How important is to be promoted? (long and dumb)

Hello, everyone. I just went and took a long shower, my first since arriving home with the injury on friday (yeah...), got a shave, a fresh change of clothing, and tried to psych myself up. I had to get this off my chest. Thanks for helping me out with this.

akdms, you make some very good points, and I'm looking for some of the benefits being a blue belt could give. I want to improve, and things like being paired with higher belts who won't go so easy on me, and having to mean business when dealing with the white belts would definitely make me have to step things up.

armtriangle, sorry if I came across a little pissy. But you're right. The purple belt who gives the morning classes tells me about his story every once in a while, and everyone who knows him tells me how awful he used to be. Now he's extremely technical and hard to deal with while rolling. I hate rolling with him, since I feel that as soon as I put one gram of pressure in the wrong place, I end up falling on my back like a sack of potatoes. I wish my case could be like his as well... I feel like I'm only recently starting to catch up with some of my partners. There have been days where I got tapped 10 times in a 7 minute roll by other whites, and now I can stall and play the anti-game and not get tapped by people who would otherwise kill me if they wanted. It's not good, but it's a bit better than keeping my hand in the same tap tap tap rhythm forever.

nerraw, your post is making me think. What could happen, really? Maybe I should just tackle it... although the money is a bit of an issue. I saved up, though.

TalkShowOnMute, you really have a great mindset. I just gotta do what I can, and maybe leave what I can't for later. Being a whitebelt is a carefree experience, but then again, I have to step it up... I really get that feeling at times.

cenix, those are some great points. I do feel much better rolling with people who aren't green, people who have the edge with me. It's just no fun to go and tap out the new guys, or to roll with someone so much better than me that could just fall asleep while rolling. The best rolls are with people who can give me a challenge. The roll I enjoyed the most was rolling for an hour against one of the beastly white belts from my gym. I faced him twice in competition and got submitted both times. It's the kind of thing I wish that happened more often, because even as my mouth felt bitter of so dry I felt like I not only had to keep going, but that I had to do my absolute best. He tapped me three times in that hour of rolling, which felt like a big victory for me, because I managed to sweep him, throw him, achieve dominant positions, threaten with submissions, and not just do the T-rex arms and wish for the best. I would love if being a blue belt was more like this, more competitive and in a friendly setting. I want to improve. It's not the best mindset, but I wanna be the man.

lechien, this is the biggest question I face. I want to feel as happy as possible and avoid making training become a chore, and while I want to go forward, I'm concerned about how I might react to the pressure... and well, I've seen guys getting their blues with just six months at other local schools! It's crazy. A friend of mine didn't like the fact that he could get promoted with me one bit, since he felt he wouldn't be ready, even though he's a great grappler who used to do submission wrestling in the past. And I've seen way too many blues end up quitting one month after their graduation... I don't want to be like them. I want to stick around, but wanting and doing are different things, which is why I'm feeling troubled about it. I don't want to give up, or "be given up".

Thanks once again, everyone. I have to think and think some more about this...

EDIT: redaxe, everyone just passes the test unless they give up and go like "fuck you guys, I quit". It's just the usual stuff like rolling with two or three people at the same time, having to get extremely tired, running laps around the block, the gauntlet, getting the belt and a fancy diploma, then going to a barbeque and chilling with everyone. And yeah, maybe I can reschedule, and I can certainly do it later on the next opportunity.
 
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lechien, this is the biggest question I face. I want to feel as happy as possible and avoid making training become a chore, and while I want to go forward, I'm concerned about how I might react to the pressure... and well, I've seen guys getting their blues with just six months at other local schools! It's crazy. A friend of mine didn't like the fact that he could get promoted with me one bit, since he felt he wouldn't be ready, even though he's a great grappler who used to do submission wrestling in the past. And I've seen way too many blues end up quitting one month after their graduation... I don't want to be like them. I want to stick around, but wanting and doing are different things, which is why I'm feeling troubled about it. I don't want to give up, or "be given up".

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THe main thing is to be happy, just tell your instructor that you will have a lot of personal pressure next year due to your new studies and that you do want to extra pressure of being a new blue belt as well.

