Americans getting BJJ black belts

[ATTfighter]

i notice how difficult it is for non-brazilians to receive their black belts... i think there should be some kinda of BJJ unified rules for promotion... cause i think its kinda rediculous for some of our brown belts to manhandle a few of our black belts on a consistant basis yet remain a brown belt for 7 or 8 year, when the average brazilian seems to only be a brown belt for 2 or 3.... totally not fair...

 

[Soid]

You're speaking about your school right?

 

[Tristram]

a belt wont help them win a competition, a belt is just a color

 

[Sambo234]

a belt wont help them win a competition, a belt is just a color

a belt is supposed to be reflective of your ability on the mat

 

[Tristram]

abilities on a mat, that is a subjective rating, it isnt like other arts where there is a check list. there are blue belts that beat black belts, purple that beat blacks.

 

[Sambo234]

abilities on a mat, that is a subjective rating, it isnt like other arts where there is a check list. there are blue belts that beat black belts, purple that beat blacks.

you obviously don't train in bjj...

 

[GuardGame]

A solid sign for promotion IMO, is during competition or training when a blue belt is doing very well against other blues, regardless of winning or tapping them out, if a blue belt has better technique than a lot of other blues, hes ready for promotion. Same with the other belt colors.

Just because a blue is tapping a brown doesnt mean they are ready for promotion, the blue may not have as "clean" or "smooth" technique as the brown.

 

[Sambo234]

A solid sign for promotion IMO, is during competition or training when a blue belt is doing very well against other blues, regardless of winning or tapping them out, if a blue belt has better technique than a lot of other blues, hes ready for promotion. Same with the other belt colors.

Just because a blue is tapping a brown doesnt mean they are ready for promotion, the blue may not have as "clean" or "smooth" technique as the brown.

I don't think I've ever even heard a story of a blue coming even close to tapping an active brown..

 

[GuardGame]

Ya, I was using it as an example..

 

[Bubble Boy]

i notice how difficult it is for non-brazilians to receive their black belts... i think there should be some kinda of BJJ unified rules for promotion... cause i think its kinda rediculous for some of our brown belts to manhandle a few of our black belts on a consistant basis yet remain a brown belt for 7 or 8 year, when the average brazilian seems to only be a brown belt for 2 or 3.... totally not fair...

Even outside of the bjj community a lot of rumours about the brazilian promotion bias can be heard. A friend of mine who doesn't train in martial arts at all mentioned it once when bjj came up in conversation: "Yeah, I've heard it takes twice as long to get a black belt if you're not brazilian..."

I have no idea if it's true or not, but if it is, it is indeed unfair.

 

[GuardGame]

Typically, it takes about 8 to 10 years to earn a Black Belt in BJJ, I have a friend, who in fact is American, trains in Gracie Barra San Diego, got his black belt after 9 years of training...so....

 

[Cornsloth]

You need to take it as seriously as the Brazilians do, that is how you earn your black belt.

 

[guardpasser]

they started the bjj, so...
whatever they want to do they will, just beating a black belt doesnt make you one.
i have tapped purple belts and came close with a brown or two, but i am not on thier level all the time. black belts can have days where browns tap them , it just happens. you see it more in no gi competitions, than you do in gi competitions. some brown belts are just phenoms at tournaments but they still need work on thier teaching abilities and on continuing learning techniques

 

[blanko]

bubble boy:

"Yeah, I've heard it takes twice as long to get a black belt if you're not brazilian..."

that's simply not true

 

[RobT]

Yeah, like Matt Serra, BJ Penn and Lloyd Irvin... they must have hated having to train for so long to get their black belts!

 

[JustSomeGuy]

The Machados seem to be pretty fair about belts. There are several American black belts under Carlos Machado here in Dallas. Seems to take between 6-10 years depending on your natural abilities.

 

[EPT]

Unless you're an instructor I don't think it really matters that much about getting your black belt, although it is a huge acheivment to get a black belt in BJJ, a different colour belt isn't going to help you grapple better, even getting a brown belt means you're going to have some excellent skills.

 

[Waxwingslain]

My Japanese instructor got his fairly fast I believe. He was a purple when I started training and is now a black. He was a high level judoka before starting BJJ though.

 

[VanDamme]

I don't think I've ever even heard a story of a blue coming even close to tapping an active brown..

Not everyone prefers to brag about their achievments on the mat online. Yes, blues tapping browns and purples tapping black does happen, its just a rare occurance.

People own seperate organizations- its not like everyone all goes to the same BJJ school. Since some instructors will be more strict than others, you will inevitably find lesser ranked belts from one school submitting higher ranked belts from another.

There are also some instructors who are quite hard to promote, and while some people call them sandbaggers, they're often reknown for producing tough fighters. Other instructors will promote someone the moment they do well in a tournament, which is the promoting basis that most Americans seem to go by. This often results in people being promoted prematurely and is the reason why they get tapped by lower belts.

While being able to beat the fellow competition on the mat is highly regarded in BJJ, its not the only thing that should be taken into account for promotion. A blue belt who is extremely athletic and young may tool an older brown belt, but that doesnt mean that the blue belt has better jiu jitsu.

 

[Flibb]

Typical american world open as always...
Anyway i never noticed that. The only difference may be that brazilians go to class every day while in other countries the people dont want to or dont have the time for it. I heard from several people that the training in brazil is far less intense than overhere.