Every academy has one. There is always a guy who is usually quiet and humble that has the ability to "represent" and the reputation of being a "monster." The guy that "regulates" everyone who is not in check, including newbies, and visiting advanced grapplers. Sometimes these guys don't enter contests but some are champions. This is the guy that all the students are asking the instructor questions about in class. So and so does this, what should I do? Most people in the community have "heard" about so and so. Every academy has its top dog; who is top dog in your academy?
well weve got two at my place, obviously the lead instructor and the other guy who is currently out with a knee injury
Mine doesn't really have one. We've got a pro running around who can beat most guys and roll around with the instructer, but no student that takes a similar role.
Ours is a tough little guy, 5'4 or so but 170 solid pounds of muscle, never hurts anyone, but always represents when someone stupid comes in.,
Yeah, sometimes the smaller guys are the dangerous ones. I remember when I first started training and was gaining confidence. At the time, I was 230 pounds, and my instructor had me roll with a now "famous" grappler who caught me in two consecutive armbars. Seeing that he was only 160 pounds, I was pretty impressed. But when I met this guy, he was humble and quiet and didn't seem like much. I thought I would definitely crush him.
I'd say we have a real good school. There are two that are so flexible, strong & agile that they are head & shoulders above evryone. Sadly, one hasn't trained in a while. However, he is & will always be sick if he never progresses from the level he left at.
we have a white belt (who shouldnt be a white belt) who trains only with purple and blue belts and when needed smashes people who need to have an attitude adjustment. We also have a division 2 all american wrestler who is a monster.
We didn't have one like that. All the regulars that trained were like friends. Including the instructor. We were a really tight group. When I just started out, the instructor was a brown belt and we had like 3-4 blue belts and everyone else was white belts. So there was no "top dog" other then the instructor, whom we all respected very much. Much respect to Christian Kennedy.
Yeah, at my academy there was a white belt who was about 250 pounds that learned pretty quickly, trained consistently and frequently. He began entering contest and did pretty well. He began crushing fellow whites, blues, and purples - as a white belt. While using his weight, his technique is sound. He is a big man with a small man's game. He would "test" higher belts from all over the world who came to visit our academy and put people in place when need be - usually new students with an attitude, etc. We usually test techniques on "him" and when it works on "him" then it should be effective on just about anyone else. Students would always ask the instructor questions on what to do when so and so does this? Classes would usually be dedicated around this persons game. There is usually always someone like this at each academy.
This guy at our club is pretty slick. The only time I've seen him struggle was when my teacher's teacher from Brazil came over. He's purple now, but he'll get promotion soon I'm sure. http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=8350
Cool. He has that body type that would suggest a "crafty" game. Who is your instructor? Who is your instructor's instructor from Brazil. I met a guy by the name of Christiano Kamanishi in the finals of the BJJ match when I was a blue belt; Christiano is from Japan and has a solid game. You know him? I think he trains under Gracie Barra Japan and is one of the instructors.
The guy's well built but he doesn't rely on strength. He's just not where you want him to be. My instructor's can be found here: http://www.office-fx.com/gracie/pages/member.html First one is Hayakawa, a brown belt, second is Fukusumi, a black belt, next Taisho, a black belt and last Sakae, purple belt. The photos make them look awful! Their instructor's name is Marcus Barbosa. I know a blue belt called Christian but I don't know his surname.
The "Top Dawg" at my school is definately this one guy, his name is Jason Hayes. If you compete in or around the northeast you'de probably know who he is. He's ridiculously gifted on the mat and has moved up in the ranks as fast as i've ever seen. He's been doing BJJ with no wrestling background for 2 and a half years now and he's already a purple belt under my instructor Louis Vintaloro. He competes pretty much at every major tournament and has won first place in both blue belt(when he was one) and advanced and a ton of other divisions more times than i can count. He's just about the only guy in our school who can roll somewhat competitively with our instructor Louis Vintaloro. Lou is just on a whole different level all together...
Wow, that's fast. 2.5 years for purple. It sounds like he is very active and doing it the right way by entering anything and everything. This provides and invaluable amount of experience. They say one match is worth 30 classes.
Im the top dog. Being humble is key.If your good enough to not brag about yourself others will talk about you
