How many lower belts are better than you at your academy?

[Schizogenia]

Many. But mostly because there is only rank in Gi, and many of the guys training in the gym do mostly MMA, or submission wrestling. They just randomly/almost never use the Gi, so they dont get promoted so often. But even if they are "only" white or blue-belts, they might have up to 10 years of grappling/wrestling experience against my 3. So I even get beaten by people who have borrowed a gi, and do not even OWN a white belt

 

[2008]

I think the idea that BJJ is "all about technique" requires a pretty powerful delusion. I can't imagine anyone with any experience believing that.

I agree. I am a realist in my world views. I see how things are and NOT how things should be. Even martial arts training, in this case BJJ training, I'm under no illusions that my training means I can win against anyone in a street fight(If I ever get good at BJJ). I look at training in martial arts as improving my chances for survival if I was ever in that situation and that is it.

I think some people lose sight of that. If you take a big and a small guy and they have the same technical training...the big guy will still have an advantage because of size and probably strength. It doesn't mean the small guy or the girl sucks, far from it, but greater physical attributes certainly played a part, meaning people are not equal, and that is okay.

 

[luckyshot]

My school has no belts, but I occasionally get tapped out by guys who are less experienced than me, sometimes because I am trying to work on a new position or technique, and sometimes just because they catch me. There's definitely no shame in it.

There's no one at my school with less experience than me who taps me out regularly, though.

 

[2008]

My school has no belts, but I occasionally get tapped out by guys who are less experienced than me, sometimes because I am trying to work on a new position or technique, and sometimes just because they catch me. There's definitely no shame in it.

There's no one at my school with less experience than me who taps me out regularly, though.

Are you a no-gi school? I understand doing grappling/BJJ for the love of the training/sport angle but for me, personally, I need to earn ranking...I'm far from a belt chaser, but I want my years of training to be recognized. I look at it as getting a college degree or professionals earning a title with advanced degrees.

 

[SUPERGRAPPLER]

funny how BJJ is all about technique and a chess match until you get tapped by a lower belt, then its all about physical advantages.

This is funny! :icon_chee

 

[luckyshot]

Are you a no-gi school? I understand doing grappling/BJJ for the love of the training/sport angle but for me, personally, I need to earn ranking...I'm far from a belt chaser, but I want my years of training to be recognized. I look at it as getting a college degree or professionals earning a title with advanced degrees.

We are a no-gi school, yes. I've done jiu-jitsu since 2001, and except for occasional drops-in's to the local Renzo Gracie and Cesar Gracie affiliates, I've always trained no-gi. I've never cared about belts myself, obviously. They've always seemed like TMA nonsense to me.

 

[I Orange I**]

Athletic ability, strength, size, how hard someones trying, age, injuries, training consistency, etc. all come into play in training. Leave your ego at the door and train. Its not about who taps who in practice. Its about how much you are progressing your own game and having fun. If I do not get tapped I am doing something wrong because even against new guys I should be putting myself into vulnerable positions to practice them, not using anything from my A game.

After reading the first page I was going to post the same thing, paraphrasing a bit as I am on my phone, but people who are concerned about losing in practice are not training properly. Daniel Cormier got KO'd in practice by Mike Kyle, how many people would truly bet on Kyle if these two faced off tonight?

 

[AllKnowing]

I personally have been training for just over two years. I'm 15, and have always trained in an adult curriculum. I'm able to compete with high level blues.

On the other hand, I'm young, so I could understand considering a green belt a white belt.

No disrespect, but I usually take it easy on the 15 year olds that I roll with. Seeing this post makes me wonder if the teenagers at my gym feel like they're 'winning' a roll when I'm just letting them work.

 

[eembach]

*edited to be less thoughtless*

I think the idea that BJJ is "all about technique" is something people say to make a complex idea simple. Like I said above, it is very true when you are doing jiu-jitsu against someone who doesn't know jiu-jitsu. It is absolutely not the whole story when you are paired with somebody who does know jiu-jitsu (or any grappling, really).

No it is something people say because the strongest determinant and most important factor is technique.