i been told ,i wish i would have stayed and got my

traneufcisback -  

No, that is not the reason. The reason is that Sauo makes EVERYONE start at white belt at his academy, regardless of affiliation or rank.


Not true

ChangoBravo - I can understand with some, but If I had a BB from Carlson there is no FUCKING WAY I would demote myself to train with ANYONE!!!



Chango

1 ....

But I'm pretty sure it was Jr and not Sr. who gave Torres his BB.... Phone Post

JRockwell -  I wonder if it's possible or will one day be possible to get black belts from multiple instructors in BJJ/GJJ...like academics can have PHD's from various universities.  You could be a black belt under a particular instructor/association that focuses mostly on sport BJJ, and not have the same depth of expertise in self defense as one who trains at a GJJ school, for example (and vice versa).  It seems wrong that it one had the time and the dedication, that one couldn't achieve multiple black belts under multiple instructors if there were not conflicts of interests as far as competition goes. (Insert BJJ drama and politics...here!)


well it is possible if you count 10th planet as bjj

Anarkis - 
scyman - 
traneufcisback -  

No, that is not the reason. The reason is that Sauo makes EVERYONE start at white belt at his academy, regardless of affiliation or rank.


Not true


He demotes the majority of students who come to him already belted.

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&forum=11&thread=1892472&page=3

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72661468

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f12/saulo-ribeiro-downgrading-purple-belts-white-belts-purple-stripes-891916/index3.html


lol. IIRC, scyman actually trains at saulo's academy. i'll take his word over yours brah.

12 -  bb from torrance by more then a few bb's,and yes many that have left have come back.



That's understandable. I think you would hard pressed to find a guy who wouldn't appreciate a black belt from there.

So no one has ever heard directly from anyone who Saulo demoted. They all either read about it online or hear it through the rumor mill. There's people on a lot of these forums, that for some reason or another will continue these rumors (not sure what their agenda is by doing so).

I've trained at UNIJJ almost from the beginning. I've seen a few people demote themselves, and when I ask why they always tell me it's because they do not feel like they're even close to being on the same level as their peers there. I've never heard Saulo or Xande even mention any type of demotions. I think they're both way too respectful of other instructors to do that

ChangoBravo - I can understand with some, but If I had a BB from Carlson there is no FUCKING WAY I would demote myself to train with ANYONE!!!



Chango


I agree 100&!!!

As far as to 12's post I personally feel its a matter of choice. Maybe those blkbelts just felt at home @ the Torrance Academy and could never really fit in. I believe I would probably feel the same way given my experiences with a few Gracie Combatives classes I have taken. Nothing wrong with them just, great techniques and teachers but I personally love the sport aspect more. Just my opinion though.

12 -  bb from torrance by more then a few bb's,and yes many that have left have come back.

No chance they're just being polite or giving u lip service??? Phone Post

And btw, I'm not bashing the Gracie Academy. Phone Post

Anarkis - 
scyman - So no one has ever heard directly from anyone who Saulo demoted. They all either read about it online or hear it through the rumor mill. There's people on a lot of these forums, that for some reason or another will continue these rumors (not sure what their agenda is by doing so).

I've trained at UNIJJ almost from the beginning. I've seen a few people demote themselves, and when I ask why they always tell me it's because they do not feel like they're even close to being on the same level as their peers there. I've never heard Saulo or Xande even mention any type of demotions. I think they're both way too respectful of other instructors to do that




I have met people demoted by Saulo, including a Brown Belt. I was in San Diego when he opened his school and did a walk through. Maybe its a practice he retired in the past couple years, in the begging it was something he definitely did. I think demotion is a bad word though. He would give you a white belt with a stripe of the color you achieved. Then you would work back up to your belt level by learning his system.


Who's the brown belt he demoted? I got there a few months after they opened and did not see a single person with a white belt with colored stripe. I have never even heard of anyone mentioning that happening, and we all know how the gym rumors and gossip go around. If it ever happened, you bet everyone would have been talking about it.

