An unexpected milestone

Hanzou said:
Congrats Tony!

Now prepare to get your *** kicked! ;)
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My instructor told me: "I feel sorry for you- you're going to have a great big target on your back this week."

That said, I dropped in at a friend's school for some rounds this morning and held my own fairly well. I did feel the pressure to roll my best.
 
I missed this thread yesterday so
Congratulations on this accomplishment
 
Wow, congratulations. If your martial spirit, ability and personality reflect the way you conduct yourself here on this forum, then you really deserve this.
 
Tony Dismukes said:
Attended a Carlson Gracie Jr. seminar today and got a shock at the end when I was informed that I was being promoted to black belt in BJJ.

I honestly thought I had a couple more years before I had to worry about being promoted. I think Carlson was probably applying a curve for old guys. There were three other brown belts at the seminar who are at least as good as me who didn't get promoted - but they're all 20 years younger than I am.

Anyway, I've got some holes in my game that I thought I had time to fix before I reached black belt. Now I've got to work even harder in order to catch up to my rank. I've been training about 12 hours a week on average. I wonder if my body can handle bumping that up to 15 hours per week.

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Congratulations, it is a hard black belt to get and if Carlson Gracie Jr. thinks you're ready...you're ready
 
Tony, Congratulations! Getting a black belt in BJJ is no small feat. I am sure it is very well deserved sir.
 
Tony Dismukes said:
My instructor told me: "I feel sorry for you- you're going to have a great big target on your back this week."

That said, I dropped in at a friend's school for some rounds this morning and held my own fairly well. I did feel the pressure to roll my best.
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Do you feel more pressure to perform after getting your black?

One of my instructors (2 stripe black) told me that he refuses to tap to a purple if he's visiting another school.
 
Hanzou said:
Do you feel more pressure to perform after getting your black?

One of my instructors (2 stripe black) told me that he refuses to tap to a purple if he's visiting another school.
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Yeah. I will never refuse to tap - that's not a good way to keep my aging body in one piece. What I am doing is forcing myself to stay more focused and not allow myself to be lazy while rolling.
 
You got any big plans for that belt Tony? From what I hear, bjj black belts are in pretty high demand around the country for instruction. You thinking about sticking with your current gym, or maybe open up your own gym somewhere else?
 
Hanzou said:
You got any big plans for that belt Tony? From what I hear, bjj black belts are in pretty high demand around the country for instruction. You thinking about sticking with your current gym, or maybe open up your own gym somewhere else?
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Part of me would eventually like to have my own school where I could shape the curriculum based on my own ideas. That's not going to happen anytime soon. For one thing, running a successful school takes as much work on the business end as on the martial arts end and I don't have the time, energy, or money to invest in that now. For another thing, I don't yet have the martial skill set that I would want to properly teach the curriculum that I have in mind. Right now I'm in a good place where I can teach a couple of classes per week and spend the rest of my time learning from other people.

Maybe when I'm getting ready for retirement I'll can open my own school and devote myself to it full time.
 
Transk53 said:
@Tony Dismukes Congrats :) Just curious. Do you also have a Black belt in Muay Thai?
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Muay Thai doesn't generally use a belt system. I do have an apprentice instructor's license from the TBA (Chai Sirusute's organization) and when I got that my kickboxing instructor (Oscar Kallet) awarded me a black belt in his own eclectic kickboxing system, for whatever that's worth. My striking skills are ... adequate but not particularly advanced.
 
Tony Dismukes said:
Muay Thai doesn't generally use a belt system. I do have an apprentice instructor's license from the TBA (Chai Sirusute's organization) and when I got that my kickboxing instructor (Oscar Kallet) awarded me a black belt in his own eclectic kickboxing system, for whatever that's worth. My striking skills are ... adequate but not particularly advanced.
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I thought so. I have seen a few school web pages that refer to the instructors holding Black belts. I guess that it just used as generic term for those of you at that level.
 
Having lived in Thailand, none of the schools there used a belt system. It's just something you train and when you're ready you hop in the ring. It's a lot like boxing in that regard.
 
Congratulations, Tony.
Promotion by surprise means your head is in the right place and noticed. A hunger to learn and the humility to boot goes a long way. Good for you, well deserved.
 
Congrats. A black belt in BJJ, from one of the Gracies no less, truly means something.
 
wait a second... that means there going to start hitting you harder and more often right? o_O one minute your stretching or practicing techniques then BAM! ...right when you least expect it

joking aside, good job! you earned it!
 
So....Tony, how's it been around your club since you became a "man of the cloth"?

Target on your back? No target to speak of?
Inquiring minds want to know.
 
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