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Micaila Vaughn – Colorado State – 2008
Micaila with the guillotine choke for the win at the 2008 RMBJJF Colorado State Championships, No-Gi!
“Big Mike” Ring Of Fire 29 KO
Click on the link to see Big Mike’s 9 second knockout at Ring of Fire 29!
Monkey On Your Back Submission
Recent upload from the archives! Sean Stewart in No-Gi Competition on the way to Gold in Men’s No-Gi (169lbs – 179lbs) at the 2008 Fight To Win Colorado Open.
Criteria for Rank in BJJ
Criteria for Rank in BJJ
This is a really touchy subject. I have seen adults act like children when it comes to getting promoted in BJJ!
What creates some of this frustration is that most schools do not have a clear set of requirements for advancement. I understand why students can get frustrated.
It took my 11 years to achieve my black belt, and now as an instructor I can shed some light on what instructors are looking for.
You may wonder what your instructor is thinking. When in doubt, trust your instructor. You may ask them where they think you are at, and what you need to do to improve, but you don’t need to ask when you are getting your next belt. Your instructor may be right in assuming that you are over focused on the belt instead of getting better!
I have to mention that not all rank promotions are fair. We are dealing with human beings, and everybody makes mistakes. Occasionally I have seen some students promoted too soon, but more common is that students get held back. Every instructor has their own criteria, and I am not making a judgment about what I think is right and wrong. This article will just give you an idea what some of the criteria are.
Rolling Ability
This is the most important consideration of most instructors for promoting students. I heard one famous instructor say “My black belts don’t get tapped by brown belts, my brown belts don’t lose to my purples, my purples don’t lose to blue belts, and my blue belts don’t get tapped by the white belts.” I don’t believe this is always true. But it will be true most of the time.
At some point you have to try out new techniques and strategies, and whenever you work with something new, it probably won’t be done with perfect timing and technique. I have heard a world champion say that he sometimes gets caught by his brown belts. I have a lot of respect for him for that because that means that he keeps expanding his abilities.
But if your instructor wants to see your best, that is not the time to try out new techniques.
Most instructors will consider the age and size of the student they are considering for promotion compared to other students, but they want to see a blue belt consistently beating most of the blue belts and sometimes catching purples before they are promoted to purple, for example.
What sets BJJ apart from almost every martial art is that every match ends with one person tapping. In the stand up arts, if you are not hitting each other with full power, you don’t always know what would have happened. You may have landed a hook with the front arm to their jaw, they may have landed a kick to your kidneys, but you don’t really know what would have happened.
It is a good thing that each rank is able to control position and submit lower ranks. It keeps the ranks tied to the reality of who can execute vs. a resisting and trained partner. It makes this art difficult to be promoted in because you actually have to represent the rank. If a person wears a brown belt and regularly gets tapped by blue belts, it devalues the rank and the art.
One exception to this is the students who are black belts in one area or one technique of Jiu-Jitsu. I am thinking of Lloyd Irvin’s student, Ryan Hall. He was a purple belt and was regularly tapping black belts with the triangle choke. He was black belt in the triangle, but not necessarily in all other areas of Jiu-Jitsu. When you are a rank, almost all of your abilities should be that rank: a black belt has black mount escapes, black belt side escapes, black belt guard passing, etc…
Time Training (how many years)
Some students are less athletic, may be older, smaller, so their rolling may not be their strongest area. If they are a little weaker in their rolling ability, they will need to make up for it in other areas, like amount of time training, knowledge and teaching ability. However, Jiu-Jitsu is about leverage and technique.
Training Frequency (how often per week)
Someone that trains 6 days per week is going to grow much faster than a student who trains twice per week. But I have heard several instructors say that it takes years to really understand Jiu-Jitsu and training 6 days per week does not give you the depth of understanding that years of training gives you.
Knowledge and Teaching Ability
Some instructors place little emphasis on this and some more, but like I mentioned under total time training, if a student is not able to compete with other students physically, they need to make up for it in other areas.
Competition Record
Some school require competition to get ranked. They may tell their students to win the blue belt division at a major tournament, or several small tournaments, in order to get purple. This can help maintain the integrity of the rank in that you can be somewhat sure that whoever wins a major tournament can represent the rank above them.
Attitude, Service to the School or Organization, & the Loyalty Factor
This is not something that will get you promoted as much as if you violate the loyalty rule, you can be sure that you won’t be promoted. One of the best ways to not get promoted is to train at a lot of different schools! When instructors feel that you are disloyal, many will become very cold with you, and may even kick you out. Most instructors will tell some version of a common story, “I trained ________ for 3 years, put a lot of work into that guy, then he switched over to ________ and now he’s winning tournaments with that guy’s logo on his back, and they are getting all the credit, and I am getting none.”
There is even a term in Portuguese for students who jump from teacher: “creonte.”
The Bottom Line
Earning rank in BJJ is no easy task. Anything worth having is worth working for and a rank in BJJ is a perfect example.
