There is no criteria other than when you get it; it was long overdue...
He does not give out black belts easy but I think thats a good thing. I know Nate still isnt a black belt and Nick just got his around a year ago...Which is pretty crazy.
I think that sums it up EPICALLY all in one statement. When you get it the others in class should say, "whew, it's about time!"
I think that sums it up EPICALLY all in one statement. When you get it the others in class should say, "whew, it's about time!"
While I agree with having high standards, I disagree with what I call "ridiculous" standards. I just read the interview with my old teacher, Carlson Gracie Jr., and he said, "Hey, if you deserve it, you deserve it." Exactly.
Winning tournaments to get promoted is one of the dumbest criteria an instructor can have, imo. First, I'd have to blow a lot of money and dedicate a lot of my personal time to compete regularly in tournaments. What if I get staph or ringworm right before the tournament soon after I register and I'm out $60 or more? What if I face a guy who's wrestled for 15 years looking to get his next belt because his instructor told him he has to win a tournament to get promoted? Then, he wins because he scores takedown points on all of his opponents and doesn't necessarily win "using jiu-jitsu." Of course, he still gets promoted because hey, he "won a tournament"? Makes no sense. I "compete" every time I roll in class and spend enough money on lessons. Personally, if I was going to spend more money, it would be on privates or instructional materials.
I don't know how good Nate Diaz is in a gi but he has triangled BJJ black belts in MMA, and he's still a brown belt?!! Nick Diaz had to gogo plata Gomi to get his black belt? Let me ask you guys something: Who did Cesar beat in tournaments or MMA to get his black belt? Is Nick Diaz now the head instructor and owner of Cesar's school because Frank Shamrock knocked Cesar out in 15 seconds but Nick forced Shamrock to quit in 2 rounds?
High standards are great but I don't agree with holding others to standards you yourself weren't held to. "Black belt" just represents a certain level of skill and people that continue training never stop learning. I know I would rather learn from a guy like "Jacare" Cavalcanti than say, Marcelo Garcia, even though Marcelo is the "hot item" in jiu-jitsu right now. If Marcelo's that good, then imagine how much knowledge the teacher of Marcelo's teacher must have.
Every teacher having their own, made-up standards is the reason belts are so inconsistent from school to school. Even though I can't really stand the IBJJF, I wholeheartedly agree with them setting minimum requirements for each belt in their organization. Guys like Cesar (and I've heard also Relson Gracie) having standards much higher than every other instructor gives off a sort of "elitist" vibe. What do I mean? "You, the potential student should give your money to me and not to that other guy claiming to be a BJJ black belt because my blue belts destroy his!"
Get it? Sorry about the long post.
While I agree with having high standards, I disagree with what I call "ridiculous" standards. I just read the interview with my old teacher, Carlson Gracie Jr., and he said, "Hey, if you deserve it, you deserve it." Exactly.
Winning tournaments to get promoted is one of the dumbest criteria an instructor can have, imo. First, I'd have to blow a lot of money and dedicate a lot of my personal time to compete regularly in tournaments. What if I get staph or ringworm right before the tournament soon after I register and I'm out $60 or more? What if I face a guy who's wrestled for 15 years looking to get his next belt because his instructor told him he has to win a tournament to get promoted? Then, he wins because he scores takedown points on all of his opponents and doesn't necessarily win "using jiu-jitsu." Of course, he still gets promoted because hey, he "won a tournament"? Makes no sense. I "compete" every time I roll in class and spend enough money on lessons. Personally, if I was going to spend more money, it would be on privates or instructional materials.
I don't know how good Nate Diaz is in a gi but he has triangled BJJ black belts in MMA, and he's still a brown belt?!! Nick Diaz had to gogo plata Gomi to get his black belt? Let me ask you guys something: Who did Cesar beat in tournaments or MMA to get his black belt? Is Nick Diaz now the head instructor and owner of Cesar's school because Frank Shamrock knocked Cesar out in 15 seconds but Nick forced Shamrock to quit in 2 rounds?
High standards are great but I don't agree with holding others to standards you yourself weren't held to. "Black belt" just represents a certain level of skill and people that continue training never stop learning. I know I would rather learn from a guy like "Jacare" Cavalcanti than say, Marcelo Garcia, even though Marcelo is the "hot item" in jiu-jitsu right now. If Marcelo's that good, then imagine how much knowledge the teacher of Marcelo's teacher must have.
