Simco was letting Royce try out some moves that he showed Royce earlier.
LOL@ron
Haha, well done, Ron! I could totally imagine Rorion's voice saying those words.
ttt for Gracie jiu-jitsu representatives :)
This and the vid were from a 2003 seminar
Why is everybody so jelous of Simco?
LOL@ Ron, but honestly, how many people on this thread wouldn't Royce do that to?
Shen can you share some knowledge on how Master Simco was able to keep Royce on top of him in north south like that?
Two things:
1) All of the Gracies have an exceptional way of taking the arm without their hips rising at all. They are awesome at it. I am always so impressed by the smooth movement of the way they pass their leg over the head. Beautiful.
2) What happened to Simco could, theoretically, happen to anyone. But, once he was caught, he didnt seem to know at all how to do anything but secure his arms. He was lost. On top of that, when you see Simco perform technique, like in his "highlight" clips from his instructionals, you can see that he doesnt have any of the fluidity or confidence you would expect from a legit brown or black belt.
I was there and what the video doesn't show is that he caught Simco with the same exact move 3 times in a row... and he told him he was going to. 100% no BS.
(Yes, I am in the picture: back row top right with the black rashguard. I was a bit embarassed to be in the pic, ha.)
You forgot about the grips. You must fight for gi grips, so that you can keep holding your opponent firmly on top of you, making it impossible for him to "hip scape" away from your north/south pin.
That match reminds me of an often observation in life - not all teachers are the best doers. I suspect Simco will go a lot farther teaching the art of BJJ than trying to show it on the mats. In life people have different gifts. There is no shame at beig a better teacher/coach than performer.
In my opinion, Simco has many critics because of a few reasons. First, BJJ practioners often define value on performance on the mats. Simco seems to have more of a following due to his teachings. Second, if you are going to build an identity around teaching, don't pretend that you are equally talented on the mats. If so, that type of self promotion only leads to problems when you have to back up your words.
Finally, I think you can have GREAT BJJ teachers that are not necessarily proven champions. Not everyone wants to compete and not everyone is prepared to make the committment necessary to train to compete well. I applaud any teacher who is willing to commit to helping others learn this great sport. However, build your identity around your gift vs. defining your value based on your shortcomings.
Great post Momentum. I think people's main complaint with Gene is the
way he has switched numerous instructor's until he was able to find one
that would promote him to higher belt levels.
I agree that some people are better teachers than fighters, but come on. How can you claim to have good knowledge of BJJ if you can't at least provide a measureable amount of reisistance? Royce told him what he was going to do before he did it, and did the exact same move three times in a row. Gene may be a great teacher by some, but I simply was not impressed by what I saw. Having said that, I'll give him the benefit of a doubt... maybe he was having a bad day or whatever? (Yes, when I rolled with Royce he tooled me, but I was only a two stripe blue then.)
Shen, where are you in the pic?
Momentum, I respectfully disagree with you completely.
You said:
"That match reminds me of an often observation in life - not all teachers are the best doers."
This match should only remind you of this observation - those who arent willing to put in the work, shouldnt get the rewards.
"I suspect Simco will go a lot farther teaching the art of BJJ than trying to show it on the mats."
Considering he hasnt done ANYTHING on the mats, you may be right, but that isnt a vote of confidence in his teaching. Much of what he teaches is either rehashed info lifted directly from another video, or it is simply incorrect. Embarassingly incorrect. AND poorly executed.
"In life people have different gifts. There is no shame at beig a better teacher/coach than performer."
The shame is in not working your way through the belts under a legit instructor. The shame is in avoiding the hard part of jiujitsu, which is rolling with other people. The shame is belt shopping.
There is no shame in becoming a teacher after you have worked your ass off for your belts, even if you arent amazing on the mats. I dont have a problem with anyone who put in their time and knows the information teaching even if they can get caught by athletic blue belts.
"In my opinion, Simco has many critics because of a few reasons. First, BJJ practioners often define value on performance on the mats. Simco seems to have more of a following due to his teachings."
Performance is a part of it, but there are plenty of respected black belt instructors who arent amazing on the mats and havent competed much, if at all. Simco has no following, only a handful of misguided students who will eventually leave him like his former students did. If you only eat crap since birth, you might not know how bad it tastes until you've tried something that isnt crap.
"Second, if you are going to build an identity around teaching, don't pretend that you are equally talented on the mats. If so, that type of self promotion only leads to problems when you have to back up your words."
This is the key to everyone's hate. No one likes someone who isnt authentic. Has nothing to do with being a world champion, just with being honest.
"Finally, I think you can have GREAT BJJ teachers that are not necessarily proven champions."
Absolutely. Simco is neither.
"Not everyone wants to compete and not everyone is prepared to make the committment necessary to train to compete well."
Definitely.
"I applaud any teacher who is willing to commit to helping others learn this great sport."
I dont. Some are in it strictly for the money. I suspect that is the case with Simco because he didnt put in the work to become a real black belt (with knowledge that could help his students) and he doesnt put his ass out there to train with others so that he can improve for his students. This lone instance of him rolling is the exception that proves the rule.
"However, build your identity around your gift vs. defining your value based on your shortcomings."
Not sure what this means, but I respect the hell out of ya!
Killer post andre, i agree almost 100%.
"All of the Gracies have an exceptional way of taking the arm without their hips rising at all. They are awesome at it. I am always so impressed by the smooth movement of the way they pass their leg over the head. Beautiful."
That has a lot to do with how flexible they are. Royce is very flexible. Marcelo garcia also takes arms like this from the top, from the rolling footage ive seen of him in seminars- his hips are very low and he just swings the legs, very smooth.
Who is Simco a BB under? I checked his site and there no information about his progression.
"In my opinion, Simco has many critics because of a few reasons."
Yes - he's a liar and a fraud.
And many criticisms stem from the people who trained under him and were fooled by him, and are now angry.
Well everyone is overlooking a major point here. The "Spider" is much more of a Vale Tudo fighter and this match with Royce is clearly sport bjj. Look it up in the "Master Text" where master Simco conveiniently insterts himself into the developing history of BJJ.
Andre,
First, I have no problem with anyone disagreeing with my views, especially if they are as respectful as you in sharing their views. For what it is worth, I am not a big Simco fan.
Here is my main issue with him. I understand that not all achievers are great teachers. However, I equally understand that experience is the best teacher. I think you need to compete, perform on the mats, etc. to really provide the maximum value as a teacher. As far as I can remember, Simco seemed to find more value in using politics than performance to earn his name. I am not saying that is wrong but in my book it is not the best way.
In the end, I really don't want to judge anyone but myself. I hope Simco is happy and has at least made some difference in his pursuit to teach BJJ. At the end of the day, the true examples in life achieve and contribute at levels beyond the comprehension of their peers. I am not sure I would classify Simco as an "example" under my standards.