MMA Black Belt.

The day has come, the belt system has been introduced to MMA, in the U.S.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/jacksons-introduces-an-mma-belt-ranking-system
There is no obligation to compete, you can train for fun, and get a blackbelt in mma.. What do you think?

 

hmmm... page not found on the internal server at that site... curious if they are referring to Greg Jackson's camp.
EDIT: I fixed your link so it should work now

 

Yeah thats the one.

Im sure he's got a good reputation as a coach.

edit: thanks Slip

Here's my opinion, Im sure its all good, organised and all that. But.. i dont know.
My opinion isnt that relevant mind you, im some guy who does Karate in Oz so, anyway, on the one hand i can hear the cash register ringing lol, and on the other, nothing wrong with the coach organising people with ranks i suppose.

But one part that stuck out to me was "you can train for fun, no requirement to compete to earn a blackbelt. Which is fine, thats what i do afterall.
But i tend to look at MMA as i would Boxing or Muay Thai.

 

$_$

 

Ah, ok, it would be a belt in Gregs system, which although based in MMA, its not ranking as such in MMA the way i innitialy took it to be.

Well, good luck to him.
cheers

 

we'll considering the number of people who've trained at jackson, itll be easy for staff to keep track of what people have or havent learnt

 

It was inevitable.

 

I just died a bit inside. It's only a matter of time until you have to be "blackbelt" to compete at the pro level.

I'm going to cry in a corner now.

 

I can't see it really making much of a difference. It's not like MMA doesn't have mass appeal... the results are reported on CBS and USA Today. If that's not an indicator of the mainstream then I dunno what is. I don't think it's all that crazy to have a ranking system based on acquired skills... and if anyone's going to be in a position to set it up and accurately build a system of assessment then it's going to be Greg Jackson.

It's not like BJJ schools who have a ranking system don't already have a massive affiliate school system with most instructors. Flip through any BJJ mag or for that matter the phone book and you're likely to find any number of affiliates. Roll in a BJJ comp? Need a belt - they need to know your rank and how long you've trained and under who. Why is MMA all of a sudden different or should it be immune to such a set up?

I'm genuinely curious Chadderz why you think it's a negative?

 

Well one that springs to mind would be the fact that it isn't one discipline, it's many, so be being given a belt, you have one belt in one discipline (MMA). Which defeats the purpose of Mixed Martial Arts, We have Sambo already anyway.

The second point is well roundedness. Chuck Liddell was one of the greatest strikers of all time. At the end of his career he had knocked out blackbelts in BJJ, pro-kickboxers, K-1 fighters. My point there is that even by the end of his career, he had won only ONE fight by sub, and now retired, has a purple belt in BJJ. By no means is he very well rounded. So would he be a blackbelt or not? So what would the criteria be for a belt?

The other point is that, I just couldn't take it seriously. When twelve year olds have blackbelts in MMA, it will put a whole in my heart.

If Thai fighters were to start being given full on belts, would you not be disheartened?

 

I'm with Slip. I doubt it matters much. You don't see 12-year-olds with black belts in Brazilian jiujitsu. Hell, I have precisely one friend with a black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu (despite having quite a few friends who practice martial arts). They don't give them away. But you're suggesting that black belts in MMA WILL be given away, aren't you?

I think the "mixed martial arts" name is a bit disingenuous at this point. Yeah, the approach you see in the Octagon nowadays is clearly a hybrid of styles. But the baseline components of that approach are fairly well established at this point. And it's been around long enough that there are teachers out there in a good position to teach a good, solid, workable, and somewhat standardized set of skills for MMA.

The belt will be worth precisely what it's always been worth: Zero to everything, depending on who has issued it and who has earned it. It's just a teaching tool. The fact that Joe Public misunderstands its significance is an indication that we need to better inform Joe. Not that we need to dismiss a perfectly serviceable teaching tool out of hand.

 

The only belts in MMA should look something like this depending on the organization.

 

I was watching their promotion last night! It was awesome

 

But it's not really like that, is it? I mean, it's a belt in Gaidojutsu [sp?] not MMA in general.

Greg Jackson has a system, ergo he has a teaching syllabus, ergo he can come up with grading criteria based on requirements outlined in said syllabus.

I mean, as long as it gets the job done does it matter whether he has his guys practice in ballet shoes and pink tutus?

 

Well that's just another point.... It's totally pointless.

 

By that token, it shouldn't bother you any.

 

Haha, well it will bother me if a) Most gyms do it, and b)if I need a blackbelt to compete at a specific level.

I suppose it's harmless and laughable just now, but if I ever need a blackbelt to compete, I will be disappointed.

I want to know what Slip would think of belts in Muay Thai, or boxing. :/

 

You'll have to build a more convincing argument than this. It's akin to saying we shouldn't have to call a car a car or get a license to drive it... after all a chassis is a chassis not a car... nuts and bolts are nuts and bolts not a car... and pistons are pistons not a car. I think you get the point. At a certain point it pretty much transcends all the specific subsets of skills involved.

There are any number of things contained in the whole that aren't contained in the sub-arts if you will. Yet when all put together into a cohesive training system you have something that is different than all the parts its made of.Much the same way the sum total of parts of a car is a very different thing than the individual parts by themselves.

I'm not sure what the whole bit about Sambo is meant to say. I don't train Sambo unfortunately... I would imagine not many people at MAP do or have... it's not exactly wide spread. Certainly not as widespread as MMA or BJJ. So I can't quite work out what you're trying to get at.

I'm going to assume you mean in MMA only.

I think you're confusing what Greg Jackson is doing with some universal rule that seems to be a kneejerk reaction to a traditional ranking system. I don't expect that Dana White or anyone else is going to instantly now require all fighters to have an MMA black belt. Sorry fellas... we want our belts back until you get your black belts. lol... I don't really see that working out do you?

Again it doesn't seem like you really thought your argument through very much. Your arguing something that no one is proposing.

It already exists to a certain extent in the UK. It's not a half bad system for registering progress. Above and beyond that there is the fight game... much as I suspect in the same way that actual MMA competition will always be the litmus test for fighters. In BJJ we have a belt ranking system but no one freaks out or starts moaning about 12 year olds gaining rank.

Just because your only exposure to a belt ranking system may be from the pervasive fear of Mc Dojo proliferation - it doesn't mean belt ranking systems are flawed.... there are legitimate schools who don't hand out candy-ass belts. Call me crazy.... I suspect Greg Jackson is one of them.:hat: