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Who graduated you ?
1 year(s) ago • 1308 views • 5 replies
BZBlack belt 4th degreeVerified
1 year(s) ago
Hi everyone,
Just a post to talk about something that appears special for me.
I saw profiles from people who tells their ranking history and who give them each rank. But then, someone told them that the professor wasn't legit at that time to give the rank, because he wasn't a second degree Black belt at the time or something like that....so the beltchecker told the guy to pretend that he does receive it from something else to legitimate it, with the professor of the actual professor.
My issue is that, if someone give it to you, it's a fact and pretending that someone else did it is a kind of a lie...
The name of Remco appears in dôme conversations, but the be honest, at the time the guys who receive rank from Remco had so much respect for him that their glad to receive it and for me it didn't invalidade the value of the rank.
What's your opinion ?
Just a post to talk about something that appears special for me.
I saw profiles from people who tells their ranking history and who give them each rank. But then, someone told them that the professor wasn't legit at that time to give the rank, because he wasn't a second degree Black belt at the time or something like that....so the beltchecker told the guy to pretend that he does receive it from something else to legitimate it, with the professor of the actual professor.
My issue is that, if someone give it to you, it's a fact and pretending that someone else did it is a kind of a lie...
The name of Remco appears in dôme conversations, but the be honest, at the time the guys who receive rank from Remco had so much respect for him that their glad to receive it and for me it didn't invalidade the value of the rank.
What's your opinion ?
JCPurple beltVerified
1 year(s) ago
As I've said in numerous other threads, I don't understand the clinging to the IBJJF model of promotion requirements when the whole point of this site is to be an alternative to IBJJF and their nonsense. Rank should be about skill, not administrative minutia. If a guy walked in off the street and won a world championship, he's a blackbelt whether he's never trained, trained for 6 months, or trained his whole life and got promoted to black belt by a two stripe blue belt while surrounded by gnomes in a circle of fire.
JBlack belt 3rd degreeVerified
1 year(s) ago
Hi everyone, Just a post to talk about something that appears special for me. I saw profiles from people who tells their ranking history and who give them each rank. But then, someone told them that the professor wasn't legit at that time to give the rank, because he wasn't a second degree Black belt at the time or something like that....so the beltchecker told the guy to pretend that he does receive it from something else to legitimate it, with the professor of the actual professor. My issue is that, if someone give it to you, it's a fact and pretending that someone else did it is a kind of a lie... The name of Remco appears in dôme conversations, but the be honest, at the time the guys who receive rank from Remco had so much respect for him that their glad to receive it and for me it didn't invalidade the value of the rank. What's your opinion ?
I suspect my opinion in the case might already be expressed ;-)
A divider here is of course who we think can promote to which belt and if someone legit can authorize someone not legit (with the common standards) to do promotions him/herself without it being a proxy promotion in the name of the legit instructor. I.e. at will override the common promotion standards and expect everyone else in the BJJ community to be fine with it.
More common seems to be the non legit instructors starting to hand out belts far too early without even consulting their own instructor first. I've even seen it within my own lineage, where I'm very aware that it wouldn't have been green lighted. I suspect this is the case with Remco in relation to Draculino as well.
If you're skilled and someone even more skilled expresses that your skills are at a certain belt level, that certainly does not invalidate the value of the skills. It does however invalidate the value of the rank in the same way as a diploma from a non accredited university. You can still be excellent at what you do. Or not. You can have unskilled belt holders with a legit promoting instructor and well known lineage too, but the risk decreases as accountability increases - it would affect the reputation of more people and devalue their investments in BJJ.
(and as I've writtin in numerous other threads - it's not about following IBJJF as (even higher) standards have been around for much longer. It's about upholding a minimum standard and ability to do quality check through formal criteria which is already upheld be probably 90+% of the BJJ community, regardless of affiliation with IBJJF)
A divider here is of course who we think can promote to which belt and if someone legit can authorize someone not legit (with the common standards) to do promotions him/herself without it being a proxy promotion in the name of the legit instructor. I.e. at will override the common promotion standards and expect everyone else in the BJJ community to be fine with it.
More common seems to be the non legit instructors starting to hand out belts far too early without even consulting their own instructor first. I've even seen it within my own lineage, where I'm very aware that it wouldn't have been green lighted. I suspect this is the case with Remco in relation to Draculino as well.
If you're skilled and someone even more skilled expresses that your skills are at a certain belt level, that certainly does not invalidate the value of the skills. It does however invalidate the value of the rank in the same way as a diploma from a non accredited university. You can still be excellent at what you do. Or not. You can have unskilled belt holders with a legit promoting instructor and well known lineage too, but the risk decreases as accountability increases - it would affect the reputation of more people and devalue their investments in BJJ.
