Progressing...(vent)

[DavidHamp]

Ok so i just kinda wanna vent to my fellow 10th planets warriors. Is there anyone else out there besides me that feels like no matter how much you train and watch videos that you will never get belted or even just make it to the next level cause of where your from? Example: I'm from Alma, Mi. Its right in the middle of the mitten Alma is a town of about 9000 people low jobs low money. The closest 10th p to me is in Detroit which is over 2 hours away. Needless to say i just dont have the means to travel to a legit gym when i can i go to my gym that my training partner is a blue belt in 10th p which i hang with all day long. Just feeling down lately about jitz. i wanna some day make it to at least a brown belt level but wonder if thats a reachable goal from my location and money background(meaning i'm poor) is it possible?

[HerbChao]

Anything is possible-if the dream is big enough as some say! Don't give up, keep at it .

[Jason 'J-Faz' Farren]

I've been a white belt for three years in the system.
I also live two hours away from my instructor, and yeah it's real hard to get where you wanna go with that disadvantage.
But ask yourself this question if you never got belted would you still do Jiu-Jitsu? Would you still be 10th Planet?
That's your answer.
I sure as shit would, Jiu-Jitsu to me is waaaaaay more than what colour is around my waist (or on my patch ;D) maybe you just need to take a break and assess what you want, and let that hunger to roll set back in.

[RayLie]

I suggest finding an open minded submission grappling spot close to you (BJJ, catch wrestling, sambo... lots of "MMA" gyms have no gi grappling) and training there on a regular. Doesn't have to be 10th Planet (even Eddie's said, just do jiu-jitsu is better than no jiu-jitsu). If you're learning techniques from the 10th Planet system online, through books or videos, drill them and test them out at your gym. If you've got an open minded instructor, he'll be cool w/it. I started at 10th Planet San Francisco, but b/c I relocated a few times, I found gyms that suited me. Actually a lot of the stuff I learned there helped me to better understand the 10th planet system and better apply it. Now that I'm back closer to a 10th Planet school I haven't come back b/c I really like my current place. I still work on and incorporate twister side control and my 1/2 game is based on Eddie's. I drill during open mat days and my instructor occasionally will teach techniques similar to ones in Eddies books (even Eddie freely admits most of the moves have existed before he just incorporated it into a system that works for him). But again focus on finding an open minded spot and getting the mat time in, the physical and mental benefits will outweigh the quest for belts (and the belts will come).

[Dane]

. The closest 10th p to me is in Detroit which is over 2 hours away. Needless to say i just dont have the means to travel to a legit gym when i can i go to my gym that my training partner is a blue belt in 10th p which i hang with all day long. Just feeling down lately about jitz. i wanna some day make it to at least a brown belt level but wonder if thats a reachable goal from my location and money background(meaning i'm poor) is it possible?

so you've got a training partner who's a 10th planet blue belt and you can train with him all day? That's your answer right there; you train with that guy as often as you can and learn everything you can off him. Many guys training in the 10th planet system are so far from a school they rarely get to roll with blues. You've got your own personal blue belt training partner available to you at all times, you need to make the most of that opportunity.

Once you start doing better with him, start dropping in when you can at the 10th planet school,even it's only once a month. Make a weekend trip out of it or something. Jason posted earlier about how far he travels; he and i used to roll together all the time before i got shelved with an injury, he lives further away from the school than anyone i know and he comes down regularly because he wants it BAD.

[Keith Jennings]

not "grading" or the colour of the fabric wrapped around your ass will never get in the way of progression mate. Like RayLie said get to a gym, any gym and learn jiu jitsu, doesn't mean you can't study 10p just because your coach doesn't teach it, when you start catching guys out with it they'll come to you for a heads up on it.

Also 2 hours aint that far get down there even once a month, I'm planning on making the journey down to Melbourne to the only 10p gym in Australia it's a days worth of flying and probably only be able to do it once a year but it's better than nothing, and it'll help me sharpen up my 10p skills to bring back and throw on the guys at my home gym.

