How good is the intermediate Naga divison?

[Rayrobinson#1]

I'm kind of confused which divison to enter. The form says no wrestlers but I wrestled 15 years ago and only for a couple years. Then it says training for over a year, I've been training for a couple years but only 1 day a week in Jujitsu and doing Judo. I'm real strong. The dojo I do Jiu-jitsu at most the experienced guys are like middleweights and I'm a heavyweight so I don't know if that is a good gauge. Oh yeah last year I entered beginners and finished 4th. I won 1 match and lost two. The two I lost 1 was close to the guy who won the divison and the 2nd was close but the guy got me in a rear naked chok as time was expiring.

Any advice on which divison I should go in? Do you think they will let me go beginner in Gi and intermediate in No-Gi?

Any feedback appreciated.

 

[anaconda]

Gi is split on belt level. If youre still a white belt you *could* do beginner, but why want to be the best of the worst? I would rather take 3rd or 4th in intermediate than 1st in beginner.

 

[Chris H]

You should probably enter in the beginner no gi and white belt gi (if you're a white belt) divisions.

Competing in wrestling for 2 years 15 years ago is not enough recent grappling experience to move into the intermediate division imo.

 

[Yojimbo]

The form says no wrestlers but I wrestled...

Then it says training for over a year, I've been training for a couple years...

Any feedback appreciated.

Stop trying to sandbag. Go where the rules say you belong and see how you do.

 

[Balto]

The Intermediate NAGA Division is filled with some of the scariest hardcore grapplers on the East Coast. If you can up your medical coverage limits before you compete, DO IT.

Seriously though, you should step up. Winning the beginner division is like a joke. I think it's harder to win the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in elementary school.

 

[Flounder]

Dude, if you did 4th a year ago at Beginner, I think you're ready to move up. If it's any consolation to you, one of the guys I train with says Intermediate is actually easier then Beginner, but I'm not sure if I buy it.

 

[LordarshynBJJ]

well my friend who had been training for onmonth over 6 decided not to sandbag and went into intermediate.

His first fight was against the guy who won his division, and he almost tapped him out, but unfortunately still lost..

my point is..go intermediate.

 

[anaconda]

The Intermediate NAGA Division is filled with some of the scariest hardcore grapplers on the East Coast. If you can up your medical coverage limits before you compete, DO IT.

Seriously though, you should step up. Winning the beginner division is like a joke. I think it's harder to win the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in elementary school.

oh mannnn....I have to get better health insurance? :icon_cry2

 

[whipyourasstyle]

IMHO:

NAGA is like this gi - go with your belt color

Nogi - I always thought you should WIN a division before moving up.

Generally I feel that Novice is guys under six months WITH NO PREVIOUS GRAPPLING EXPERIENCE. I.e. not guys who wrestled in HS, Not Guys who know some judo, or sambo, or catch, or whatever.

Begginer is generally white belts who have been training more than 6 months to guys who are getting ready for blue belt, maybe even a few blues who never competed before.

Intermediate is in my opinion for good blue belts and new purple belts. Or purple belts who never compete. This is also the division for good HS wrestlers who wrestled all four years and have 6 or so months learning sub defense/BJJ. Probably white belts 'cause they suck in the gi but can put up a strong fight against good blues.

Advanced is for guys who can hang with anyone who comes in the gym. Advanced purples browns and Black belts. Advanced is also for guys who wrestled at the college level and then trained a few months in BJJ, usually these guys are at blue belt level sub wise and purple belt level sub-D wise.

Again just my humble opinion, plus it also depends where the NAGA is. If it is in some random place then maybe the divisions are a little easier, But at the Miami NAGA, or the NY NAGA There are usually VERY acomplished grapplers mixed in to the Advanced div. Take a look at some of the winners from the last Miami event:

http://www.nagafighter.com/miami_march07_results_main.asp

Demian Maia
Pablo Popovitch
Tara Larosa
Renato Tavares
Juliana Viera Borges
Pablo Alfonso
Rafael Dias
Ilya Woronowski

Pretty impressive


OK thats all I got, Good luck!!!

 

[anaconda]

IMHO:

NAGA is like this gi - go with your belt color

Nogi - I always thought you should WIN a division before moving up.

Generally I feel that Novice is guys under six months WITH NO PREVIOUS GRAPPLING EXPERIENCE. I.e. not guys who wrestled in HS, Not Guys who know some judo, or sambo, or catch, or whatever.

