Association promotions

I run an association school under Robson Moura and I'm a brown belt. When our students are ready (IMO) for promotion, Robson either comes to our school or we go to his and the students test in front of Robson. If they pass, they are awarded their belt and certificate from Robson.

For me, I have always trained directly under the person who gave me my belt, including Robson. The question is, for my students, who do they say they got their belt from? I know they are technically awarded their belt from Robson and he has been great about making sure that I am aware of what standards need to be met for each level of promotion and training me so that I can sufficiently pass on that standard to my students. I am in no way insulted if one of my students say they are a such and such belt under Robson Moura and not me, but I am curious as to what I should tell them when they ask me that question "who do I say gave me my belt?"

Thoughts?

I'm guessing they should say they got their belt from Robson Moura via SORT14.

They should say that they're a whatever belt under Robson AND you.

James

Honestly, people will say either Robson or you, depending on what's important to them. Some people want a belt from a famous BJJ guy. For some it means more to have gotten it from the guy they train with every day. Ideally it would be something like what pooper and James mentioned.

I am a blue belt in an RMNU school.

I didn't get my blue from Robson, I got it under the old association.

But when the time comes for my purple, I will be in exactly the same situation as your students. No disrespect to you or my instructors, but a black belt is the one who awards the belt. There is no becoming a purple belt under a brown belt(though I know this happens in special circumstances,) or especially becoming a purple under a purple. At my gym, classes are taught by purples and browns and there really isn't one guy you could claim to be "under."

To me, the lineage question comes down to this. If I say "I'm a blue belt," and someone asks "Sez who?" I need to answer with the name of someone credible. And in this case credibility = a black belt.

Again, I mean no disrespect.

eh...i got my purple under a similar type situation and don't really know the "proper" way to handle it either. i just say my belt is under X (my instructor) but Y (the famous black belt) was the one that tied it on.

on the one hand i don't want to be disrespectful to the black belt b/c he's the one that tied the belt on but on the other hand it was my instructor's knowledge/time/effort that i trained with daily that got my game to that point. so it would be disrespectful not to acknowledge that. i don't know fuck it...every time somebody asks me who my belt is under i'm just going to say your mom and see if they want to test it.

I am in a similar position... I get rank from a Black Belt, but train directly under a Brown Belt.

I usually say that I am ranked under the Black Belt and the Brown Belt.

But my loyalty lies with the Brown Belt.

sk0t - I am in a similar position... I get rank from a Black Belt, but train directly under a Brown Belt.



I usually say that I am ranked under the Black Belt and the Brown Belt.



But my loyalty lies with the Brown Belt.
Pretty much this.



I train under 3 brown belts 3 times a week but when our black belt comes to town he promotes us. 



I say i am under all of them.

 

If you want legit cred, you must go under the GM Shen's association. End of thread.



^^

I sir, am but a humble servant of the Pure Water.

But if people are GENUINELY interested in being under, what a neighbor of mine described as: "The only BJJ association I've ever heard of... sounds good, I guess", check out the Shen Brazilian Jiujitsu Association!

SBJJA@OralRobertsUniv.edu

rayonyx7 - If you want legit cred, you must go under the GM Shen's association. End of thread.


If you can get in! I've had my application for membership in for MONTHS! I worked my ass off on those essays about how BJJ was like my pet cat skippy, and how I grew from that experience ...

Running home to check mailbox again!

It's fine to charge for belt testing. The fee covers the minor cost of the belt and certificate. Whenever we have belt tests, we coordinate them with a seminar with Robson and the students who tested attend the seminar for free. We are very fair to them IMO.

Fakezaga, no disrespect taken at all. It would not bother me one bit if students say they are belted under Robson Moura because it is not untrue.

Robson Moura belt under Sort, imho

You would recieve your Black Belt under Robson Moura and would be listed on www.robsonmoura.com as his black belt.

Your students, when they become black belts will be under you, they would not be listed as black belts directly under Robson.

Have any more good questions you can email me.

So my blue belts are under me, promoted by Robson until I become a Black Belt. They are my students. So they can say "Robson promoted me" and "I am a student of John Graybeal" or "I am a John Graybeal Blue Belt" or "I am a RMNU Blue Belt" or "I am a Robson Moura Blue Belt" all would be OK.

john@robsonmoura.com

John Graybeal

Sober - eh...i got my purple under a similar type situation and don't really know the "proper" way to handle it either. i just say my belt is under X (my instructor) but Y (the famous black belt) was the one that tied it on.

on the one hand i don't want to be disrespectful to the black belt b/c he's the one that tied the belt on but on the other hand it was my instructor's knowledge/time/effort that i trained with daily that got my game to that point. so it would be disrespectful not to acknowledge that. i don't know fuck it...every time somebody asks me who my belt is under i'm just going to say your mom and see if they want to test it.


I think this is the best policy.

I do not think the famous black belt will feel disrepected if they are not mentioned. In fact, like John Graybeal had alluded in his post, Robson (and I'm sure most other "big name" black belts do not want people to say they are black belts under them unless they have trained directly under
them).

This is a very good question however. Lower belt ranks may not matter as much, but when it comes to the policy of giving out black belts, I think a lot of instructors adhere to the policy of being a two stripe black belt (6 years) before handing out a black belt.

(In fact, Marcelo Garcia told me it used to be 3 stripes, so he is waiting for his third stripe this year- 9 years BB, to promote his first black belt).

So the question remains- what happens if you are a 1 or 2 year black belt, and have a brown belt under you that is deserving of a promotion? Do you have to wait the proper 4-5 years when you are a 2nd stripe to promote him, or do you have our teacher promote him to black belt?

kying418 - So the question remains- what happens if you are a 1 or 2 year black belt, and have a brown belt under you that is deserving of a promotion? Do you have to wait the proper 4-5 years when you are a 2nd stripe to promote him, or do you have our teacher promote him to black belt?



This was my situation. My instructor was a first degree BB so he had his instructor (Carlos Jr.) promote me, but when someone asks, I always say I am a BB under my instructor.

Funny part is, when I was promoted he told me "man now you can tell people you are a black under Carlos Gracie, they know that name...If you tell them I am a black under Rafael Ellwanger, they just gonna go who the fuck is that??" lol

So apparently he would not be offended if I didn't claim him.

I always just say i got my rank under the gracies and the machados, those brazilians.

Graybeal is correct.



Also, I am not crazy about Belt tests but understand the need for them if they are done correctly. That is... if they are conducted during regularly scheduled class time, they are free/covered by regular tuition... and if they are conducted outside of class time, they are comprehensive about technique and allow enough time to cover material relevant to the proposed belt rank.



Our school has tests and the test is given in the form of a private lesson where technique is coached and critiqued and questions are encouraged. This is for in-house students and testing students will rarely "open spar" as that is most easily evaluated in a group class prior to a technical exam.



I have my students but route all of the promotion decisions to Marcelo Pereira as the senior instructor. I am there to tie the belt on them, but who they say they are under, is up to them. 

This seems as good a place as any to say that I just got my purple...from Robson Moura.

Awesome- congrats!