I like the Idea of 'Lineage' - not because I think everyone needs to copy their teacher; on the contrary. If my students turn out to be 'copys' of myself, I would not consider myself a good teacher because I taught them MY moves instead of teaching them to develop THEIR game and mainly the Understanding of the Art... I like the Idea of lineage because for once, I like 'history'. Also, I like the option that it gives one a perspective on how the art one studies developed through the generations (looking at each teacher in succession and what their strong points were). Whatever I study an art I often try to get 'as close to the source' of said art for my onw studying - not because I believe it is 'better' (!) - oftentimes the new generations develop awesome methods that the founders could not even imagine - but I simply like to see how things were 'in the beginning' to be able to put those changes into perspective and understand those developments that changed the Art at one point or another. I also followed this 'rule' when I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine (I went to china to study there instead of attending the commonly offered courses offered here in Germany) or Osteopathy (wich I studied mainly with Osteopathic Professors from the US - where Osteopathy originated - instead of taking 'germanized' courses…)… Is lineage 'important' when it comes to ability? NO - there are plenty of experts / masters / champions who have no real lineage; and there are those with a great lineage who still suck at what they do... But I think we should not forget that BJJ is still one of the Few arts where direct Student-Teacher Lineage is one of the Main factors in 'verification' of a persons validity of Rank! If you can not produce a Promotion by a recognized Blackbelt, it does not matter how great you are on the mats… and that Black Belt of course had to come from anothe valid Black Belt etc etc - s in the end, EVERYONE in the comunity can andshould be able to trace their Lineage to one of the founding roots in Brazil. If they cant, their rank is automatically 'questionable'. And I like it that way! It makes us different from other Arts or Systems where you simply get Ranked at a Grade-Testing by some random Guy with a Licence for Grading from a certain Association. In the attaced file I tried to recreate my Lineages to the Kodokan through Judo and BJJ - and I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out my Judo-Lineages from when I started Judo. Unfortunately, my early teachers all end up in a big Association-Blackbox from where they recieved their rank; with no further documentation on who THEY actually learned from. Would knowing that make me a better practitioner? No; it would not. But I would love to be able to connect those dots just a clearly as I ca in my BJJ Lineage (and my current Judo Lineage - wich I can trace all the way to Kano as well. Anyways, just some Random thoughts... My main Kodokan Lineage/s are: In BJJ 1) Kanō Jigorō > Tomita Tsunejirō -> Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Reyson Gracie > Mario Stapel > Philipp Wolf (me) 2) Kanō Jigorō > Tomita Tsunejirō -> Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Helio Gracie > Robin Gracie > Mario Stapel > Philipp Wolf (me) 3) Kanō Jigorō > Tomita Tsunejirō -> Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Helio Gracie > Pedro Hemetério de Araújo > Franco Vacirca > Mario Stapel > Philipp Wolf (me) And my main Judo Lineage: Kanō Jigorō > Fukushima Seizaburō > Ushijima Tatsukuma > Hirano Tokio > Frank Thiele > Thomas Kohlrausch > Philipp Wolf (me) See also my Lineage-Poster (a Work in Progress): https://bjj-neustadt.weeb[...]020_02.jpg

I'm not really big on this, but here it is. Me after the shirtless man with his arms crossed.

Curious if you feel pressure to pose shirtless when you add your photo to this? ;)

I always felt the whole lineage praising culture was kind of weird. If I take my own students, some of them are super talented and medal at big tournaments. Some of them are blue belts for 10 years and lose first match in every single competition. Some of them copy my game to the detail, some go their own way and develop completely distinct style. I dont see why they should get anything out of saying I’m their lineage, when so many other factors play in. An important point to consider of course, is that this is kind of unique to jiu jitsu. Why don’t golfers, tennis players, table tennis players, cyclists and marathon runner talk about their lineage like jiu jitsu people do? It’s weird. Just weird.

This is something that’s only been a question to me since last year. From white to brown: Mitsuyo “Konde Coma” Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Ailson Henrique “Jucão” Brites > me Little did I realize as a lower belt that after just under three years at brown belt, I’d find myself parting ways from my professor. Luckily for me I’ve been able to continue training under the guidance of my good friend Jose Luis Becerra. Brown to (eventually, with enough work) Black: Mitsuyo “Konde Coma” Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti > Octavio Henrique “Ratinho” Couto da Silva Jr. > Jose Luis Becerra > me I’m curious to hear how some of the more experienced/senior blackbelts feel about situations like this. Although the specifics may vary, I’m sure my situation is not unique.

I come from pretty humble beginnings. King Maekar - Aegon V Targaryen - King Aerys II Targaryen - Rhaegar Targaryen- Me (after a short stint as Lord Eddard Stark's bastard son) Of course the Nightwatch was not very fun.