Every teacher having their own, made-up standards is the reason belts are so inconsistent from school to school. Even though I can't really stand the IBJJF, I wholeheartedly agree with them setting minimum requirements for each belt in their organization. Guys like Cesar (and I've heard also Relson Gracie) having standards much higher than every other instructor gives off a sort of "elitist" vibe. What do I mean? "You, the potential student should give your money to me and not to that other guy claiming to be a BJJ black belt because my blue belts destroy his!"
Get it? Sorry about the long post.
While I agree with having high standards, I disagree with what I call "ridiculous" standards. I just read the interview with my old teacher, Carlson Gracie Jr., and he said, "Hey, if you deserve it, you deserve it." Exactly.
Winning tournaments to get promoted is one of the dumbest criteria an instructor can have, imo. First, I'd have to blow a lot of money and dedicate a lot of my personal time to compete regularly in tournaments. What if I get staph or ringworm right before the tournament soon after I register and I'm out $60 or more? What if I face a guy who's wrestled for 15 years looking to get his next belt because his instructor told him he has to win a tournament to get promoted? Then, he wins because he scores takedown points on all of his opponents and doesn't necessarily win "using jiu-jitsu." Of course, he still gets promoted because hey, he "won a tournament"? Makes no sense. I "compete" every time I roll in class and spend enough money on lessons. Personally, if I was going to spend more money, it would be on privates or instructional materials.
I don't know how good Nate Diaz is in a gi but he has triangled BJJ black belts in MMA, and he's still a brown belt?!! Nick Diaz had to gogo plata Gomi to get his black belt? Let me ask you guys something: Who did Cesar beat in tournaments or MMA to get his black belt? Is Nick Diaz now the head instructor and owner of Cesar's school because Frank Shamrock knocked Cesar out in 15 seconds but Nick forced Shamrock to quit in 2 rounds?
High standards are great but I don't agree with holding others to standards you yourself weren't held to. "Black belt" just represents a certain level of skill and people that continue training never stop learning. I know I would rather learn from a guy like "Jacare" Cavalcanti than say, Marcelo Garcia, even though Marcelo is the "hot item" in jiu-jitsu right now. If Marcelo's that good, then imagine how much knowledge the teacher of Marcelo's teacher must have.
Every teacher having their own, made-up standards is the reason belts are so inconsistent from school to school. Even though I can't really stand the IBJJF, I wholeheartedly agree with them setting minimum requirements for each belt in their organization. Guys like Cesar (and I've heard also Relson Gracie) having standards much higher than every other instructor gives off a sort of "elitist" vibe. What do I mean? "You, the potential student should give your money to me and not to that other guy claiming to be a BJJ black belt because my blue belts destroy his!"
Get it? Sorry about the long post.
Well I'm sure you'd LOVE Baret Yoshida's promotion system. For every FOUR submission wins you get in competition, you get a stripe. You could train for ten years under him, and if you never submit anyone in competition you're still a white belt.
Well I'm sure you'd LOVE Baret Yoshida's promotion system. For every FOUR submission wins you get in competition, you get a stripe. You could train for ten years under him, and if you never submit anyone in competition you're still a white belt.
I am a big fan of that attitude myself. If you look at my martial arts career, I have very few advanced belts. One reason was the fact that I didn't really see a need to pay extra for a belt test or I would miss them due to work or family commitments (probably would have got a stripe last saturday but was at my daughters birthday, for example). However, everyone in the gym new what level I was at. When I did karate, I was a yellow belt in the advanced class. When I did judo I was an orange belt who would give the browns and blacks a good run. My judo coach got sick of me not going t obelt tests and threw a belt at me and said, "You might as well start wearing this now".
I have the same attitude with BJJ. Eventually, my instructor will decide he has to promote me and give me a shiny new belt. Hell if I really want a BB I could get one with a hell of a lot less work. There are people out there who will give them out for for money and a little bit of skill. Marcus isn't quite as stingy on the belts as Ceasar is but when I say my coach is a Marcus Soares BB, people know he is legit.
I read the posts and I believe Cash Bill said Cesar started taking teaching ability into account. Montanha's written two books and has trained (I'm assuming fairly consistently) for 15 years. Does he still not know how to teach? If that's the case, the problem is with Montanha, not Cesar.
Look, however, who Montanha is being compared to. Nick and Nate Diaz, Jake Shields, Gil Castillo, etc. all of whom are widely regarded as some of the best fighters in the history of MMA (and have also done well in grappling/jiu-jitsu tournaments). How good he is compared to them is what defines his knowledge and ability as far as Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is concerned?