I love this.
I'm new to the forum, but if you'll allow my input here it is:
I've had the opportunity to train in a couple different schools as well as having army combatives. There's all types of different ranking systems that I've come across. I've been a part of a sport jiu jitsu team where it seemed like promotions were only handed out based on social status. If you weren't buddy buddy with the coach you got to be a 4 stripe white belt for a couple years. I moved for work and started training in a Rickson Gracie school that did belt testing, which at the time I thought was silly. Turns out having a basis for promotion kind of ensures that everyone at each belt had a very strong foundational approach to their jiu jitsu and their rank wasn't based on being able to do 3 things really well in competition or being somebody's friend. I have a hard time with the idea of video promoting kids that don't really roll to blue belt, but if the fundamentals are there then I'd have to say a blue belt is a blue belt. I really like Saulo Ribeiro's approach to the belt system in bjj in that there are specific goals of each belt, a white belt needs to learn to survive against higher belts so his objective is purely defensive, a blue belt needs to learn to escape and start mounting his own offense. This isn't to say that a white belt won't ever tap somebody out in the gym, just that you start out as a defenseless baby trudging through the wolf infested world of jiu jitsu until you learn to protect yourself. Then you're ready for the next step..
I'm new to the forum, but if you'll allow my input here it is:
I've had the opportunity to train in a couple different schools as well as having army combatives. There's all types of different ranking systems that I've come across. I've been a part of a sport jiu jitsu team where it seemed like promotions were only handed out based on social status. If you weren't buddy buddy with the coach you got to be a 4 stripe white belt for a couple years. I moved for work and started training in a Rickson Gracie school that did belt testing, which at the time I thought was silly. Turns out having a basis for promotion kind of ensures that everyone at each belt had a very strong foundational approach to their jiu jitsu and their rank wasn't based on being able to do 3 things really well in competition or being somebody's friend. I have a hard time with the idea of video promoting kids that don't really roll to blue belt, but if the fundamentals are there then I'd have to say a blue belt is a blue belt. I really like Saulo Ribeiro's approach to the belt system in bjj in that there are specific goals of each belt, a white belt needs to learn to survive against higher belts so his objective is purely defensive, a blue belt needs to learn to escape and start mounting his own offense. This isn't to say that a white belt won't ever tap somebody out in the gym, just that you start out as a defenseless baby trudging through the wolf infested world of jiu jitsu until you learn to protect yourself. Then you're ready for the next step..