the "white belt" cough cough

[inverted vortex]

Call me vain but I couldn't wait to get that white belt off of me. Once I made it to blue I was in no rush to even get a stripe.

Just got my blue last week and I can relate, so far. I understand I'll have this belt for a few years, and I'm more than content.

 

[A Muse of Fire]

As I understand it, the belt represents martial knowledge not skill. Similar to how a English Phd knows alot about language, but is not necessarily a best selling writer.

The belt system is intended by Kano to be similar to the university system, black belt is like a phd. They know a lot and are good at teaching, but there could be a person without a black with out a that is a more successful competitor.

Jimmy Pedro's Judo has more info

 

[Calibur]

As I understand it, the belt represents martial knowledge not skill. Similar to how a English Phd knows alot about language, but is not necessarily a best selling writer.

The belt system is intended by Kano to be similar to the university system, black belt is like a phd. They know a lot and are good at teaching, but there could be a person without a black with out a that is a more successful competitor.

Jimmy Pedro's Judo has more info

This isn't judo.

 

[FWTG]

Call me vain but I couldn't wait to get that white belt off of me. Once I made it to blue I was in no rush to even get a stripe.

I think when your a white long enough and your smashing most blues for like a few years you eventually don't want a blue belt anymore. I've been a white belt so long at this point I would rather just stay one for good. I don't compete and I don't plan on teaching so it doesn't make a difference if I never get promoted.

 

[platfox]

Just got my blue last week and I can relate, so far. I understand I'll have this belt for a few years, and I'm more than content.

Congrats dude. Blue is a fun belt.

 

[platfox]

I think when your a white long enough and your smashing most blues for like a few years you eventually don't want a blue belt anymore. I've been a white belt so long at this point I would rather just stay one for good. I don't compete and I don't plan on teaching so it doesn't make a difference if I never get promoted.

That makes sense if you don't plan on competing or teaching.

 

[mnlax13]

My friend is technically a white belt. He was an all american and won the d2 national champtionship last year. 3 days of gi training and he beats all the purple belts in a competition.

 

[seamus1979]

I got my blue about 8 years ago. Switched to wrestling and strongman and then dipped my toe in and out over time with no consistency. Not done anything from about 2011 till the beginning of this year due to illness.
I started sambo six months ago and every once in a while I jump into the bjj class at the club.
I don't think I deserve to wear a blue belt because I've forgotten most of what I learnt eight years ago but with the wrestling I've done and my limited bjj memory I can give the higher whites and blues a lot of trouble. I think its down to the bjj coach to promote me back to blue but I might do the bjj class once or twice a month.

 

[Was Exiled]

I got my blue about 8 years ago. Switched to wrestling and strongman and then dipped my toe in and out over time with no consistency. Not done anything from about 2011 till the beginning of this year due to illness.
I started sambo six months ago and every once in a while I jump into the bjj class at the club.
I don't think I deserve to wear a blue belt because I've forgotten most of what I learnt eight years ago but with the wrestling I've done and my limited bjj memory I can give the higher whites and blues a lot of trouble. I think its down to the bjj coach to promote me back to blue but I might do the bjj class once or twice a month.

Wait, so you're now wearing a white belt?

 

[seamus1979]

Wait, so you're now wearing a white belt?

Well yeah. I did about 18 months i think and got my blue and stopped 8 years ago. I then went on and did some wrestling. To be honest i have forgot most of it so i would not class myself as a blue. I spoke to the bjj coach at my sambo club and he said to restart.

 

[StabbyMcHatchet]

Funny timing for this thread.
I ahve been training for 2 years and I am a white belt. My background is NoGi but just recently our school affiliated with a Gi affiliate.

My instructor wanted to give me blue belt, but ever since our new affiliation took place, he lets our professor do promotions. Our professor came and watched me roll and decided to give me stripes on my belt because I have almost zero experience in the Gi.

