Do you think Keenan can win the grandslam at brown belt in 2013?

[deadlizard]

Originally Posted by McBain

Isn't Keenan's dad Greek? Keenan is probably the descendant of Zeus, in the bloodline of Aristotle and of the lineage of Hercules. It all makes sense now..

Source or you're trolling.

[Aesopian]

Who long has Keenan been training and how quickly did he get his promotions?

[SuperSuperRambo]

Can he? Yes. In fact I fully expect him to, unless he ends up having a really bad tournament showing, or if there's a stud out there who can give him a run for his money that I don't know about.

As for the sandbagging, I mean I think there's no denying that his ability is at black belt level, but wouldn't the IBJJF guidelines prevent him from entering the black belt division at this point anyway?

[GatorEZ1913]

I don't like the sandbagging comments. The guy just got his brown belt after last years Mundials and I am sure he will get his black belt next year assuming he pulls off the grand slam in 2013 which I am pretty sure he will if he stays healthy. He is good enough to beat many black belts now but even if he were to get promoted he wouldn't even be allowed to compete there due to IBJJF rules.

Just enjoy watching the guy compete.

[codysweet02]

Not sandbagging. All teams do this at the higher levels.

[McBain]

Originally Posted by deadlizard

Source or you're trolling.

I'm fairly certain I can get access to the meticulously kept Callos family tree dating back to before the Trojan War, so ill let you guys know.

[Hillary]

Not sandbagging, he hasn't even had the minimum time yet I don't think. His competition game is undoubtably excellent but if he stays a bit longer at brown he'll be able to develop his weaker parts of his game (not insinuating that I have identified any, merely that everyone can always improve) and get as well-rounded as possible. I feel differently about holding a brown belt for 5 years or so if they're achieving the same level of results, but in Keenan's case a year is not exceptional wait time at all. It will aid him in his transition to black belt, which will be a big leap but I'm excited to watch.

[anaconda]

Lol @ people claiming sandbagging. Seriously wtf is wrong with this sport. The bigger it grows the worse it gets.

DJ has been training for around 6 years. Keenan has been a brown belt for only a few months.

How many of you are black belts and are able to judge technical ability outside of tournament results? How many of you have been tasked with handing out promotions? People that claim Lloyd sandbags are completely off base.

[anaconda]

Originally Posted by Hillary

Not sandbagging, he hasn't even had the minimum time yet I don't think. His competition game is undoubtably excellent but if he stays a bit longer at brown he'll be able to develop his weaker parts of his game (not insinuating that I have identified any, merely that everyone can always improve) and get as well-rounded as possible. I feel differently about holding a brown belt for 5 years or so if they're achieving the same level of results, but in Keenan's case a year is not exceptional wait time at all. It will aid him in his transition to black belt, which will be a big leap but I'm excited to watch.

Exactly. Belts are not only objective measures but very subjective too. For 99% of us if we were at Kenan's level we would be nearly maxing our potential and would have been black belts ages ago.

Kenan has progressed so quickly and has so much room to grow that giving him a black belt would be a disservice to him. The kid (and he is still a kid) is learning and progressing very rapidly still. Let him have his year at brown belt to keep developing before giving him his black belt.

[Ice 9 Cobra]

Grand Slam? Nah, that's too small . I fully expect for him to win ADCC as well. Braulio and Galvao are in a super fight, which leaves the division much more open. Pablo, Lovato and Palhares are still really formidable but I really like the underdog in this one.