Fraudulent black belt alert!!!

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10-09-2015, 01:25 PM
Apperz

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Fraudulent black belt alert!!!

Got this from Gracie University today...

Quote:

FRAUDULENT BLACK BELT ALERT!!!
Important Information for the Jiu-Jitsu Community

It has come to our attention that a Gracie University member, Mark McMahon, is misleading people to believe he is a 2nd degree jiu-jitsu black belt at HighKix Martial Arts in Latrobe, PA. Since it is very common for legitimate BJJ black belts to join Gracie University (and take the blue belt test) in pursuit of the street self-defense components of jiu-jitsu, before posting this, we needed to confirm that Mr. McMahon had not earned a legitimate black belt from another source. Upon reviewing the Gracie University records, here is what we found:

1. Mr. McMahon passed the Technical Blue Belt test via the Gracie University Video Evaluation Process on 3/24/2015. He is not an official blue belt and has not had his skills verified at a Certified Training Center.

2. Anytime a student submits a video evaluation for Technical Blue Belt consideration, we ask a series of questions to help with our assessment. Here are some of the pertinent GU questions and Mark McMahon's responses to them:

GU Question: What do you estimate to be the total number of hours you have trained in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu?
Mark McMahon Response: Approx. 200 hours

GU: Have you learned Gracie or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from other sources? If so, please explain.
MM: No

GU: Do you practice any other martial arts? If so, please explain which ones and for how long.
MM: Tang Soo Do - 12 years

Based on the information gathered and the fact that Mr. McMahon has received no jiu-jitsu instruction from any sources outside of his study through Gracie University, we can conclude, without a doubt, that he is misrepresenting himself as a jiu-jitsu black belt.

Black Belts Are NOT Transferable
With the explosive popularity of MMA and jiu-jitsu, many martial arts schools are offering multiple disciplines under one roof. This, in and of itself, is not a problem. If however, a black belt instructor of one discipline such as Tang Soo Do, decides that he will wear a black belt when teaching a jiu-jitsu class, even though he is not a black belt in jiu-jitsu, this is called "Black Belt Transferring" and this is a SERIOUS problem.

There is a strict policy against Black Belt Transferring at all Gracie Academy Certified Training Centers, and even though Mr. McMahon is not certified to teach, and his school has no affiliation to the Gracie Academy, his actions are condemnable.

As jiu-jitsu's popularity continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, fraudulent black belts will continue to surface. It's up to the community to continue reporting suspicious activity so that people are not mislead regarding the authenticity of their instructor's rank or lineage.

All frauds must fall.

Attachment 3436
10-09-2015, 01:41 PM
Mojoplata

We had a funny fake black belt at nearby training place recently. An 18 year old kid just walked in and said he was a 2nd degree black belt. I saw a video of said black belt being tapped 12 times in 2 minutes by a 2 stripe blue belt
10-09-2015, 01:54 PM
Enrique "Kiko"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mojoplata

We had a funny fake black belt at nearby training place recently. An 18 year old kid just walked in and said he was a 2nd degree black belt. I saw a video of said black belt being tapped 12 times in 2 minutes by a 2 stripe blue belt

Link of video please =D. I needs my daily entertainment.
10-09-2015, 01:58 PM
Apperz

It's been on here before (that video) - youtube it :)
10-09-2015, 04:51 PM
Enrique "Kiko"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apperz

It's been on here before (that video) - youtube it :)

I honestly don't remember a video about an 18 year old claiming to be a BB in BJJ anywhere =(.
10-11-2015, 07:25 AM
Mojoplata

It's on a training partners phone, I'll see if he'll upload it. It wasn't like he was teaching people, he just thought he would pop in and we would believe him for some reason. He also said Royce Gracie's brother gave him his black belt.
10-11-2015, 02:01 PM
Enrique "Kiko"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mojoplata

It's on a training partners phone, I'll see if he'll upload it. It wasn't like he was teaching people, he just thought he would pop in and we would believe him for some reason. He also said Royce Gracie's brother gave him his black belt.

Awesome thank you. Also, that's a HELL of a black belt lineage story. "Royce Gracie's brother gave me my black belt." He could have just named the exact person's name who gave him his belt right? I don't know who's quote this is but, "The mats never lie."
10-11-2015, 02:59 PM
Ericp

Teen Gracie University Blue Belts Teach Jiu-Jitsu Wearing BJJ Black Belts
[post-views]
Oct 11, 2015GileArticles, FeaturedComments Off

Teen Gracie University Blue Belts Teach Jiu-Jitsu Wearing BJJ Black Belts

A few days ago BJJEE ran an article on a BJJ instructor who pretended to be a BJJ black belt (exposed by the excellent BJJ Hour) when he was in fact just a Gracie University ‘Technical Blue belt’ (Received belt through the mail). The article provoked uproar in the worldwide BJJ community and the martial arts academy where he was employed terminated his program. The Gracie Academy (home of Gracie University) reacted swiftly and denounced him as a fraud.

Gracie Academy stated that they approved of the community chasing black belt frauds and that black belts from other martial arts wearing their black belts while teaching a Jiu-Jitsu class was a serious problem:

Black Belts Are NOT Transferable
With the explosive popularity of MMA and jiu-jitsu, many martial arts schools are offering multiple disciplines under one roof. This, in and of itself, is not a problem. If however, a black belt instructor of one discipline such as Tang Soo Do, decides that he will wear a black belt when teaching a jiu-jitsu class, even though he is not a black belt in jiu-jitsu, this is called “Black Belt Transferring” and this is a SERIOUS problem.

There is a strict policy against Black Belt Transferring at all Gracie Academy Certified Training Centers, and even though Mr. McMahon is not certified to teach, and his school has no affiliation to the Gracie Academy, his actions are condemnable.

