www.ibjjf.org/graduation.htm
Has anyone else seen this?
Interesting!
Have now.
yes and it is interesting...
One thing that is repeated ad nauseum is that you must have paid your dues every year...is that the interesting part?
The interesting part is that it's interesting
The interesting part is that is bordering on Mcdojoism.
Things like MUST have attended the Refferees course and the first aid
seminar..........yeah,yeah, I know it's a good idea but i am telling you from
experience it is VERY similar to WTF Taekwondo.
I worry that beneath it's "sensible" exterior there is a dark side seeking to
rule and dictate.
Simon Hayes
Carlson Gracie Team London
"10. The 10th degree red belt is limited to the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-
Jitsu: Carlos, Oswaldo, George, Gastão and Hélio Gracie, also known as
the Gracie Brothers."
bullshit
I can kinda understand the First Aid part if the Black Belt is also teaching (I think that in the British Judo Association anyone who runs a club must have a current First Aid cert), but is it the IBJJF's own first aid course (at whatever cost they charge) or a proper independent first aid qualification?
But if you're a BB who doesn't run a club or teach then WTF does first aid have to do with anything?
I have to agree. Now we are going to have someone from Brazil say who is who in the U.S. How many black belts will be grandfathered in? What about guys who already hold rank, but aren't in favor of Gracie Barra (the group that REALLY runs the confederation and this new organization). Will other organizations such as Pedro Sauer Assoc., the IGJJF, Joe Moreira, etc. become subjigated to this new organization.
Looks like $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to me. This will be a system of "if your not listed here.... you musn't be authentic" I say BULLSH#T!
I personally like the system. Of course it will take a while till everyone's aware of it and the regulations become common knowledge to every BJJ competitor and instructor.
A few years down the road it will be quite easy to verify one's rank and time of training, and I believe this is an important evolution in the how the sport is organised.
And the way I see it it's not all about money, but there's a lot of boring paperwork involved and it's just fair that people get paid for doing it.
Regarding the first aid course, I'm pretty sure that any official course in your local area will do; nobody has to pay the Federation for that.
Okay...playing Devil's advocate...what's the alternative?
I mean face Bjj is pretty unorganized, at least on a universal level. I mean, it seems that everyone has their "own" way in regards to how things are done and even standards.
And if Bjj wants to grow as a sport and artform there has to be some type of unity or agreement between school international otherwise it will be every school for themselves. This will only produce a HUGE range of quality among the schools, teachers, fighters and even students.
So although I definitely see what alot of you are saying in regards to dangers etc but what are the alternatives?
Shen,I agree with you wholeheartedly.
Why should our instructors have to pay the CBJJ to validate their own
grades and ours.
"In order to request the black belt certificate it is necessary to be
currently affiliated to the IBJJF, have gone through a first aid course and
be approved in the referee course over the previous 12 months."
By affiliate to the IBJJF they mean pay the IBJJF money.
,
'be approved in the referee course over the previous 12 months.'
This is the part that annoys me (among other things).
This is a case of Carlos Jr. making his own life easier for his money making ventures (Pan ams and Mundials) so he can have every black belt a referee, so they can volunteer their time, so he can have a better tournament and make more money.
What does being an accredited referee have to do with being a bjj instructor? Nothing. Even if I don't go to tournaments. Or even if I do, does that mean I have to ref? Of course not. It means that the IBBJF (Carlos Jr.) gets more of my money because I had to pay to do the course, and probably a refresher course every year after that, just to keep the dollars rolling in.
What if Rickson Gracie didn't pay it? Is he not a legit BB now? LOL! What about his BB students? Are they not legit, 'recognised' BB's? Would they be allowed to enter the Mundials, or they can't because they are not accredited by the IBBJF?
Then there is the membership section. There is an individual membership section and a school membership section, and I assume, the appropriate fees that go along with both. Again, just money making.
It's like when the 'federation' runs tournaments. Everyone always talks about the competitor entry, but most forget about (or don't know about) the school affiliation fees that go along with it.
