Would you train at a sandbagging gym?

Discussion in 'Brazilian Jiu Jitsu' started by Prizewriter, Dec 7, 2015.

  1. Prizewriter

    Prizewriter Moved on

    I have recently moved in to the city. It's great because there are 6 places to train BJJ, and 2 of them are full time, dedicated BJJ gyms (and another 1 is very close).

    The oldest and most established (with a large number of purple and brown belts) is a Gracie Barra gym. Some pluses are:

    • The training is good, it has a strong emphasis on practical BJJ and strong use of basics which I prefer over the butt scooting, flash-in-the-pan, inverted googoplata BJJ some schools teach.
    • It has a couple of black belts, a dozen or so brown belts and a ton of purple belts. No other club in the country can compete with their experience
    • Dedicated, full time gym with lots of classes and free parking


    Other negatives:
    • It's the most expensive place to train BJJ in the city I live
    • Typical Gracie Barra stuff (can only wear the offical gi etc...)
    • The gym has earned a reputation for hardcore sandbagging. I know one guy who trained there like clockwork, competed and medalled frequently, and it took him 7 years to get from blue to purple. His is one of many stories where it takes a veryyy long time to get belts.

    I don't chase belts, but from an ethical point of view sandbagging annoys me. I've seen a lot of people sacrifice time and money; shed blood sweat and tears with no real acknowledgement or reward.

    People might think why do belts matter... if you were a purple belt and have to move away to a place where there is no BJJ, at least you could attempt to start a club. You can't do that if you're a white belt whose been training for 5 or 6 years, been killing at competitions, yet is held back to inflate the clubs standing. Sandbagging stops the progress of the student and stops the growth of the art of BJJ. That is why it irks me.

    Of course I'll make my own decision and live with it, but to generate some conversation, would you train at a gym with a reputation for sandbagging?
     
  2. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    sandbagging can also be viewed as raising the level of skill in lower groups/belts

    i think sand bagging is good for in gym training, terrible for comps.
     
  3. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Depends on your goals. If it prevents me from attending classes (e.G blue belt classes and above) then that'd be annoying. I also hate the gi thing.

    If you don't like it on moral principle then don't train there. No point training somewhere you don't respect.

    If your goals are to learn the art then crack on, hopefully they are just as accepting of non-competitors.
     
  4. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    If you do it too much then you might as well not have belts/skill divisions. It's like pretending a guy is a featherweight when he's actually a heavyweight - if you're going to do it, might as well just have an open-weight competition.
     
  5. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    The problem is that success in competitions isn't the only requirement for promotion. If a super athletic guy joins your gym and three months later he's crushing the white belt division at big competitions, do you promote him to blue even though his technique is rubbish?

    You say this club is sandbagging, but then you also say that they have a ton of purple belts. I don't see how both of those things can be true. If they were sandbagging, you would expect them to have very few purple belts.
     
  6. Prizewriter

    Prizewriter Moved on

    I take your point, but the ideology behind sandbagging in BJJ seems to be:

    "You have the requisite skill and knowledge for advancement. You have spent the proper amount of time training and by objective measurement, you should be promoted. You aren't though, because by keeping you where you are at it will artificially elevate the standing of the club"

    So whereas it may raise standards a lower belt levels, it still to me seems to be a positive by-product of something that is being done for entirely the wrong reason. Just my 2 pennies worth.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  7. Prizewriter

    Prizewriter Moved on

    They have been going for 16 years in fairness, and were one of the first BJJ clubs in the UK. Plus blow ins from other clubs etc... Blow ins aside, anyone I know who is a purple belt has been there from almost the start. And bear in mind for about the first 7 or 8 years they were literally the only BJJ club in the city (in fact, the country!).

    I take your point though that comp success alone doesn't determine promotion.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  8. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    Having high standards is good. If you want low standards, go join an easy gym, and join Gracie university.



    If they train technically, safely and consistently, and discourage grade chasers, then there a good gym to belong too.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015

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