Seeing promotions on the podium at the Worlds is a common sight. Photo: Erin Herle

There is a common belief that if you compete regularly, you will be promoted sooner than those who only train recreationally. Every professor is different and so is every practitioner’s journey.

While promotions should not be the center of one’s focus, I polled instructors and athletes about being promoted and being the one to determine a promotion. I asked the opinion on keeping a student at a certain belt level until they win worlds or a major tournament. How do competitions influence promotions?

Here are the answers:

Marcos Torregrosa of Yemaso BJJ in Sacramento, California

“I think the most important thing for an instructor when assessing a potential candidate for ascension is to meet the goals of the individual, within reason of course. A competitor will not always hit their ultimate goal of achieving the gold at a huge event but that is not necessarily the ultimate marker of the maturity that time on the mat gives a practitioner. Does competing accelerate the process? In my opinion it does because they usually train more than the recreational practitioner yet to hold a person back from another set of challenges just because he/she could not meet an extremely high, and unreasonable on a large scale, bar is to teach that only “winning” facilitates growth. If you have done Jiu-Jitsu for a bit you know that most growth happens when losing.”

Fabio Gurgel of team Alliance in Sao Paulo, Brazil

“Every athlete has a different story but in general I don’t have any rush to promote my students to the next belt, so that if they have a good chance to win I would hold them a little longer to get this accomplishment. However, not everyone is capable to win a major tournament nowadays so it is not the most important for me; winning or losing they can get the promotion, it is just a matter of individual timing.”

Samir Chantre of Caio Terra Association in San Jose, California

“I think it all depends on what your student wants for his life. If he wants to be a professional in this sport, I think results would affect since after a win, you will go to the next level more confident and with the feeling that you didn’t have anything else to do on that level, like if you have finished the level that video game you have been playing… So it’s time for a new challenge. And the title you will have it forever, so it’s always good to collect as much as you can. On the other hand, if the student doesn’t have that desire of being a world champion and only trains for one of the other million reasons BJJ is good, and maybe even competes once in a while, it makes no sense to hold him back; he probably makes other achievements in life.”

Daniel Alvarez of Alvarez BJJ in Arlington, Texas

“I keep all my students whether they compete or not at each belt rank per IBJJF minimum guidelines. Some students and competitors could be longer depending on how consistent their training is and what their goals are. Competitors that consistently train but have higher goals like winning Pans, Worlds or any other major tournament will be held back a little longer to allow them a fair shot a their desired goal.

I try to keep it to no more than 2 attempts at Pans, Worlds or whatever major tournament they are shooting for. Any longer seems too much if they are living in the academy and just happened to fall short of their goal.

For example, Danielle is going on 3 years at purple belt but because she took 11 months off to go to Texas State, she really only has about 2 years at purple belt. She has only had 1 shot at Worlds as a purple belt. She took second place in 2014 and wants that world title in 2015. No matter what the outcome this year, she will move up in rank shortly after.

In my opinion, if a competitor does not make it to that #1 spot on the podium, it does not make them any less of a competitor or not worthy to go the next level. Maybe it just wasn’t their time at the belt level but will be at the next one. For me, it’s all about the effort that they put in and so they should be rewarded accordingly.”

Jared Weiner of BJJ United in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“I don’t believe in holding people back for tournament medals. I personally like to challenge my students to be victorious at the best level possible. I often see the student get too much pressure put on them because they have been a certain belt for so many years and know they won’t get promoted until they win the big one. And sometimes the big one never comes and it can actually cause the reverse effect in a students progression and take the fun and motivation out of the sport. If someone is ready for the next belt, then promote them.”

Romulo Barral of Gracie Barra Northridge in Northridge, California

For the guys who train for competition, the competition results for sure influence the belt promotion. I let the guys stay at their belt the average time as the IBJJF standards. Let’s say for example the guy is already there, reaches the time of the IBJJF limit, wins the world championship, has had a good attitude and work ethic, he will get promoted to the next level. But also, if the guy already has the time and he couldn’t win the worlds and the major tournaments, I’ll wait maybe one more chance to try again. If he doesn’t win then of course he will get promoted anyway. And then I’ll see how he can do at the level of the next belt. That’s pretty much the way that I was promoted by Draculino. That’s the way that i learned. And I don’t wait five years for the guy to win a major tournament.

