No disrespect to anyone..

[stlnl]

thanks.. and im very sorry that i asked a question that you obviously see as a waste of your time. I only hope to one day understand just a fraction of your infinite wisdom. I shall make sure that from now on i only ask questions that require deep philosophical answers. Because it is now apparent to me.. that wanting to know the reasoning behind belts before i jumped to conclusions about them.. was not a question that stlnl feels is worthy to be asked. i as for your forgiveness, though i know i am unworthy of receiving it.

You were not asking a question. You posted a long rant, that went all over the place. Ask a pointed question, without your slant on it, and you will get some more folks to answer. You created about 5 discussions in one post, lumping several styles together, etc.

For your purposes (grappling comp (no gi) or MMA comp) you already knew the answer. I think folks call the sort of post you made a "troll" post. However I could be wrong, and you could just be a 16-20 y/o new to BJJ/TPJJ/grappling training in general. If you are the latter, and not the former, apologies for slighting your questions.

[JeffRace727]

A big problem I see with belts is people get into the habit of dishing out respect based on them. No belt, no respect.

This I personally find quite disgusting and not in the spirit of Martial Arts.

I believe everyone has respect for everyone, just different amounts of it, of course people are going to have more respect for a black belt than a white belt. You got to respect a guy who puts years, years, and years into Jiu Jitsu.

[JeffRace727]

you guys forget that a lot of people on here fight MMA. Belts matter when it comes to that. You have to have an impressive resume if you want to fight in the big leagues. You might be a hell of a fighter, but if you have no credentials they are just going to think you're an amateur, and you're no different than any other half ass fighter. Also, belts are important to me cause they symbolize your hard work and dedication and there is a lot of respect that comes with that. When you get a black belt you feel like you're legit now, you feel like you just joined the black belt club...like you're on the same level as some of the legends and top fighters in the world. It's true a belt doesn't show how good you are, but still man...you have to respect the belt. A lot of time and hardwork goes into getting those things, and if that isn't something to be proud of then wtf is?

[stlnl]

Dont get me wrong, nothing wrong with being proud of rank you have worked for. However, for purposes of MMA, its pretty much a non factor. I know a guy who a B E A S T on the mat, fights in strikeforce, and is a white belt.

[chronic_jiujitsu]

you guys forget that a lot of people on here fight MMA. Belts matter when it comes to that. You have to have an impressive resume if you want to fight in the big leagues. You might be a hell of a fighter, but if you have no credentials they are just going to think you're an amateur, and you're no different than any other half ass fighter. Also, belts are important to me cause they symbolize your hard work and dedication and there is a lot of respect that comes with that. When you get a black belt you feel like you're legit now, you feel like you just joined the black belt club...like you're on the same level as some of the legends and top fighters in the world. It's true a belt doesn't show how good you are, but still man...you have to respect the belt. A lot of time and hardwork goes into getting those things, and if that isn't something to be proud of then wtf is?

now THAT is a good answer. I never thought about the credential thing. That would make sense. If i put fights on.. I would definitely choose a black belt over a white belt if there records were the same. I guess you cant expect them to watch your previous fights and base it off that.. its all about whats on paper with them. way to think outside of my current box in which i am sitting

[stlnl]

Guys, big shows dont care one whit about credentialed rank. They only care about your past fight performances (and anyone in a big show will have a pretty good deal of fight history). Local/smaller shows.........could also IME care less about rank, they simply need a warm body to show up and go through with fighting.

[chronic_jiujitsu]

thats not true Jeff.. dont listen to him!! i LOVE your analogy.. dont let him squash your brilliant mind. He can keep his facts.. we'll just pull a U.S. govt on this one and put our hands over our ears and pretend what he's saying isnt true so that we dont have to admit we're wrong.. its PERFECT!