On December 01 2015 08:31 SF-Fork wrote: Some blame the rules, but I have to agree with the idea of defensive BJJ being easier to master.
As a competition purple belt, it is not that I have a hard time grappling vs pro MMA guys, it is that our matches or sparring sessions are always boring. I want to engage in complex guards which they try to avoid, and they usually want to stall, keep it tight and explode if I overcommit. If they do not let me establish funky guards and I do not over-commit, basically nothing happens. Boring as hell.
thanks for jumping in and providing a knowledgeable opinion... it turns out my speculation was correct but it wasn't much more than a guess.
in your opinion, what level of BJJ belt requires the biggest leap in proficiency?
On December 01 2015 08:31 SF-Fork wrote: Some blame the rules, but I have to agree with the idea of defensive BJJ being easier to master.
As a competition purple belt, it is not that I have a hard time grappling vs pro MMA guys, it is that our matches or sparring sessions are always boring. I want to engage in complex guards which they try to avoid, and they usually want to stall, keep it tight and explode if I overcommit. If they do not let me establish funky guards and I do not over-commit, basically nothing happens. Boring as hell.
thanks for jumping in and providing a knowledgeable opinion... it turns out my speculation was correct but it wasn't much more than a guess.
in your opinion, what level of BJJ belt requires the biggest leap in proficiency?
What do you mean by biggest leap in proficiency? The biggest leap in skill, assuming 0 previous grappling experience will be white to blue. Majority of people (especially Western folks) have large personal bubbles, they're not used to actually tusseling and grappling. Just learning to be comfortable on the ground when dealing with pressure is where the biggest leap in skill happens. By the first year, I'd expect a white belt to beat the average person in his weight class 9 out of 10 times (in a fight, not just a grappling match).
Also belt levels can mean a big difference regarding competition or hobbiest level. I know world class purple belts that would easily dominate against a lot of casual blackbelts, and could hold their own against most black belts. Also there are black belts that eat other black belts for breakfast.
Hell, I bet a D1 wrestler with a blue belt could give a large chunk of black belts issues on the ground.
Yes, the belt question is not very relevant. It is more an emblem of commitment rather than skill.
I train and compete as much as I possibly can, considering that BJJ is my main time-consuming hobby. I aim at 400 training hours yearly including complementary training like cardio, conditioning, etc. I have had 82 competition matches.
I train a pretty respectable amount of hours, but unfortunately it is not even half of the minimum requirement for somebody turning pro, be it MMA or BJJ/Grappling. Nowadays, there are pro blue belts competing out there. When you reach my supposed level (purple belt), you realize that belts mean shit. I have personally been defeated by white belts and in turn I have submitted my own share of black belts.
Rather than belts, leaps in skill could be thought of as moments in which a key piece of knowledge is established.
For example: in white belt, you will have a giant leap in skill when you finally commit to using your grips at all times. A further leap in skill will come when you start commiting to breaking the opponent's grips. Other examples of concepts that will enable leaps in proficienty can be specific improvements in posture, balance, squatting, level change, closing spaces, pressure and many more. These components take time to develop, but once they finally start working as they should, jiu jitsu practitioners suddenly find themselves improving significantly.
On December 01 2015 18:23 SF-Fork wrote: Yes, the belt question is not very relevant. It is more an emblem of commitment rather than skill.
I train and compete as much as I possibly can, considering that BJJ is my main time-consuming hobby. I aim at 400 training hours yearly including complementary training like cardio, conditioning, etc. I have had 82 competition matches.
I train a pretty respectable amount of hours, but unfortunately it is not even half of the minimum requirement for somebody turning pro, be it MMA or BJJ/Grappling. Nowadays, there are pro blue belts competing out there. When you reach my supposed level (purple belt), you realize that belts mean shit. I have personally been defeated by white belts and in turn I have submitted my own share of black belts.
Rather than belts, leaps in skill could be thought of as moments in which a key piece of knowledge is established.
For example: in white belt, you will have a giant leap in skill when you finally commit to using your grips at all times. A further leap in skill will come when you start commiting to breaking the opponent's grips. Other examples of concepts that will enable leaps in proficienty can be specific improvements in posture, balance, squatting, level change, closing spaces, pressure and many more. These components take time to develop, but once they finally start working as they should, jiu jitsu practitioners suddenly find themselves improving significantly.