For me I was a blue belt for one year and a half and I didn’t win a lot. I got second and third but i didn’t win Worlds, Pans or Brazilian Nationals. But I got promoted to purple belt anyway. At purple belt I won my first tournament that I competed. And then I won every single tournament at purple belt. Sometimes you stay a little longer to give the guy a chance to win the tournament and then see how much he improves. But sometimes there are just little mistakes but you know that he’s ready for the next belt. Basically what I expect from the guys who compete is when I see they’re ready to win at the next belt. As a blue belt, they need to be able to win a purple belt tournament already, not entering to gain experience.”

Ida Hansson of Arte Suave in Copenhagen, Denmark

“I believe it is right to promote people by different criteria depending on what their ambitions are; do they want to just roll a few times a week instead of going to a fitness center, or are they really dedicated, and want to become world champions? I believe the athletes with high ambitions should be held longer in their belts than the guys who train just for fun. They should be given two shots at the big titles before they are promoted to their next belt. It is also important to take into consideration what kind of dreams and hopes the athlete him or herself have; if it is their great dream to win the worlds in their belt, that should matter too. But you can’t hold people forever. If you have to be a world champion to get a new belt, not a lot of new belts would be given out. I believe you at least should be given the fair chance to win it. With that said getting a promotion is not just about winning tournaments, it is also about how you carry yourself on the mats, the attitude you have when rolling, being able to roll with everybody, if you have a general understanding of the game, it is not just about learning new techniques. It is about developing your game, and with all that you can’t really avoid growing as a person. The way I see it, being of higher rank in your academy is also about being a role model. You represent your belt, school and teacher both on and off the mats.”

Darragh O’Conaill of East Coast Jiu-Jitsu in Dublin, Ireland

“Keeping a student at a certain belt level until they win a major tournament is something that has become more and more common in sport Jiu-Jitsu. With the sport growing every year it becomes more difficult for people to win/medal at the elusive big tournaments. Personally I have no problem with this for the most part. If an instructor sees potential for a student to win or medal at a major tournament, or has a good relationship with the student and knows his/her goals, oftentimes it will take a couple of efforts to gain enough experience to hit the podium. Of course I also realise that sports Jiu Jitsu tournaments are not everything and are only a small piece of the Jiu Jitsu puzzle. A lot of people have no goals to succeed in them and jiu Jitsu is just for hobby, fitness, fun or self defence. As an instructor I think it’s important to have a close relationship with your students and understand their goals/potential. If they are motivated and willing to put in the work to make the major tournament podiums, I see no problem with giving them time to gain experience or as people call it “holding them back”.

I was a brown belt for 3 and a half years. This allowed me enough time to gain confidence and rack up plenty of losses at big events before I could start winning. Of course there are extremes to this and I’m not saying you can keep someone at a belt for years and years, but isn’t the average time for a BJJ black belt 8-10 years? That’s almost 3 years at blue, purple, and brown. Enough time for anyone to gain good experience, even though some might say this is “holding someone back”.

Justin Rader of Lovato’s School of BJJ in Oklahoma City, OK

“There are so many variables that come into play and should be considered when promoting somebody to a new belt in my opinion. And competition is just one of those aspects. Other variables that should be considered are knowledge base, age and athletic ability, time on the mats, ability to teach others, how well they spar with others in the room at their level and with higher ranks, how comfortable you feel with them as a person and the example they set, etc. And with each promotion, each of these aspects is held in a higher esteem. So, I do not believe that competition is or should be the only indicator of promotion in this art. However, I do encourage everyone to compete at least once at each belt. And competition can definitely speed up how fast you are promoted because you are then constantly testing yourself against people you do not know, who don’t know you or your style, and you learn to adapt during a match and learn more about your own weaknesses, both mentally and physically, and can work to fix those weaknesses, and test yourself again to show they have been fixed. But to hold somebody to the standard of winning the World Championships before being promoted can actually hold a person’s ability to progress in this art back and be detrimental to their overall martial arts journey. So, just like in all things in life, a balance of all these aspects is best.

