#bjj blue belt

[9secretsigns]

Picked this set up to commemorate my blue belt promotion in September 🥰🌹🐍🇧🇷

[handmadebybainsy]

Check it out here —> https://www.etsy.com/listing/1324904909/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-bracelet-jiu-jitsu

[nandostateofmind]

Becoming A Purple People Eater……….

Goodbye to the Blue Belt and Hello to the Responsibility……..

On December 9. 2023, it happened. The moment I dreamed of and the moment I feared all at once. Class was over and they sent us to sit. There’s anticipation in the air. Everyone is wondering why we are being directed to sit. This is jiu jitsu after all and promotions tend to come in seasons. My time had already come in September, I received my third stripe on my blue belt. I was happy as could be with that particular stripe because I know they judge harshly at my gym nothing is given, everything earned. I learned this the hard way being wondering aloud if my third stripe on my belt is the result of nepotism. When I made this statement on my blog I was told, with no hesitation or confusion, that I was not above the art. That my professor/ great friend does not care about my feelings above the art. That nothing was ever given without being earned that he wouldn’t tarnish the brand of the gym or the art itself to protect my feelings from how badly I suck. So, with that said I wasn’t due in my opinion.

Now when promotions are announced there is always an air of, who’s due? Who’s ready? And, this guy is long overdue. I love promotion day. Not because of me improving or expecting a promotion. I secretly enjoy being undervalued. I like sandbagging. I like being undersold. I like underselling and over delivering. I love to see promotions because I feel like in the gym on those mats is the only place where hard work is actually acknowledged, where putting in the work is a real thing. Where someone comes to test them against genuine resistance and see where they are. They are hard fought and rarely are they given without them being truly deserving.

With all of this said I was not overdue. I was not ready. I wasn’t not “sandbagging,” I was a decent blue belt. Now when someone gets promoted a bit early like myself they often say, “they will grow into the belt.” Well, I’m in my growing phase. This belt has a lot of stigma to it if the YouTube videos I watch are to be believed. The clichés you hear are this, “this is the first advanced belt,” “a modern-day purple belt is as good as a 1990s black belt because the game has expanded so much,’ or my favorite cliché, which is, “if the professor gives you a purple belt that means he believes one day you will receive your black belt.” Well if those things are to be believed then I am feeling the pressure. There’s level to this game. Some purple belts can consistently submit black belts when they are elite at some aspect of their game, let’s say something like leglocks. Some purple belts compete frequently and are superior athletes. Then there’s me chubby 40-year dad of 2 with a job who works a lot of overtime. I also have an ego. I like to win and do well as much as anyone. So, there is that desire and drive to improve because for once something is actually expected of me. Here’s what my best is for what happened……

I went on a jiu jitsu retreat by a miracle. Someone couldn’t make it and I was allowed to take their spot. It was an incredible experience. I did miss my family but the trip was unbelievably worth it. Amazing food, people and experiences so much wildlife. Most importantly while I was there I got to experience rolling with my professor for the first time. It went exactly as expected. He destroyed me with such ease it felt like we weren’t doing the same martial art. I was dying and he was relaxed just moving and playing. I have no idea what he saw during that roll. I have no idea what he saw in me upon return from Costa Rica either but he felt I was working and decided it was time. How in the hell am I going to question him? I am unworthy of questioning his judgment at all so here I am with the weight of his decision looking into the future, hoping to never disappoint him. That’s the pressure or purple and role I have as a 40-year old.

Then there’s the role I love, the teacher. I love when I understand something really well and can explain it proficiently. Now, I have no illusions of owning a school one day. I don’t plan on being a legendary competitor that began in his 40s somehow. I don’t have a wrestling background no matter how much I wish I did. No judo and I’m not Brazilian. My whole goal is to one day be good enough to teach. That’s it. Nothing more nothing less. I’m returning from injury and being out for 6 weeks. So, here I am returning to the mats after a hiatus ready to get after it. Looking to get better, looking to not be someone’s rest round, looking to be worthy of the belt. Brown is off in the distance, I am not in any rush. So, let’s lift up our glasses and toast to purple.

[novaauster]

girl help i have written 26 pages of my aftg bjj au in the span of three days

[kimchicuddles]

[markwateneymemorialcrater]

I got my blue belt today in Brazilian jiujitsu. Been really exciting to get this far and was a bit of a surprise as I thought I was only going to get another stripe on my white belt and not a full on promotion to blue belt. So that was a pleasant surprise.

[jiujitsunews]

Are you a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu looking to take your game to the next level? Then you won't want to miss this video! It reveals some critical elements every blue belt needs to succeed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnaoMpd3niM  Remember to like, subscribe, and share

[bombom-flow]

Foco…

[bluebeltcourse]

Mastering the Fundamentals: Understanding the Blue Belt Requirements in BJJ by Roy Dean

BJJ, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a martial art and combat sport that has gained popularity worldwide. Developed from Judo, BJJ emphasizes ground grappling and submissions. BJJ is an excellent way to improve one's physical fitness, self-defense skills, and mental health. A wide range of tournaments and championships are also held in this highly competitive sport.

