Do you pay for promotions at your school?

This is of course inspired by the "my school's turning mcdojo" thread, but I'm referring to belts not stripes.

I've grappled no gi for some time, started doing gi and been told that I could be up for a blue soon. I could be wrong, but I thought I heard about a fee for belt testing. Truth is, if that is the case, I don't know if I even want to test. I don't know about your BJJ place, but the shit isn't cheap as it is, and then to pay extra for something I feel one has rightfully earned by their dedication to the sport and their school (which of course would have already set you back some dough).....I just don't like it.

Seriously, I hope my ears deceived me. But maybe this is standard practice, IDK.

What is your school's policy?

 

like you said i know it happens in mcdojos and in those you arent paying for the promotion but supposedly paying for the testing. so if thats the case unless you are actually getting tested you would'nt have to pay since in most bjj school ive heard of the teacher just watches you and decides when you are ready for the belt. there isn't really a specific curriculum to test for and in response to your question no you don't have to pay for promotion at my school.

 

you can pay for the belt, but not for the promotion.. Like Lame said, it is the instructor that decides, and usually gives you the belt in a small "whipping" cerimony. no cash is involved, not on any of the academies I have dealt with

 

yah, paying for the belt makes sense. But I thought I heard someone mention thirty bucks or something like that. I can get a nice shiny belt that'll actually hold my pants up for that price.

 

You don't pay for belts at RGA either: if there are any promotions, they happen at the end of the lesson (also, no belt whipping :wink. Common practice seems to be that the instructor hides a belt in their gi, then at the end calls out whoever is getting promoted to the front and retrieves their new rank.

Like the OP, the place I train is already pricey enough, so it would be unreasonable to charge extra for promotions.

 

we get belt whippings from the whole class at my place

 

we have a fee for testing, but our class fees are very cheap, so i don't really have a problem with it. I would prefer to pay more for classes an not pay for testing though.

 

There is a testing fee where I train. About 45-50 bucks. You pay the week or so before the promotion. For that fee you get:



and one of these in a nice frame:




I think that is fair.

 

I think it is bollocks mate. Classes with Saulo can't be cheap. and you get a cheap ass belt and a diploma from the "saulo ribeiro association"?!!? at least register you in the CBJJ, saulo ribeiro's association! wtf is that?

 

Its like getting a law degree from Jury duty

 

When you pay for formal testing, is there additional time spent out of the ordinary class time? I guess it would make sense to pay something if the instructor is having to spend extra time with you. Our instructor just promotes you when he wants to.

 

promotions at my place is 10 dollars per stripe, 50 for a blue. in fairness, you don't have to do/pay for anything you don't want to do

as far as i'm concerned this thread can also be called, "Been a White Belt for a Long Time" -

 

we get an ass whopping from the instructor
and ass whopping from the students with their belts

 

No test & No belt fees EVA...

 

at my school there isnt really a fee for testing, the fee at my school is to get a certification, i chose not to take it cause it was $80. but when i get my purple belt i will get it.

 

Judo Canada and the Kodokan both have a fee for black belt promotions (if I recall correctly, total is about $200 for the two of them - you don't need the Kodokan certificate, though a lot of folks get it anyway, just because its the Kodokan). No fee if you're tested but not promoted. Other than that no testing or promotion fees - ie non-black belt ranks (mudansha) have no fees for gradings.

No-gi BJJ and MMA doesn't have belts, so no fees there :icon_chee

 

We have to pay for the assessment. I'm a white belt with no stripes, though I have been training for some time now - we will be having an assessment soon, so I'll be going to it.

 

Now, I love my gym and I only pay 125 for the ability to train 6 days a week in BJJ, no gi/mma and MT with the option of lunchtime classes during the week. So I have no issue with the cash. However, on saturday Marcus Soares (my instructor's instructor) was in town, we did a nice four hour seminar and at the end they spring a testing on us. No one got belts, just stripes on their belt (even the higher belts). So we do our thing, I get a stripe and have to leave shortly after. As I am leaving, the girl who runs the administrative side of things, lets me know there is a thirty dollar fee for testing. IMO if you have a testing fee let people know ahead of time that you will test them and let them choose whether or not to show up. Frankly, I don't care if I ever get a belt and would probably have skipped the test (I have a habit of doing that) but regardless, if it is going to cost me money I like to know about it ahead of time.

In all honesty, it was probably assumed that I know that when Marcus is in town he does belt tests, it is pretty standard and I probably saw the fee somewhere in the paper work they showed be when I joined but it annoyed me a bit. I am very anti testing fee. I am also not sure if that was Marcus' fee or the school's.

 

Not at all, my instructor watches us and goes to tournaments with us and he promotes as he sees progression.

 

Those pics are for illustrative purposes, I do not train with Saulo, it was just a Google image I found.

Personally I don't pay for classes anymore, I train for free (sort of in exchange for teaching one kids class and one beginner class a week) . . . Yay me :icon_chee.

But when the guys get promoted they get a nice certificate (maybe $5) in a nice wooden frame (maybe $10-$15) and a new Atama or Ouano belt (school sponsors) with the school logo on it ($20 plus shipping). They also get to "test" over at the main academy which consists of a one hour private lesson with several of the black belts and pro's, which pretty much is an ass whooping session in your honor.

Again not the best or purest form of promotions but IMHO fair. :redface: