Jiu Jitsu tournaments can be a really challenging experience. I perform well when it comes to competing, and I think a big part of that comes from my background in trading. I don’t really get nervous. After years of managing risk, speaking on live TV, and presenting at conferences, I feel like my cortisol, epinephrine, and dopamine levels have been completely fried. Oddly enough, that seems to work in my favor. Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of highly skilled fighters underperform, not because of a lack of talent, but because of the mental battle they’re fighting before they even step on the mat. Jiu Jitsu matches aren’t like a marathon or a casual basketball game. You’re out there alone, with your teammates, friends, and family all watching. The spotlight is directly on you in a packed venue with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people. And if it goes badly, it can be a brutal experience. Imagine getting slammed, manhandled, and put to sleep in front of your wife and kids for something that you prepped months for. That can mentally destroy even the most stoic people. To make it worse, there are videographers and sometimes media outlets like FloGrappling recording every second. One mistake, and you could end up as the star of an embarrassing highlight clip seen around the world. Last week, @Gingfacekillah recommended a book I found really interesting: The Inner Game of Tennis. It breaks down the mental side of performance and explains how athletes often disrupt the natural connection between the mind and body by overthinking and trying too hard. It goes into detail about self 1 and self 2 and discusses actual techniques you can do to have great output in high stress performances (similar to trading). I would recommend you guys give it a read if you are into that sorta stuff.