Why I shouldn't be a blue belt

Exhibit F

Positional rolling with a black belt today from closed guard. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard for triangle, I avoid the triangle. He starts setting up armbar, I avoid that. He catches me with an Americana from there.

Reset, start again. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard. I avoid the above sequence by just sinking into the triangle.
 
Exhibit F

Positional rolling with a black belt today from closed guard. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard for triangle, I avoid the triangle. He starts setting up armbar, I avoid that. He catches me with an Americana from there.

Reset, start again. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard. I avoid the above sequence by just sinking into the triangle.
Listen I'm not a BJJ expert.

But breaking someone's guard and sweeping them left or right, that makes things 3D. When you think about your partners of course they're trying high guard triangles. They can read all over your face how hard you want to break their guard and do something to them, while they hunt for your limbs and succeed. They're not expecting to be tossed left or right by new people.

So, roll them as soon as you break them. Hook, sweep, pull, destroy. You don't even need to hip bump.

This might sound easy to some, but if you roll in a crowded room with lots of other people rolling, it's important to be careful.
 
Exhibit F

Positional rolling with a black belt today from closed guard. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard for triangle, I avoid the triangle. He starts setting up armbar, I avoid that. He catches me with an Americana from there.

Reset, start again. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard. I avoid the above sequence by just sinking into the triangle.
Just remember you don't just have to pull your arm out. You can put your other arm back in.
 
Exhibit F

Positional rolling with a black belt today from closed guard. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard for triangle, I avoid the triangle. He starts setting up armbar, I avoid that. He catches me with an Americana from there.

Reset, start again. I break his guard open, he immediately locks high guard. I avoid the above sequence by just sinking into the triangle.
so are you saying you are now better than a black Belt in BJJ? :rolleyes:
 
Exhibit G
Rolling with a purple belt drop-in. In her half guard, I go for move of the day (a pressure pass). She easily sweeps me. She lands in my half guard, goes for the move of the day. I try to do what she did to defend. I fail miserably and she easily passes.

Exhibit H
After she passes my half guard, she gets into mount. I clear her underhook from my head in such a way that I gift her the Americana. She doesn't even take it. Just says, "That's a cheap one" and lets go. That stung more than if she'd taken it.

Exhibit I
Rolling with a smaller white belt. He takes my back. Gets the body triangle. I try and attack his legs but he's got it set right and gets the choke. We reset, I take his back. I go for revenge and try to get a body triangle. He gets the leg lock.

Yes, all of this was within 10 minutes of each other.
 
Exhibit G
Rolling with a purple belt drop-in. In her half guard, I go for move of the day (a pressure pass). She easily sweeps me. She lands in my half guard, goes for the move of the day. I try to do what she did to defend. I fail miserably and she easily passes.

Exhibit H
After she passes my half guard, she gets into mount. I clear her underhook from my head in such a way that I gift her the Americana. She doesn't even take it. Just says, "That's a cheap one" and lets go. That stung more than if she'd taken it.

Exhibit I
Rolling with a smaller white belt. He takes my back. Gets the body triangle. I try and attack his legs but he's got it set right and gets the choke. We reset, I take his back. I go for revenge and try to get a body triangle. He gets the leg lock.

Yes, all of this was within 10 minutes of each other.

If it was krav you would have been cleaning up 10 guys by now.
 
Exhibit G
Rolling with a purple belt drop-in. In her half guard, I go for move of the day (a pressure pass). She easily sweeps me. She lands in my half guard, goes for the move of the day. I try to do what she did to defend. I fail miserably and she easily passes.

Exhibit H
After she passes my half guard, she gets into mount. I clear her underhook from my head in such a way that I gift her the Americana. She doesn't even take it. Just says, "That's a cheap one" and lets go. That stung more than if she'd taken it.

Exhibit I
Rolling with a smaller white belt. He takes my back. Gets the body triangle. I try and attack his legs but he's got it set right and gets the choke. We reset, I take his back. I go for revenge and try to get a body triangle. He gets the leg lock.

Yes, all of this was within 10 minutes of each other.
White belts (in BJJ) shouldn't know leg locks...I suspect a sandbagger.

I was a few years in before we covered locks below the knee, and even then we typically didn't spar with them unless training for comp and allowed it.
 
We teach leg locks in our white belt class. Quit accusing people you don't know based on comments you don't understand.
Really? That's pretty dangerous.

A lot of BJJ schools dont, mostly because leg or ankle locks and white belts are an injury prone training combo.

Seriously, sandbagging white belts is a serious concern. People with significant grappling experience love to sign up as white belts just so they can dominate.

Do your white belts also choke out black belts?
 
