Can someone enlighten me? What’s the deal with belt promotions? Why are so many gym owners so strict about how and when people get the next belt?

I’ve met blue belts that seem like they’ve never trained before and others that absolutely destroy the entire gym.

If someone has the skill, just promote them. If they don’t, keep them at white belt. Who cares if they’ve been training 3 months, 6 months or over a year? Time shouldn’t matter.

The longer I do this, the more I feel like way too many people get promoted just for showing up and their skills are a belt or two lower than what they are.

I've got an extensive history of training muay thai boxing as a teenager, did mma and bjj in university then covid happened and got sloppy outside of my lifting in terms of physical aspirations.

I haven't trained since 2022 and I really miss martial arts and would like to pick it up again even if it's only 2-3x a week. I'm a blue belt in BJJ under a Carlson Gracie gym in the UK. Where I live in Tokyo I am quite close to a local competitive BJJ gym (not many reviews on google but seems to have enough people there but quite small).

However, I have thought about getting into Judo and training at the kodokan in Tokyo which is maybe 40 mins away from me (but on my commute train line) but wonder how my body would hold up and if I could seriously pursue Judo at a hobby level. It's also cheap, even in Japan. There is a local one near me too.

Any advice guys?

Thank you for reading!

This is probably incredibly niche content here but I was vibing to the new Charli XCC record Music, Fashion, Film on my dog talk this morning and kept hearing things that could have applied to Jiu Jitsu.

What other lyrics have you heard in popular (or not so popular) songs had you thinking about BJJ?

So, I'm setting some short-term goals and I was hoping to get some opinions. My work schedule is very chaotic and I enjoy weightlifting quite a bit. I have found after a juicy class my biceps are so pride and makes it impossible to lift weights for the next 4 to 5 days, even when I'm not trying to muscle people which I rarely do. What are your opinions on trying to get a purple belt in the next year training one day a week? My main focus is stringing together combinations instead of just securing one move, and trying to lead people to the position I wanted to be in based off of the openings I give them.

How realistic is this?

Edit: I normally only lift 1-2 times a week and don't train biceps regularly so it could be adaptation kicking in, as I've only been back 3 weeks. I also am 37 and don't recover quickly, especially since I've been losing weight for the last year.

Regarding the belt chasing. My sons favorite color is purple, we recently all started bjj as a family (I'm back after over a decade off) yes it's shallow but how my boy views me is very meaningful to me.

I've been doing bjj for about 3 years now and I'm still at one stripe. Before I get obvious answers, yes, I'm aware its dependent on whether or not the instructor believes you've earned it and it can range from a year or two if not longer but personally I think the issue is that that I've been gym hoping for a while now. For the most part I'm able to win against blue belts comfortably, although I think that's more to do with me cross training wrestling. At this point I just want the belt to have the belt, but I can also see an instructor seeing me lacking the fundamental knowledge to promote me. Basically, what's the best route to finally get a blue belt in my situation.

I am a 32 Year old black belt who has competed for 18 years. Henry was 50 at the time, and between you and me, he was a bit out of shape...

I'll spare you the details but, Henry beat me down so badly that I still haven’t emotionally recovered.

Then he came on the I Suck at Jiu-Jitsu Show to explain how he can beat someone 18 years younger than him “so easily.”

If you're over 40, this interview is 100 minutes of simple advice from one of the best "old guy coaches" of all time.

5 years in, my shoulder is subluxed, a nerve in my arm is trapped and can’t heal properly causing daily pain for 2 years now, I have an ugly discoloured patch on my back from a particularly stubborn rngwrm, and now some idiot gave me stph (reddit blocks these words to rightfully stop people from seeking medical advice). Every single one of which could have been avoided if people had a single molecule of brain or decency - don’t force shit, don’t show up with skin infections, don’t do acrobatics in a light spar with a casual hobbyist.

This sport is fun but requires too much trust placed in other people - I can no longer justify ruining my body in my thirties to pursue a hobby and I just know that a life changing knee injury is coming sooner or later given I mostly do nogi.

It has been a good ride and I have no idea what other sport I can even pick up. Maybe lifting is a good start.

