Masato wrote:I made a thread in the Super Dojo about this but then took it down cuz it fits better here for this discussion.
My 9-year old son has agreed to compete again (his 4th tournament) in BJJ. I promised him I would never push him to compete, that the choice is always his, but this time his whole club/kids team is going, they are all competing and the coach is giving belt gradings after. Coach says he is ready so I kind of nudged him to go. He agreed.
I'm trying not to be nervous but its hard lol
Mostly I don't want him to get hurt. These kids tournaments can get a little rough. He is pretty tough but still has not outgrown the instinct to bring the tears when he takes a big bump. This is hard for me as a dad, I hate seeing him get hurt even little things
Secondly I hope he can find the mindset to enjoy it, no matter if he does well or not. Last time he thought he was gonna cruise for 1st place, but got surprised by the last opponent and took home silver. As good of a sport as he is this bummed him out pretty hard last time and I don't want him to feel that disappointment again
Thirdly I get confused how to coach/support him psychologically. I don't like competition myself, I'm very polarized usually I don't give a fuck at all about winning or losing, but other times I shoot for excellence and get out of my way. I'm trying to help my son find a more healthy balance but not sure where to settle on the scale. He's doing a pretty good job on his own, sometimes I think I'll just let him find his own way. I want to teach him to try his best and go for the W but at the same time not go too crazy over it and just have fun. This seems like kind of a paradox, its like I'm giving mixed messages lol
Fourthly I anticipate I'll have tons of work that weekend and will have to come back from the tournament with an all-nighter ahead of me
Oh, also he is going with his whole club/team, many of which are serious competitors and compete/train way more than my boy. He's going with some killers, wondering if that will inspire him or put too much pressure on him to be as good.
Obviously, I'm overthinking everything lol... he seems cool about it way more than me
Just needed to vent about it, I'll have this on my mind all week
Thoughts are most welcome