Can the McDojo-ization of BJJ be avoided?

Live sparring & competition always makes the difference. You just can't fake your way out of getting armbarred or pretend that the submission you couldn't finish was "th3 d3adly". Of course theres good and bad, highly competitive and hobby, as there should be. But look at the sports with non-point (IE, light touch) sparring and you'll see the ones that have stood the test of time.

Wrestling
Judo
BJJ
Boxing
Kali/Escrima
Savate
Muay Thai
etc.etc.etc.

And you know what, all you have to do is get some folks who are embarrassed or annoyed at their arts lack of reality and you have wonderful resurgences like Kyokushin & Enshin Karate or Sanda/San Shou for Kung Fu.

Point blank, if you have to hit and get hit, submit or be submitted for real and there's a standard of competition then anyone who's trying to fake it will be quickly and clearly exposed.
 
It all comes out on the mats! Let them give out fake belts. I'm just worrying about making myself better.

It would kind of be cool if it went ultra old school where you were a white belt until you were a black belt. Though being that your white belt got so used and dirty from the years of training that it turned black.
 
Yeah lineage in BJJ is still pretty easy to trace but there are probably 15-20 "BJJ" gyms in Phoenix now with more on the way. There's no way those are all quality. The marketplace is getting crowded and it will become more and more difficult to locate a good school..
 
johnkreese said:
Supposedly, it is. The progression of belt colors are supposed to signify the belt getting dirtier(or used).
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No, it's not. You don't even know where belts come from.

I've posted on this a million times. It's just a stupid myth. The people who spread it don't even know the origin of belts.
 
johnkreese said:
Supposedly, it is. The progression of belt colors are supposed to signify the belt getting dirtier(or used).
Click to expand...

Nope, that was a story added on well after the fact.

Originally white belts, to match the rest of the uniform. Then Kano started awarding black belts. Other colours got added in later.

But anyone that thinks students where showing up for Kano's classes with really dirty belts is not thinking things through.
 
Andrew Green said:
Nope, that was a story added on well after the fact.

Originally white belts, to match the rest of the uniform. Then Kano started awarding black belts. Other colours got added in later.

But anyone that thinks students where showing up for Kano's classes with really dirty belts is not thinking things through.
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Exactly. It's just extremely annoying that most practitioners care so little for the martial arts that they won't even educate themselves on even the basic historical facts. Kano had an immense influence on modern martial arts (Judo obviously, but also BJJ too). It's one thing to not know about the stuff; it's another thing when people start making up completely fake stories to overwrite the real accomplishments of others.

Imagine if someone was going around telling people that America won its independence when George Washington rode a unicorn across the Pacific where he then shot the King of England dead with a machine gun at Versailles. Then imagine that everyone nodded in agreement.
 
BWC said:
As more and more practitioners enter the world of BJJ, and specifically the gym I train in, I can't help but notice the fact that the mix is less and less guys who kind of want to be "fighters" or "martial artists" and more people who just want to have fun, "get fit", "meet some cool people", etc. Basically nothing that has anything to do with combat.
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That's not what will turn BJJ schools in to McDojo's.

I have no problem with out of shape or lonely people taking up BJJ to get in shape or meet people. As long as they are taught proper technique the school/academy shouldn't be looked down upon. They must also realize that their goals of 'meeting people' or 'getting in shape' don't really translate in to purple belt and higher belt ranks.

If the instructor maintains integrity and doesn't over promote people that don't deserve to be promoted then things will stay good. That being said there are instances I can totally see an instructor promoting someone all the way up to black belt based on skill, attitude, dedication, technical knowledge, etc as a package. That person might not be as skilled as a 24 year old purple belt that wrestled in High school and College, but maybe they're an excellent teacher or BJJ has completely changed their life for the better and they give a lot to the sport...

What will turn BJJ schools in to McDojo's is if quality standards regarding techniques and belt promotions (specifically purple belt and higher) start to decline. I think you see some of it in certain schools right now that have a format that rewards 'time served' or number of classes attended as the sole criteria for belt promotions.

I think that's BS and should be stopped.
 
Balto said:
No, it's not. You don't even know where belts come from.

I've posted on this a million times. It's just a stupid myth. The people who spread it don't even know the origin of belts.
Click to expand...

Someone just mentioned that Kano had white belts until they got a black. You are saying that is a stupid myth or that the dirtier it got, it was eventually black. I had heard this from a few different people in various Japanese arts.

I thought I remembered reading that belt colours were a north American thing.

By posting this I am not claiming it all to be true:
Black belt (martial arts) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
ShindoNinja said:
Someone just mentioned that Kano had white belts until they got a black. You are saying that is a stupid myth or that the dirtier it got, it was eventually black. I had heard this from a few different people in various Japanese arts.

I thought I remembered reading that belt colours were a north American thing.
Click to expand...

more of a French thing created by a Japanese Judo master.
 
McDojo-zation of BJJ is going to be much more difficult than other martial arts. I thin it's perfectly okay fro someone to do BJJ for fun and fitness, but what it comes down to is that McDojos will always be spotted in competition.

I love the competition of BJJ and someone coming from a McDojo t the competition and getting blow away by everyone will just let them know that they need ot change gyms
 
ShindoNinja said:
Someone just mentioned that Kano had white belts until they got a black. You are saying that is a stupid myth or that the dirtier it got, it was eventually black. I had heard this from a few different people in various Japanese arts.

I thought I remembered reading that belt colours were a north American thing.

By posting this I am not claiming it all to be true:
Black belt (martial arts) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

Kano using the belts that way is correct. The myth is that it was originally white and got dirtier and dirtier until black.

The Wikipedia article here is generally correct. The basic timeline is:

Kano invents the modern gi (white belt corresponds to the white gi)
Kano invents kyu/dan ranking system
Kano decides that dan grades should wear a black belt
Kano decides to use the red/white belt for masters (colors of the Japanese flag)
A student of Kano's invents the colored ranks in Paris

This timeline starts in the late 1800s. Belts are a very modern invention. There were no ancient samurai training in white belts until they got dirty. Belts were meant to be washed.
 
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