Ricardo greets readers weekly in his musings on Facebook. Photo: Gustavo Aragão.
Ricardo “Cachorrão” Almeida has been keeping himself busy in his post-UFC life. Almeida, a GMA of ours in New Jersey, where he has been teaching Jiu-Jitsu for nearly a decade, spends a good chunk of his time training UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, Kris McCray and the up-and-coming Jimy Hettes, among other stars of the octagon.
During “off hours,” he takes care of his three kids, judges MMA fights for the Bellator promotion, teaches at his school, trains Jiu-Jitsu, and shares his knowledge with the public over Facebook—always a source of inspiration for the GRACIEMAG.com team.
TEACHING JIU-JITSU, FEAR AND OMMISSION
This Monday, Cachorrão got on his web page and posted a strong statement, inspiring broad reflection. To Ricardo Almeida, teachers who refuse to train with their students are frauds. That’s right, frauds.
“Instructors who don’t train with their students are frauds. A lot of the time it’s because they’re scared of getting subbed in front of the group,” the Renzo Gracie black belt posted. “The day I get scared of being subbed I’ll stop teaching.”
Check out the full post, and be sure to let everyone know your thoughts about it in the comments field below.
Instructors who don’t train with their students are a fraud.
A lot of the time it’s because they’re scared of getting subbed in front of the group.
The day I get scared of getting subbed I’ll stop teaching.
And I hate tapping out!
It’s not because I’ll think I’m worse if I lose a match or sparring session.
It’s because I’m a perfectionist, and I’m really bothered by technical blunders.
Being a black belt has nothing to do with invincibility; it has to do with the art of improving on what we do and persevering in the midst of adversity.
Have a great week—in and out of the academy.
IMO if an instructor never rolls then YES!. But an instructor is not there for sparring he is there to teach and observe others rolling, how can he do that if he is always rolling?. What if one guy breaks another guys arm in sparring?, the insurance will want to know why the instructor was sparring and not watching his class for health and safety.
my coach can roll and watch the class at the same time because.. wait for it ….he is a real black belt and plus. .broken arms are covered by the waiver.
We’re all adults. That’s what waivers are for.
My instructor teaches the whole class all the way through situational, then at the end he open mat rolls with anyone and everyone. Even the guys who are 100lbs heavier. I love it and we all appreciate and learn from it and so does he.
I know a school that has a chick purple belt that teaches and she won’t roll with guys.
I have to agree. How can anyone judge how another person is progressing if they sit and watch. If you as an instructor really want to know if your student deserves the next stripe, or belt get you but on the mat. If any one of the white belts taps any of the higher, they congradulate them, A great instructor takes pride when hisbstudent surpasses them. Get your pride in check.
OSSSSSS!!
Rolling with students also helps the students. I know that every time that I roll with my professor I pick up something new, as in how to defend attacks better and where to make better grips.
This is what separates our “style” from the others. Oh and acai bowls and cauliflower ear.
Awesome! I wrote a paper for my 1st Degree BB test(requirement) on this subject. I am a 2nd Degree now in Military Taekwondo(based out of North Korea) & Blue Belt in Jiujitsu/Judo.
I always said, instructors that teach and do nothing else in class are either afraid or know nothing of what they are teaching. Because of this, instructors are not ever going to get better at their craft. I am glad there are others that feel the same way I do and have noticed for years!
Thanks!
“Being a black belt has nothing to do with invincibility; it has to do with the art of improving on what we do and persevering in the midst of adversity”
Bow out with respect from Martialist.
Oss!
What inspired me to do Bjj was how it was like a big family. Being the head of the class or school you want to lead by example and to do that you need to roll with your students to see where their at. Remember the academy is their to train not to kill one another.
Rolling with your instructor is great, and super valuable, but not the only way an instructor can add value.
This is a silly statement made by a young instructor. What happens when he gets another 20 years under his belt and his mind and technique are sharper than ever but his body is not able to perform?
I am guessing Francisco Mansur doesn’t roll with his students very often, is he a fraud?
I agree w/ you but I don’t think Almeida is a “young” instructor.
Saulo Ribeiro wrote this beautiful passage in Jiu-Jitsu University: ” Tapping is a very difficult concept to wrap your mind around, especially if it is an upper belt tapping to a lower belt. To these students I say set your souls free. I believe that jiu-jitsu is a samurai art. Your job is to pass your knowledge to the lower belts. As a purple belt, your job is to be soft with someone lower than you. This is because you want to make the lower belt feel better and allow him to see his progression. The way that he will see progression is when he starts to bite you, and this is a good thing because he will owe his progression to you. Therefore you are not going to battle the lower belts, you are going to bring them with you. It is the same for white belts. Sometimes they cannot see that upper belts help them and their egos become bigger than themselves. They think they can pass this guy and they do not need the upper belts anymore. This is the point where they start to regress.
When I train, I tap to lower belts from time to time. Everyone does. The important part is bringing your students with you, not fighting them to keep your superiority. If you do not help them, you will never create the image of yourself in your students.” Saulo Ribeiro.
I’m sure Helio did! Haha.
I dont know personally but i heard he rolled till the day he died!