From my own personal experience, I never won a blue belt world title, gi or no-gi, when I was promoted to the rank of purple belt in 2006 by Professor Rafael Lovato Jr. I had been a blue belt for 4 years under him (3 total years, I spent half of two of those years wrestling for my high school team), and I had competed at the Pans 3 times, coming away with a silver and a bronze medal on two of those times. I won many tournaments in Texas over those years as well. But my game was very one dimensional: score the takedown right at the beginning, and then don’t get swept or subbed, even if it meant gutting through things and just not tapping, and if the person pulled guard, don’t stop for a moment pressuring the pass, get my points, and ride out the match. And this worked better than 90% of the time for me, and I always did very well in the big competitions like the Pans, so my mind-set was if it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it. And I was limiting my own growth in the art, because I almost never got put on my back in competition. So why drill it? Professor Rafael saw this, realized I would not be pushed to open up my mind to the rest of the art of jiu-jitsu, especially in using my guard, at the blue belt level. So he promoted me to purple belt, where many guys now had much better guard games and could use them to neutralize me, shut me down, and I saw my competition success almost disappear for the better part of the first 6 months as a purple belt. I lost a lot of matches during that time, and it taught me that I had to open up my mind and learn to use my guard in the training room. Most nights Professor Rafael would make me start on my back, and if I got a sweep, I had to go right back. But he knew the better I could use my guard in the training room, the better I would understand the guard, and the better I could defend it. And he was right. I saw my competition success return, and never looked back. So there are definitely times when a person needs to be promoted based on more than just competition success, especially a standard as high and strict as having to win the worlds, and many aspects should be taken into account. World titles are nice, especially at the belts below black, and for those with goals and aspirations to win world titles, a black belt world title should be the ultimate goal. This was my experience, and I was lucky to have Professor Rafael Lovato Jr. to guide me through my jiu-jitsu journey.”

What do you think about competition and belt promotions?

Becoming a Jiu-Jitsu black belt takes time and a lot of work. Everyone has their own path whether recreationally or through competition or both. There are people from all ages starting Jiu-Jitsu and getting to the real start, the black belt, at various times in their lives.

For two students at GMA Yemaso BJJ in Sacramento, CA they found that their promotion was met last month and given by Marcos Torregrosa.

In their speeches, Bill Click and Marcus Boness explain the journey and how it feels to reach the ultimate rank:

Marco Torregrosa and the Yemaso BJJ black belts. Photo: Personal archive

The 2014 year started very strong for Team Yemaso. Led by 2014 Pan Jiu-Jitsu, American National, No-Gi World champion Marcos Torregrosa, the team took a humble number of competitors to the San Francisco Open and brought home to Sacramento an IBJJF team title.

Throughout the year there were more and more challenges met and obstacles overcome. In June, Team Yemaso commenced the first of 3 different moves that now sees them in their final location. The times were very difficult but the team persevered together, a shining example of the beautiful and powerful bonds formed through our art.

The turnout at the promotion night. Photo: Personal archive

Team Yemaso just held their final promotion for the year and this was the biggest of them all. Marcus Boness and William Joseph Click celebrated one of the highest honors our sport can bestow: the black belt! After many years of consistent dedication and having met the goals they placed for themselves, Professor Torregrosa felt their time had come! Steven Tafoya, black belt with Team Yemaso since 2011 was also promoted. In a ceremony that included his brother Bruce Tafoya from Cleber Lucianos, Tafoya was promoted to 1st degree black belt.

Three brown belts were also awarded at promotions, Richard Selmar Bothun who, after having competed vigorously over the last two years alongside Torregrosa in many IBJJF competitions and having achieved the number one ranking in his belt and age, was promoted along with Shawn Cox and Rudolfo Vidarri.

Team Yemaso also saw the ascension of a number of purples and blues, further solidifying their presence in the Sacramento region as one of the most decorated and prestigious academies around.

Whenever in the Sacramento, California region don’t hesitate to stop in to the academy. Marcos Torregrosa teaches all classes and with the new year initiates a dedicated kids program to be run 5 days a week!

Go to www.Yemasobjj.com for more details.

At GMA Yemaso BJJ in Sacramento, CA you’ll find Samir Chantre teaching on August 16.

Samir is an active competitor who recently won the featherweight division at the 2014 IBJJF Vegas Summer Open and is also an instructor for Caio Terra Association.

The seminar will start at 10 a.m. and the cost is $50 per person.

Yemaso BJJ is located at 6831 Savings Place, Unit 209, Sacramento, CA.

For more information and to reserve your spot, contact Marcos Torregrosa at www.yemasobjj.com

The event will start at 10 a.m. and include food trucks, open mat rolling, prize raffles and giveaways and even a dunk tank.

The new Yemaso BJJ is located at 6831 Savings Pl Suite 209-210, Sacramento, CA 95828.

