How many guys have run into posers or reverse posers and how did you handle it?

[Conner MACHINE Gibbons]

I have to say I don't know that I have ever met someone who was a poser. Most guys that have filtered through where I train seem to have a skill level that matches up with their belt color.

I will say I have seen reverse posing far more often. When I used to hit every tournament big or small I would see guys I had run into at other places stepping down in belt ranking. The most common one was purple belts competing in blue belt divisions. I also ran into tons of guys who I knew to be 18-19 years old entering teen divisions as 17 years old.

Anyone else ever see this and how did you handle it?

[Ernest]

I have seen this in Atlanta. The white belt that beat my brother had been competing for almost 2 years at the white belt level. He was more of a blue belt in skill

[ScottRay]

In the houston competition scene, I've seen the competing down a level once before. I don't like this at all.. Then, today in dallas, a medium sized bluebelt wins the heavyweight purple belt division..hmm. I dunno you that one either..

[Andrew Sarasin]

holy shit, really? I guess these people just don't want the chalenge. They just want something to brag about when they win a trophie they didn't deserve. Or maybe they were out of shape and don't train much anymore and just wanted to enter a tournament for fun. I have seen a wrestler enter a beggining JJ tournament and win. That wasn'tt fare but that's life, people cheat.

[Josh Bodmon]

Meh. Competed in a beginners division (under 18 months of training) some time back in nogi, and had an excellent showing, only losing to one guy on a guard pass he got because he escaped my omoplata into side control after minutes of evading just enough to not get penalized. He ended up winning our division and beating his chest roaring like he won the worlds. Later that week I accidentally saw pics of him on facebook rocking a blue belt over a month before said tournament. Was a little ticked, but more so because I didn't beat him then because he sandbagged.

People are going to do stuff like that, and its one of those things where you just kind of ignore them and move on when you're a lower belt because you really are just competing to test yourself and get better and if people don't have the integrity to be true to who they are, that's their issue and it definitely catches up. It is a bit frustrating, but there is little you can do. It is up to the tournament promoter or sanctioning body to monitor these things. If its a major tournament or something super significant, I think sandbagging is a bit more serious of an issue, but at the lower level, its going to happen, and all you can control is your game and how you conduct yourself and perform.

[DanConway]

Sandbagging is the term for 'reverse posing' and its pretty common... At the low levels you have situations like guys with 10 years of wrestling experience entering beginner level because "they've only been doing jitsu for a year', at the high levels you have guys who are keeping their students at purple or brown for months or even years longer than they should be promoted just to crush and be all stars of the competition scene. I havn't run into too many posers though, a few guys claiming to be mma fighters or know how to ufc fight etc..

[Conner MACHINE Gibbons]

I have to confess I'm only a poser at one thing. When people come up to me and ask if I'm the kid that played young Mike Myers in Rob Zombie's Halloween remake. I say yes take the picture with them and sign the autograph. Not because I have some deep need for attention, just because it got to be easier than trying to convince them I'm not.

[Conner MACHINE Gibbons]

conner myers.jpgyoung m myers.jpg You guys be the judge. He's gotta be my brother from another mother. Lol.

[Eddie Bravo]

Dude! You look EXACTLY like him! Lol!

[bobby rivers]

I do the same thing with Brad Pitt.