Thought on paying for grading

[Chauncey Nuusolia]

Just take that belt and................

......take the seminar bro, do it for the love of the art not the pursuit of materialistic achievements. You are what ever belt you think you are.

[mountveggie]

Russian boxing coach says: 'Excuse is like asshole, everyone has one.'

That's my new all-time favourite quote

[Apperz]

The only reason I can see paying for a grading being justified is at a non-profit traditional martial arts school where the Grand Master has to personally grade students (and therefore travel to the club). Even then I'm not sure where I stand on it.

I was at a kickboxing school years and years ago where each belt got progressively more expensive until brown. I once heard the owner joke 'funds are tight this month, might need to promote some purple belts!'. I actually left shortly after as I felt that was a mockery of the belt system and not something I wanted to be a part of. Sadly, I have come to accept that this is just part of 'commercial' gyms.

[Andrew Sarasin]

my interest is for ranking, less for the seminar, I would be an idiot to go to the ranking only and not the seminar, it would be disrespectful as herzog said. I was just explaining the way things are done here to get ranked and wanted to know peoples opinion on it and how they are ranked instead I have a small group of people attacking me and taking it out of proportion.

Wait wait wait. The $70 is for a seminar and you're worried about being ranked? I'm going to the NW Training camp next month and I sure as shit don't expect to be ranked. I'm going to learn though and that's all you should be worried about. If you want a blue belt so badly go to Gracie University.

[Paul Hughes]

Dude I think the reason you feel this has been blown out of proportion is perhaps the way you phrased the question. I get that you are eager to earn your blue belt, really I do, but as most of the guys here have said, it really shouldn't be about that.

If it was me I would have attended the seminar and enjoyed learning from Firas, to get your blue belt at the end should have felt like an added bonus, not the main goal.

Like John Meija mentioned, our gym is exactly the same, work your balls off on the mat, everyday is a grading at our school when we drill technique and spar. Belt promotions can happen any day that we train, when our instructor sees the individual is ready.

In all honesty, if I were you I would probably be looking for somewhere else to train. Granted this is an outside view looking in, but I really don't like the idea of someone I don't know watching me roll for an hour then deciding what belt I deserve. What if I'm having a good day? What if I'm having a bad one? I think the system of your instructor watching you every lesson, watching you grow and knowing you as a person on and off the mat is the best system for ranking and what separates BJJ and 10PJJ from most martial arts.

Love the Chauncey quote also, "You are whatever belt you think you are".

Enjoy the journey my brother.

[Kurzy]

I am just going to say that $70 for a seminar is not a bad deal.

[Kurzy]

Speaking on money for gradings, the old TKD club I trained at, we had to pay something like $50 for our BB test. TKD BB comes with 1st dan automatically.
I trained and stayed in long enough that I should have been probably a 3rd dan by the time I walked away, but they wanted exorbant amounts of money which only seemed to climb exponentially. Something like $850 for a 3rd dan or 5th dan or whatever.

After walking away from TKD probaby 16 years ago, I returned briefly two years ago to try to get back in shape. I lasted two weeks. (Then my BJJ journey began) It was obvious that money dictated belt level completely in that club at this point; There were black and brown belts kicking like green belts, green belts kicking like 4 year olds with down syndrome, it was bad.
My heart was broken after seeing how far the club had fallen.
There was a time when we had some of the best in Ontario.

My current instructor does not charge for gradings, and does not handle gradings. We are affiliated with 10th Planet and Troop Jiu Jitsu, so Stew has stepped aside and now will only let the black belts from these affiliations do the gradings. Our seminars are mandatory for attendance and that is where the gradings happen.

If someone at our club wants to get graded, they better be at whatever seminars are going on.

[Andrew Sarasin]

your right, it shouldnt be about the belt colour, i feel less eager to get my blue, its just nice to have a goal towards something but I c what u mean.

I might change gym next year since this gym is more of an mma gym. I didnèt know there was JJ school near by gi and no gi which is awesome, i dont want to do only bjj, mostly no gi especially if there was a 10p school.

Dude I think the reason you feel this has been blown out of proportion is perhaps the way you phrased the question. I get that you are eager to earn your blue belt, really I do, but as most of the guys here have said, it really shouldn't be about that.

If it was me I would have attended the seminar and enjoyed learning from Firas, to get your blue belt at the end should have felt like an added bonus, not the main goal.

Like John Meija mentioned, our gym is exactly the same, work your balls off on the mat, everyday is a grading at our school when we drill technique and spar. Belt promotions can happen any day that we train, when our instructor sees the individual is ready.

In all honesty, if I were you I would probably be looking for somewhere else to train. Granted this is an outside view looking in, but I really don't like the idea of someone I don't know watching me roll for an hour then deciding what belt I deserve. What if I'm having a good day? What if I'm having a bad one? I think the system of your instructor watching you every lesson, watching you grow and knowing you as a person on and off the mat is the best system for ranking and what separates BJJ and 10PJJ from most martial arts.

Love the Chauncey quote also, "You are whatever belt you think you are".

Enjoy the journey my brother.

[Andrew Sarasin]

that's a great story, I know someone from peterbough but he was a hockey player. I used to live in Ottawa. Thatès where i started doing JJ back in 2008-09 about.

Speaking on money for gradings, the old TKD club I trained at, we had to pay something like $50 for our BB test. TKD BB comes with 1st dan automatically.
I trained and stayed in long enough that I should have been probably a 3rd dan by the time I walked away, but they wanted exorbant amounts of money which only seemed to climb exponentially. Something like $850 for a 3rd dan or 5th dan or whatever.

After walking away from TKD probaby 16 years ago, I returned briefly two years ago to try to get back in shape. I lasted two weeks. (Then my BJJ journey began) It was obvious that money dictated belt level completely in that club at this point; There were black and brown belts kicking like green belts, green belts kicking like 4 year olds with down syndrome, it was bad.
My heart was broken after seeing how far the club had fallen.
There was a time when we had some of the best in Ontario.

My current instructor does not charge for gradings, and does not handle gradings. We are affiliated with 10th Planet and Troop Jiu Jitsu, so Stew has stepped aside and now will only let the black belts from these affiliations do the gradings. Our seminars are mandatory for attendance and that is where the gradings happen.

If someone at our club wants to get graded, they better be at whatever seminars are going on.

[Eric Schuettenberg]

Wait.....so you want to "test" under someone but don't want to show them the respect by attending their seminar to learn from them?


Seems legit.

This