Would you leave your Academy/Gym if they promote too fast?

[Evenflow80]

I wouldn't think much of it. GB is big school and don't they do well in tournaments and have a lot of well known BB's? Might just be a rule from the corporate office that maybe not all GB schools follow.

They're number #1 in IBJJF rankings for kids - teens and Masters divisions. But for Adults given the volume that enter..... not really.

 

[Foppa21]

I should clarify. They weren't unhappy there. They had a good time at Atos. They wanted to be world champs and they both gave it a shot. They went to AOJ first and ended up going to Atos later. They both said the vibe at AOJ (it may be different now) was a little more uptight and overly serious. They noticed when Atos guys would visit to train that they seemed in their words to be more fun and laid back. More jokes, and just seemed more like regular dudes. They said Gui will let the mask down and cut up but that Rafa is always the guy that you see in interviews, etc. They mentioned a bit of cliquishness of people vying for attention and to be in the inner circle.

I'll give the guy I know better as an example. He switched to Atos and had a blast. Tough training but good group there that was fun to be around. Still a serious vibe and intense training, even outside of the comp class. But eventually the grind of training like that just wore on him and he was having a hard time affording living out there too.

So he came back and liked the more laid back atmosphere of a casual academy. There wasn't much resentment when he came back. There was when he left. But it was more like "You think you can't become great training here? Fuck it. Go." By the time he came back the head coach understood that it was a calling and that my friend needed to go have that life experience. If there was any funny stuff afterwards it's that my friend really felt a lot of stress rolling with us again. As if he had to prove how much better he had gotten out there, and he rolled so hard feeling like he had to roll with us on Worlds intensity every night. Lol but after a month or so he chilled out and got less anxious about how much better we all thought he was or wasn't.

Law of numbers. The bigger the pond, the odds are there's going to be a few beasts there but a lot of the time, you stick with the same group of people. At a smaller academy, you tend to know everyone.

While the quality of instructor is potentially better at a bigger academy, if you can't get face time with them, are you really learning from them?

Both have their pros and cons.

 

[Foppa21]

Also its hilarious to me when you said the vibe at AOJ was too serious. At an IBJJF open I went up against a blue belt from AOJ (funny side note: at that time had no idea what AOJ was so assumed it was a small local gym, was more worried about my Atos opponent in my bracket), and you are right the guy was stone faced serious as fuck before and even after the match. It was a touch match and me and my body when to chat with him after the match and he wanted nothing to do with us. Just gave one word responses, etc.

Was the guy still in the bracket? Some people are just wired that way, especially when they compete. Heard a team mate once had a guy go crazy on him for saying "hi, how's your day?" to a guy he knew as he walked by and the guy was psyching himself up to compete.

I have however heard that the vibe at AOJ can be a be "weird"

 

[Evenflow80]

Was the guy still in the bracket? Some people are just wired that way, especially when they compete. Heard a team mate once had a guy go crazy on him for saying "hi, how's your day?" to a guy he knew as he walked by and the guy was psyching himself up to compete.

I have however heard that the vibe at AOJ can be a be "weird"

Yeah he had just beat me by points. Within the first minute I had on a perfect Kimura from full guard locked on and got too excited when I swear I heard and felt an audible pop and somehow, the guy managed to get into half guard and it was all catch up for me from that point. it sucked, it was only my 2nd tournament and it was IBJJF so bigger than anything i experienced before. The black belt who was there to coach us was flabbergasted how he escaped that, and to be honest I might have loosened up when I felt that pop out of habit. Who knows.

He beat me by a good amount of points , 7 I think. I always thought I really did injure his arm and thats why he was pissed at me and my buddy after, and later on in the bleachers I caught a glimpse of him competing against the Atos guy in the final match and I remember seeing his losing by a TON of points and he was basically mounted whole match. Me and my buddy were really sure his arm was hurt and he couldn't do much.

At any rate it was Masters so there were only four of us, so I ended up getting a bronze/participation trophy just for showing up.

 

[TheMood]

I'm happy you realized your situation isn't that bad. Honestly, being able to train 4 days a week and spend time with your family is really terrific. Have fun and enjoy training. I train 4 days a week usually for 6 years now (minus injury time out). I do it because it is a fun way to stay in shape. I always told myself I'll stop when it isn't fun any longer.

Also, comparing changing bjj schools to changing jobs is a terrible analogy. Bjj is not your livelihood. I think a better analogy is would you switch bowling leagues to another one that is farther away, costs more money and will cause you to spend less time with your family.

