Gracie McDojos make baby Jesus cry

**katana** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 1:47pm

Originally posted by ronin69
No, no, no... I agree with you, its the winning of competitions as a condition on advancing that I have issues with.

Schools like to have strong showings in tournaments though so competition is encouraged. I've heard multiple times of promotions being given if you win or place in a particular tournament, etc. It's not uncommon in the BJJ world. Schools may not require you to compete, but you'll definitely advance faster if you compete and win/place.

**katana** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 1:48pm

Originally posted by ronin69
Agreed, IF the WHOLE point of the system is about being an invincible badass COMPETITOR.

The reason I asked was because it takes so LONG to get a BB in GJJ, I just though it was because of a very demanding curriculum.

The curriculum is demanding. You have to show without question that you can apply your skills. Hence the repeated reliance on competition.

**Ronin** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 1:52pm

Originally posted by Osiris
Yes, thats what its about. Why else are you strangling people?

Seriously, HOW can I argue with that ??

**meowrsx** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 1:57pm

i didn't realize there was bullshido in gracie jujitsu. i think anyone who ever wants to learn BJJ/GJJ should start learning now, because i can see in maybe a decade, a whole slew of bullshido jujitsu. get it while theres still some real bjj out there!

**bunyip** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 2:08pm

Originally posted by ronin69
Seriously, HOW can I argue with that ??

I can. In my engineering classes, I've heard over and over again that you don't TRULY understand a concept unless you can explain it to somebody else. I think the same holds true in BJJ. Being a good teacher demonstrates an understanding of the moves and of the game.

An example: I mostly train with blue belts. Their instruction style is to teach me the moves that have worked really well for them in the past. On the other hand, the first day I met Sergio Silva (black belt), he said, "Oh, you've got really long legs. Let me show you some moves that will work really well for you. I can't do these because my legs are too short." This showed an understanding of the game that could conceivably be lacking from someone who was "only" an awesome competitor.

That said, I don't think being a great teacher should be a requirement for a black belt, just another factor to consider.

Still, I haven't run into any high ranking belts who weren't also good teachers, so maybe this whole point is moot, anyway.

**Chupacabra** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 2:17pm

I wonder what will be the next craze when BJJ gets too commercialized

**Tenguru** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 2:33pm

As long as particular GJJ/BJJ schools are merely duping people out of their money, and not actually promoting them to black belt, things probably won't turn into full-fledged bullshido. Those unfortunate few who are getting conned will never get to a point where they can claim to have really learned the art. They will end up poorly trained, with low ranking, and no competition reputation which would allow them to spawn a new bullshido dojo. When a bullshido GJJ/BJJ dojo starts promoting poorly trained students to BB, then that is when the real problems will start.

En · Posted On: 6/17/2004 2:40pm

Originally posted by Tenguru
When a bullshido GJJ/BJJ dojo starts promoting poorly trained students to BB, then that is when the real problems will start.

Er, isn't that what this entire thread is about?

**Tenguru** · Posted On: 6/17/2004 2:44pm

So have any poorly trained students actually been promoted to BB? I understand that the advertisement claimed you can receive a BB in X lessons, but has a BB actually been handed out to a student?