So I decided to compete. Now I am going to be entering tournaments as a whitebelt in both Gi and NoGi divisions, and I feel like a sandbagger for doing it, but my professor deems my Gi game at whitebelt level, so my instructor assures me that I am not sandbagging.

So I registered for a tournament as Whitebelt in the Gi and as Intermediate (Instead of beginner) in NoGi.

I just felt like I would be an uber-douche if I rolled NoGi in the beginners division, not that I am amazing or anything, but I am not a "beginner". Now I guess I face the possibility of having to roll against sandbagging blues that are almost purple, etc. I don't know how the divisions split up really.

Is that the right approach?

 

[ValveBJJ]

happens all the time.

Yep

 

[FlexLuthor]

Funny timing for this thread.
I ahve been training for 2 years and I am a white belt. My background is NoGi but just recently our school affiliated with a Gi affiliate.

My instructor wanted to give me blue belt, but ever since our new affiliation took place, he lets our professor do promotions. Our professor came and watched me roll and decided to give me stripes on my belt because I have almost zero experience in the Gi.

So I decided to compete. Now I am going to be entering tournaments as a whitebelt in both Gi and NoGi divisions, and I feel like a sandbagger for doing it, but my professor deems my Gi game at whitebelt level, so my instructor assures me that I am not sandbagging.

So I registered for a tournament as Whitebelt in the Gi and as Intermediate (Instead of beginner) in NoGi.

I just felt like I would be an uber-douche if I rolled NoGi in the beginners division, not that I am amazing or anything, but I am not a "beginner". Now I guess I face the possibility of having to roll against sandbagging blues that are almost purple, etc. I don't know how the divisions split up really.

Is that the right approach?

I would say you did the right thing.

Always compete up if given the opportunity.

 

[LoopChoke]

I was a 4 stripe blue belt at the time and I got my ass handed to me multiple times in one round by a "white belt". After the roll, I asked the guy about his background and he said he was training on and off for 12 years and trained consistently at purple belt for 5 years, but wasn't training regularly for the last two years. Since he hadn't trained much in the last couple of years he came in with a white belt because he didn't want to disrespect the instructor.

Now when I roll with a white belt, I don't assume anything. I tap them as quickly as possible. If it is apparent they don't have any skill I then back it down.

 

[Leverage]

I have in Judo.

Two regular looking guys came to train with us and one of them seemed like he already had previous grappling experience. His throwing was a little shaky but his base was rediculously good for a beginner. I had been training almost 5 years and i couldn't tee-off any decent offense when we did randori. It turned out that although he hadn't done anything in a few years he wrestled back in his eastern-european home country all his life, had placed second in the national championships back home and trained in a really good club that had produced world/olympic champions etc. It was a real eye-opener.

 

[crazyjames1233]

My current gym is an mma gym that has been well established for a long time. But they just started the gi bjj program about 6 months ago so 90% of the people in there are white belts, even though many have been doing submission wrestling for years.

 

[Quipling]

Yes. This happens to people on a regular basis at a gym I am familiar with, although I do not currently attend. The instructor, while great by most measures, not only doesn't like to promote people, but has a completely arbitrary and bizarre method for awarding stripes. Which is followed by two to four stripe promotions when he realizes that some no-stripe has been that way for 2 years and is smashing visiting blues. Or a 4 stripe languishes that way for a year because he realizes that they were promoted too quickly, and are lagging behind peers who he didn't promote.

His colored belt promotions make more sense, though I remember him forgetting(?) to promote a guy for a while, finally did it, and then that guy cleaned up at the next belt level up as well.

 

[berimBOWLoh]

lots of ppl get butt hurt when they mentally think they are better than somebody and then lose.

i really dont care if Marcelo comes in a disguise wearing a white belt and tools me. if somebody has better bjj than me it will happen, w/e belt color they are. if it makes somebody feel better to try n sandbag in training more power to em, i really dont care.