POLL: Am I being too tough on affiliates??

[Tim Gillette]

Everything is fine the way it is. A trip to HQ for a week isn't too much to ask. Nate and I try to get out there once a year and it costs about $500 total each. That's airfare, rental car, hotel, gas and food for a full week. We don't stay in a crappy hotel and rent a piece of crap car either.

If you stayed in a Hostel and found alternative transportation, the trip can easily cost less.

Plan the trip a year in advance and stay disciplined about putting the money away. A dollar here and there can add up to a week at HQ.

[Christopher Piper]

Should I start giving out brown belts at seminars to instructors who won't compete and won't travel to Cali to test themselves against HQ purples, browns and blacks?

Should I?

What yalls think?

I will if most of you think i should.

If people don't compete, what would it matter to the person if they got a belt or not? This is combat sports, ppl gotta put everything on the mat. Unless they are an instructor - then its the instructors job to provide and create the submission fighters and let the pupils leave it on the mat.

I personally enjoy an easy going atmosphere inside a gym, but some ppl just go soft. I've seen some places that are straight up carebear gyms without any intentions on challenging their games in competition. And as a result their games is hindered, never evolves and it becomes the herds mentality...

Although, I personally cannot do this myself. I think You should combine 1 and 2. Ppl compete, submit their vids and apply for testing.

I work 68 hours a week and only get 1 week (company designated) of vacation a year. And I use that one week to take the 2k mile trip to visit our families back home.

All competing I do is on very little sleep and within 3 hours driving distance.

All because I love the sport.

[joeln]

Eddie,
I think your criteria is very fair and still keeps the integrity of rank. Those who cannot meet the criteria for whatever reason will just have to accept it. You can't please everyone and if you lessen the requirements it could take something away from the achievements of the ones who did follow said requirements.

my .02
Joel

[David Rosado]

Than its not important enough to you, that is excatly the sacrifice were referring to. Who doesn't have those commitments? Everyone has work and family obligations. Since I graduated college I've had a full time job (I worked in human services for peanuts for 15 years), ran a school(which only made enough to pay for itself to stay open) on top of my own training and a wife and family obligations. Yet I still found time, and busted my ass saving money to go train with my Sambo Coach in Canada, My Judo Coach in Detriot, in Iowa with Pat Miletich and obviously at HQ with Eddie.

If you WANT it you will find a way.

Damn. I gotta say, I'm honored to even have a chance to be taught by Coach Herzog and his crew. That's dedication.

If people don't compete, what would it matter to the person if they got a belt or not? This is combat sports, ppl gotta put everything on the mat. Unless they are an instructor - then its the instructors job to provide and create the submission fighters and let the pupils leave it on the mat.

I personally enjoy an easy going atmosphere inside a gym, but some ppl just go soft. I've seen some places that are straight up carebear gyms without any intentions on challenging their games in competition. And as a result their games is hindered, never evolves and it becomes the herds mentality...

Although, I personally cannot do this myself. I think You should combine 1 and 2. Ppl compete, submit their vids and apply for testing.

I work 68 hours a week and only get 1 week (company designated) of vacation a year. And I use that one week to take the 2k mile trip to visit our families back home.

All competing I do is on very little sleep and within 3 hours driving distance.

All because I love the sport.

Damn dude. Props to you as well. I thought I had it tough. Not even.



Eddie, for what it's worth, I appreciate your love for the guys who train the system, but in the end, you just gotta be a leader and stick to your guns. Even if everyone said otherwise, sometimes you just gotta stick to your guns. I think your requirements are more than fair.

[Jonathan Wylie]

Eddie you have built an incredible affiliation and gained a huge amount of support in what is really a short amount of time up against a lot of negative resistance and you did it on your terms. I would say you know what you are doing. I think your questions are really an attempt to send a message and the answers from your affiliate instructors have driven that point home loud and clear.


I bet $ I could guess the source of the whining but I hope I'm wrong.

[Dylan Ehrnreiter]

I agree with Zog. The fact that Eddie and his schools put out SO MUCH free content all over the web, plus providing us all with the books to work out of. He even now has a shirt for guys like me, who are putting in the numbers on our own. I don't compete due to both my knees being shot, so asking me to come to HQ if I want to rank up seems like a small thing to ask, since he has already given me hours and and hours of what feel like private lessons, and several of his students, Zog being a prime example, put out new videos all the time. He even posts a log of what his school worked on during a given class, a log I do my best to drill with my partners.

On top of that, Eddie, Zog, or any of the rest will PERSONALLY RESPOND to messages and questions you send them. How can anyone possibly complain about a trade off like that?

[Enrique "Kiko"]

I bet $ I could guess the source of the whining

I think that's it as well Jonathan. You may have hit the nail right on the head

[Andrew Maxwell]

Should I start giving out brown belts at seminars to instructors who won't compete and won't travel to Cali to test themselves against HQ purples, browns and blacks?

Should I?

What yalls think?

I will if most of you think i should.

Dseffinately don't change things, 10th Planet has good continuity with in its ranks. With the way it is now, when you get advice from a 10th Planet brown or black belt you know he's legit, earned his belt, and is giving out good advice.

[Jay Chow]

You know what, I think it depends ENTIRELY on their situation. It's cool for me to say I can get there once a year, but sometimes we go through money problems, we expect children, we move house, we have a job we can't get away from for long enough without sacrificing too much money.

A lot of us can make it down there, I'm 21 and I live at home. I try to make it down once a year to HQ and I've been the past two years. Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, I won't be able to make it. Spilling water on your laptop which is the source of some of your income costs a lot of money to fix. For example, £650, nearly a new computer. That's my excuse for this year, but I will FOR SURE come down next year for a month to make up for it. I can't wait.

So, I think special exceptions can be made for people who are unable to travel. You should give out belts according to their skill level, determination, loyalty and situation. However, they better be at an unbelievably high level to be given it, something which you will be able to determine straight away. We've all rolled with White belts who are way overdue their Blue (or even Purple) belts. Maybe they are super determined, but super poor. Maybe they have a low-end job and need to support a family, but that doesn't take away from their skill level OR their loyalty.

That's just my two cents, take it as you like,

[David Rosado]

From what I read, purple's can promote blues. Blues and purples aren't the issue though. It's browns and blacks. IMO, if you can make the sacrifice to even get to that point (years), then you can figure a way to make a sacrifice to put in the time to get promoted. In other words, you spent years training to get to brown/black. I'm sure you can figure out a way to take a week to get to HQ.