Does your instructor charge for belt promotions?

ichimonji

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I have been to several diff BJJ schools with several diff teachers.

Now all of a sudden one of our 3rd degree black belts want to charge 80 - 100 to test from blue to purple to drive 45 mins away.

Do you guys agree with belt testing for a price?? What about charging to promtoe stripes??
 
I had to buy my own belt. As such, I wasn't charged for anything. I got my belt based on my sensei's decision and had to get it myself so I was more than a blue belt by name.

I personally think BJJ belts should be given when your sensei says you deserve it, not by passing a one day grading.
 
I have mixed feelings about gradings. I've been to schools were they were given based on sparring and success in competition, and I've been to schools where there was a set curriculum. While it seems kind of karateish, knowing what techniques are expected of you and being sure you can perform all of them before being moved up certainly has advantages. Regardless, paying 100 bucks for the chance to prove that you've learnt something after paying for months/years of training seems a little ridiculous.
 
Its a business so i look at it like this. If he SCHEDULES a seperate day or time to bring in students and personally tests each and every one of the students skills and based on the result you get promoted then I would say a nominal fee SHOULD be charged.
After all he is taking time out of his LIFE above and beyond the norm of a class setting.

NOW if he is just walking up after class one day and notices you are now purple belt level I think he should just GIVE it to you!
 
knoxpk said:
Its a business so i look at it like this. If he SCHEDULES a seperate day or time to bring in students and personally tests each and every one of the students skills and based on the result you get promoted then I would say a nominal fee SHOULD be charged.
After all he is taking time out of his LIFE above and beyond the norm of a class setting.

NOW if he is just walking up after class one day and notices you are now purple belt level I think he should just GIVE it to you!

There's a difference between a nominal fee and charging a hundred dollars a person. The idea of having to pay someone close to what most instructors charge for a month to prove that I've learnt something after several months or years of paying to be taught is absurd. Every grading I've seen has involved several students being graded at once, and none of them have lasted more than a couple of hours. Ten to twenty dollars a person seems reasonable if you have a handful of students for an hour. Anything more is just plain greed.
 
BJJ is a very informal art and I think that it should remain that way.
 
I agree more with the concept of your progression over time should dictate how you get your belt, for instace, he should notice your skills growing and what level he thinks you're at. I don't think you should have to test to get one...
 
I'd NEVER pay to do a test. I'd rather be without a belt, ala Sakuraba. You don't need a belt to be a good grappler.
 
You should tell that "3rd degree black belt" to go screw himself. Your instructor shouldn't only be your instructor because you pay him. He should be your friend. You pay so he can make a living and in return you get some of his knowledge. Charging you for belt testing is a fkn scam. I wouldn't set my foot at that club ever again. But that's me.
 
Hamit Aktas said:
You should tell that "3rd degree black belt" to go screw himself. Your instructor shouldn't only be your instructor because you pay him. He should be your friend. You pay so he can make a living and in return you get some of his knowledge. Charging you for belt testing is a fkn scam. I wouldn't set my foot at that club ever again. But that's me.



yea seriously. I wouldnt pay that shit ... id find a new club.

bjj is already expensive enough as it is. 100 bucks for a belt test is fucking RIDICULOUS.
 
paid for a new belt....

Some people are charging to make more money.. That is all. Its targeted towards the ego's of guys who think they deserve belts before they do.. I say keep training as a blue forever.. you will be tapping everyone and then your teacher will just have to move you up to save face for the rest of his purples... just a quick way to avoid the fee is never pay it.. who gives a shit what belt you are if your tapping all the others?
 
But you guys have to remember one thing, look at how many times you are going to test. Once every 1-3 years.
 
in the meantime you are still paying an incredible amount of money

BJJ isn't cheap but then again most BJJ teachers do it full time.
 
Anything more than paying for the belt is stretching it in my opinion. If he's going to charge you for tests he should at least be intelligent enough to factor that into your monthly dues.
 
funny thing this isnt my normal instructor. I train with a brown belt of 6 years+ who is way beyond ready for black. But he isnt being promoted either. I see this main instructor once every three months at a 30 dollar seminar or quarterly at 30 dollar toruney.

I just kinda figured I would miss osme seminars/ tourneys to pay for the cost of the belt?


... Some I gather just promote slowly. But what do I know I have been a blue belt since 2000.
 
I think you are also paying for the certificate which comes straigh from Brazil, correct?
 
So far I am only a lowly blue belt and will just make two years of training soon. That being said. I have not seen Relson charge for the promotion or even the belt. What scares me sometimes is that belt whipping ceremony. I'm kind of glad purple belt is a long way away. That really scares me.
 
Rickson charges for belt tests, somewhere in the $75-$100 level. The tests take anywhere from about 4 hours for blue belt to up to as high as 8 hours for brown belt. I don't mind paying -- it's several years at minimum between belts. It's part of the business's revenue stream.
 

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