Hey Guys,
I know we have talked about this before, but it happened again. Saturday this guy shows up for a bjj class, wearing a blue belt. Student instructor asks him were he got it from and the guy says at a Royce Gracie seminar. This guy is big too, probably 6' 2" 190lbs, anyways he rolls with some of the 3 and 4 stripe guys at the club and I am seeing this guy get destroyed. I had to roll with him at the end, and he wouldn't even be a one stripe at our club. There was no common sense with his rolling, I didn't feel any techniques.
Awhile ago (when I was a two stripe) we had some guys come in and roll and the guy was alright (probably a one stripe maybe getting close to two) anyways destroyed that dude and a week later he get a blue belt at a Royce Gracie seminar. The guy starting instructing at his school right after.
I know Royce is the man, and he had been training jits longer then I have been alive, but I am starting to wonder if bjj will get a more McDojo feel if this continues.
Any thoughts?
Yes I have been seeing a lot more belts being handed out lately. I'm not sure what the deal is other than maybe by just promoting at seminars they don't really get an accurate gage of skill.
The cool thing about BJJ is that it has it's own built in quality control mechanism called rolling. If a guy gets his blue at a seminar and doesn't stack up...It will quickly become obvious to anyone who rolls. I say invite the guy to the next local tournament to represent!
My issue is, these people who are repping belts are also repping our sport. If they suck, it does reflect badly on the rest of us making it more TKDish.
This is a good point, if you dont deserve the belt your wearing your gonna find out soon enough...although you would think the guy would feel awkward just getting tooled by 1 stripe whites and take off the blue lol.Originally Posted by RedRonin38
The cool thing about BJJ is that it has it's own built in quality control mechanism called rolling. If a guy gets his blue at a seminar and doesn't stack up...It will quickly become obvious to anyone who rolls. I say invite the guy to the next local tournament to represent!
I think about this all the time. Some body mis representing the sport, or especially our club. Thats why Im glad Don is tough grader.
I think this is mainly a problem at blue right now. Belt creep is inevitable. Blue has become the new white in some areas. I have heard so much about Royce's seminars and how blue belts go flying. I think the purple and obviously brn/blk are still solid but the blue has a lot of flex to it. There is a larger gap from a new blue to a nearly purple blue than arguably any other belt.
...As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. -Philippians 1:20-21
War Christ
RIP PrideFC.
Training on and off since 11/06. Blue Belt since 12/09.
I think that McDojo type stuff is less prevalent in BJJ as compared to other arts because belt promotions in BJJ are directly linked to the person giving the promotion. You are not just a (insert color here) belt, you are that belt under the person that you earned that belt under. Its not about money or federations but skill level and character, with equal importance.
...just my take on the issue.
[ you are that belt under the person that you earned that belt under.
But Royce is probably the most well known BJJ person in the world (via UFC).....=problem
Yes, I see your point. But as a whole, I think BJJ is much, much better at promotions than other arts. And there is always, at just about every class, the mat that does not lie or hide skill.
There is a problem about Royce giving out blue belts for simply the cost of a seminar (and no experience needed). The only thing is that there is no way to controll it if someone is doing that. Everyone wants to be a good grappeler and some people associate good grappeling = high belt rank. That is normally true, but obviously some blue belts are not up to par. The problem is that there is no way to correct the problem because schools are (partially) independent so there is no overriding quality control for the sport of bjj.
RedRobin and Victor are right. Rolling is the only "local" quality controll you have and it is the best way to discourage this type of behavior. Send every last white belt with some experience against the guy and he will soon get the point that he doesn't deserve the belt.
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