Interesting grappling mecca

[danfaggella]

http://www.maxfighting.com/index.cfm?ac=news.detail&nid=555

Very interesting stuff. What is it with this place? What are they doing that the rest of the world seems not to be doing?

PS: Some of the top competators in no-gi grappling and gi grappling are relatively low ranking (Jacare, Roger Gracie, both 1st degree black belts). I have heard a lot about high level black belts being able to totally obliderate thier 1st degree comrads like a 1st degree man would obliderate a white belt. Is the fact simply that many of the high ranking BJJ guys are a bit too old to be competiting, or choose not to? I know that JJ Machado is a 6th degree black belt, is he operating in a naticably superior way to Roger/Jacare/the many other 1st degree men who seem to do so well?

[SamuraiGuy]

hahaha... who'd you hear that High ranking blackbelts own 1st level blackbelts like blackbelts own whitebelts (this isnt true btw)....

was it from omoplata? hahahaha...

probably was....


I would chalk it up to actual competitiveness, athleticness, age, etc.... up until a few years ago Royler dominated, and hes what, 4 or 6th degree?

[danfaggella]

I don't think that competitiveness, age and athleticism are the only reasons. I would expect a 6th degree black belt to be able to destroy a first degree black belt. It takes a very long time to progress to a 2nd degree, I can't imagine how much someone has to know to be a 6th degree.

Isn't it strange that 1st degree guys are winning so often when there are much higher ranking competators out there, guys who have been working on thier technique and strategy for so much longer?

[SamuraiGuy]

I gave you my answer and you asked the same question again.

The difference is not that great, by the time you are a purple belt you know most of the techniques of BJJ, and you know which ones you like, and which ones you are consistently going to use...

Its not like at 4th degree you learn how to incinerate your opponents Gi with your mind. Brown, Black, and all the way to Red belts, its all about weight distribution, setups, control, how to get from one thing to another, mastering your own game.

[danfaggella]

I suppose, I just expected to see a greater level of grappling from someone of such a high rank, it seems as though that rank would be of great significance but I suppose there are plenty of other factors.

ALSO, did you check out that link on the top of my first post? Its an interesting article.

[Sagacious Lu]

I'm no expert on BJJ but in general belts are much better for holding up your pants than they are for predicting fights. If you want to look sharp you pick a color that matches your shoes.

[blitz]

I don't see any difference between a 1st degree black belt and 6th degree black belt. Just the time they spend training in bjj is probably longer.

When your a brown belt+ its all about the effort you put in training, and I don't mean your mat time, I mean everything from fitness to mat time to explosiveness and other small details that seperate you from the amateurs.

I don't see how you can compare a guy like Royler for example to Jacare, I mean Jacare has amazing strength and endurance, in fact I don't think I've seen anyone better in terms of physical fitness and explosiveness in grappling, being technical and having that much strength seperate you from any other grappler, and I say this even though he isn't one of my favorites.

And some of the black belts stop taking lessons after they reach 1st or 2nd degree and some open their own academies or start cross training and not focusing on the aspect of getting their next belt.

[danfaggella]

Good point. I suppose the degree of seperation from white to blue, or blue to purple, is far more significant that going from 2nd degree to 3rd degree, or 5th to 6th.

(Look at the link in my first post, its pretty interesting stuff.)