Jay Russell - Albany,NY - Questions about his BJJ Black Belt and BJJ lineage.

**DarkPhoenix** · Posted On: 9/28/2010 12:43pm

Originally Posted by DuckofDeath

Are you sure he didn't mean some kind of "Empire State" judo tournament that might have later been incorporated into the Games? I ask because according to this link from the info you posted on the Empire State Games, the Games began in 1978:

http://www.empirestategames.org/summer/about.asp

It is a very good possibility he was referring to any tourney in NY.

I asked him about the ESGs, but he was confused as he hadn't heard any getting Batsugan in NY since around 1969.

**Rene "Zendokan" Gysenbergs** · Posted On: 9/28/2010 4:42pm

Small question:
Don't you already have to be minimum a Shodan to participate in the ESG's?
If so, how could he be awarded his BB (meaning Shodan) by batsugan in the ESG's?
Or am I missing something?

**DarkPhoenix** · Posted On: 9/28/2010 5:20pm

Originally Posted by Zendokan

Small question:
Don't you already have to be minimum a Shodan to participate in the ESG's?
If so, how could he be awarded his BB (meaning Shodan) by batsugan in the ESG's?
Or am I missing something?

There is no minimum rank for the ESGs, as the minimum age is 13 years old. That is a junior rank in the US which would mean he could be at most a brown belt. Most of the kids I played with back in the day competed at green belt (junior green belt is equivalent to a senior yonkyu). As for senior members (17 and older) there is no minimum that I am aware of, but you have to play in the trials first. I was invited to the trials last year as a nikyu.

**CJJScout** · Posted On: 9/29/2010 9:18pm

Originally Posted by kakronen

my BJJ black belt which almost 99.99 people have when they get black belts.

KEN

Everyone knows that Kenny is legit, but I think these percentages are a little high. I can name several black belts, that I know and have seen promoted personally by legit instructors, that don't have certs. If I have seen this, surely it is more widespread.

**NewYorkJiuJitsu** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 9:53am

I told you all that I would post again once our investigation was over. Unfortunately we were unable to find clarity on the lineage of Jay Russell’s Black Belt. Without clarity on this issue we were left with no choice but to remove Jay as our BJJ instructor and have replaced him with Ryan Clark. As this forum has stated many times Jay is very talented and we do not want to take this talent away from our students. We continue to believe in Jay Russell and have made him the head of our MMA program. I would like to thank this forum for bringing this to our attention and for helping maintain the integrity of the sport.

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 10:02am

Originally Posted by NewYorkJiuJitsu

I told you all that I would post again once our investigation was over. Unfortunately we were unable to find clarity on the lineage of Jay Russell’s Black Belt. Without clarity on this issue we were left with no choice but to remove Jay as our BJJ instructor and have replaced him with Ryan Clark. As this forum has stated many times Jay is very talented and we do not want to take this talent away from our students. We continue to believe in Jay Russell and have made him the head of our MMA program. I would like to thank this forum for bringing this to our attention and for helping maintain the integrity of the sport.

Interesting. Anyway, we will be banning all of the accounts except yours. There are 6 accounts, including yours, all posting from the same IP.

Since you have drawn your conclusion and made changes there is no reason to keep all of the "other" accounts active.

**Rock Ape** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 10:02am

Thank you however, I'm not entirely done with this.

I'd like to know if Mr. Russell is a liar ?

He may well be talented but the credibility of a liar, isn't a particularly good example for anyone.

I'd like to know more about Mr. Russell's additional claims of lineage other than via Mr. Damon.

**DuckofDeath** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 12:48pm

NYJJ's new MMA bio for Jay Russell.

http://nyjiujitsualbany.com/node/26

No mention of BBs in either BJJ or Judo.

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 12:56pm

Originally Posted by DuckofDeath

NYJJ's new MMA bio for Jay Russell.

http://nyjiujitsualbany.com/node/26

No mention of BBs in either BJJ or Judo.

I will give them props for checking into and making the correct adjustments. I do agree with Simo as, he was caught in possible lies and those should be checked out as deeply as possible.