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IMPORTANT NOTE: By submitting an answer, you give permission for it to be published in future editions of the White Belt Problems book.
Competitions are a natural source of anxiety. You are not entering a fight per se—no one is punching or kicking you—but the person across the mat from you could be quite willing to do you serious harm if it means going home with a plastic trophy or generic competition medal. You are also out in the middle of the mat with a small crowd of people looking on, watching to see what happens.
The usual answers to this question are to find a routine that helps you stay relaxed. You might keep a pair of headphones in or hang out with trusted training partners. You might sit in a corner and read a book. Or you might put your hood up and visualize your game plan.
The best answer, in my opinion, addresses the bigger source of anxiety: the “what if?” demon. What if I had trained more? What if I had better cardio? What if I had a better game plan? These questions can be haunting, and they can follow you out on the mat and rub your face in a defeat long after the match is over. To beat the what-if demon, focus on your preparation. Do whatever you can to be the best possible grappler you can be when you step on the mat. Work on your conditioning, drill your defense, practice your takedowns, etc.
The trick here is to remember the “best you can be” part. If you can only train three nights a week because your kids have soccer practice the other nights, beating yourself up about not training more is completely unfair. If you made it to ever training session you could, that’s a big victory, and you have nothing to regret come tournament time. The same can be said about conditioning and about diet. If you do the best you can reasonably do, you have nothing to fear when you go to compete.
At that point, when you step on the mat, there is literally nothing else you could have done differently. The best you is on the mat, and whatever happens next is nothing but a learning experience, win or lose. This approach will take a lot of weight off your shoulders and can even help you to perform better in the long run because it clears your head.
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