Also athletic prowess plays a huge part, even if a guy doesn't have great techniques and set-up, but have an endless gas tank + strength can be extremely troublesome to deal with.
On December 01 2015 18:23 SF-Fork wrote: Yes, the belt question is not very relevant. It is more an emblem of commitment rather than skill.
I train and compete as much as I possibly can, considering that BJJ is my main time-consuming hobby. I aim at 400 training hours yearly including complementary training like cardio, conditioning, etc. I have had 82 competition matches.
I train a pretty respectable amount of hours, but unfortunately it is not even half of the minimum requirement for somebody turning pro, be it MMA or BJJ/Grappling. Nowadays, there are pro blue belts competing out there. When you reach my supposed level (purple belt), you realize that belts mean shit. I have personally been defeated by white belts and in turn I have submitted my own share of black belts.
Rather than belts, leaps in skill could be thought of as moments in which a key piece of knowledge is established.
For example: in white belt, you will have a giant leap in skill when you finally commit to using your grips at all times. A further leap in skill will come when you start commiting to breaking the opponent's grips. Other examples of concepts that will enable leaps in proficienty can be specific improvements in posture, balance, squatting, level change, closing spaces, pressure and many more. These components take time to develop, but once they finally start working as they should, jiu jitsu practitioners suddenly find themselves improving significantly.
Also athletic prowess plays a huge part, even if a guy doesn't have great techniques and set-up, but have an endless gas tank + strength can be extremely troublesome to deal with.
no doubt. But you don't go lifting weights to defeat BJJ. You lift weights to complement your BJJ.
as this keeps happening... i keep thinking that its more and more plausible that someone within Reebok in a position of power is intentionally sabotaging the UFC deal.
On December 02 2015 13:16 JimmyJRaynor wrote: as this keeps happening... i keep thinking that its more and more plausible that someone within Reebok in a position of power is intentionally sabotaging the UFC deal.
I rather think someone from Zuffa in a position of power is sabotaging the UFC from within with their bad decisions.
he has not provided an analysis of Mcgregor v. Aldo. However, he did breakdown 2 or 3 matchups for UFC 189 where he broke down the dynamics between a fighter in southpaw stance going against a fighter in orthodox stance. he explains the concept of "lead foot dominance". this might give some insights as to what we'll see in the UFC 194 main event. Hopefully, BJJScout will provide a breakdown of Aldo v. Mcgregor in the next 10 days.
On December 03 2015 06:42 CorsairHero wrote: the ireland thing i could maybe let go but this is hilarious
this is probably reeboks way of giving us entertainment until Dec 12 anyone putting down money?
i'd say the Ireland thing is what one should not let go.
these other errors are just a silly farce. This Ryan Bader heavyweight champ thing is clearly an intentional joke that does not harm any one. the ireland thing brings up all kinds of historical sensitivities and they really looked like genuine idiots. The Ryan Bader Heavyweight Champ t-shirt is clearly a troll.
The Ireland thing is an honest mistake imo; unless you're a clothing designer AND knowledgeable in modern Irish geo-politics and history. Taking a random two-tone picture off a map is an easy mistake that could easily be overlooked in the QC/QA process.
the ireland thing can do geniune harm. making a stupid shirt that says Bader is the heavyweight champ after defeating Rashad Evans is a prank that can do no harm to any one except to the UFC and Reebok themselves. if they somehow think its a good publicity stunt .. great... its their brand and company and they can do with it what they want. its the UFC's and Reebok's gamble to take.
what they can't do is run around making errors like the ireland thing. they could do stuff like the Aldo Anderson thing and the Bader thing forever if they want... along with these authoritative sounding apologies about technical mixups... it adds up to nothing.
On December 03 2015 11:55 JimmyJRaynor wrote: the ireland thing can do geniune harm. making a stupid shirt that says Bader is the heavyweight champ after defeating Rashad Evans is a prank that can do no harm to any one except to the UFC and Reebok themselves. if they somehow think its a good publicity stunt .. great... its their brand and company and they can do with it what they want.
what they can't do is run around making errors like the ireland thing. they could do stuff like the Aldo Anderson thing and the Bader thing forever if they want to.
The Ireland one is probably the most "serious" mistake, but it's one that legit I could see being a total honest mistake.
EPT![[image loading]](https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JRCQoEW7atb3eqKwJJ4HH11Yehg=/0x182:1090x909/709x473/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47781321/ANDY_ALDO.0.0.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/MIcJDDq.png)
