#377 The 3 Reasons You Keep Losing BJJ Competitons

#377 The 3 Reasons You Keep Losing BJJ Competitons

From I Suck At Jiu Jitsu Show by Josh McKinney

June 4, 2026 · 58 min

About this episode

Josh McKinney discusses three key mindsets that contribute to losing in BJJ competitions.

Have you ever walked into a Jiu Jitsu tournament feeling ready… and then got absolutely smashed in the first round?You trained hard. You thought you were prepared. You knew some techniques. Maybe you even had a plan.Then the match started and everything fell apart.In this episode, I’m breaking down 3 mindsets that might be the real reason you keep losing BJJ matches — not because you don’t know enough moves, not because the ref screwed you, and not because your opponent was just “stronger.”My name is Josh McKinney (@thejoshmckinney) and after 18 years of competing, coaching, winning, losing, and watching students go through the same patterns over and over again, I’ve noticed that most people don’t lose because of one big technical mistake.They lose because they don’t understand how to perform on command.They lose because they get trapped in the wrong story after a bad match.They lose because they walk into chaos with no real plan and hope their Jiu Jitsu magically shows up.If you’re a white belt, blue belt, purple belt, or anyone trying hard to compete but you can’t figure out why you keep falling short, this episode is for you.We’ll talk about competition mindset, game planning…

People in this episode

Host: Josh McKinney

Topics covered

  • BJJ competition
  • mindset
  • game planning
  • performance
  • pacing

Keywords

  • BJJ
  • competition
  • mindset
  • training
  • performance
  • game plan
  • chaos

Sponsors

Datsusara

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Competitor’s Journey, jiu jitsu for imbeciles

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