I could actually see myself quitting after getting my black belt. I've been training for nine years consistently, I'm a purple belt, and I'm in my mid 40s. I'm tired and beat up, both mentally and physically, but I'm afraid if I quit before getting my black belt I'll really regret it 20 years from now.
After BB, all your promotions are done just for being alive and active. You earn them just by practicing. This is very different then your previous belts that you earned by showing improvement and greater levels of understanding
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I started at 33, had a job with a lot of responsibilities, worked my way up to blackbelt. But id never want to own my own school.
I know a blackbelt that stopped training like 10 years or something ago, but he keeps getting stripes and teaching
At bb level, it is called degrees.
As long as you are active and I would assume teaching is a sign of activeness.
Of course, as you get old and you teach. Your role has changed.
I teach twice a week and I can tell you that doing a few rounds with a student that is 10 years younger and 10 kilos heavier can be hard on the body on the next day. And I have a full time office job.
Bb is the longest belt I worned.
Depending on how physically I feel on the day, I would pick different students to roll with.
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Lol at all the butthurt cali purple belts (Texas white belts)
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Getting better or fun?
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Why Would you regret it? Ir you Dont train ay moré, what good is going To do a piece of cloth hanging in your wall...
If you are not enjoying the ride, quit, who cares if you have achieved your black belt or not.
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I think it is ridiculous to get "promoted" when you do not roll, i also think it is ridiculous to teach when you do not roll, follow the sport or have rolled in years and forget most details of techniques. I do not see it differently from the tma's promoting people just for showing up after a set amount of time and i see it as detrimental to the value of the blackbelts that keep training and growing.
Nothing wrong with choosing your rolls getting older, not rolling as much or not rolling at all etc etc. But i dont agree with the system that lets you get promoted for not being active and we might have a different opinion on what active means.
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That's like saying what good is a diploma if you don't go to school anymore. The black belt is an achievement. It absolutely would have been a huge regret for me if I had quit before getting mine. No matter what happens, I'm glad I was able to see that through and stick with it long enough for that to happen. It feels good to know that I have reached my potential, which is what I set out to do when I first started training. That doesn't mean it needs to be my whole life or that I have to do it forever though.
The longer I train, the more it becomes about me dealing with old injuries while just trying to maintain the level I'm already on. That's not fun. It's not because I don't find rolling fun or that I don't love BJJ anymore, it's that it isn't the same thing for me that it used to be. It's not about gaining new knowledge and making improvements, which is why I started training in the first place. I wanted to challenge myself and become as good as I was capable of. I never had the idea that I'd keep doing it if I hit a point of diminishing returns, where the toll it takes on my body outweighs the benefits.
You seem pretty judgmental. You have no idea how you're going to feel about training a few years down the road. Things happen that you can't foresee.
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Si not th same, a diploma or finishing a career has implications in your life, specially in making money, although most people don't actually use their diploma to make money.
I'm not jugdamental, I'm 36 years old, i do deal with injuries myself, and if it got toy the point where rolling isn't an option anymore because i keep on getting injured, so be it, I would not regret not getting a black belt. You are going to get your black belt if you stick around long enough, is really more about perserverance than skill. You will be graded, so while is good and feels nice to be rewarded for you effort, keep on doing something you don't enjoy to be able to say to yourself, you made it!! Eventhough you got wrecked on the way, and is affecting your life in a negative way, doesn't make sense... Now that all changes if you enjoy what your doing, then all the injuries and complications your having are worth it.
Also, you need to consider your age, you cannot train as if you are 18, you do not need to train balls to the wall every session you do not need to roll with a white belt knucklehead who can probably hurt you.
I'm really not trying to shit on you, I just don't understand the mindset of doing something your don't enjoy just to get social recognition, specially in your stage of life, you don't have 18 anymore, enjoy life while you can
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After certain age, you are probably not going to roll anymore either... It's hard to accept that fact that we all get old, sadly, we do.
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Is the black belt really a big achivement?
It's a sign of persistence but if you don't really like bjj why persist in it?
I'm only a brown belt myself but I don't view my belt as having any value it's just your coach telling you need to compete in the next belt division or in the case of the old guys mostly an acknowledgement of them having trained long enough.
My students visited some gyms and to their surprises. They noticed 2 things.
First gym did not have sparring! It was the weirdest thing ever.
Second gym did not have sparring as well. After the technical class, the instructor packed his bag and went home. Then who ever wanted to stay behind to roll like an open mats could stay. Needless to say that not many stayed. That is weird. I mean the bb instructor most probably has a different schedule to roll with people of his level. But I would expect him to stick around, match people up, give feedback and be a coach.
The bb that annoys are the one that avoid rolling because they would lose. But they have the ego of a 16 times world champion.
And then you also have the annoying instructor that keep telling his students that he is better than others because he is rolling all the time.
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Like i said, nothing wrong with that imo. But it just doesnt sit right with me that if you choose to do so you keep getting promoted and are of equal rank as people that do train hard after they get their blackbelt, i feel promotions should be for them only.
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This is the guy im talking about lol
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You get a stripe for every 2 years of being a black belt, once you achieve black belt, stripes mean just dedication to the art more than skills
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Yes. Sometimes life just gets in the way. Plus, 10 years is a long time to do anything. It's not unreasonable that some people may want a temporary break from training to do other things.
It actually every 3 years for the first three degrees then it increases to 5 years etc...
The 2 years was under the original federation.
Well, I will keep you updated once I face that situation.
In 3 years. I will be ibjjf 2 degrees. I will be able to promote someone to bb and if she/he does not train hard. Then I can choose to not promote them to first degree.
But I am pretty sure they can go directly to the federation to get their degree from them instead.