We teach leg locks in our white belt class. Quit accusing people you don't know based on comments you don't understand.

IBJJF Adult White Belt Leg Lock Rules

Due to the IBJJF’s attitude regarding the danger of leg locks, its rules for white belts are extremely restrictive. The IBJJF and many BJJ instructors believe that new students, i.e., white belts, are not experienced enough to safely apply leg submissions. Thus, the IBJJF only allows white belts to perform straight ankle locks.


 
Exhibit I
Rolling with a smaller white belt. He takes my back. Gets the body triangle. I try and attack his legs but he's got it set right and gets the choke. We reset, I take his back. I go for revenge and try to get a body triangle. He gets the leg lock.

Yes, all of this was within 10 minutes of each other.
Do you mean you were crossing your ankles from the back?
 
Really? That's pretty dangerous.

A lot of BJJ schools dont, mostly because leg or ankle locks and white belts are an injury prone training combo.

Seriously, sandbagging white belts is a serious concern. People with significant grappling experience love to sign up as white belts just so they can dominate.

Do your white belts also choke out black belts?
It's typically twisting locks like heel hooks that are restricted for lower belts. Straight ankle locks are legal for white belts in IBJJF competition, as is the lock you can catch people with if they cross their ankles while on your back.
 
It's typically twisting locks like heel hooks that are restricted for lower belts. Straight ankle locks are legal for white belts in IBJJF competition, as is the lock you can catch people with if they cross their ankles while on your back.
Yeah true, I was referring to the stuff mentioned in the article I posted, especially knee stuff. White belts have specific limitations with heel hooks too.

I'm sure some places teach them to white belts anyway. And there are quite a few things I wouldn't want white belts trying on me, because of the chance of knee injury. Been there...

"When performing a straight ankle lock, the white belt competitor must turn away from the knee of the ankle he or she is attacking. Turning towards the knee is illegal. The positions from which white belts may perform the straight ankle lock are the straight ashi garami, outside ashi garami, and the 50/50 guard. Knee reaping is illegal in gi competition at all belt levels."
 
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Do you mean you were crossing your ankles from the back?
Yes, but not just crossing the ankles, I was trying to lock a full-on triangle on his body.

Apparently you're supposed to do it in the sides, instead of between the legs.
 
Sounds like a clear case of letting the color of a belt determine skill level. My guess is that you subconsciously based their skill level on their belt color without taking inyo consideration that they may be skilled beyond the color of their belt.

I think you would do better if you just assume they have some prior experience to be cautious of. Treat them like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Don't even bother asking about their previous experience. Most people who have skill down play that skill.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tony says he does "a little bit of this and that." When he is definitely beyond dipping his toes and just trying stuff out.
 
In BJJ belt colour is essentially correlated to skill, but in sparring skill is only one determining factor of success. Strength, athleticism, weight, age etc all play their part so a blue belt won’t always beat a white belt

Also BJJ is a broad subject and it’s perfectly possible for a lower belt to be more knowledgeable and skilled in a certain situation and win that particular battle
 
In BJJ belt colour is essentially correlated to skill, but in sparring skill is only one determining factor of success. Strength, athleticism, weight, age etc all play their part so a blue belt won’t always beat a white belt

Also BJJ is a broad subject and it’s perfectly possible for a lower belt to be more knowledgeable and skilled in a certain situation and win that particular battle
I come from a non-belted system and the approach is different is different from me. It's like
In BJJ belt colour is essentially correlated to skill, but in sparring skill is only one determining factor of success. Strength, athleticism, weight, age etc all play their part so a blue belt won’t always beat a white belt

Also BJJ is a broad subject and it’s perfectly possible for a lower belt to be more knowledgeable and skilled in a certain situation and win that particular battle
Belt color doesn't factor in other skill sets and abilities that someone may have. People often get caught up on the belt instead of the skill. That's why why the white belt belt pranks work. If the had focused on the skills then they would quicky understand that the person they were rolling with has skills beyond the white belt definition.

When I did training with Tony, I didn't ask about his belts or ranks because it's his skill set that I have to deal with and the approach that he may use. To this day I still don't know the level of his skills other than it's not beginner level.

I have a new muay thai sparring partner that has been feeding me punches, kicks, and knees. I don't know anything about his skill level beyond what he shows me.

The only thing I know for certain is that if I raise my skill level that I'm currently showing then he will either match what I give or he won't. It's the same for me. I will either match his skill level or I won't.

A white belt prank in A traditional kung fu school would be like a joke that goes over their heads.

I know that belts are important to people. I get it. I really do. I still have my white and yellow belt that I earned when I was a kid. But I wonder if the experience and how one feels would be different if there was no belt color and the beginner beat the intermediate.
 

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