Promoted too fast - what would you do?

[guardpasser]

I understand your situation very well.
I was just promoted to brown belt recently.
They say I have the teaching skills of a black belt and can teach very well, but when it come time to roll, I am a little older and I have no cardio. I do very well the first 5 minutes with browns, but then I gas and do not do well at all. As long as you can teach the techniques, give the knowledge you have, and remain dedicated, you deserve the brown belt. Everyone tells me I underestimate my abilities. You are probably doing the same. I train very slow and let people do techniques and flow through, I really don't try to tap guys in class, I don't compete any more. There are lots of people out there that do not think they deserve certain belts. You do not have to be an elite competitor to attain brown or black belt. I have seen black belts that are great competitors, but cannot teach very well.
Good luck with your training and dont worry yourself about it.

 

[mmyers]

Sorry , as a white belt I have nothing to add really to this but I wanted to thank you TS and everyone who made an intelligent reponse because this is one of the best threads I have read on sherdog in a while. Yay Sherdog, boo work.

 

[TankPuncher1432]

trust your trainer.

 

[Lizardman]

Accept what your being award and train up to your expectations. Wearing a BB knowing I could be better makes me train even harder. It's like a, "I have to prove I deserve this thing" kind of attitude.

 

[Amerikuracana]

Ed O'Neill?

I say trust your instructor. I'd talk it out with him but ultimately trust his decision.

LMAO My half bro got a black belt in TKD training with some lady in her basement for five years---and from what i can see, all he can do is side kick above his head and wave some sticks around(seriously, he sucks on that cover your face in embaressment level) . Take your Black belt if thay feel its your time and know that it doesnt automatically make you a badder-ass than someone with a lower belt than you. People who think a black-belt makes them tougher than everybody without one are usually white trash or stupid anyways. YOU KNOW HOW GOOD YOU ARE, AND SO DO THE GUYS YOU ROLL HARD WITH(assuming you do roll hard)AND THATS WHAT REALLY MATTERS.

 

[Aethyr]

Wow. I must live in an alternate universe. Because my experience in Jiu Jitsu has been that athleticism and strength is secondary to good technique in performance on the mat.

Last thing, I am not making the point that I disagree with my instructor that he has analyzed my game and wants to give me a belt. I think this is a big misunderstanding in this thread. My main complaint is that the belts are AUTOMATIC. You show up, you train for a given number of months. Bingo. You have a stripe. Next thing you know, you have a brown or black belt. It is rote and by the numbers.

Everyone progresses at different speeds and this type of systems puts belts on people without regard to ability.

I completely agree 100%. Belts should not reflect time on the mat at all. Its one thing to be out finessed by strength and speed given equal ability or by extreme age/speed/strength difference. There will always been some difference due to physical attributes - but when you make belts ONLY based on how many times you show up to class, then it just gets ridiculous.

When I see a purple belt, that should reflect a level of technical expertise, not that he's trained for 3-5 years.

 

[Oldguy]

UrbanSavage, of all the things I have set out to learn, martial arts has been the most difficult for me. When I started Shotokan Karate, I was bad at it. Real bad. I trained 6-7 days a week and finally got my black belt after 10 years. I was an average black belt. Worse than some, better than others. I did feel like my skill level was at black belt level. It was real Shotokan Karate under Sensei Nishiyama.

Every major thing I do, I am really bad at when I begin. I was hopeless as a salesman and as a negotiator when I first started. I couldn't negotiate my way out of a paper bag. Now, I am one of the best negotiators that I know. I would also consider myself a very good high tech. salesman in the laser field. It took me 20+ years of trying.

I think it is important to know your strengths and weaknesses very accurately. Good and bad. Everyone learns at a different rate. I have also seen that progress is not necessarily linear. You can struggle for years 1-10. Then, in year 11, you "get it".

I think the beginning purple belt is an accurate assessment. It is nothing to be ashamed of. That is a very high skill level in BJJ.

 

[blanko]

as people said before.. if you are truely at low purple after all that time and dedication... You need to find a different school.

 

[blanko]

as people said before.. if you are truely at low purple after all that time and dedication... You need to find a different school.