paying to take a test for belts....BS

[bazookahead]

But it's the closest thing to a 4-hour private with Rickson you'll ever get.

Rickson personally does all his own belt testing?


I think it's a bs standard to set, but I would pay 75 to be tested by Rickson and him alone.

 

[phenomfan1529]

I got my blue belt in words alone. I had to go buy my own belt for class. I wasn't charged for anything. You should get your belt when you deserve it, not when you pay for it.

Exactly.

 

[Darwinist]

If you train at an academy where the guy that

 

[guardpasser]

i understand the rickson one, its a 4 hour private lesson, thatis worth it.
but to be with the same guy that knows everything that you are capable of in a 30 minute test .
BS
i could pass the purple belt test when i got my blue belt. so i know that tests arent very hard....excluding the rickson and vaghi associations....they get destroyed in thier tests.

i will stay blue forever, and just do my own thing if i have to. it would be real funny to see a 4 stripe blue belt with an acadamy that purple belts join to train under me wouldnt it.
that would set some of the black belts around the world on fire.....
i think i see why Laimon is on his own now.

 

[Gsoares2***]

our instructor buys the belt and at the end of sparring he walks up and says "so and so got his blue belt today." or what ever belt. Ties it on them.. Then makes them lay down and entire class whips them.

One guy got his browns at the pan ams after he won his purple belt division..... Right after he won his last match instructor walked on the mat with a brown belt in his hand and said congratulations...

 

[Waxwingslain]

I think the instructors provide the belt at our club - Ive seen them give the belts to people. You don't have to take a test or anything.

They must make a fair old amount of money at our club though even at 60 dollars a month. I have the vague suspicion my black belt instructor gambles it all away...

 

[beatnick]

l desided to stick around with my yellow belt in judo until sensei feels bad conscious or guilty about it and give me my well deserved black belt or 1st dan. It should certainly be enough with the training fee and u only pay for the material ( in this case few bucks for the new belt ). Personally l dont give a damn about belt ranks, the only thing that matters is your skillz. Thats all personally, some people may disagree with that l can understand.

 

[aaron_mag]

I'll be the first to agree with you guys that paying for testing screws up a style. I've seen how it makes testing become part of the cash flow equation.

But I also think some of you guys seriously underestimate how much it costs to keep a school going. Some of you say, "Its like $60 a month at our school. That should cover everything." But if the guy has like 60 students total that is like $43,200 gross a year (not counting rent for the school, etc). So he is teaching multiple classes a day with like 20 people a class and he still wouldn't be making much money. Double his student base and he is starting to make *some* money, but then everyone is bitching 'classes are too big. its becoming a mcdojo.'

I've never met Rickson and don't have an opinion one way or the other. But I always see people talking about how he is 'greedy'. Personally I'm guessing the guy just wants to be able to afford some of the luxuries the rest of us enjoy. I mean being one of the 'best' at something should come with some financial rewards.

I'm always thankful for my Sambo class, despite having to pay $80 a month for it, because I know it could disappear at any time. I know the guy doesn't really make much money at it. The real money is from the tai chi class, filled with tons of people, right before us. Us five to six guys don't make him anything.

 

[Stoic1]

Okay, its been done many times before...but here I go again.

How much does a belt actually cost? 10 bucks? And how about some custom embroidery with my name on it? 20 bucks? What about the certificate and the frame? Another 10 or 20?

And do you think that every single student should just be 'handed' these things out of the teachers pocket? How many promotions does that teacher do per year? 10? 20? Lets say he does 20 per year at an out of pocket cost of 30 bucks. That's 600 dollars every year.

I paid 40 or 50 for my purple belt test. OMGGGGGG. IM GETTTTING RIIPPPPED OFFFFF!!!!

Or am I?

Let's see. My instructor had to schedule extra time outside of class. His time. He had to coordinate getting a lot of people together for my test. I had like 12 guys to fight. It took over an hour to fight them all. That was just me. 2 other blue belts were promoted that day also. It took almost 3 hours. 3 hours of my instructors time is worth what?

After the test I got a really nice framed certificate and a custom belt. Like I said earlier I am not sure of the total cost but I bet it was at least 40 dollars. Considering the belt came from Brazil, he had to call long distance and talk with the other owner of Seishin Gi's to get the spelling right. Then he had to order a certificate, and make the trip to a store and buy a frame for me. This is a really nice frame, too. Not a walmart $3 job.

So you have to start thinking about all the 'other' stuff that goes into the test besides the test itself. My instructor spent some time preparing for it. He also spent some money. And it certainly isn't right to ask him to pay for it out of his own pocket. He came from Brazil to earn a living. And he should be paid accordingly. BJJ isn't some kind of social welfare system. It's a business.

Now look at other endeavors in life. Taking classes at the university isn't free. They charge you. They factor in all that shit like tests into fees. It isn't all 'credit hours' you are buying. Professions have re-certifications, seminars, etc and they all cost money. I want to get certified in CPR/First Aid I am going to pay. I want a drivers license I am going to pay. This is nothing new.

