Out-of-Association promotions?

You should've gotten him to sign that stripe, and then gone to your instructor and been like "Royce Gracie sends his regards" and just choke him out with it, hitman/fiber-wire style. That'll show him you deserve the stripe.
 
HEAVY GRAPPLER said:
It's no big deal, just a stripe. I'll talk to my instructor tonight about whether I wear it or not. I wouldn't want to disrespect Royce or offend my training partners.
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This is exactly what I would do. I wouldn't be worried about it and I would just talk to my instructor and follow his lead on the situation.
 
I hope if you take off the stripe, you at least save it. Getting a stripe from Royce is bad ass bro.
 
It's a stripe. If it's giving you this much heartache, throw it away. You'll get it back soon enough.
 
davejitsu said:
Its a piece of tape and not worth the trouble it could bring from your teamates
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To play devil's advocate, other than the instructor, the teammates should not even care about a stripe of all things. Teammate gets promoted, I'm happy for them, details do not matter.
 
That is the reason why you should never give a belt or a stripe to a stranger.
 
Royce Gracie graded me as a Blue Belt back in 2002 at a Seminar. After the Seminar, and after thinking it over, I didn't agree with his promotion. My main thought was, he only witnessed me rolling, along with about 30 other guys, for about 5 minutes with some other white belt.

That being said, 8 years later and I'm still a white belt! With work and life since then, I've taken too much time off, and moved a few too many times to build a solid relationship with an academy.
 
To come to the US, my instructor, Cassio was sponsored and employed by a guy that owns a Karate school chain in the area. The guy was a Pedro Sauer affiliate before he got Cassio ( I think, I'm not %100).

Anyway, the guy comes back from a Pedro Sauer seminar with a Brown Belt. I'm not sure whether Pedro Sauer gave him his purple or not, but he was training Jiu-Jitsu with Cassio at the time. Cassio didn't have him put on his purple again, or anything, he did seem a bit upset that Pedro Sauer would promote his student without talking to him, though.

Cassio never did give the guy any of his belts in the end. Cassio moved on when he could and opened his own place, and the Karate guy went on to get his black belt from Carlos Valente (another black belt he never actually trained under other than at seminars).

Me, I got my Blue at a Royce Gracie seminar (I was training in his association at the time), but all the rest of my belts all the way to black came from Cassio, and to me they mean more because Cassio was there with me every step of the way.
 
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THeels934 said:
I see something like this being a very rare occurrence. Unless you specify to the outside instructor that you are permanently joining their school/association, most will be respectful to your instructor and let him handle promotions.
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I think Gerbil went to Brazil as a purple and got his brown belt from Gordo after a few months of training there. He had some issues with it when he came back to the US, I think his old instructor basically suggested that he find somewhere else to train? Now I think he runs and teaches at his own academy. Or maybe he's back in Brazil. I don't remember.
 
HEAVY GRAPPLER said:
A funny thing happened at a Royce seminar this weekend.

I only went to the second day, so I may have been a little clued out to what was going on.

At the end, Royce paired up the coloured belts for rolling. I knew one of the guys I was rolling with was being tested for purple. He is sort of a local ronin, belonging to no particular association. He has been training a long time and was also the guy who organized the seminar.

I was having good rolls and Royce was complimenting me on a few things. He kept pairing me up and at some point, I realized maybe he was grading me (?) I was actually in the last pairing on the mat.

At the end, he gave some white belts their blue, gave the guy his purple, and gave me a third stripe on my blue. But I am not associated with Royce and obviously belong to another association.

It's no big deal, just a stripe. I'll talk to my instructor tonight about whether I wear it or not. I wouldn't want to disrespect Royce or offend my training partners.

But how do people feel about out-of-association promotions in general? He also gave a blue to a guy from a school affiliated with ours. I guess that is a bigger deal. To be fair, Royce has pretty much no way of knowing who belonged to what team at this seminar.

I like and respect Royce a lot. I know he has a funny reputation for seminar gradings. Let's not bash him here for that. Just asking a general question based on a specific scenario.

FRAT, TL/DR: If you got a stripe or a belt at a seminar from another association what would you do?
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Firstly, wouldnt pay for a Royce seminar.

Secondly, as much respect as i have for Royce for what hes done for Jiu Jitsu, bringing it into the mainstream, and to the attention of the US, i cannot stand these stories i hear about his seminar promotions.


Who promotes guys from different Academies, after a couple hours of training with them? I mean yeah, its Royce, but fuck man... Have some respect for other instructors.
 
redaxe said:
I think Gerbil went to Brazil as a purple and got his brown belt from Gordo after a few months of training there. He had some issues with it when he came back to the US, I think his old instructor basically suggested that he find somewhere else to train? Now I think he runs and teaches at his own academy. Or maybe he's back in Brazil. I don't remember.
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Pretty sure he had the falling out with his instructor back in NC BEFORE going to Brazil.

But regardless, he wasnt training under a BJJ Black Belt anyway. IIRC, it was a hybrid MMA orrianted jiu jitsu or something.

And Gerbil reps Gordo now anyway, so its not like hes just getting belts from whoever.
 
BJJ really needs to get its sanctioned testing running.

Also what's that crap about "respect for the instructor" when talking about grades? If you get your grade from a legit instructor in BJJ, why do you care? Are bjj instructors so obnoxious that they want their students to be 100% x brand, talk about ego.

I hope the IBJJF gets the act running quickly so we can have sanctioned testing from sanctioned delegates.
 
Rod1 said:
BJJ really needs to get its sanctioned testing running.

Also what's that crap about "respect for the instructor" when talking about grades? If you get your grade from a legit instructor in BJJ, why do you care? Are bjj instructors so obnoxious that they want their students to be 100% x brand, talk about ego.

I hope the IBJJF gets the act running quickly so we can have sanctioned testing from sanctioned delegates.
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It's a school loyalty thing honestly. Not everyone sees eye to eye on what a blue belt, purple belt, etc... is so certain schools are just different. I'd really the IBJJF not get involved on deciding a standardized format, but if you like that then that's fine as well and I'm sure certain schools are very regimented on what makes someone a ____ belt.
 
In BJJ, the belt is about lineage. It represent a relationship between an instructor and a student.

People want to represent Royce by wearing a belt or a stripe awarded to them during a 3 hours seminars. It is meaningless once compare to someone that spent years of training under a BB on the mats.

And no, I hope the IBJJF is NOT here to sanction testing.

BJJ is not Judo.
 
you should talk to your instructor... I'm sure if you explain you didnt go for a test but were given a stripe by THE Royce Gracie, he might see it as a huge honor and accept it... just a guess. Bu whatever he says, don't make any faces when he gives his decision, accept it and move on
 
Royce could have so many BB students by now but he choosed to travel the world and give seminars instead.

It is sad in a way.
 
As I planned, I never put a stripe on. I went and talked to my instructor. He has strong feelings on the subject. Maybe more importantly, my teammates have strong feelings on it.

Even though the whole thing put me in an awkward position, it's an honor to be recognized as doing something right by somebody like Royce.
 
Did you guys heard about this brown belt who turned down a BB from Rickson Gracie?

He apologises and explained that he wanted to receive his BB from his master when he goes back to Brasil instead.
 
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