(and as I've writtin in numerous other threads - it's not about following IBJJF as (even higher) standards have been around for much longer. It's about upholding a minimum standard and ability to do quality check through formal criteria which is already upheld be probably 90+% of the BJJ community, regardless of affiliation with IBJJF)
MBlack beltVerified
1 year(s) ago
As I've said in numerous other threads, I don't understand the clinging to the IBJJF model of promotion requirements when the whole point of this site is to be an alternative to IBJJF and their nonsense. Rank should be about skill, not administrative minutia. If a guy walked in off the street and won a world championship, he's a blackbelt whether he's never trained, trained for 6 months, or trained his whole life and got promoted to black belt by a two stripe blue belt while surrounded by gnomes in a circle of fire.
I understand and appreciate the sarcasm here, but I think the examples might be a bit extreme. While winning a world championship is undoubtedly impressive, I don’t think someone "off the street" should automatically be considered a black belt. A black belt represents more than just performance in a single event—it’s a culmination of knowledge, skill, and experience in Jiu-Jitsu.
That said, I agree with the critique of the IBJJF's promotion requirements. Their rules can feel arbitrary and overly bureaucratic at times. However, if people are outside the IBJJF's framework, there's no inherent reason they need to follow those rules. This site being an alternative to IBJJF is a great opportunity to explore promotion systems that are more skill-based and adaptable.
On the topic of skills used to "win," it’s worth asking: what techniques or strengths were applied in such a hypothetical case? Was the person an expert in wrestling, judo, or some other discipline that gave them an edge? Winning one championship with a specialized skillset doesn’t necessarily equate to the holistic understanding and adaptability that a black belt entails.
For additional context, the IBJJF's promotion system does have its roots in creating a standardized approach to rank progression across the global BJJ community. While it's far from perfect, this consistency has its merits—ensuring people have comparable skill levels at a given belt rank, particularly when training or competing internationally.
Ultimately, I think this is a great discussion. We can critique the IBJJF while also ensuring that rank (within or outside the IBJJF framework) maintains its integrity by balancing performance, knowledge, and experience.
I guess this response is applicable to Benoit as well.
That said, I agree with the critique of the IBJJF's promotion requirements. Their rules can feel arbitrary and overly bureaucratic at times. However, if people are outside the IBJJF's framework, there's no inherent reason they need to follow those rules. This site being an alternative to IBJJF is a great opportunity to explore promotion systems that are more skill-based and adaptable.
On the topic of skills used to "win," it’s worth asking: what techniques or strengths were applied in such a hypothetical case? Was the person an expert in wrestling, judo, or some other discipline that gave them an edge? Winning one championship with a specialized skillset doesn’t necessarily equate to the holistic understanding and adaptability that a black belt entails.
For additional context, the IBJJF's promotion system does have its roots in creating a standardized approach to rank progression across the global BJJ community. While it's far from perfect, this consistency has its merits—ensuring people have comparable skill levels at a given belt rank, particularly when training or competing internationally.
Ultimately, I think this is a great discussion. We can critique the IBJJF while also ensuring that rank (within or outside the IBJJF framework) maintains its integrity by balancing performance, knowledge, and experience.
I guess this response is applicable to Benoit as well.
RDBlack belt 4th degreeVerified
1 year(s) ago
Hi everyone, Just a post to talk about something that appears special for me. I saw profiles from people who tells their ranking history and who give them each rank. But then, someone told them that the professor wasn't legit at that time to give the rank, because he wasn't a second degree Black belt at the time or something like that....so the beltchecker told the guy to pretend that he does receive it from something else to legitimate it, with the professor of the actual professor. My issue is that, if someone give it to you, it's a fact and pretending that someone else did it is a kind of a lie... The name of Remco appears in dôme conversations, but the be honest, at the time the guys who receive rank from Remco had so much respect for him that their glad to receive it and for me it didn't invalidade the value of the rank. What's your opinion ?
I view the IBJJF as more of a guideline than the end all be all of jiu jitsu ranking.
Some teams do things differently and do not follow the IBJJF format.
As far as Remco is concerned, in my opinion he is as legit as they come.
Some teams do things differently and do not follow the IBJJF format.
As far as Remco is concerned, in my opinion he is as legit as they come.
CGBlack belt 4th degreeVerified
1 year(s) ago
As I've said in numerous other threads, I don't understand the clinging to the IBJJF model of promotion requirements when the whole point of this site is to be an alternative to IBJJF and their nonsense. Rank should be about skill, not administrative minutia. If a guy walked in off the street and won a world championship, he's a blackbelt whether he's never trained, trained for 6 months, or trained his whole life and got promoted to black belt by a two stripe blue belt while surrounded by gnomes in a circle of fire.
This site fully facilitates acceptance of alternative promotion criteria. If people agree that belts should be given by skill or competition results (like you suggest), or even that anyone should be able to promote anyone, then they can just use their voting power towards that, and it could be the new, accepted standard. Beltchecker does in no way enforce IBJJF standards or rules (except for amount of time served requirement in black belt degrees).
So if you want to accept a belt promotion based on new criteria than the generally accepted ones, then you can go ahead and vote for them today. Should enough people agree with you, then congratulations, you just changed the BJJ promotion requirements 🙂
So if you want to accept a belt promotion based on new criteria than the generally accepted ones, then you can go ahead and vote for them today. Should enough people agree with you, then congratulations, you just changed the BJJ promotion requirements 🙂