He should understand.
 
One thing I should have mentioned. Maybe be coincidence, but I've been injured / tweeked things more times in six months as a blue belt than two years as white belt. More likely it's a combination of people no longer being gentile, and having to "up my game" against much larger white belts.
 
When I was a white belt I couldn't wait for my next stripe. I wanted a blue belt mostly just for the respect of other guys in the gym. I've been a blue belt now for over a year and I'm actually afraid of getting my first stripe. Once you have some color around your waist you seem to be content to just improve your game.
 
You are right it its long and dumb.

Try the test, if you are ok you are being promoted, if you are not then you are not being promoted.

What its that BS about protecting the belt? its freaking practice you are not always 100%, you are sometimes trying new stuff, you are sometimes getting into bad positions on purpose to try escapes, that means shit.

If you are so worried to "protect your grade" inside your dojo, you are going to start hindering yourself and your mates.

IMO that's a big setback from Judo to BJJ, belts are not there to denote a grade of competition, its there to show KNOWLEDGE of the martial art, that was the whole point of the belt system.

Lets go through a little history, in japan in jujutsu which pretty much encompassed all unarmed martial arts (true martial arts, as in training for war and testing on the battlefield or the street) someone could come up to your dojo and challenge the best student and then the teacher, if they won, they took the dojo sign.

When Kano (which was an educator first and foremost) changed martial arts into martial "ways", he imposed the belt system to prevent such thing from happening, sure a big or talented guy could come and destroy the best student with 1 technique he did pretty well, but what does it proves? if a boxer comes and KOs a BJJ BB does that makes him a BJJ BB?

For that very reason you will always find athletic and talented lower belts which can tap you, the heck i was stuck at whitebelt because of time requirements but i rolled with the blues and purples and felt comfortable with my judo background with 1 or 2 subs from any position mainly and the same gameplan, in competition mode i have defeated browns. Now does that makes me a purple? HELL NO, because i can't teach BJJ to anyone, i have my own workset of techniques that i have adapted and works for me and me only, some i don't even realize how they are done.

In that sense a belt simply means you have mastered an aspect of BJJ game, there is no shame of losing as a blue belt against a white belt, i as a white belt once subbed a brown, not to mention that if we have competition rules i can easily outpoint some browns, they don't feel ashamed, they probably just tried to do some gameplan that didn't worked out.

In that sense i was alaso very afraid when i got graded in Judo, but i was not afraid of "defending the belt" the hell you will find young athletes training day and night with incredibly athleticism and strength and they will win over you with one to three techniques they have perfected... judo has 67 official throws.

Im much more afraid with my judo rank of being asked a questiong and not being able to answer it, being asked how to do a move and be clueless, that's really what you should be afraid of, you shouldn't be afraid of a certain level of powress, you should be afraid of lack of knowledge.

The fact that judo is based on knowledge its the reason you sometimes see lower grades winning tournaments and higher grades sucking at shiai, its because the belt its not a ranking, its a level of mastery of the art.
 
All that matters is your skill level. I want it to take a long time to get blackbelt...thats what validates the commitment for me. I want to be at a mediocre blackbelt level when I get some stripes on my purple. I wanna be a monster when they finally give me the black.
 
Am I missing something? Is there two different types of BJJ?

The one here involves gauntlets, 1vN rolling, paid-for belt tests and running around the block to get your Blue, with the longest serving white belt at 1y6m.

The one I practice involves mat time, commitment, technical ability and competitive performance, with some of our whites (in extreme cases) having trained 4-5 years.
 
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Easy for me to say, but try to chill out about the whole thing. Focussing on keeping up with people you perceive to be your equals will only make you lose focus on your own improvement. If possible, try to block out all thoughts of people being above or below your level, and just concentrate on the finer details of your own game. Let the belt come when it comes.
 
In most cases, I think blue belt is in large part an expression of commitment. Your instructor wants to see guys showing up a lot and practicing 2-3 times a week for a while before awarding the blue. After a guy has shown his commitment for a period of time, then he/she is rewarded via the almighty blue belt...
 