 

[dimmyfinster]

I have kids and am glad you decided not to do it. To me, picking bjj over your kids is insanity.


I'll add just one thing. Once you get old, nobody cares about the integrity of the belt. A frail 50 year old brown belt can get smashed by a normal-sized decent white belt going hard.

What's more, people can't judge anyway. With 20 and 30 year olds, there's lots of data to say if somebody is good for that age and weight class. But for 40+ most people haven't rolled with enough old guys to judge. If you're behind your belt as an old guy, people just say " well he's old".

In case that matters (and it seems like it does).

 

[Grassshoppa]

As the title says, would you leave your academy if they promoted based on minimum IBJJF time standards?

I am considering leaving my academy because I don't want my purple at exactly 3 years of training. There is also no way I can request my professor to hold off on it because he will definitely get offended. For the time and effort you put into this sport, as a purple belt I want to be be able to walk into any academy on Earth and hang with other purples, but that is simply not possible simply due to the fact that the average time to get a purple belt is about 5+ years at best.

I'd like to hear people's thoughts and experiences with getting promoted too quick, and its not based on competition results or anything like that, just time training and coming in 4-5 days a week.

FYI, the academy I am thinking of switching over to is Atos HQ. Its less convienent than the one I am at right now, and it means I won't see my family 4 nights a week at all since by time I get home after night classes my youngest will be in asleep, but at least I will know for a fact that when Galvao says I am a purple belt, it will be without question that I am a purple belt and able to hang with any purple in the world (that's not a world champ or anything like that)

Thank you for your thoughts

Edit: I should clarify that not seeing my 6 year old 4 nights a week if I switch to Atos is weighing heavily on me, and its probably why I will NOT switch, but the temptation is really there and its extremely strong. Also despite my dissatisfaction with my current academy, I still do consider my teammates to be the closest friends I've ever had, so leaving them behind is extremely hard as well.

Have not read the entire thread, but what would you do if Galvao promotes you to purple and a blue belt submits you in class or at a competition? Quit? The point is there will still be people better than you at a lower rank no matter how good you are or where you train. Maturity means to think about the belt in terms of intangibles instead of tangibles - loyalty, commitment, perseverance, dedication, respect, honor, etc. What happens if you're a black belt and too old to roll like you roll now? Are you going to stop rolling completely because you fear how others will perceive you?

 

[liuk3]

...
The training at that school sucked though. It was a noticeable downgrade from my last school but I endured it for other reasons. That is, until one day, a black belt who owned a nearby school rolled with me for the first time since I had moved to that school. He told me I had gotten a little worse. This hit me hard and I eventually moved to his school, got better, and was much happier.
...

I'm wondering how you get worse consistently training and being on the mat even if you are at a worse school?

 

[EGDM]

I'm wondering how you get worse consistently training and being on the mat even if you are at a worse school?

Without high-grade training partners you don't know if you're getting sloppy or not, at least relative to high-grade competition. You can only be kept as honest as the people at your gym force you to be.

 

[cugnao]

Thank you! I was under no illusion: I missed my peak athletic window some time ago. And after 20 years of judo, my body isn't what it once was. But hey...I did it

These days, it's about being a mean, old man who surprises the young uns' every now and again, trains smart and passes the skills on to the next generation.

I just want to be fit, healthy and training until I drop dead at 90 That's *my* win. (I do have a few other training goals too but that's the long term goal).

Just recently (like, this week) I had to change my schedule at wrestling so I could spend more time with wife and kiddo. This means instead of having one 'hard core' evening and 'one techincal' Saturday session, I now end up with two technical (lower intensity) early morning sessions of wrestling a week, which doesn't interfere with anything (other than my love of laying in bed).

Part of me will miss the balls to the wall evening session - and truth be told, I may try to sneak in a few more here and there. But I really need to prioritize family time before it slips through my fingers.

I think a big part of "earning your own respect" is to maintain physical conditioning into old age....which actually means MORE training (stuff like resistance training, cycling, yoga etc). But that is the sort of stuff that can and should involve family / outside of the dojo time.

More to the point - it's sets a superb precedent for your child if they see you out there sweating and exercising and encourages THEM into a lifetime of fitness.

Helping my daughter into a lifetime of fitness and giving her practical self defence skills via bjj, judo and wrestling? Yeah, fuck your belts - I win.