Learn more at www.yemasobjj.com

Marcos Torregrosa as referee. Photo: Jaydee Dizon

We rarely learn the ins and outs of being a Jiu-Jitsu tournament referee. Some of the faces are well-known while others seem to only be known by their dressy attire on the middle of the mats when we compete.

Marcos Torregrosa, a black belt from GMA Yemaso BJJ Academy, entered the new realm of referees for the first time at the 2014 IBJJF Las Vegas Spring Open on May 3. The avid competitor travels around frequently and takes home gold at some of the largest tournaments in our sport. He also talks guidance to his students from the sidelines at the very same tournaments. Both of those roles can be physically, mentally taxing but some do all three.

Listen to the story of one brave man who stepped on the mat to referee for a day in Vegas and lived to tell the tale:

“‘With great power comes great responsibility’ – ironically a quote that seems to hold new meaning the more I experience. This past weekend I was approached to referee my very first IBJJF event. Sure, I had reffed many other events yet I consider the IBJJF events of the highest prestige and this was to be my opportunity to show how it’s done! I had high expectations of myself and looked forward to the challenge, anticipating minimal obstacles on the way whilst impressing my colleagues and earning their respect.

I had a long day..

Come 7:30 p.m. I was exhausted, beaten from a long and emotional trial that saw me going through every possible combination of situations as a coach, competitor, and referee. First off I could not compete as I was injured but I immediately recognized the incredible difficulty of being a ref and competing all in the same day. Regularly I witness Osvaldo Moizinho, Samir Chantre, Leo D’Avila, Oliver Geddes, and Kristina Barlaan ref and compete and the reality is that most people are blind to just how taxing this can be. I was drained from head to toe, my eyes red and dry from trying to keep them open for fear of missing some minuscule detail that could potentially determine a match. My lower back was sore and my knees creaked as I bent down. I had been approached on a couple of occasions by the head referee about certain calls and the unwavering assertion that I knew what I was doing had been clouded in doubt, further stressing my emotional stability. Throughout the day I had been yelled at, cursed, questioned, frowned upon, embarrassed, and quite frankly beaten. I had taken a group of 13 and could only catch a few of their matches, one of them to ref my own student and witness his first loss at a tournament first hand. Being that the event was in Vegas many were planning on enjoying a night out and I was actually contemplating just going to bed. Almost..

Much like the greatest inspirations my epiphany came from this “defeat”. I realized just how important it was to have a competitor and aficionado of the sport as referee. I knew the rules and knew them damn well but employing them was a different bag of chips. It was very easy for me to sit in the stands and say, “oh man, that’s a TERRIBLE call” yet as I reffed I heard the wisdom of my late grandmother ringing in my ears: “it’s not the same to call the devil than to see him arrive” she would say, meaning it’s easy to talk but hard to walk. As a coach I could not agree more. I had a number of up-and-comers this weekend taking 9 medals total and I drill them constantly on the rules in an effort to make them more aware both tactically and in general–a trait of any good martial artist.

Personally, I feel each and every coach should place it upon themselves to attend a referee seminar at LEAST once a year. It was criminal to see just how many coaches, many well known masters and colleagues of mine, not entirely versed on the rules. They, along with their student competitors, should attend these seminars and further discuss their newfound knowledge at the gym. If we are to play a game it is imperative that we know the rules. After this experience I am planning on attending a few in an effort to ensure my interpretation of the rules is spot on.

Finally, and in my opinion most important, I feel it is in the duty of those top tier competitors to get on the mats and show by example. It is VERY easy to hide behind titles and criticize profusely these men and women that have taken time away from coaching, competing, and their families to try and provide a safe and professional atmosphere for us all. No one is getting rich reffing and it is extremely difficult to swallow pride and commit errors but remember what it was like to be a fumbling white belt and the enjoyment of doing something correct.

Change what you are saying and you will change what you are seeing. Be the change you so eagerly solicit and If you feel our events need better refs go out there and give back, not just to your students but to the community as a whole.”

Follow more of Marcos Torregrosa’s endeavors at www.yemasobjj.com

Caio at the 2013 SF Open. Photo: Ivan Trindade

The 2014 IBJJF San Francisco Open is scheduled for Feb. 9 at the Kezar Pavilion. Athletes are filling up the divisions including one black belt world champion named Caio Terra.