Saulo did that interview prior to opening the school. Apparently, his initial vision of the school did materialize but to this day people are still trying to use it against him. Again, not sure who Anarkis or many of these others are, but they seem to have someone personal against Saulo because they continue to spread these rumors.

I can't see Jr. taking that lightly.

Anarkis - 
scyman - 
Anarkis - 
scyman - So no one has ever heard directly from anyone who Saulo demoted. They all either read about it online or hear it through the rumor mill. There's people on a lot of these forums, that for some reason or another will continue these rumors (not sure what their agenda is by doing so).

I've trained at UNIJJ almost from the beginning. I've seen a few people demote themselves, and when I ask why they always tell me it's because they do not feel like they're even close to being on the same level as their peers there. I've never heard Saulo or Xande even mention any type of demotions. I think they're both way too respectful of other instructors to do that




I have met people demoted by Saulo, including a Brown Belt. I was in San Diego when he opened his school and did a walk through. Maybe its a practice he retired in the past couple years, in the begging it was something he definitely did. I think demotion is a bad word though. He would give you a white belt with a stripe of the color you achieved. Then you would work back up to your belt level by learning his system.


Who's the brown belt he demoted? I got there a few months after they opened and did not see a single person with a white belt with colored stripe. I have never even heard of anyone mentioning that happening, and we all know how the gym rumors and gossip go around. If it ever happened, you bet everyone would have been talking about it.

Saulo did that interview prior to opening the school. Apparently, his initial vision of the school did materialize but to this day people are still trying to use it against him. Again, not sure who Anarkis or many of these others are, but they seem to have someone personal against Saulo because they continue to spread these rumors.



Did you listen to the interview I posted above where Saulo says that is what he does? I guess to answer your question, Saulo spread the rumor when he opened his school. As I said its probably something he initially did and dropped. I moved out of San Diego about three years ago so this was still going on when I was there.

I met him at fashion valley mall at Kay jewelers while chatting with his buddy who trained at Alliance but moved to Saulos. Maybe he got pissed off about the situation and left after a week. Who knows. We also had another guy who came into throwdown a couple times during open mat who trained at Saulo's and chatted about it. He got demoted from Blue to White. He talked about learning Portuguese and how Saulo treated it like a real school with books.


Not sure why you're trying to prove a point based on hearsay and internet gossip, when I can verify everything firsthand. As of September 2007 when I got there, UNIJJ has not had any sort of white belt/stripe demotion. I can also pretty confidently say it wasn't happening for a while before I got there or else I would definitely have heard about it as well (at the time it was a small group of the very first students and something like that would definitely have been discussed). So if this was the case, it could have only occurred in the first few months the school was open.

Again, I've personally witnessed a few students demote themselves. I asked them point blank what happened and they told me they just didn't feel like they were on the same level as other people with the same belt. I've never heard anyone say their demotion was initiated by Saulo, it's always the other way around.

I don't have the time to read the whole Chris Leddy thread (it's over 10 pages long), but I would bet his changing of the belt was initiated more from his coach and himself than Saulo demoting him.

The bottom line is that if you show up to UNIJJ with a belt, Saulo will not demote you. Perhaps I should ask him to address this in another interview so the rumors can be put to rest.

lol @ anarkasis. do i get an apology?

ChangoBravo - In the interview after his last fight, Stephan Bonner talked about how he was a Carlson BB, but had been training recently in Vegas and had earned his BB from Sergio Penha.



Chango


No, I would like to clarify something.

Stephan never said that, but Joe Rogan made several mistakes during the broadcast stating that Stephan was a black belt under Carlson Gracie. Joe Rogan was mistaken because Stephan was just a purple belt when Carlson passed away in 2006 (RIP). Carlson never promoted Stephan to Brown, let alone Black.

Stephan Bonnar is a Black Belt under Sergio Penha.