I believe blue belt is a huge motivation boost for prolonged white belts. It makes them strive to be completely dominate over any white belts and compete with purple belts. Much like how white belts hunted blue belts and wanted to show that they could hang.

I think if your teacher thinks your ready, then you should go accept the blue belt. Your skill level is obviously at the next new blue belt level, otherwise your teacher wouldn't consider your promotion. And the fact that you been a 1.5 year white belt, I think that belt is getting a little dirty and needs a changing :)

In the end , you do what makes you happy. If you don't want to live with the pressure than don't. You live your own life, your instructor or sherdoggers aren't going to live it for you. Be happy my friend
 
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It's not very important to me to be promoted. I'm genuinely saying that. Like other posters, if I had to pay for a belt test or what not I would stay at a white belt forever. I view training as a time for me to have fun, get exercise, learn technique, and most importantly to control my ego.

I can see the appeal of at least wanting to get a blue belt, especially since it might feel odd to tell someone you train a martial arts and then have to say you're a white belt after a year, even though those that train realize you've put in a lot of time and are a lot better, whereas the average person who isn't into it may think you aren't very good. Likewise, I can see wanting to be promoted in order to compete in higher belt brackets in tournaments, such as your comment about not wanting to be the alpha white belt who beats everyone when you should probably be competing at a higher belt.

Personally, and not to wax philosophical stoicism, I think it's best in life not to get too wrapped up in external rewards if it alters your emotional state in such a negative way. Sure, if getting a blue belt motivates you to train more, try harder, etc., than I don't see how it can hurt, but if you're really laying in bed angry and upset perhaps it would help you to reframe the situation. There really are people who can't walk, are missing arms, are living in extreme poverty, are dying at your age, etc. When you frame it in such a way I think it might help you to be thankful you're talented and are able to do something you enjoy.
 
I'll go back to training tomorrow. My foot is feeling better, and I'll test the waters and see what is it going to be.
 
ttt.

Went training today, feeling like a million bucks, save the deduction I got from walking with a limp. Stretched myself with extra care, but had to quit halfway through the warmup jog. I had the option not to do it, but it's a good warmup, my foot was feeling stable, and if it hurted, I could just leave the line. It felt weird, so I left the line.

After giving some special attention to my foot, there was some specific training from the mount. I started from the mount, and my partner started from under it. I kept him there for a while, he managed to escape to side control, then to four base position. Threw him once, but he managed to regain the four base position. So I tried it again and my foot made a noise it shouldn't make. Lost the control, he entered my guard, and the time was over. I couldn't even step on my foot, it was like there was a knife on the joint... I managed to put it back into place, tried to see if it would stop hurting, but it just didn't. So I called it quits, and left early as soon as I got some basic stability.

So, tl;dr. I'm not healed, my situation is worse than I thought, and I'll return when I can to do what I can, but always looking to improve. The belt can wait, and unfortunately, probably will.
 
I don't think the belt is that big of a deal. No reason to rush from being a good white into a shitty blue. :wink:

Now,where was that good advice I saw earlier. Oh yes, here it is:
"Above all just love the game, that is hands down the best way to improve is by getting on the mats and just getting that high." In other words, just relax about this. Seems to me your energy is best focused on just getting that foot better; the rest will take care of itself. Sorry you are hurt. That part sucks.
 
ehh if you're a white belt tapping some/many blue belts and nearly all the white belts consistently; belt or no I'm pretty sure you know where you're at.
 
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its only important if you want to compete in tournaments.
i was a "whitebelt" in judo for years before i needed a blue belt to go in a competition...at which point i was promoted to blue (missing yellow, orange and green) and shortly after to brown...

clearly i was wearing white belt whilst being above wb level but it made no difference to me and still doesnt.
 
It's pretty much just a bonus & testament to the work you've put in. As have been said by the posters before me, just focus on your game. The belt will take care of itself. But I have to say it sure is a great feeling when you get promoted! :D
 
Vector_X said:
ehh if you're a white belt tapping some/many blue belts and nearly all the white belts consistently; belt or no I'm pretty sure you know where you're at.
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This... if you can fight who cares what color your belt is. It's a lot more fun giving higher belts problems than lower belts giving you problems. Just my $0.02.
 
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