But lets be real here. This isn't some kind of socialism. Belts cost money. Time costs money. Asking your instructor to eat those costs on every student on every promotion is not fair to him. If you think those costs should be 'included' in your training fees than expect those fees to go up. And then don't cry about it.

Now some of you enjoy promotions by your instructor simply giving you the belt during rolling. That's fine. Some of you actually pay big bucks as white belts going to say...a Royce seminar...and secretly you hope to god that he gives you a blue belt on the spot. You paid. But did you get the same 'kind' of test that we did? Did you spend hours under the spotlight, end up with individual recognition for your achievements with custom gear that your instructor painstakingly picked out for you? Or were you one of those guys who got a cheap ass $5 belt thrown your way by a guy you met at the seminar? There is a difference. And I am willing to pay for that difference. You may not be. And THAT IS OKAY. We are totally different people.

 

[Deleted member 3729]

If you train at an academy where the guy that

 

[beatnick]

Its not about getting ripped off, its about having principles. The training fee should cover it up and u only pay for the belt not the test. The instructor is already payed to train u and thats it. Your advancement in the "art" should be enough payement for him, like a proof of his knowledge in the art. And l am not talking about knowledge as a stock trader at wall street. This way belts are not given away for free. U'll get your belt when u are ready and not because instructor feels sry for your wasted money.

 

[Hammer_Fist]

I'm probably going to get flamed hard for this but... What exactly is the point of a belt at all? It's a meaningless peice of fabric you tie around your waist. It gives someone a feeling of accomplishment. Something to work for. But if that's all you're working for, just to up the color of your belt, then you're probably a wanker, or a child. It's an ego thing. It's to seperate the men from the boys. To seperate the white belts, newbies, from the people who have trained for years. But why? If you've trained for years you probably know you're bad ass. You don't need a belt to show it off. It's just something to show off. And the fact that it costs 75 dollars or more to test for a belt makes it that much lamer.

Question to all... Say there was never such thing as a belt system, would that make your training more or less meaningfull? Why?

 

[Stoic1]

Its fairly simple. Belt division is an easy way to differentiate skill levels. This helps instructors to seperate the class and teach the groups according to skill level. It also helps divide the skill levels in competition. Lets be real here. You, as a white belt, have no business on the mat with me being a purple belt at a competition. You would be better off buying lottery tickets with that entry fee.

Oh yeah, it is a huge ego boost to know you > someone else. I make sure to bully the lower belts daily. It validates my pitifull existence and mediocrity in this world knowing that I am better than some scrubs in some small corner of the world. Hahahah. That's a joke. But not really.

 

[beatnick]

Well in my dojo its all mixed up. Its like discolights when we roll/throw on the mat and no one cares or takes notice about it. But we are mostly senior judokas from 30+ up to 60 years old nutcases. Maybe the age itself makes us more eqaul.

 

[Andre00]

yeah, bjj costs a grip a month anyways, shit like a certificate and a belt should come out of your monthly dues...

I agree.
my school doesn't charge for test/belts.
when your ready, everyone lines up and you go to the front and the instructor hands you your respective belt. It's what his instructor did and he is keeping the tradition, not trying to make a buck and I respect him more for doing it that way.

 

[guardpasser]

sorry your instructor has to prepare for a belt test.
i know it is a business NOW, it used to be different, as all martial were at one time.
i will buy my belt, but will not pay to get a test. that simple.i will pay to go to seminars, it exposes me to new techniques and ways of doing things.
i spend a fortune on bjj yearly, walk in classes are very expensive, i pay a monthly due to a school to got to two classes while in one area, soemtimes they let me train for free, in return i buy patches, shirts and help them teach.

if i help teach newbs at a bjj school and still have to pay for a belt test....kiss my arse.
my time is worth money too, if thats how we look at it.

ONE DAY I WILL OPEN AN ACADAMY , NO BELT TESTS, NO FEE FOR PROMOTION. YOU WILL BUY THE BELT YOURSELF THOUGH.

I FEEL THE ONLY TEST SHOULD BE TO GET THE BLACK BELT, and it should be confered upon by more than one black belt. and only a 3 stripe bb can give out a bb.

 

[lonewolf_454]

If the principle of paying to test is that dear to you then you should switch schools. I'm sure there are teachers out there who are in it just for the almighty buck. But if you've spent the time and effort to make it this far with your teacher, and you feel that he has imparted knowledge, insight and wisdom to you, then to me personally it's a small price to pay for the ackowledgement of advancing.

I think Laimon had far more personal reasons for leaving Torrance than just belt testing.

 

[guardpasser]

marc laimon...
i didnt mention that belt testing was the reason for him leaving, sorry if it sounded that way.
he was just not into the BS and a lot of other things, i am starting to feel the same way

 

[vituakabob]

if you win in championships the instructor usually gives out the belt at the podium...
if u dont participate in champiuonships but you attain the next level he just tells u to come with the new belt.. no payments...
i train in brazil btw!!

 

[Gsoares2***]

i think a test is homo... you might be able to do all these techniques on a non agressive opponent. The point is you should be able to execute them during live sparring. You should also be able to be competetive at the level your being awarded....

Test is honky crap to make things easy and simple.... you dont deserve a belt untill you measure up to other people of the same rank...