Begginer is generally white belts who have been training more than 6 months to guys who are getting ready for blue belt, maybe even a few blues who never competed before.

Intermediate is in my opinion for good blue belts and new purple belts. Or purple belts who never compete. This is also the division for good HS wrestlers who wrestled all four years and have 6 or so months learning sub defense/BJJ. Probably white belts 'cause they suck in the gi but can put up a strong fight against good blues.

Advanced is for guys who can hang with anyone who comes in the gym. Advanced purples browns and Black belts. Advanced is also for guys who wrestled at the college level and then trained a few months in BJJ, usually these guys are at blue belt level sub wise and purple belt level sub-D wise.

Again just my humble opinion, plus it also depends where the NAGA is. If it is in some random place then maybe the divisions are a little easier, But at the Miami NAGA, or the NY NAGA There are usually VERY acomplished grapplers mixed in to the Advanced div. Take a look at some of the winners from the last Miami event:

http://www.nagafighter.com/miami_march07_results_main.asp




Pretty impressive


OK thats all I got, Good luck!!!

Nice breakdown. I concur. However I feel like if you are in-between divisions, you should always fight up. What do you have to lose, besides the competition and a little ego?

 

[Rayrobinson#1]

Nice breakdown. I concur. However I feel like if you are in-between divisions, you should always fight up. What do you have to lose, besides the competition and a little ego?

Yeah cool thanks to everyone who answered. I'm just going to go in the intermediate divison. Worst case I lose all my matches I'll live.

 

[anaconda]

Yeah cool thanks to everyone who answered. I'm just going to go in the intermediate divison. Worst case I lose all my matches I'll live.

If you die, I would feel really bad. :icon_cry2

 

[Mikey Triangles]

Dude, if you did 4th a year ago at Beginner, I think you're ready to move up. If it's any consolation to you, one of the guys I train with says Intermediate is actually easier then Beginner, but I'm not sure if I buy it.

I think it is also


Beginner is heavily sandbagged and with larger numbers. I think Intermediate probably is a bit easier just because of the smaller number of competitors if nothing else.


most of the good intermediate competitors are going to move up to advanced to try for the belt anyway.

 

[Agent Zero]

Does NAGA still let you compete in multiple divisions? If so then you could try beginner AND intermediate. But I would just do intermediate if I were you.

 

[Killians]

i went to a tourney where a guy had a professional record of 12-3 and fought beginner (white belt) gi and did advanced no gi. only two divisions because it was a smaller tourney- begginer and advanced- but the guy won both of his divisions. he didnt get any respect from me for doing beginner, and i know pretty much everyone at the tourney thought he was a dick. hopefully he gets his ass handed to him next friday at the shoxc event....

 

[Agent Zero]

i went to a tourney where a guy had a professional record of 12-3 and fought beginner (white belt) gi and did advanced no gi. only two divisions because it was a smaller tourney- begginer and advanced- but the guy won both of his divisions. he didnt get any respect from me for doing beginner, and i know pretty much everyone at the tourney thought he was a dick. hopefully he gets his ass handed to him next friday at the shoxc event....

Name?

On the surface that does sound like a dick move, but if he is only a white belt and he wanted to compete with the gi on I don't see what other choice he had. It's not like they allow white belts to compete in the blue belt division (unless the tournament is small enough to where they have to combine divisions)

 

[Killians]

Name?

On the surface that does sound like a dick move, but if he is only a white belt and he wanted to compete with the gi on I don't see what other choice he had. It's not like they allow white belts to compete in the blue belt division (unless the tournament is small enough to where they have to combine divisions)

jc pennington

 

[anaconda]

Name?

On the surface that does sound like a dick move, but if he is only a white belt and he wanted to compete with the gi on I don't see what other choice he had. It's not like they allow white belts to compete in the blue belt division (unless the tournament is small enough to where they have to combine divisions)

they (at least naga, and a few other places) ALWAYS let you fight up...a friend of mine fought in blue as a white, no problem. Fighting up is easy, going down a division is hard.

 

[shlever]

Do intermediate. I was taught to always fight up if you are close. You will get better faster that way.

 

[Balto]

Name?

On the surface that does sound like a dick move, but if he is only a white belt and he wanted to compete with the gi on I don't see what other choice he had. It's not like they allow white belts to compete in the blue belt division (unless the tournament is small enough to where they have to combine divisions)

Fighting up is allowed in every tournament I have ever been to.

Having 12 stripe white belts fighting in the beginner division is retarded, so you should be allowed to compete in blue or purple or wherever you ought to be.