Devil's Advocate

How to know black belt is legit? What is legit? Certificates can be made; associations and names can be made up. You could just start your own association and rank yourself as grandmaster of your own art, couldn't you? There are thousands of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Black Belts from Brazil whose names you don't know and many more will be sprouting up here in the U.S. shortly. It is not my intention to mar anyone's reputation, so I will not reveal any names, but I can tell you that many of the well-known federations and organizers of associations and tournaments are not what many would consider legit. Some belt colors change during flights from Brazil to the U.S.. There are many Brazilian Jiu-jitsu federations that charge high fees that go well beyond compensation for everything from tournaments to belt tests. Members and organizers alike are often quick to criticize others who are not a part of their association; although two "presidents" may have trained under the same teacher, they will say that the other is not legit. While speaking with some (note: some, not all) Brazilians who are now teaching Jiu-jitsu here in the States, they often say something that I find amusing: they will declare that they are worried about Americans "stealing" their art and changing it or not changing it and just calling it something else. I find this ironic and highly entertaining, especially when you study the history of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. When Meada, a Judo champion came to Brazil from Japan, he taught Carlos Gracie for a short time (I have heard a year or two tops). This is not nearly the ten to fifteen years it takes to get a black belt in Jiu-jitsu. Obviously it could be true that Carlos was a prodigy. Did the Gracie family just learn Judo for a short period of time, then change the name and the art slightly to call it their own? After researching this, I found the true answer, which I will discuss thoroughly at another time, but to keep this part short, the Gracie family learned Judo at it's beginning when it was still rightfully) identified with Jiu-jitsu. With that subject somewhat cleared up, yet still confusing, I then researched deeper to find out that there were originally only 3 belts in the Gracie Jiu-jitsu system: white, blue, and dark blue. This means that somewhere along the way (recently), new belts were made up and shortly thereafter, new associations sprouted up from the original ones (also meaning that neither Carlos or Helio were 'given' a Black Belt in Judo or Jiu-jitsu from it's source). This all happened less than one hundred years ago. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I am just saying that it is ironic that anyone who comes from such a young system who "took" their art from the Japanese after studying for such a short time would be so quick to judge others (who also wish to go out on their own). I do, however, see the point after watching any "mixed martial arts event" and watching guys who obviously trained Jiu-jitsu using the guard, armlocks, chokes, etc … and calling their style something else. I am not talking about these people; I am talking about Brazilians worrying about people like me who spend good time and money while giving credit where credit is due. American people spend tons of time and money to learn this art (a lot more than one year and I'm sure more money than Carlos spent). Is this projection? Are they worried about Americans doing the same thing to the Brazilians that the Brazilians did to the Japanese? It isn't wrong to start anything new, especially when you can prove that it works the way the Gracie family did, (obviously I have the greatest respect for the Gracie family as Martial Artists) but others who attempt to do the same should be given the same respect and opportunity to make their own mark. Practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu must remember that if it were not for the freedom to create new "styles", Brazilian Jiu-jitsu would not exist. So basically to answer the question from the beginning, could you start your own martial art? Yes, but you'd have to back it up like the Gracies did. You must remember that the Brazilian style of Jiu-jitsu is very young. About 95 percent of the techniques in BJJ can be found in Judo - or- by combining older styles of Jiu-jitsu. The set ups, variations, and combinations are what makes BJJ unique. The Gracie family DID NOT invent the triangle, the concept of the guard, the armbar, taking the back, omoplata, etc ... They all have Japanese names that have existed since hundreds of years ago. The Gracie family put it all together for us, 'weeded' through the stuff that doesn't work as well, and made it easy to learn. The Brazilians (and now Americans) refined it in Sport BJJ, coming up with new combos, uses of the gi, etc ... Almost ALL Judo and BJJ techniques both come from a combination of traditional Jiu-jitsu (Jujitsu/Jujutsu) styles. It is how they are practiced, set up and applied that make them different and/or more or less effective. This is a fact; it is historically documented and cannot be intelligently disputed. This means that the Gracie family does not own Jiu-jitsu. No one does. There are and always will be many styles of Jiu-jitsu with different federations and sanctioning bodies.