[Jeremy Gould]

I've been I white belt for 6 years Once you start tapping higher ranks you'll quit caring about it. Train hard and learn everything you can. You'll notice your knowledge of 10thplanet will open up a ton of opportunities on the mat. People that don't train it will give you stuff all day. Cats will get hip to your game and want to know "what the hell was that"

[Chris Herzog]

First thing you need to do is ditch that cancerous negative outlook! Next is to realize if you want something bad enough you have to work your ass off for it. Then you can focus on making the appropriate scarfices in order to make it happen. I've never had money and still don't ( I make a "living" on teaching, and some months I don't get paid at all if the gym is doing poorly) however my training, next to my family, is a priority. If you want it bad enough, you'll scrape pennies, and before you put that next soda, beer or extra sandwhich down your throat you'll look at as and extra dollar in your training fund. My first trip to LA took me over a year and 1/2 to save up from doing privates, cutting back on personal interests, hanging out with my boys, taking my wife out on dates, etc. 2 hours is a fucking jog compared to the distance some people travel to train with their instructors. I wish I only had to drive 2 hours to train with my coaches. Making excuses only perpetuates the problem. Don't find ways to continue to hold yourself down, start coming up with solutions. Start a change jar and label it with your goal and start filling that bitch up!

[Chris Cabral]

First thing you need to do is ditch that cancerous negative outlook! Next is to realize if you want something bad enough you have to work your ass off for it. Then you can focus on making the appropriate scarfices in order to make it happen. I've never had money and still don't ( I make a "living" on teaching, and some months I don't get paid at all if the gym is doing poorly) however my training, next to my family, is a priority. If you want it bad enough, you'll scrape pennies, and before you put that next soda, beer or extra sandwhich down your throat you'll look at as and extra dollar in your training fund. My first trip to LA took me over a year and 1/2 to save up from doing privates, cutting back on personal interests, hanging out with my boys, taking my wife out on dates, etc. 2 hours is a fucking jog compared to the distance some people travel to train with their instructors. I wish I only had to drive 2 hours to train with my coaches. Making excuses only perpetuates the problem. Don't find ways to continue to hold yourself down, start coming up with solutions. Start a change jar and label it with your goal and start filling that bitch up!

^WORD!!^
A year or so ago I was feeling the same way as you David. I was making excuses for myself and just felt down about my progression, until I realized a few things.
First: In reality the belt color doesnt mean shit. As long as you can put your ego aside and don't need the recognition to advance then you'll be fine. Just because you don't have a higher belt rank it doesn't stop you from learning all you can and applying it the same as any blue or purple belt would.
Second: Distance can definately be a pain in the ass sometimes, but it could be alot worse. Personally, I don't have a 10th planet moon closer than 10.5 hours from me. But as Zog said, you scrape and save for as long as it takes to make it happen. As long as you want it bad enough it will all be worth it. With a moon being only 2 hours away just try aiming for a trip once a month or something like that. In the meantime, since you have a 10th planet blue belt at your disposal every and all day, Id be taking full advantage of that. Im sure theres others like me were they are the only nibiru warriors around, so to have someone always around like that is huge.
Pretty much the main point is that most of the time you are your own worst enemy. It took me a bit to figure that out but once I did it was easier to let myself progress regardless of what color fabric is hanging on my wall.

[Kyle Spalla]

First thing you need to do is ditch that cancerous negative outlook! Next is to realize if you want something bad enough you have to work your ass off for it. Then you can focus on making the appropriate scarfices in order to make it happen. I've never had money and still don't ( I make a "living" on teaching, and some months I don't get paid at all if the gym is doing poorly) however my training, next to my family, is a priority. If you want it bad enough, you'll scrape pennies, and before you put that next soda, beer or extra sandwhich down your throat you'll look at as and extra dollar in your training fund. My first trip to LA took me over a year and 1/2 to save up from doing privates, cutting back on personal interests, hanging out with my boys, taking my wife out on dates, etc. 2 hours is a fucking jog compared to the distance some people travel to train with their instructors. I wish I only had to drive 2 hours to train with my coaches. Making excuses only perpetuates the problem. Don't find ways to continue to hold yourself down, start coming up with solutions. Start a change jar and label it with your goal and start filling that bitch up!

Coach Zog with some great knowledge. Well said.