The tournament is one of the only IBJJF events prior to the prestigious Pan American Championship so many athletes are aiming towards the big one while preparing with the local events. Don’t miss your chance to get some competition mat time into the books of 2014 before you travel to Irvine for the big one.

Also in attendance will be both local master men, Marcos Yemaso Torregrosa and Itabora Ferreira.

The Kezar Pavilion is located at 755 Stanyan St. San Francisco, CA 94117.

Registration ends on Feb. 1. You can register at www.ibjjf.org

Marcos Torregrosa is an international competitor who brings home gold medals from tournaments such as the 2013 Pan American Championship and the 2013 Masters and Seniors Worlds. In fact, he is ranked the number one black belt master lightweight in the world.

He travels to test his skills on the competition mats and now he will be traveling to Herndon, VA to show his knowledge on the training mats.

The seminar will be on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $75 for guests, $55 for students. It is open to all, regardless of affiliation.

The address of the location is Fairfax Jiu-Jitsu: 13821 Redskin Dr, Herndon, VA 20171

Register now by paying through paypal here.

The Yemaso BJJ team at the 2013 IBJJF American Nationals. Photo: Randy Lacy

GMA member Marcos Torregrosa took his team down to Los Angeles for the 2013 American Nationals on Sept. 7-8 traveling from their Sacramento academy, Yemaso BJJ.

With seven competitors in the gi and no-gi brackets, every one of them came home with at least one medal. The total count from the weekend was twelve gold, three silver, one bronze.

Athlete list:

• Billy English – White/Master/Light
• Randy Lacy – Blue/Senior 1/Light
• Richard Wing Fu Wong – Purple/Juvenile/Middle
• Kyle Roberts – Purple/Adult/Heavy
• Richard Selmar Bothun – Purple/Senior 1/Middle
• Eliot Kelly – Black/Adult/Super-Heavy
• Marcos Torregrosa – Black/Master/Light

Check out how both black belts use their distance and space to sweep, pass, defend and submit. And some other stuff:

Robson Moura at the 2012 Mastrs & Seniors Worlds passing guard. Photo: Ivan Trindade

The International Masters & Seniors World Championship offers a prestigious title for those over the age of thirty. But this tournament is not for the “old guys” as we may think it is but rather it is a chance for some top athletes to compete in a league of their own– a serious and talented league. A lot of the competitors who will be seen on the two-day October 5-6 roster at the Long Beach Walter Pyramid in California have already won titles in the adult divisions and even continue to compete in such divisions today.

We can consider it the best of both worlds. Some competitors who won the World Championship at adult this year in June will go on to win yet another world title at the Masters & Seniors Worlds, an exceptional accomplishment.

The registration is now open with black belt leaders already signed up such as: Bruno and Rico Bastos, Marcos Torregrosa, Daniel Beleza, Gustavo Pires, Leo Dalla, Fabio Leopoldo, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, Renato Tavares, Megaton Dias and more!

To register, go to www.ibjjf.org

Check out Robson Moura from last year’s Worlds where he won his eighth world title, combined with previous adult titles. Learn from his passing, counters and slick submissions:

American National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2012. Photo: Ivan Trindade

The IBJJF American National Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a two-day event for both gi and no-gi divisions on September 7-8. Located at the California State University Dominguez Hills campus, it is a historical Jiu-Jitsu venue as the Pan American Championship ran in the gymnasium until the number of participants forced IBJJF to move the event to UC Irvine.

American Nationals has been an annual championship since 2002 with the no-gi portion added in 2008. In fact, at the first edition the brown belt adult absolute division was closed out by Rener and Ryron Gracie.

Competing in this event gives you the chance to add one more title on your resume as a national champion and the no-gi division will prepare you for the No-Gi Pan Ams and No-Gi Worlds coming up in the next two months.

CSU Dominguez Hills is located at 1000 E. Victoria Street Carson, CA 90747. Divisions are open from white to black, juvenile to senior 2. Already signed up are some black belts Oliver Geddes, Rodrigo Freitas, JT Torres, James Puopolo, Marcos Torregrosa, Brandon Mullins and more.

The lower belts have already confirmed some of the best in their ranks with athletes who have medaled at both the Worlds and the Pan Ams so the level of competition is fierce.

Registration is open until Friday, August 30 at the cost of $99 for just the gi division or $170 for both gi and no-gi.

Don’t miss the deadline by registering at www.ibjjf.org

Check out this match from 2009 between Saulo Ribeiro and Renato Tavares: