Child ranks in 10th Planet BJJ?

[Neil Kiernan]

I was curious what the thoughts on child rankings were in the 10th Planet community. The current 10th planet school my kids are attending apparently teaches in their child classes enough material to allow them to test for blue belt when they get older. That sounds like a decent approach. My kids have gone to other schools where they were told their child ranks wouldn't mean anything at all when they became adults which did not make any sense to me. While I understand trying to avoid the stigma associated with child ranks in McDojos if a kid learns the techniques and can execute them then they should at least be recognized in some way.

Our Judo Sensei takes a more traditional approach (as in from Japan) that in order to rank you have to not only demonstrate the techniques but you have to beat opponents of the rank you wish to attain before he will rank you. There is a separate set of child ranks and I asked him if they could ever get adult ranks and he said "Sure, if they can beat adults." which also seemed like a solid approach that avoids the child rank problem. The way he put it is if they can enter tournaments and compete against adults and beat them it kind of takes the issue out of question. (Mind you, generally only teenagers can pull this off obviously.)

Thoughts?

[Tori Applegate]

We go on a child belt ranking system. It is white, grey, yellow, orange, green. They are eligible for a blue at 16. You can get a grey belt at 15 and not receive a blue for a couple years, thus being an adult grey belt. So I guess the ranks do carry over. You Dont restart at white. You do begin the adult belt system at 16 though.

[Chris Herzog]

In judo children cannot get adult ranks as their are age restrictions. This is set up by the National governing bodies in Judo, your sensei is mistaken. There is a transfer system in place (equivalency structure) that when they age in a "promotion" can take place.

In the long run, it doesn't matter. Transference of skill is what matters most. Emphasis on rank can create a misguided approach to learning, teaching children the importance of learning and developing functional skill through hard work sets a framework for lifelong success rather than material gains, life lessons worth more than a hundred belts.

[Chad Clark]

In the long run, it doesn't matter. Transference of skill is what matters most. Emphasis on rank can create a misguided approach to learning, teaching children the importance of learning and developing functional skill through hard work sets a framework for lifelong success rather than material gains, life lessons worth more than a hundred belts.

Yeah, whatever zog. Sounds like something someone would say because they haven't gotten their black belt yet.... Oh wait.....=]

[john harris & sons]

If you're chasing rank, you're missing what most important! Love of the game, play just to play and if you get promoted BONUS. My son Jacob is 14 & arguably a blue belt. He doesn't want kid rank. That's his preference. Of coarse he eventually want a black belt, but for now he's enjoying the ride

[Neil Kiernan]

If you're chasing rank, you're missing what most important! Love of the game, play just to play and if you get promoted BONUS. My son Jacob is 14 & arguably a blue belt. He doesn't want kid rank. That's his preference. Of coarse he eventually want a black belt, but for now he's enjoying the ride

It's not that I am, or suggesting that anyone should be "chasing rank". However it helps to have a system in place to give kids an idea that they have progressed. And goals they can work towards.

Another invaluable point about youth ranks is that one of the advantages of competing in martial arts tournaments is that you can match kids of similar skill level. Some Wrestling organizations have a "Novice Division" for kids who have only been wrestling for two years. This gives kids who are new a chance to compete with people at their skill level. But once they get outside of that they can end up on the mat with kids that have been wrestling since they were 4. And while winning is not everything it can be extremely discouraging. My son nearly quit wrestling entirely as there was no novice division for his age group and his tournament experience was really rough for the first few months.

[Neil Kiernan]

In judo children cannot get adult ranks as their are age restrictions. This is set up by the National governing bodies in Judo, your sensei is mistaken. There is a transfer system in place (equivalency structure) that when they age in a "promotion" can take place.

He has been in the game a long time so I doubt he is mistaken. I will check with him again for clarification as to what he meant.

[Neil Kiernan]

In the long run, it doesn't matter. Transference of skill is what matters most. Emphasis on rank can create a misguided approach to learning, teaching children the importance of learning and developing functional skill through hard work sets a framework for lifelong success rather than material gains, life lessons worth more than a hundred belts.

I want to again clarify that I am not trying to suggest an "emphasis on rank" other then to say that you can give kids short term goals towards long term goals that represent the hard work.

[Cora Sek]

I want to again clarify that I am not trying to suggest an "emphasis on rank" other then to say that you can give kids short term goals towards long term goals that represent the hard work.

I totally 110% agree with you on this. I've only been a BJJ dad for 3.5 yrs and I've seen so many kids come and go in this sport. I've seen many belt ranking systems. There are many factors involve when a kid quit BJJ, so anything that you can do to keep them interested in the sport is a good thing. Remember we are talking about kids. Ideally, yes one shouldn't strive for that belt promotion, that's if we are living in a perfect world. But the reality is this, kids will be kids and they do get distracted or bored. Some quit because they don't see the progression, some quit because they getting beat all the time in tournaments (because of different belt ranking system applied by different gyms). So there are many factors involved, but if you give a kid some short term goal such as that next belt promotion, maybe, just maybe he/she will stick around long enough to get good and realize this sport is actually for them. I mention his before, how I kept my daughter interested in this sport was we started with a "hit list". A list of all the kids that ever tapped her out or beat her. One by one, her short term goal is to catch up with those kids. Everyone of those kids represent a point system and all those points add up to rewards. The reward for her would be going to the movies or shopping... This works for awhile until she tapped out every kid in her gym or I go broke. The we make another list of the kids that has beaten her in tournaments. She knows that to catch up with these kids, she must train harder. And the prize will reflect accordingly. Adversely, if a kid beat her, points will be deducted from her total points accumulation. So in essence, she's been a prize fighter since she was 8... The belt system is just one way to keep the kids in the sport and to see where they are at among their peers.

[john harris & sons]

Don't know a lot about wrestling tourneys. But jiu jitsu there's novice, beginner, intermediate,& expert/pro. Although Jacob is a white belt, he always competes at or above his skill level, age,weight. I believe (any) martial art is about putting yourself outside your comfort zone so much it becomes comfortable. Still working on getting Jacob to do at least one wrestling tourney. But he's just not feeling the singlet. Lol,I guess a little too far out of his comfort zone. Lol