McDojo Breakdown: Jiu-Jitsu Self Promotion

In todays McDojo Breakdown we discuss martial artists who have decided to promote themselves in Jiu-Jitsu. Enjoy :)

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Disclaimer: We do not encourage you try any of the techniques shown on any of our breakdown videos. If you are going to try them anyway we suggest you do so in the safety of a martial arts gym with trained professionals. Train responsibly.

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[McDojoLife]

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[enochsng]

You can wear around whatever color on your belt but you can’t fake your belt on the mats.

[JohnMcQuay]

I am relatively new to BJJ at 46 years old. I have been training for a little under two years. My professor is a Fifth Degree Black Belt. I represent his Jiu-Jitsu and his academy when I wear his patch on my gi. I have confidence that he isn’t going to promote me until I am ready. I am fine with that.

[okdude]

I am a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The only structure I have a problem with when it comes to promoting students is. It is all up to the coach. My instructor is a bit more stringent. He believes if you can compete with other blue belts then you deserve your blue belt. However some think it matters on how many days you came matter more. And some instructors I've seen in my area give belts to there buddies that don't deserve it.

[garekhurt]

BJJ does have a super unique promotional heritage compared to more commercialized martial arts. I took my 4yo to our local Gracie Barra gym and the instructor there had spent 20 years earning his black belt… 20. He’s a 1st degree black belt with 23 years of training. His father, head instructor, is a 2nd degree black belt with 25 years of training. That was impressive to me. That’s going to build incredible patience, humility, and one hell of an instructor. He was amazing with the kids, ranging from 3-12yo in that class. The students in this film don’t have the look of someone who spent a decade or more earning those belts with blood sweat and tears. Someone said it, look at their reactions. I’ve only seen promotions with students being surprised on the mat by their instructor, everybody is drenched and panting, and the student getting promoted is over the moon and extremely emotional!

[seadawg]

I don’t train in BJJ, but one thing that I’ve always thought was really cool it was that rank actually seems to mean something. When people talk about a “legit black belt” that means a lot.
Based on that, it seems like having clear criteria would be a good thing.

[saltyshellback]

I think it was a video from Hard2hurt where he mentioned that eventually BJJ will go by way of many popular martial arts where it will get watered down to continue to draw customers. This seems to be the manifestation of that prediction.

[lucashennessey]

Coach here, purple belt since June. I'm not involved in giving promotions at my gym, but there is definitely criteria from gym to gym, its just not openly discussed. My buddy asked prof what he needs to do to get to purple belt and was given clear answers - have clears path to dominant positions from bottom and top, stringing together techniques to make it happen, overcome resistance and finish. Imo it measures the important skills, not the specific path. Other schools may not operate the same

[MuayThaiDude]

I started on bjj at age 18. At 20 i moved to muay thai and have fought both in the US and Thailand for over a decade. Honestly, the belt system used in martial arts is nothing more than a way to get casuals to join by convincing them that ranking up in belts means something. It opens the door to all kinds of strange rules at gyms and gives another path for human ego to enter.
That being said, if you are in a martial art that adheres to a traditional belt system. Promoting yourself is kind of a weird thing to do.

[Scott-mgzj]

It is a sign of respect to have the your instructors picture on the
My sons instructor earned his black belt under Roger Grazie and has a photo of him in the gym. Respect

[ryanweiss]

I was actually just talking to one of my BJJ coaches about this. I just hit 2 years of training last week and I am the only one left that started around that time. I do think there is something to say for tangible goals. It does keep some people focused on an end point.

Conversely, there is also something to say where it can get to the point where going through the motions to end up at a predetermined destination. I remember that after a while I was just going through the motions to get my Masters Degree. Realistically, I learned more in undergrad because I was still excited about learning.

[tribalman]

The belt system as it was designed was not only to reflect performance but also as a recognition of rank and seniority.. which becomes very important once one starts getting older and can’t perform at the same level as before..

[gingertornado]

Dude... i've commented before but.... honestly your editing is fantastic. Keeps great pace and humor. Your channel is really under-rated imo.

[lasagnasux]

Everyone knows if God is going to give someone a black belt is going to be in Krav, the martial art of the chosen people.

[braydencraven]

Considering that Jiu Jitsu is a sport that continues to change and evolve, I think that it's best to leave the belts up to individual instructors. That being said, I do think that it would be beneficial for students and coaches to be able to reference a list of techniques, positions, submissions, etc. that definitely need to be at a certain level before a promotion should be considered. This would help to create a basline level for each belt, and it would also allow students to direct their training more effectively.

[bizzybee]

Wasn't ready for the triple holy. Hit me hard. Thanks

[RamseyDewey]

I mean, if you’re going to start a flat earther, polygamist, jiu-jitsu cult, why not go all the way and claim that Grandmaster Jesus gave you your black belt?

Belts can be great tools to motivate people in positive way, but in the hands of the weirdos, they always make it weird.

I spent 6 years wearing a BJJ white belt, 12 years wearing a blue belt, 2 years wearing a purple belt, and after 20 years of consistent BJJ training, I have a brown belt to show for it. It can be really hard to get belt promotions in some parts of the world like China where I live- where there aren’t a lot of people authorized to give belt promotions, most of whom skip town after a year or two, leaving whole gyms full of students wondering what to do next.

I understand the frustration that guys like this might be feeling when they hear about people getting promoted after having trained less than them. But I also don’t care about belt ranks. My identity and my skill is not tied up in a piece of magical fabric. I’m a martial artist, not a belt. If everyone understood this, a lot of McDojos would disappear.

[workfishgreen]

I agree with you. I think it needs more structure when I started Brazilian jujitsu. It took me about 11 years to obtain my black belt and granite when I started, there were no black belts in my area. The closest one was near Dallas, Texas, Carlos Machado he were periodically come to our dojo to eventually rank our instructor to black belt and then our instructor went on to to promote the rest of us. Now I’m a second-degree black belt soon to become third. and the promotion system has become better, and people are promoted faster. I think, mostly due to the fact, there are a lot more black belts teaching now, and are more educated and ways of instructing now I know I sound a little contradicting, but I still see a lot of dojo waiting way too long to promote their students. I don’t know if that’s about money or sandbagging for tournaments. I just believe if you consistently show up to class learn the techniques are able to somewhat perform the techniques at your level you should be promoted.

[gmmio]

Having a curriculum is good, and rank standards is also very important

[nicholasaguilar]

I think the structure is fine the way it is from a traditional lens. You have competitors, hobbyists and the person who shows up every three months. All are different and all are on a different journey. It’s all up to the professor and he or she creates the metric to determine if that person is ready. If the person competes they will get promoted faster, if the person is a hobbyist it’s slower. But in the end it’s all about time, the belt will come. Also from my experience who cares about the color of belt, wise man once said “it only covers two inches of your ass, you need to cover the rest.” Good luck to all who start this journey. I have been training 8 years and I still love jiu jitsu as much as I did the first time stepping on the mat. Get after it!