The Federation in Australia (which surprise surprise, is run by one of Carlos Jr. students and the Gracie Barra school) charges the better part of $50 or more per competitor. Around 300 competitors, he takes home a tidy $15, 000 for one day, when all of the work is done by volunteers, eg. refs, timekeeper, door entry etc.
But on top of that, if you want to enter, your school needs to pay an additional $200 to be an affiliate member of the federation. If your school is not an affiliate member, you can not enter, even if your school only has one person that wants to enter!
Like I said, it's one group of people trying to make as much money as they can of the sport, and it's competitors.
Damn simco got snubbed by the cbjjibjjf...sux
I've been a blue belt for almost 10 years-Can I get 10 stripes on my belt? I was headed towards purple until I got married...
Shen,
I see what you're saying. I agree with you that formalizing and adding layers of red tape, rules and regulations is a bad idea. BUT as much as those things ultimately hurt a martial art in many ways they are needed if an art wants to grow beyond the "family" and the "local/regional" levels.
Truth be told the "beginnings" of all this in Bjj started way back in 1967 when Helio and some of his long time students decided to formalize Gjj/Bjj. Before than Gjj/Bjj wasn't as nearly as formalized as it is now, because, contrary to common belief, Gjj/Bjj was a family/local thing and really didn't need much formalization. I mean there wouldn't be a point. Helio and his students created the first federation as well as institute belts and rules/regulation for competition in order to help promote and spread the art in Brazil. Carlos Jr, because they art is growing internationally, is just expanding on what was started in 1967. One could argue that whole "Mcdojolization" of Gjj/Bjj began in '67 when Helio and his student introduce the idea of belts to Gjj/Bjj and when it began to spread beyond the Gracie Family and Rio.
You said: "BJJ has the highest rank standards in the world."
This simply isn't true. The reason why isn't true because they are no "standards" in Bjj, at least no uniform standards. Promotion is darn near total based on the teachers subjective opinion. He can promote or hold you back for whatever reason, good or bad. This is why there is such a great range of skill level at every so-called belt. What's a purple belt at one school may only be a blue belt at another.
Even the late great Carlson had no "objective standard" for promoting his students. Mario Sperry describe his promotion to black belt as Carlson telling him to put on a black belt, on the day of the tournament, because he wanted him to "fight" and beat a particular student of a rival teacher. Furthermore Carlson himself, in an interview in March 2000 Martial Art & Combat Sports Magazine, claimed, in his mind and in his school, that purple belt and above were the same skill level. So Carlson could have (and did from what I understand) promote any of his purple belts to black in order to fight in some tournament because in his mind his purple belts were black belts (or at least good enough to fight black belt of other schools).
That kind of subjectivity may be good when the art is very local, confined to a few people where one person (the head instructor) can assure high quality. But once the art "grows" beyond the control of one instructor then quality is much much harder to control and standards need to be set.
it's all about the money. it's sad, but true.
I've read through this thread and there is very clearly two sides to this that I think many of us are conflicted by. With these regulations I see it bcoming much like judo. For the most part a high quality well run sport that has flourished world wide. Yes this would be exciting for BJJ, but there is one distinct problem. As I remember Rickson pointing out in an old interview when explaining all other arts as specifically a sport, where as BJJ was not just a sport. I think many of us are drawn to BJJ because it is kind of like surfing. Every day you meet and practice riding the wave, but you can't controll the ocean. There is a certain balance and power to this. Now someone is going to OWN our ocean, that is naturally ours to share.
Growing up as a child in other martial arts, I had trouble remembering names of techniques, but could DO THEM very well. In BJJ the "name" is not important but the DOING is the highest held aspect. As far as belts, you can't have a clear cut distinction between each, at the highest levels. Just like you couldn't stop a wave in its tracks and measure it. This is the beuty of jiu jitsu. With one major organization we are slowly going to turn jiu jitsu into an artificial "pool" that can be taken anywhere. All over the world, maybe even the olympics! BUT the question is, in face of this artificial growth, will our immovable, powerful ocean still exist?