am i over reacting or being unreasonable?

[Arman Fathi]

Let the burden be on the instructor. I'd take it as a complement if people thought I sand-bagged. But the onus is on you to finish in 1st place in embarrassing fashion.

[Arman Fathi]

Not every jiu jitsu instructor in the world has his student's best interests at heart, nor is everything every black belt says correct, or a good idea. I'm simply suggesting that people should continue to think for themselves, and should also listen to what other people tell them.

This shouldn't be ignored. It's bigger than jiu jitsu and goes more toward human nature. I'd like to think that a Jiu Jitsu black
belt has for the most part gone through great physical, mental, and spiritual development to reach the point that they've reached today. In other words, they got to where they are by getting their shit together. I haven't met many black belts that for the most part don't have their shit together, on the mats and in life. Now mind you, I have come across a small minority of these humans that haven't seemed to tune in to the idea of becoming a true martial artist and to be in an open-minded quest for the pursuit of knowledge. I'd honestly wonder to myself what life would be like if I too blindly followed their philosophy. Especially given the fact that there are options out there, I don't feel I have to pay and invest in a guy who was just a meathead who happened to last 10 years or more at his instructors school to achieve rank. Now to be fair, everyone I've met within the 10p system has been legit and you can tell that being on the mats is a very spiritual thing for them. I don't doubt that Lovato would be totally down for knowledge over politics, though it's not like I know the guy. In regards to learning under a purple belt Erik, I don't think you should discount the Machado gym. The level of instruction would more than likely appear to be superior and ultimately, if you're having doubts about being led by the guy you're currently studying under, I would take into inventory whether or not it might be worth the investment to have better piece of mind in this decision. It'd be easier to take this advice if you had assurance that it were coming from a coach that's probably been training several times longer than your purple belt instructor.

[ErikLavigne]

Are you going to be at Europa? Is this the tournament you are talking about? I want to see how all this unfold..

Not sure, he said Dallas not sure how soon. Both gi and no gi

[ErikLavigne]

Let the burden be on the instructor. I'd take it as a complement if people thought I sand-bagged. But the onus is on you to finish in 1st place in embarrassing fashion.

Agreed, Zog and some other trusted instructors have suggested the same. Good enough for me

[Chris Herzog]

I never said you shouldn't listen. In fact the very first thing I said was something like "have another conversation with your instructor, tell him how you feel, and ask him why he feels the way he does."

I also never said "compete where you want". Or "disregard his opinion" or anything like that.

All I was trying to say was that you should not blindly follow someone just because they have more experience in something (jiu jitsu or otherwise) than you.

There is a blue-belt assistant instructor at Lovato's who told me in no uncertain terms that rubber guard is bad for your knees, doesn't work, and that I was wasting my time learning it. Should I listen? He's better than me, more experienced than me, and authorized to teach by the most decorated American born jiu jitsu competitor of all time.

Not every jiu jitsu instructor in the world has his student's best interests at heart, nor is everything every black belt says correct, or a good idea. I'm simply suggesting that people should continue to think for themselves, and should also listen to what other people tell them.


As a good example, someone recently asked me if I "cleared it with the instructors" after they heard I had attended a 10p training camp. I had not cleared that with my instructors, I assumed that was completely fine. But if I was to find out that Raphael was upset that I would attend a 10p training camp, I would walk out the door and never come back. I don't care how good his Jiu Jitsu instruction is, if he has a problem with me learning from someone else then I don't trust that he has my best interests at heart, and I would not want him as my instructor.

1) I never said blindly follow.
2) Blue belts are not instructors, they are still beginners.
3) No one is talking about seminars, we are talking about competition, which is all we were talking about. To compare the two is silly.

[Dave Milner]

My vote - overreacting. The sandbagging accusation is to be levied against the coach not the competitor. Go win the lower division nogi and post up vids. Enuff with the drama.

[Cora Sek]

My vote - overreacting. The sandbagging accusation is to be levied against the coach not the competitor. Go win the lower division nogi and post up vids. Enuff with the drama.

110% agree...we need more vids...

[Arman Fathi]

There is a blue-belt assistant instructor at Lovato's who told me in no uncertain terms that rubber guard is bad for your knees, doesn't work, and that I was wasting my time learning it.

2) Blue belts are not instructors, they are still beginners.

I think he meant Assistant To The Instructor, not Assistant Instructor.

[kevinculp]

Or he is saving you...

However im sure most whites belts on the internet know better than thier instructors do, so I would go with their advice.

Kneel before Zog!

[kevinculp]

If I had a dollar for every white belt that has told me how his old instructor was holding him back or not promoting him even though he clearly has high level skills. Wish they would shut up and win tournaments and shut up and train harder than their team mates. Do that and everything else falls in to place. Don't and you're just another guy talking noise.