Can we please stop with the "X years to my blue belt"

Forceof1

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In both the recent black belt threads, there were some backhanded "thats fast" compliments - with the implication being they were given out to quick.

Those really pissed me off tonight for some reason. Here's how I see it-

If it takes you more than 2 1/2 - three years to reach a blue belt level and you were training consistently - either you or your instructor sucks. Period. It doesn't mean your gym has higher standards, it means with all the advances in teaching methodology and resources they still suck at teaching (or you suck at learning).

If it takes you 7 years to get a purple belt- again- either you suck at BJJ or your instructor sucks. 7 years of consistent training is a long ass time.

Stop bragging about it. You sound stupid when you say "my gym is conservative with belts". What I hear is "my gym still does the random 3 moves of the night and spar, without any methodology or curriculum designed to expedite the students learning process".

If you are training 8 years at 3-4 times per week plus- there is no reason you can't earn a blackbelt with all of the learning advantages you have today. This doesn't mean we should have McDojo's dropping the curve down to 2-3 years- I think 8 is about as low as it should go (with the rare exception).

If it takes you 5 years to reach blue because of injuries, moving, kids, etc- then props to you. I would still you rather not say it like it is somehow more justified than the one another guy got in 18 months by training all the fucking time.

End Rant.
TLDR- if it takes you a ridiculous long time to advance in rank- don't be proud of it- it means you our your instructor sucks
 
You forgot to mention that it makes sense to delay promotion when you are making money of the customer.

On the serouis note, I always felt it was cool to have a little speech when promoting someone.

But then I realise it was weak sauce like you are trying to explain your self.

So no need.

Your word is final and your promote.

End of the story.
 
It goes both ways. Took me one year to my bluebelt and it was too quick.

Although I agree that passive-aggressively implying they got promoted too quick when they make a thread saying they got a black is a shitty thing to do. I mean... you don't even know how good they are
 
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Something something something, sandbagging for tournaments, something something something, gracie baha.
 
It took me about 3 years to blue belt and I am now 3.5 years as a bb.

At the end, it does not not matter.
 
Years mean jack shit, Mat time is what it should be counted.

I agree ts, I can understand why people 40 years ago took so long to get promoted. All you knew was coming from your instructor, if you had to learn something new, then you had to go to another place to do it and so on, if you lived in rio that could've been not such a problem, but living in a small town of Brazil, and I'm taking about Brazil let alone other places, it would necessarily means you had to travel to get instruction. Those time are far far far behind, the ammount of info you can get now it's only limits to your will. Everything is online you can get all the info you want and you can't train in many many different places with different people now. I believe before it was justified to spend 10 years working in your black belt, now? Not so much
 
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I think those were actual compliments and people were comparing their own times to illustrate the impressiveness of the accomplishments, and you wrote a butt hurt essay about some imagined slight.
 
I think those were actual compliments and people were comparing their own times to illustrate the impressiveness of the accomplishments, and you wrote a butt hurt essay about some imagined slight.

I tend to agree. I don't think most of the people saying that it took them "x years" are making passive-aggressive remarks suggesting you advanced too fast. I always took it as them complimenting the achievement.

That being said, I do agree that threads saying "it took me x years to get my blue belt" are kind of stupid. That's more because I don't see the point of counting the calendar time.
 
How about we brag about how little time it took us instead?

Blue: 8 months.

Purple: 26 months after blue.


I am a genius and so is my instructor.
 
I think those were actual compliments and people were comparing their own times to illustrate the impressiveness of the accomplishments, and you wrote a butt hurt essay about some imagined slight.

I think the bigger point that was being made is that a lot of people are low level belts for multiple years and that should not be happening. Either the student isn't showing up to class or the teacher isn't communicating properly.

That's not being butt hurt. That's addressing a real problem that shouldn't exist in modern bjj.
 
If it takes you more than 2 1/2 - three years to reach a blue belt level and you were training consistently - either you or your instructor sucks. Period. It doesn't mean your gym has higher standards, it means with all the advances in teaching methodology and resources they still suck at teaching (or you suck at learning).
You missed one important thing. There is no objective criteria that one deserves a blue belt while another does not. This same instructor who teaches you is the one who promotes you. It is all up to his personal opinions. Some clubs promote to blue after 6-8 months, others after 2-3 years.

The time to get belts in BJJ does get shorter, no denying.
 
It would be if all blue belts had to go through that.

No it is (although yes, if one does not compete it is based on subjectivity or one's skill set relative to others in the gym).

My point was that not all promotions are soley based on opinion. Competing gives a good objective marker of your skill level and what you need to work on to progress.
 
I think the bigger point that was being made is that a lot of people are low level belts for multiple years and that should not be happening. Either the student isn't showing up to class or the teacher isn't communicating properly.

That's not being butt hurt. That's addressing a real problem that shouldn't exist in modern bjj.

Thank you. It's why I referenced teaching methodology several times. People should be getting better faster now, if instruction keeps pace.
 
I think those were actual compliments and people were comparing their own times to illustrate the impressiveness of the accomplishments, and you wrote a butt hurt essay about some imagined slight.

You wrote- "must be a couple of studs- I'm at 6 years and still several away from my purple"

This is wrong. Whether you meant it or not- this is not an actual compliment. It implies that only studs or savants can get a blackbelt in 8 years- or else the belt is undeserved. This is simply not the case.

And if you've been training consistently for 6 years and are still a blue belt who feels a few years away from purple- either you or your gym is failing.
 
You wrote- "must be a couple of studs- I'm at 6 years and still several away from my purple"

This is wrong. Whether you meant it or not- this is not an actual compliment. It implies that only studs or savants can get a blackbelt in 8 years- or else the belt is undeserved. This is simply not the case.

And if you've been training consistently for 6 years and are still a blue belt who feels a few years away from purple- either you or your gym is failing.

I never said anything about deserving a belt or not so don't project that on to me. Any belt given by a qualified instructor is deserved.

10 years to black is the average according to aesopians data, so those guys are literally, by definition, above average. I'm below average and comparing it to point out how cool it is for them. A stud is just a generic compliment lol, you're really reading way too much into nothing
 
In both the recent black belt threads, there were some backhanded "thats fast" compliments - with the implication being they were given out to quick.

Those really pissed me off tonight for some reason. Here's how I see it-

If it takes you more than 2 1/2 - three years to reach a blue belt level and you were training consistently - either you or your instructor sucks. Period. It doesn't mean your gym has higher standards, it means with all the advances in teaching methodology and resources they still suck at teaching (or you suck at learning).

If it takes you 7 years to get a purple belt- again- either you suck at BJJ or your instructor sucks. 7 years of consistent training is a long ass time.

Stop bragging about it. You sound stupid when you say "my gym is conservative with belts". What I hear is "my gym still does the random 3 moves of the night and spar, without any methodology or curriculum designed to expedite the students learning process".

If you are training 8 years at 3-4 times per week plus- there is no reason you can't earn a blackbelt with all of the learning advantages you have today. This doesn't mean we should have McDojo's dropping the curve down to 2-3 years- I think 8 is about as low as it should go (with the rare exception).

If it takes you 5 years to reach blue because of injuries, moving, kids, etc- then props to you. I would still you rather not say it like it is somehow more justified than the one another guy got in 18 months by training all the fucking time.

End Rant.
TLDR- if it takes you a ridiculous long time to advance in rank- don't be proud of it- it means you our your instructor sucks
How long have you been training? Interested in your perspective
 
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