Felipe Preguiça talks about what he deems necessary to rear a BJJ blue-belt, reveals how he overcomes his adrenaline before tournaments

Gracie Barra powerhouse Felipe Pena, aka "Slot" goes over pre-requisites to earn a blue belt, and how to overcome the adrenaline factor before Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments.

Adrenaline in tournaments

The adrenaline before the competition is normal -- I think everybody gets it, but I think that, the more you fight in tournaments, the more experienced you get, and that reduces that adrenaline a bit, removing some of the nervousness, but that adrenaline, that nervousness before the match, I think it will always exist. Especially before the first fight. At least with me, after I fight in the first match, I get relaxed, I sweat and then I'm calmer.

Advise newcomers

When you are starting out in BJJ, through the purple belt, maybe the brown, you don't have your game really put together yet. Some people form a specific game earlier. I took my time assembling my game. To this day my friends tease me: “What's your game? You do the spider guard, de la Riva, you like passing and moving to the back.” So I think it's very important, especially at the start, to do repetition. BJJ is not an easy sport -- some people have a knack for it, but especially at the beginning it's too many details.

#brazilianjiujitsu #jiujitsu #bjj