It all boils down to this: The Martial Arts is a science, but is not yet refined or organized as the sciences we would go to college to learn. Basically, the martial arts consist of too many principles that contradict one another to be standardized or made into one martial art. We may now be able to use things like the UFC as a proving ground to decide what works and what doesn't, but since it is called "martial" arts, some less sportive styles suggest that we lack a means of practicing realistically without killing one another. So we are far from realistically being able to impose state legislation or standardization of Martial Arts, like it or not. Since The Martial Arts are in a developmental stage, new schools and styles will continue to sport from old ones with the intention of either improving a fighting style, making money or both. We, as the Jiu-jitsu community, must remember, that as we criticize new arts, ours is very new.

Finding the right school for you …

First establish personal criteria: Before you begin training, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why you are training?
2. Do you want to compete?
3. Does Competition mean anything to you?
4. Is this for self-defense?
5. Is this for work related reasons (are you a police officer, bouncer, etc …)?

After you have established your personal goals, ask people who train at the school in question how they like it. Ask competitors if they win, police officers if they can defend themselves. You can often learn more about the school from the students than you can from the teacher. In short, don't join a school for the name; join a school because it offers what you are looking for.

Determining Legitimacy

Next I will discuss federations, certificates, and hopefully provide some answers for you about how to determine whether your instructor is legit or not. Although there are many styles of Jiu-jitsu, if you want to learn the Brazilian style (what Royce was using in the early UFCs and everyone eventually copied), you must be sure that your instructor is qualified to teach what you went to his or her school to learn. First, I would like to state the obvious: if you are coming to this art as a newbie and have the opportunity to train with a black belt (spar), he should destroy you. He shouldn't be hurting you terribly (that's not what Jiu-jitsu is about), but he should be able to 'tap' you out pretty easily. As you learn about etiquette or if you already have rank, you may not be able to roll with your instructor right away (to ask while he is busy teaching is considered very rude and quite frankly, it isn't his job to roll with 20 - 40 people per class, he's there to teach), or you may roll an if you are a purple belt or higher and it may be close (he might have a bad day and you might have a good one). In this case, you may not be able to judge from ability alone.

You may ask your instructor what Federation of BJJ they are affiliated with. In Brazil, it would most likely be the Federação de Jiu-Jitsu. If his/her belt was obtained here in America, they must provide a certificate from one of the following federations:

ABJJL	American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu League	Pedro Carvalho
AFBJJ	American Federation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu	Machado brothers
ATT	American Top Team	Liborio, Silveira
CGT	Carlson Gracie Team	Carlson Gracie
CGJJA	Charles Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Association	Charles Gracie
FFBJJ	Florida Federation of BJJ	Marcio Simas
GJJTA	Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Training Association	Rorion Gracie
IFSG	International Federation of Submission Grappling	Cesar Gracie
JENBJJ	Michael Jen BJJ Association
RGIJJA	Rickson Gracie International Jiu-Jitsu Association	Rickson Gracie
RlsnGJJA	Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Association	Relson Gracie
USFBJJ	United States Federation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu	Joe Moreira
WBJJF	World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation	Rocian Gracie Jr.

As a Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner I've been fascinated by the culture and history of Brazil for years. It's one of the most diverse and interesting nations in the world, though few seem to know or even care about what goes on down there outside of the soccer and/or MMA community. According to reports I've read, Brazil has the most abundant supply of natural resources, perhaps in the world, but has suffered under the yoke of tyranny for so long that the people have reaped none of the benefits of their country's treasures. Fascist dictators who seized power during the sixties imposed harsh restrictions on the rights of the people and the distribution of wealth, keeping Brazil solidly a third world nation, well into the latter half of the twentieth century. The CIA has had a presence in Brazil since at least 1961 and poor economic policy has led Brazil to send out nearly all of its money to foreign investments, leading directly to an almost unrecoverable state of inflation.

