2024 ADCC World Championships Presented by FloGrappling

ADCC Camp Week 7: On the Road

In his final blog before his ADCC debut, B-Team's Chris Wojcik reflects on the significance of ADCC, and the importance of remaining indifferent to it.

Aug 12, 2024 by Chris Wojcik

ADCC camp has been a challenging and unique experience, unlike anything I’ve experienced in Jiu-Jitsu before.

Last year during the week of ADCC, I wrote a division and super fight prediction article, where I predicted the divisions and who I thought was going to win.

During that ADCC weekend, I sat at home in a friend’s guest house in Chicago and watched the tournament like a hawk. I didn’t leave the couch for 2 days.

This time around, instead of just predicting the tournament, I’m reflecting on the preparation experience and getting ready to compete myself. The tables have turned – luckily for the better.

Instead of spending the summer wishing I was preparing for ADCC and helping friends prepare, I have been preparing myself.

It’s fight week.

I’ve done more work this summer for ADCC than for any other tournament than for any other tournament ever. I’ve had more eyes on my jiu-jitsu than ever before.

I’ve also been extremely busy because of this tournament.

I’ve done a bajillion podcasts, a bunch of interviews, a bunch of writing, and of course, hours upon hours of training. I’ve worked really hard and at the time of this writing, the super hard work is over.

It’s fight week. There isn’t much more preparation that can be done besides some game planning and strategizing based on how the bracket looks. In training, the goal this week is to be smart and effective.

But other than that, we’ve reached the end of training camp.

There’s a sense of finality that’s finally hit me, but it’s also excitement. We’re finally done preparing the body, and it’s time to finish preparing the mind.

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Why you shouldn’t care too much.

After our last hard practice on Saturday, Dima was talking about how at this point, you need to become indifferent.

This is really good advice that I wish that I’d heard when I was a much younger grappler.

Win or lose at ADCC, you need to develop the ability to be sort of indifferent to the result of your competitions. If you win, you need to have the humility to get back to work. If you lose, you need to have the mental stability to get back to work without beating yourself up.

Either way, the Monday after ADCC when I get home, my goal is to be back on the mat and getting back to training.

Do I really want to endure another 9-week ADCC training camp? Not really. But I’m excited to compete and get back to normal training for a bit.

This phase of my training is done, and it’s time to let it fly.

At the end of the day, although ADCC is the grappling tournament with the most eyes, the most prestige, and going to be in the coolest arena, it’s really just another grappling tournament.

Some folks will win, some will lose, and at the end of the day, we’re all just going to get back to trying to win again next week.

This is the part of being an athlete that I used to hate but I’ve come to enjoy the most as I’m getting older (27 now!).

Jiu-Jitsu is just a vehicle for helping me be the best version of myself. I don’t ever want it to be more than that. I don’t want some tournament or some opinion of how I perform at some tournament to determine my happiness.

I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win, but I really just want to get out there and compete already.

Some final notes on this 7-part blog series:

The reviews I’ve gotten on this blog have been both positive and negative.

If you’ve read any or all of the articles up until now – I just want to personally thank you. This means a lot and I appreciate you.

At the end of the day, what I really wanted to do with this series was to give you an insight as to what it’s really like trying to do jiu-jitsu at the highest level for a living.

The ups, the downs, and everything in between. The good days, the bad days, and the boring days. A lot of people have told me they wish they could do what I’ve managed to do, so I just wanted to share what it’s really like.

The jiu-jitsu lifestyle ain’t all acai bowls and hang loose signs – it’s also injuries, weeks on the road hustling to pay rent, and dealing with self-doubt. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also challenging. You have to make sacrifices, you have to bust your ass, and you have to put yourself on the line. Even that just gives you a shot.

You have to train every day, multiple times per day, for years – just for a shot at something like ADCC.

But if I’m being honest, just having that shot makes everything worth it. It makes me realize that all of this work hasn’t been for nothing.

And just that idea cures me of all the anxiety that I might be feeling about this weekend’s tournament.

I’m not anxious. I’m excited.

Your brain thinks they’re the same thing anyway.