Defining Wins Vs Losses

I want to start this post by pointing out how well Thomas McGoey competed yesterday. He went 4-1 with every match ending by submission. Each match ended because one competitor admitted defeat, which is what Jiu-Jitsu competition is supposed to be. His lone loss came to the guy he submitted in his first match of the day. The problem with that lone loss is when it happened, in the finals.

Thomas submitted everyone he faced and found himself in the finals. The finals was againt a guy he choked in his first match of the day. Thomas was the clear favorite to win and all the of his competitors knew it. Even the guy he had to compete against didn't understand why they were having to roll for first place. Essentially, the guy knew. Regardless, the tournament bracket showed one match remaining so it had to happen.

After the smoke settled from the finals, Thomas was forced to tap to an old school shoulder lock from Kesa Gatame. Confused and frustrated from the result he was trying to figure out how he lost to a guy that he dominated easily at the start of the day.

Simply put, it's competition, SH!T HAPPENS. There were literally thousands of mistakes made at the that event that went unnoticed. Thomas just so happened to pay the heaviest of penalties for his one mistake, and it cost him first place.

Defining Wins Vs Losses

Winning and losing cannot only be defined by the result of a competition. Many people will disagree with that statement but there's a deeper definition that goes beyond a competion score board. Truth be told, competition is about gaining the respect of your peers. If you are able to stand tall, accept defeat, and walk away knowing you gained that respect, YOU WON!

Lastly, if you walk away knowing you conquered something within yourself; then you've competed and won against your biggest competition in terms of self improvement.....YOU!