Original Article Link: http://thebjjway.com/the-deeper-aspects-of-bjj/criteria-for-rank-in-bjj/#more-556
2011 Colorado BJJ Zowzee Deal
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Colorado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has always offered deals but none like the one being offered today. Normally the tuition at any accredited jiu jitsu academy can run you up to $220 a month. Today and today only you are being offered a 79% discount off normal tuition fees (Just $49 for a full month of unlimited training)!
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* Brazilian Jiu Jitsu focuses on multi-directional movements. It also requires a person to use muscles in a variety of planes of motion unlike most gym exercises which work 1-2 muscle groups at a time.
* Brazilian Jiu Jitsu concentrates on functional fitness. The nature of the sport of BJJ will exercise both your heart and muscle groups since both are important aspects of BJJ success. You will not get overly bulky, like a bodybuilder, which a lot of women seem to be heavily concerned with.
* Brazilian Jiu Jitsu increases flexibility especially in the legs and core. Some techniques require your legs to be flexible, which over time, you will develop increased. Other positions also require a lot of twisting motions which will build core strength.
* Effective self-defense and martial arts. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the fundamental aspect of current Mixed Martial Arts so you can rest assured that you are learning what truly works for self-defense.
See some testimonials below from current students who have added the art of jiu jitsu to their life.
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Testimonials:
MICAILA VAUGHN 31 years old, business owner, Blue Belt:
“The hardest part of BJJ is walking in the front door. I walked in the front door three years ago, and well, pretty much never left! Warning, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be extremely addicting, and the side effects? A vacumme packed body, no kidding. I started BJJ for the workout and a new hobby. Now let me tell you, this is the only workout I have ever done, where I didn’t realize that I was getting in shape while I was doing it. Nine months later, twenty pounds lighter, and arms that made my boyfriend jealous, I am proof that BJJ can not only improve your quality of life, but get you in the best shape of your life while learning how to protect yourself. Maybe that’s why it’s so addicting? Thanks Colorado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for improving my quality of life, and extending the BJJ family to myself and everyone!”
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RACHEL CRAM Blue Belt, 31 years old, preschool teacher/massage thereapist:
Jiu Jitsu has taught me how to take any stressful situation and breathe through it and to not resist anything that comes my way. The art is one that doesn’t work unless you are calm and not focused on the end result, my life is the same. Jiu Jitsu helps me keep my body healthy and clean as well as my mind and spirit.
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ROBIN SULLIVAN – BJJ Blue Belt
I was first introduced to BJJ through a self-defense class where I work. The class only lasted a couple of hours but I learned some practical skills and had a blast! The next day I was so sore; it was like I had lifted weights, took yoga classes, and ran for 2 hours the day before. I thought, “When was the last time I had a strenous workout like that without even realizing it and couldn’t wait to go back for more?” Well…never.
I recalled the open question forum after the self-defense class and someone asking Dave Ruiz if he had a special diet or a workout routine to stay fit for jiu-jitsu. Dave shrugged off the question, saying: “I don’t, I just play jiu jitsu and that’s it.” Above all, I wanted THAT! I killed myself with weird and strict diets. I ran 2 hours a day and lead an active lifestyle that included hiking 14ers. All this for years, with no results. Then it struck me looking around at the instructors were good people and seeing they were all so fit and happy. It made a certain amount of sense that if I wanted a nice, trim, fighters physique, I would need to train like a fighter.
Having tried everything else, I really had nothing to lose. At the very least I would learn a practical skill and have a fun new hobby at the same time. I decided to commit a full year, for better or worse. This way I would give training a fair shot and give myself plenty of time to work for some real results. After all, I didn’t get overweight in a month, I wasn’t going to get fit a month either.
I won’t kid anyone by saying it’s easy. Like anything new classes were challenging, frustrating at times, and above all they were addictive. I was still having too much fun to notice the amount of work that went into classes or to notice the amount of weight falling off as a result. I went to two or three classes a week, maintained a simple low fat diet, and ate when I was hungry. It also helped that all my fellow classmates and instructors were so supportive. Surprisingly, some were on the same fitness journey and some had already traveled that path but everyone had very sound advice to help me along the way.
After a few months the results were dramatic. I started in October 2009 at a size 22w (not my proudest moment), and reached my goal of a size 16w by the following May of 2010. Size 16w was my goal only because I had never been smaller. After a year of jiu-jitsu, I’m now a size 10w and have many new goals. I know I am capable of so much more than I ever gave myself credit for. Your life really does change in amazing ways when you gain that kind of confidence.
Some of my biggest problems along the way have involved wardrobe replacement and trying to work more training into an already busy schedule. Classes are still challenging and still happily frustrating at times but I can’t get enough. For me, I tried and tried for years to get fit but it only took finding the right sport to get me there. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting similar results and who would be willing to try something new to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and see what goals you too can reach.
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Find the nearest Colorado BJJ academy, click on the link below and take advantage of this huge discount being offerred today and today only. Get started on your road to a more confident, happy, self-aware, and more fit lifestyle with jiu-jitsu.
Colorado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu staff
Colorado BJJ Academy
Colorado Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy.
Come train with us. New Students stop in and train one week free!!!