As jiu-jitsu’s popularity continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, fraudulent black belts will continue to surface. It’s up to the community to continue reporting suspicious activity so that people are not mislead regarding the authenticity of their instructor’s rank or lineage.

All frauds must fall.

BJJEE.com was contacted by a fan about another case of Gracie University blue belts teaching a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class with a BJJ black belt (black with red band and degrees):

Saw your article about the Gracie fraud and it is happening everywhere. Here is a group of girls in my area that are claiming to be Gracie instructors at the ages of 15 and 17. If you call they claim they are black belts and teach Gracie JJ to hide the fact they are not Gracie BB.
I love for a big site like yours for exposing these frauds.

This case is similar to the last one. Teenage sisters Emma and Maycee Barber run the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu training centre in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. According to the Gracie Academy list of training centres, they are both blue belts under the Gracie Academy and students of Gracie University. The sisters are also black belts in Karate.

From the pictures on their website and their Facebook page, the sisters teach Jiu-Jitsu classes wearing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gi and a BJJ black belt (Red bar with 2 degrees). This type of black belt with the red bar is specific to BJJ and not used in Karate.

Their website also doesn’t mention who are the instructors and their rank on their About Us page.

Their academy only teaches Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as seen here . So why aren’t they wearing their Jiu-Jitsu blue belts when teaching? This is misleading people who don’t know any better.

The town where they live, Fort Collins, has two other BJJ academies that are both run by black belts. One of them is run by a Royce Gracie black belt (also focused on self defense).

Here are some pictures of the girls (From their Facebook page) with Rener Gracie wearing their blue belts (June 2015). They wear their blue belts only when around Rener Gracie:

sisters

With no Rener Gracie around, they teach wearing a BJJ black belt and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gi, even a Helio Gracie centenial Gi:

gracie3

gracie

gracie1

gracie4

As a result of this article, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins issued a statement that the girls were only wearing their kartet black belt (which is actually a BJJ black belt since karate black belts do not have a red bar and white degrees) when teaching the Karate class. The only problem is not Karate is not mentioned in the schedule:
10-11-2015, 04:43 PM
Enrique "Kiko"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ericp

As a result of this article, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins issued a statement that the girls were only wearing their kartet black belt (which is actually a BJJ black belt since karate black belts do not have a red bar and white degrees) when teaching the Karate class. The only problem is not Karate is not mentioned in the schedule:

Quick schedule name change to "Karate" incomming?
10-11-2015, 10:32 PM
Arman Fathi

His face looks like a sad puppy-dog.
10-12-2015, 12:19 PM
Ericp

Rener Gracie: ‘The Girls Are Not Misrepresenting Their Jiu-Jitsu Rank’
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Oct 12, 2015GileBJJ NewsComments Off

Rener Gracie: ‘The Girls Are Not Misrepresenting Their Jiu-Jitsu Rank’

Teen sisters Maycee and Emma Barber run the Fort Collins Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Colorado.The sisters are Jiu-Jitsu blue belts and Gracie University students. They are both Karate black belts too.
Pictures on their academy’s Facebook page and website show them giving Jiu Jitsu lessons, as they are wearing BJJ black belts and Gracie Jiu Jitsu Gis. These types of black belts have red bars and are only used in BJJ.

The sisters teach BJJ and Karate at their school, and according to several students who train there, they use black belts when teaching karate and blue belts when teaching jiu-jitsu.

The Gracie Academy in California issued this statement supporting the girls:

Like many CTCs, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins offers multiple disciplines under one roof. In the wake of the fraudulent black belt post, a jealous person in their community falsely accused the instructors of misrepresenting their rank. Emma and Maycee do an amazing job with their kids karate program and are amazing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu instructors. Not only are they proud Gracie blue belts, but they’re savages to roll with! Here is a statement from our Fort Collins CTC:

“There has been some speculation regarding the rank of instructors, Emma and Maycee Barber, at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins. The Barber Sisters trained in karate for 12 years and jiu-jitsu for 4 years at Sykes Family Martial Arts in Fort Collins. They earned black belts in karate and were active instructors in the dojo. After Emma and Maycee went through the Gracie Academy Instructor Certification Program, the Barber Family acquired Sykes Family Martial Arts from it’s previous owner in 2014, and they decided rebrand the school as Fort Collins Martial Arts/Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins. Due to the success of the karate programs at Sykes Family Martial Arts, the Barber Sisters continued teaching the standalone karate program at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins in addition to all the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu programs authorized by the Gracie Academy. Although the eventual goal is to transition all the kids karate students into the Gracie Bullyproof program, in the meantime the Barber Sisters do a great job teaching karate to a solid group of dedicated students. To clarify any misunderstanding, while they almost always wear Gracie gis in the academy, regardless of what they’re teaching, the Barber Sisters wear their karate black belts when teaching karate, and when teaching Gracie Jiu-Jitsu they always (and proudly) wear their jiu-jitsu blue belts, as indicated in the photos below. As always, we invite anyone who lives in or around the Fort Collins area to come in for 10 days of free training to experience the amazing programs we offer.

-Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Collins”

Rener Gracie appeared on the BJJ Hour podcast and expressed his support for the girls. He said that there was no representation of rank.

The only problem is that the pictures feature a black belt with a red bar and white degrees which are specific to BJJ Not to Karate or Kenpo. In the girls karate style (Kajukenbo), there is no belt which looks like a BJJ black belt and their own instructor had no red bar on photos from 2013:

karate black belt
Kajujenbo is the style of their karate instructor Seth Sykes (Gracie affiliated before he went to jail for sexually molesting a minor) are the different types of black belts in that art http://ngsgungfu.tripod.com/blackbelt.html .