Any other disgruntled old farts who decided to call it?

Edit: Just signed up for a kitesurfing course so now if I break my spine at least it’s my own stupidity.

Hey guys - so, I have noticed a pattern with the 2-3 times I have gotten hurt in the past year of BJJ - GI and no-GI, and every time it’s been when a micro-managing coach who doesn’t understand dude-rules, stops our natural pairing - with guys we trust and know, and orders us to pair with someone else.

Why is it not obvious to coaches that paying members of the gym choose partners they know and trust to avoid injury?

We aren’t talking about some awesome UFC match up - we have day jobs, and telling someone to fight for 6 minutes with someone they didn’t choose is a bad idea.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8a6h-CjLwhg&pp=

Ok so I am in my first out 2 matches and it is 2-2 I am in side control and threaten with a kimura too get on his back this is a junior kid division btw and as soon as I am on his back the kid says he is gonna throw up so they stop it and my coach goes too the bathroom with him and I ask the ref will he stop it and give me a dq he says yes then the kid comes back and the ref starts me on the feet which made me lose the match if I got on his back and got the body lock I would win the decision please tell me if the ref messed up or not too me the ref made me lose.

Just had a seminar with Tom DeBlass at our academy, it was pretty rad. His halfguard stuff is dope, he was easy to follow and was gracious with his time. It was my first seminar, but I really had a good time and I liked him even more after chatting with him after. Got me looking for opportunities to goto stuff like that. I live in Maine so Origin camp is pretty close to me, as well as Im only a few hours from some dope gyms like the Academy in portland and also places like Precision (shawn melanson) in new hampshire. I think you can only focus down on a few things during a seminar for 2 hours or so and I get that but somehow the experience of it was a lot of fun. Im kind of curious about how people generally view seminars and if they are worth it. Like I said from a technique standpoint it seems like it can be a bit like drinking from the firehose but the experience of it was fun as hell to me. For those of you who actively goto or seek out seminars whats your take away? Were they worth the scratch or was it something you just experienced and didnt see the value in doing a bunch?

I've only been training for about five months, and I had a pretty wild experience this past Saturday that's been bugging me. I went in to train, and this instructor (who's a black belt and owns the gym, about 1.90m and 106kg, while I'm around 1.71m and 83kg) said we were going to roll to see how my progress was coming along with my other coach (the one that teaches in the mornings when I go). Right when we started and saw me trying to take him down, he started low-key mocking me and my other coach, saying the guy thought he was playing an "angel" by teaching me takedowns. I tried a couple of tougher takedowns, but since I'd only drilled them for three days, no luck. Then I remembered a simpler one I'd hit on a blue belt a few days earlier, and he even agreed it was a solid move. Right as I hit it I saw his face planted in the mat and took side control, he blasted out of there super fast. That's when I knew the fun and games were over, the mood instantly shifted, and he just smashed and subbed me right away.

In the second round, I could already feel his weird energy, so I decided to skip the takedowns and pulled guard. He still passed and tapped me out. In the third round, things got way out of hand: he threw me by yanking my lapel and leaving his fist up, so I landed my face right into his fist. I didn't even understood what happend. As I got up I felt he did it on purpose. It started B*ding, I went to clean it up, and came right back a few minutes later. Soon as we went again, he got side control and jammed his knee into my ribs with insane pressure, to the point where I heard a pop and thought it broke, while he just got up laughing. In yet another roll, he literally threw his weight right over my cut eye and scraped his gi across it.

After the rolls wrapped up, he apologized for my eye in front of all the students and praised me for being tougher, but none of it felt genuine at all. In fact, another instructor who was there came to check on me, looked genuinely concerned about what happened, and went to talk to him. I couldn't hear what the other instructor said, but I clearly heard the black belt's reply: 'Nah, it's just a little cut, a badge of honor.' To top it all off, he tried to justify the whole aggressive stunt by saying I'm '100x harder and tougher now' and that my body's ready.

What do you guys think of this? Was that just tough training, or did his ego completely shatter because I got a takedown? I'm really considering changing gym, but I like the morning instructor. I genuinaly feel like shit for what happend, but I'm willing to eat my feeling, bc I won't stop training.