Very inspirational indeed! At a certain age, the main challenge is to balance our passion/hobby with the family life. On the mats you don't need to beat young guns but just be able to challenge them and being a match. In my case rolling hard with youngsters who are half my age and even younger with 3 lunges is challenging but it's a really healthy rivality and I earn them respect as they know my age and the kindness I reflect. I don't give a sh... if I submit a higher belt or get submitted by a lower belt, I want to fight properly by expanding my game and getting out from my comfort zone, BJJ is so technically and strategically rich. My challenge is to pass the few knowledge and experience to the youngsters and the laddies who wants to challenge and thrive themselves in this martial arts and of course having unforgettable fun moments.

 

[jack36767]

As a person who had a deadbeat dad.. I don’t even have words if you are seriously considering it

 

[Matsukaze]

As a person who had a deadbeat dad.. I don’t even have words if you are seriously considering it

This..... all day

 

[asian-glow]

I'm wondering how you get worse consistently training and being on the mat even if you are at a worse school?

If you don't have people who force you to be sharp or you're not consciously trying to get better, I feel you can get worse. You can get away with a lot of stuff on people who are much worse than you that would never work on someone good. You can definitely start expanding your game that way but your timing can get worse because it doesn't have to be sharp.

I admit that part of it may just be him trying to hit my ego and sign up at his place - it worked. It's also like those people who never do anything about their weight and one day someone just tells them their fat. It snaps them into action. For me, it confirmed something I had suspected for some time.

I understand this is in opposition to Danaher's assertion to roll mostly with blue belts. If this is all you do, though, your blade loses that edge. At least for me.

 

[Evenflow80]

This..... all day

This what ?

 

[Evenflow80]

Without high-grade training partners you don't know if you're getting sloppy or not, at least relative to high-grade competition. You can only be kept as honest as the people at your gym force you to be.

That's my biggest fear too at my gym. Rolling is done after class and most people leave . It's hard to find people to go hard with

 

[Evenflow80]

Have not read the entire thread, but what would you do if Galvao promotes you to purple and a blue belt submits you in class or at a competition? Quit? The point is there will still be people better than you at a lower rank no matter how good you are or where you train. Maturity means to think about the belt in terms of intangibles instead of tangibles - loyalty, commitment, perseverance, dedication, respect, honor, etc. What happens if you're a black belt and too old to roll like you roll now? Are you going to stop rolling completely because you fear how others will perceive you?

It's not about me winning or losing really , it's about knowing if I get a purple from Galvao.... It really is a purple belt and I don't have to question it.

 

[Evenflow80]

I have kids and am glad you decided not to do it. To me, picking bjj over your kids is insanity.


I'll add just one thing. Once you get old, nobody cares about the integrity of the belt. A frail 50 year old brown belt can get smashed by a normal-sized decent white belt going hard.

What's more, people can't judge anyway. With 20 and 30 year olds, there's lots of data to say if somebody is good for that age and weight class. But for 40+ most people haven't rolled with enough old guys to judge. If you're behind your belt as an old guy, people just say " well he's old".

In case that matters (and it seems like it does).

Yeah man I can't do it. Not seeing my kid 4 nights a week would suck. I was just feeling less motivated

 

[EGDM]

That's my biggest fear too at my gym. Rolling is done after class and most people leave . It's hard to find people to go hard with

It's just something you have to learn to live with. Maximizing your BJJ potential should not be the foremost priority in your life. You're not going to be a world champion, and that is OK. The rest of us aren't either.

Do the best you can with the training structure that allows you to live a complete life outside the gym.

 

[Foppa21]

I'm wondering how you get worse consistently training and being on the mat even if you are at a worse school?

You still have to practice right and be learning the right things. If you're being taught bad concepts, you're still learning shit.

 

[Foppa21]

If you don't have people who force you to be sharp or you're not consciously trying to get better, I feel you can get worse. You can get away with a lot of stuff on people who are much worse than you that would never work on someone good. You can definitely start expanding your game that way but your timing can get worse because it doesn't have to be sharp.

I admit that part of it may just be him trying to hit my ego and sign up at his place - it worked. It's also like those people who never do anything about their weight and one day someone just tells them their fat. It snaps them into action. For me, it confirmed something I had suspected for some time.

I understand this is in opposition to Danaher's assertion to roll mostly with blue belts. If this is all you do, though, your blade loses that edge. At least for me.

Sometimes, it's not a matter of you getting worse, it's others getting better at a faster rate.