BLUE belt test?

minimagpro said:
my school runs the belt testing

i strongly disagree with it because we have luiz palhares come down every 3 months to give us a seminar. He has a huge list of techniques and asks what you are testing for, and then he tells you to show him a bunch of stuff

this imo is a terrible way to promote because what if I am on a off day? he doesnt see me tapping everyone else, he just see's me tired/hungover/sick and so I dont get promoted

I am thinking about attending some seminars and getting promoted somewhere else because as much as I love Luiz and ive been with him for a while, I just dont like the way that he does the testing
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:icon_idea compete if you want to go up a level.
 
Enron Exec. said:
I am sorry but that is weak. There should be a test. A test to me is McDojo-ish. Knowing and being able to do those things are 2 different things. I can do pretty much almost 98% of the BJJ moves I know on white belts but it doesnt mean Im gonna get a Purple for it
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Nowhere in those testing requirements does it say that they are the sole criteria for blue belt promotion.

Obviously the ability to apply the moves in practice is a major part of the blue belt test. However, I don't see what the problem is with providing specific technical requirements as well. The requirements serve as a baseline check as well as a summary of techniques mastered at that point.

You don't deserve a blue belt if you can't demonstrate three guard passes and three guard sweeps. I think those requirements reflect that.
 
My instructor is a purple belt and doesn't typically do the promotion. He does manage to get a Gracie into town for a seminar every 6 months or so. Also, the head instructor (black belt) comes around that often too so somebody comes every 3 months or so.

I'm pretty sure he just tells the black belts who to look at and they make a decision while watching you roll.
 
ClubberLange said:
I just got mine thrown to me at the end of a class once.
I guess it's because I was holding my own against most of the blues.
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same for me, and I took 1st place in a comp.

our school is basically 100 classes and your about at blue level. so you usually get the belt then.

for purple and higher you have to compete and be able to hang with other purples.
we have blues that have been there for 5+yrs, and my instructor said that anyone can get a blue, but not everyone can get a purple.
once you get purple you can get black though..

best way to go up in belts (if that's your thing) is to COMPETE.
 
johil d'o said:
Rickson's school requires very formal testing. It involves a combination of technique demonstration and explanation together with live sparring. The blue belt test involving 6 guys total took 4-1/2 hours and was very grueling. He gives the syllabus to each person taking the test in advance, and varies slightly from it from time to time. It's quite rigorous at each belt level, I assure you.
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i am a member, and have not gone through blue belt testing yet but i can say that our bluebelts are much better than others so, elaborating on what i think you are saying, some schools are more difficult to advance in and the skill level of a blue belt is much higher than that of a different school
 
I'd say that's geneerally true about Rickson's school. Going from white to blue usually takes longer at Rickson's than many others that I've heard about. Going from blue to purple involves at least 2-6 years of being blue. Guys that are purple at Rickson's school are usually quite good, I'd say. For instance, the very first tournament that they competed in as purples (which was the Copa Pacifica), Kron Gracie and Kevin Casey all won the adult purple belt divisions in their respective weight classes, and Erik Soderbergh and Kron won the Pan Ams right after that too.
 
My school has a formal test with Pedro Sauer for any belt. Our head instructor, who's a black belt under Sauer, recommends you for testing once he thinks you're ready. There are class# requirements as well as logged open mat hours, but in most cases those are filled long before you're deemed to be ready.
The test is pretty informal but does serve to prove the testee to be of a certain level of competence.
I don't have a problem with the structure, so long as it remains subjective to my instructors thoughts.
 
Rickson's school also requires that a black belt select you as being ready to take the test. So you have to be selected. There is a minimum number of classes or prior experience as a prerequisite as well.
 
johil d'o said:
Rickson's school also requires that a black belt select you as being ready to take the test. So you have to be selected. There is a minimum number of classes or prior experience as a prerequisite as well.
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I like that method. It seems kind of old school, which, in this case, is a good thing. If Rickson and Pedro are doing it, it can't be all that bad.
 
Rickson is very strict. Renzo just sneakily sneaks up behind you and start slapping you with your new belt. The level at his academy ain't too shabby either, with Augusto Cesar and Gregor Rangel Gracie winning the mundials and pan-ams at purple belt 2 weeks after promotion, 2 years in a row, the same guys cleaned house again this year, Gregor winning the adult purple absolute too.
 
I've seen it done a bizillion different ways, most that involve testing of some sort (I'm talking lower belts to brown in Judo here). I watched a guy get his belt tossed to him after class as described above. I've also watched guys go through several hours of grueling testing requirements to earn they're brown belts. A brown belt was handed his black belt on the podium after he beat all the other black belts in his division. That was cool.

The one thing all these guys had in common was that they had all competed quite a bit. Most had done at least 5 tournaments.
 
Technical knowlege & being able to execute it through competition & success in regular sparring. I also think, a silent, yet important part of grading is loyality & attitude.
 
Andre00 said:
same for me, and I took 1st place in a comp.

our school is basically 100 classes and your about at blue level. so you usually get the belt then.

for purple and higher you have to compete and be able to hang with other purples.
we have blues that have been there for 5+yrs, and my instructor said that anyone can get a blue, but not everyone can get a purple.
once you get purple you can get black though..

best way to go up in belts (if that's your thing) is to COMPETE.
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100 classes sounds a bit low, thats only 2 classes a week for 1 year. But if the time is well spent on quality with a good instructor maybe.
 
I am still only a normal white belt but I can hang with all the 4-stripes and i can submit several of them. The few bluebelts that we have are extremely good and should have been purple 2 years ago but theres some sandbagging involved sadly.

I actually havent had the chance to roll with any bluebelts because All my academy has is purples and whites..

I guess I will have to compete to see how I match up with others
 
I don't like the idea of having a scripted set of techniques you must perform to get promoted. I thought one of the great things about BJJ was the ability to adapt it to your body type and style. To tell me that I have to be able to do some techniques to get a blue belt would go against that. Sure, I need to know the basics, but for example, at 5'10" 205lbs, I do some things very different than a 6'0 160lb guy. I prefer a slow, pressure oriented style, while some of the guys I roll with are all about exploding and speed. I am hoping that once I can beat blue belts on a regular basis, I will get promoted, regardless of how I am doing it.
 
Do you guys get your backs f...up when getting the new belt? We have a this tradition where you need to walk through a corridor of more than 300 students, and you get belt hitting on your back...it is really messed up, most guys bleed in many spots and are purple and sore for weeks.
 
apapen said:
Do you guys get your backs f...up when getting the new belt? We have a this tradition where you need to walk through a corridor of more than 300 students, and you get belt hitting on your back...it is really messed up, most guys bleed in many spots and are purple and sore for weeks.
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300 students? jesus where the F do you train? we got like 10 guys at our place at night.
the beating would be next to death... ive seen guys with welts... but 300 and your dead.
 
trfcrugby said:
I don't like the idea of having a scripted set of techniques you must perform to get promoted. I thought one of the great things about BJJ was the ability to adapt it to your body type and style. To tell me that I have to be able to do some techniques to get a blue belt would go against that. Sure, I need to know the basics, but for example, at 5'10" 205lbs, I do some things very different than a 6'0 160lb guy. I prefer a slow, pressure oriented style, while some of the guys I roll with are all about exploding and speed. I am hoping that once I can beat blue belts on a regular basis, I will get promoted, regardless of how I am doing it.
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they want to know your knowledge even if there are moves you don't like to use because of your size/shape. they're probably trying to avoid promoting someone with gaps or wholes in their training.
 
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