Kid gets a 7th degree junior Black Belt
http://www.jiujitsutimes.com/blog/kid-got-awarded-to-a-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-black-belt-7th-degree/
One of my student’s posted this article today and I couldn’t help but shake my head. I’ve seen a few gyms give away junior black belt ranks at their gym. I don’t know the whole story, but I imagine this is a response to other traditional martial arts which have black belts. It’s a great selling point but I don’t think this sort of thing fits well with the ethos of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
What do you think about BJJ gyms giving away junior black belt ranks?
McDojo at its finest… believe it or not his school also regularly gives out red belts, i mean they “earn” red belts.
Wait red belts? In Bjj or “junior BJJ” or TKD?
I imagine there are a number of factors at play when an academy structures a kid’s program and ranking system in this fashion, including but not limited to pressure from parents and a desire to keep kids interested in their program. According to a message Carlos Machado (Pittman’s instructor or head of his association, I guess?) put on Facebook, the rank Pittman offers in his academy equals how many hours the child put in on the mat. Which I feel doesn’t align with the ranking system in BJJ. Jiu jitsu isn’t, and shouldn’t, be that cut and dry when it comes to ranking: it isn’t so many hours= so many stripes and an eventual promotion. That’s like saying winning so many tournaments equals a promotion for an adult student. This is a sport/martial art that is accommodating to anyone with the will and perseverance to stick it out and master the techniques, which means it could take weeks to achieve a certain level of mastery, or years: it all depends on the practitioner, how quickly they learn and whatever other factors may come in to play for that individual. Again, I think this was a compromise that Pittman introduced in order to satisfy parents and improve student retention. Admittedly I’ve never run a children’s jiu jitsu program, but I do think a different solution could have been devised in order to keep kids on his mats rather than giving black belts to children, even if it is a junior rank or whatever.
Agree with you 100%. I was thinking about Machado’s response which essentially boils down to, does the end justify the means. In my opinion it does not. I believe part of our job as BJJ instructors and teachers is to educate people. Educated them on why traditional martial arts can be a bad idea. I had a kid come to one of my kids classes who was a Black Belt in TKD. He got his ass whooped in school. His parents wanted a solution. They found Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. This same kid later on after a month of training was successful in defending himself against this same bully. The idea that you need a Black Belt to sell to parent’s is ridiculous. It contradicts what we tell our adult students. That it’s not about the belt color but what you can do. I’m not even making a coherent argument right now because I find the situation frustrating.
Black Belts are supposed to symbolize mastery. The ability to teach and lead others in the journey. A child is not in a position to do that. I think by making up a phony “jr” Black Belt you set an unhealthy precedent for BJJ.
Shit Katie. You know how hard you worked for your Black Belt. All the blood, sweat and tears. The years of hard work and all the rough spots. How would you feel if you got on the mat and a kid had a Black Belt on. Even if it was a jr level, how would you feel about that?