RE: Four Stripe White Belt: Piecing it All Together - BJJ Training Update, May 2018
Oh wow, didn't know about the Combatives Belt. Interesting...I honestly dont get it why R&R brothers are getting so much shit for their way of promoting bjj. I mean...they've just introduced more system into those first loong years of being a whitie. Whole bjj community is kind of proud that just 10% of whites get it to the blue. I've always found it a bit weird...I understand that it makes those blue and purples proud, cuz they are part of that chosen 10%...but at the same time, lets just think if all those dropouts would make it to blue as well. The whole bjj would get into much wider audience...and I guess that's the positive thing of what R&R are doing. People have a clear path ahead of the. E.g in our gym, our sensei is a brown and he's not allowed to give us stripes nor promote belts. So we always just wait till the main sensei drops by in our town and then we almost all get stripes :D bit weird but I wouln't change my gym even if I could...but with this approach you've just described, people have it clear, what they need to do.....e.g I have no idea what and when my next promotiion will be :D And I mean, I don't care one bit, cuz Im doing it for the fun of it. But might be pretty discouraging for other people...Spending first 8 months without any stripe at all..so they leave...hope u get my point haha :D
Definitely, mate. That's a great point about blues and purples finding pride in "only the strong survive." I do think the bar should be high before promotion. But that's the point of the systematic program. I've talked to several white belts who trained for three months at other gyms before coming to ours and they had learned almost nothing, except how to get submitted and sometimes injured. Other blue belts have come to our gym from other places with major holes in their technical game. The bar should be technically high, not "I paid my dues" high. Plus, as you say, the clear path keeps people engaged and progressing to further belts.