Achievement goal profiles, and perceptions of motivational climate and physical ability in male Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners

Background and Study Aim: Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art with high rates of attrition. At present, little is known about the achievement goals of martial arts practitioners, particularly in BJJ. Thus, our aim was knowledge about achievement goal orientations and perceptions of the motivational climate in a BJJ academy. We hypothesized that mastery-approach goals would correlate with weekly training duration, that goal orientation scores would reflect the corresponding higher-order motivational climate score, and that white belt practitioners would perceive the motivational climate as more performance-oriented than higher belt ranks. Material and Methods: The sample comprised 42 males aged 31.9 ±6.2 years, with 5.4 ±3.8 years of training experience and a weekly training duration of 7.7 ±3.4 hours per week. The 3x2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sport (3x2 AGQ-S) was used to assess achievement goal orientations. Perceptions of the motivational climate were measured with the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2). The 10-item Perceived Physical Ability (PPA) subscale of the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale was used to evaluate perceived physical ability. Results: Overall, the practitioners emphasized mastery-approach goals, which was congruous, but not significantly associated with higher-order motivational climate scores. Rank correlated both with goal orientations and perceived motivational climate. Additionally, weekly training duration and style preference were associated with task-approach goals. Conclusions: Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners appear to focus on mastery, making them more likely to demonstrate adaptive behaviour when facing adversity. These findings support previous observations on the compatibility of mastery goals and competitive martial arts