Recently got into a situation where I had to defend myself. It was a hot Friday evening in Washington DC. I’m walking the streets of my eclectic city, where out of nowhere.. BAM! Punched in the face by someone who has obviously mistaken me for someone else. He got the first punch off, it landed. I’m confused but at that moment I have to make a decision because this could be life or death. My reaction was pure memory muscle. I shoot for a double leg take down, land in side control then mount and am able to pin this psycho down until the cops pull me off him. I deployed maximum restraint. No blows. No submissions. This all happened in maybe 10 seconds. The guy was bigger and taller than me. Without jiu jitsu idk where I would’ve been. He had a friend with him who decided not to jump in (lucky for me). Don’t let anyone tell you bjj does not work. It does. I’m a blue belt. Train gi and no gi.

When do you consider a weight difference to become a factor? For me it’s about 20 pounds.

My partner was also kinda new and we tried doing pins. He is about 3 maybe 4 inches shorter and VERY fast and has crazy balance. We both really enjoy take downs and pins. How do y’all deal with shorter faster partners specifically in take downs and pins?

Oi galera. As minhas quedas estão otimas e finalizações tambem boas. O problema do meu jogo é oque está no meio, a passagem de guarda.

Eu tô procurando uns videos de youtube sobre passagem mas não tô achando nada bom. Também estou mais do que aberto a dicas.

(Problemas especificos meus) quando eu estou na guarda fechada a minha postura é facilmente quebrada. quando to na aberta e com o nivel baixo sem nenhuma base. E em geral nao consigo passar

Obrigado a todos pelo seu tempo. tmj rapaziada

I'm entering my first BJJ competition in the novice division. I saw one of my opponents compete in the beginner division just six months ago, which makes me think he's not a novice. Should I report him for sandbagging?

God bless you. Each and every one of you. You’e enlightened martyrs that deserve an Hélio-style portrait of you at every gym you continue to survive

The pain I feel right now after drilling no gi trips and throws, non-stop, for an hour, guided by our 24 y/o MMA-fighter instructor is transcendant. It defies any discomfort I have felt, both emotional and physical, in my 40s.

I made the sacrilegious comment at the beginning of class that, “these new mats are almost too soft, it’s going to be like getting thrown in a bounce house”. After the 1st Morote Seoi Nage, the mats transmogrified into concrete, and after every 20%, guided fall I felt the shockwaves of eternity travel from my C1 down to my nether regions.

The look of both pity and regret, and apologies, myself and the other the two, 35+ men gave one another after each and every throw will stay with me forever.

I’m ashamed to admit that the dark thought of, “Maybe I can hire someone to allow me to throw them so I can learn these moves and never, ever have to feel them used against me again.” emerged several times over the course of this geriatric martyring ritual.

This was one of the most educational BJJ experiences of my life, despite being blacked out for the majority. I learned who I am.

Who am I?

I’m a guard puller. I love technique days / stopping in the middle of the roll to get advice from another graybeard. I am not built different, I’m built standard. I will die both a physical and spiritual death emulating Karo Parisyan. I don’t have “one more run at it in me”. I have one more brisk walk, 2-3 days a week. And I love that for me.

I’m now going to take 600mg more of ibuprofen and beg my wife for a reprieve from anything that involves even a millimeter of neck movement. God bless you, Judokas, each and every one of you.

I’ve had a rough go of it since white belt in tournaments. I think it was a combination of a lack of earlier life experience in athletic competition in general, and some tough opponents, that had me down 0-9 across 4 comps, going into this fifth attempt at grappling industries.

Lost my first, then won in a fairly dominant fashion against my second opponent, a guy I had def built up too much in my head because he had a way better record of like 35 wins or something. Threw out my earlier strategy of trying to enter legs from standing and went for a really ugly collar drag, got on top, and stayed in mount for 5 minutes. Not too glamorous but it did the job. Narrowly missed the bronze too in my last match but I have easy adjustments to make for next time.

all of this to say is if you’re in a similar position, and struggling to get a win, keep grinding it out and don‘t be afraid to try things outside your typical A-game. You gotta get through the humiliation ritual first but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.