And now, after over a century of total confusion, overpopulation, bad government, poverty, revolution, juntas, and foreign influence, Brazil stands at the precipice of real change. The fifth largest nation, both in terms of geography and populace, is on the brink of electing into office its most Progressive party, not to mention party leader. This move is causing liberals across the globe to dust off their champagne reserves and marring the floors of pacing investors everywhere who worry about how the new administration will feel about the influence of big business in Brazil.

Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva has determined that the third time is indeed the charm as he is poised to win the Brazilian presidency in a probable landslide run-off election. According to CNN.com, his critics have compared him to "leftist 'villains' like…Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez." Meanwhile, his admirers compare the former union leader to "Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela." For the first time in Brazil's history (with the possible exception of the 1935 Natal riots) a politician on the left is coming into power. Fortunately it's during a time when Brazil's future seems at least slightly less murky than it once did, thus allowing Lula the opportunity to affect real change.

So how does this affect the average MMA fan? Well, in some ways, not in the least, but if anyone's ever thought about visiting Brazil to train at the Gracie Barra academy or something, it might do them well to know about the political climate. Not to mention the fact that new government may mean new attitudes toward vale tudo in Brazil. As everyone knows, Brazil's two largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio, have both outlawed vale tudo, citing its contribution to gang violence and rioting. Royler Gracie and others have undertaken campaigns to educate politicians about jiu jitsu and vale tudo, not to mention the tradition that spawned them, but with only limited success. Who knows what Lula's Worker's Party may think?

MMA aside, I'll go on the record right now stating that I'm ecstatic about what Lula could mean for Brazil. All my studies of Brazil have revealed it to be a nation of enormous potential and Lula seems like just the man to put that potential to good use. All of the people who count themselves as his enemies are no good as far as I'm concerned. The wealthy corporations who would continue to exploit Brazil's economic woes and resources; the former members of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil for decades; the drug cartels who actually threatened to block the lower classes from voting on Election Day and shot up several governmental building; right-wing factions who sharply oppose any kind of self-determination by South American nations--all of these are Lula's enemies and I can't remember a time when I've ever been their fan.

So next time you see a Chute Boxe, BJJ, Luta Livre, or RVT fighter waving a Brazilian flag, stop to consider that there's more to that amazing nation than the Gracie family and the Mundials. There's a rich culture that's been brewing for years under the subjugation of both external and internal influences. And now, we may be seeing the beginning of a new dawn for Brazil, not to mention an archetype for change in struggling nations across the world. More on Brazil next month, in an even more controversial form. Stay tuned and, as ever, keep on rollin'…

Diami J. Virgilio
November, 2002
kneeblock@yahoo.com

Event Schedule
9:00am-12:00pm Registration and Weigh In
12:01pm Weigh in Closed
1:00pm- Elimination's Start

Equipment
Mandatory- Judo Gi 
No Wrestling Shoes Allowed

Cost
Preregister by Oct 19th
$30.00 1or 2 events (Weight div & Open Class) 
$35.00 day of event
$5.00 Spectator Fee 12 & under

Tournament Location:
Bedford Junior High
16th and O street (across from Hardee's)
Bedford Indiana
For More Info Contact:
Greg Lucas at ( 812 ) 277-0717
Lucas Martial Arts Academy 
lucas@hpcisp.com

Weight Divisions
Up to 130lbs
131-140lbs
141-150lbs
151-160lbs
161-170lbs
171-180lbs
181-190lbs
191-200lbs
201-210lbs
211-220lbs
221-230lbs
231 and up
Beg- Under 8 Months
Inter- 9 Months- 2 yrs Adv- 2 yrs and Up

Open Classes/ All
Up to 175
176 and Up
More divisions possibly added day of event.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Seminar