divisions all together and just compete according to weight, same as Wrestling and Boxing.
$0.02
You know G, that might have some benefits to it. There's always going to be the stick in the mud to say why you can't do it this way but personally, I prefer to roll with the much better belts to improve my technique, get a feel for how an experienced player works and learn all the sneaky tricks of the trade.
When it comes to comps I don't think I'd like to face a fired up brown in my weight div,(being a whitey and all). Might be disheartening for the inexperienced to have to face top dogs every comp. Little incentive.
$0.01
I agree with GBB: drop belt divisions and go the weight classes only. If people want to compete as a 'Novice' then have specific Novice categories else it's everyone in the pot together.
"Random Draws" have posed problems where Teams are concerned i.e. how do you prevent your #1 and #2 fighters in your Team from going head to head during the first round of a division?
Another suggestion:
When providing organisers with a competition Team, maybe the Team Captain/Coach need rank each of their players in order from #1 to #20 for each division they are competiting.
E.g., Elvis was to enter both John and Ted in the U79 Blue Belt Mens division. He reckons John is better than Ted so John is #1 and Ted #2.
Once all the Teams have been collated and ranked, then Seeding could be easily worked out. E.g., randomise all #1 ranked players in each division across all teams, place them in the pool, then repeat the process till all competitors have been dealt with.
Ted by Armbar R1.
Seriously, another good idea re the Team Seedings, as competitor numbers at the major comps increase, these kind of issues will be more important.
Gerald.
The simple fact that this sort of topic gets a good deal of mulling over is only going to produce a good solid foundation for bjj in Oz.
i'm with G, also amature boxing has a spot for novices to compete and then is just open, maybe like boxing people should have to keep their records with them to show how they have gone.
BJJ ain't tennis, seedings are just going to complicate an already complicated scene.
Dave.
It means something to the guy that won it. It also means
something to the guy he beat in the final.
that may be the case dave, but cant i still wear bandanas and sweat bands?
Yes you can Coops, yes you can:)
Dave.
"I prefer to roll with the much better belts to improve my technique, get a feel for how an experienced player works and learn all the sneaky tricks of the trade."
I Agree ... Its all about improving your own game, i dont worry about whos better or worse - thats not going to help me
I would be pissed if I paid a $30+ entry fee and got knocked out first round by a purple or brown.
I agree, if it was a straight knockout, I would be pissed too. If we were to adopt some sort of double elimation system, at least you'd get two fights: one more guaranteed fight per division relative to the current BJJ comps.
While I am a advocate for competition, I do realise its limitations. Basically you'll be hard pressed to get something that is both equitable and competitive as well as providing an avenue for improving your game. By my way of thinking, if you want to improve, go train. If you want to test your skills against some opponents (preferably not from your own club!) then Competition is an option... else look towards bouncing, security work or general assualt on the street.
When I say winning white belt tournaments dont mean shit, I mean in terms of the development of a person's jiu jitsu. I knew a guy who won heaps of jiu jitsu tournaments in white belt division, whos performance on the mat would go to shit if he tried to wrestle with technique. As jiu jitsu players, white belts are babies. Blue belts have just learnt to walk, etc etc. Like, it would have been nice to win a tournament as a white belt, but at the end of the day who cares.
And supersoldier, if these white belts can tap blues at will, shouldnt this mean that they should be promoted? Maybe the coach of these white belts should not worry about accumulating team points by having a team of virtual blue belts kicking ass in the white belt division. If a novice comes into a white belt tournament against guys with 18 months solid jiu jitsu experience who should be blues, doesnt this kind of defeat the point of separating competitors according by belt?
GBB is correct as well.