JacksonWink Black Belts?

[OldManJim]

There is a school near me that is a Jackson Wink affiliated gym. They offer striking and Gracie JJ classes 4 days a week. I asked about the credentials of the instructors and they are all JacksonWink Black Belt certified. Of course I’m familiar with Greg Jackson, is this a legit thing? Just making sure no one is using the name or whatever before I make up my mind if it’s worth checking out.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

There is a school near me that is a Jackson Wink affiliated gym. They offer striking and Gracie JJ classes 4 days a week. I asked about the credentials of the instructors and they are all JacksonWink Black Belt certified. Of course I’m familiar with Greg Jackson, is this a legit thing? Just making sure no one is using the name or whatever before I make up my mind if it’s worth checking out.

I think the belt rank system is something that Greg Jackson came up with as a way of providing feedback/accreditation to students of his system who aren't competitive fighters. As far as I know his pro fighters don't need such a thing because their fight record is their rank.

I have no idea what Jackson's promotion standards are for students going through his belt rank system. Obviously the curriculum they've studied will be very good and I wouldn't think that he would choose to implement a system with low promotion standards, but I've never met anybody who has come up through that system so I have no first hand knowledge. I also don't know how much Jackson is personally engaged in the training of students at his school who are not pro fighters. There are gyms where the regular hobbyist students get instruction from the big name coaches/fighters. (Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson would be a prime example.) And there are other gyms where the hobbyist students are just there to help pay the rent while the head coach focuses on the top fighters. I don't know where Jackson's gym falls on that spectrum.