Obtaining a blue belt is one of the most important milestones in BJJ. A practitioner receives this promotion after receiving a white belt. In order to earn a blue belt, one must demonstrate dedication, hard work, and a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of BJJ. The blue belt requirements have been outlined in instructional videos and books by renowned BJJ black belt instructor Roy Dean.

The basic concepts, techniques, and principles of BJJ should be understood by a blue belt, according to Roy Dean. Among the fundamental techniques are takedowns, guard passing, guard retention, sweeps, submissions, and escapes. BJJ blue belts should also have a good understanding of basic positions, including mounts, back mounts, side controls, and guards.

Blue belts must also have good physical fitness and conditioning in addition to the technical requirements. Blue belts should be able to roll with other practitioners for extended periods of time without getting tired or injured. Roy Dean recommends that blue belt candidates have a regular training schedule that includes cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises.

Furthermore, Roy Dean emphasizes the importance of having a positive attitude and good sportsmanship as a blue belt. Regardless of their rank or experience, blue belts should be humble, respectful, and eager to learn from others. Furthermore, they should be able to handle winning and losing with grace and composure.

As a result, becoming a blue belt in BJJ requires significant effort, dedication, and commitment. Practitioners who are aspiring to become blue belts will find Roy Dean's requirements an excellent guide. The important thing to remember about BJJ is that it is a lifelong learning journey. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers exciting and rewarding opportunities that don't end with a blue belt.

[indieyuugure]

Wait, you do jiu jitsu?

I do yes! Brazilian Jiu Jitsu! I also do Muay Thai, but not as much. BJJ is how I get the vast majority of my exercise, I train roughly 9 hours a week and have been doing it for the past few years. I’m currently a blue belt as you probably saw in this accurate picture of me at Jiu Jitsu.

I have a bit of a reputation there of being “tiny but vicious.” I don’t mean to go so hard but when the average height difference between you and the other guys is 8 inches and the average weight difference is probably 50+ pounds, I guess you gotta make up for it somewhere lol 😂

To be fair though most of it comes from me asking literally anyone to fight me. I don’t really see bigger people as intimidating(probably bad) since I’ve got enough cobbled together skills and muscle to mostly get around their size(granted their usually not going 100% on me). I’ve been shooed away by the coaches a few times cause I’ll ask a newbie to roll with me, lol

I enjoy it, though! I have lots of friends, some are much older than me, some are a little younger. Everyone is very nice and supportive of each other and it’s overall a very fun way to get exercise and martial arts training! :]

[perdvivly]

Trying to sell @ante--meridiem on BJJ

So, there are a few caveats here, and a few questions you might want to ask yourself before deciding to take advice from anybody (myself included) on which martial arts you might want to do.

Firstly, what are you hoping to get out of it? Secondly, what do you realistically have access to?

There are a bunch of different answers to the first question and they suggest different martial arts to try. You might be interested in self defence, you might be interested in discipline, you might be interested in community, you might be interested in fitness, the list goes on and on, and the truth is probably some combination thereof.

The second question also matters for obvious reasons. Bjj is great but, realistically speaking, it also attracts a certain type of personality that can make environments pretty toxic. A lot of bjj gyms are really good. The ones near you might not be so good, and that's not a reflection on the practice itself per se, but it is a realistic factor in your decision making process.

I'll start off with some things that bjj will not offer you and if you are interested in them you might want to choose a different practice.

Tradition - If you're after a long lineage of master/ sensei/ shifu/ guru whatever, you're not going to find it here. The sort of "you must call me by this title of honour" is indicitive of the sort of toxicity I mentioned earlier. I'm not a fan, my instinctive response is to say "and would my lord like me to gargle his balls while I'm at it?" and this is why I hope I'm never summoned to court. But moving on. Other people do like these sorts of relationships and find a lot of meaning in them. They are not common in bjj circles. You probably will see teachers list who they got their black belt under going back to either Helio Gracie or Mitsuyo Maeda, and this is a sign that they know what they're talking about on paper - the real sign you want to look for though is if they can actually do the things they say they can.

Quick Progression - This is a relative term. The long and the short of it is: bjj only has 5 belts (this isn't true - but for practical purposes, it's true) and you get one of them just by showing up. Belt progression is White -> Blue -> Purple -> Brown -> Black. Compare this to Taekwondo which, if I recall correctly goes White -> Yellow Stripe -> Yellow -> Green Stripe -> Green -> Blue Stripe -> Blue -> Red Stipe -> Red -> Black Stripe -> Black. So there are at least twice as many belts, and moreover you pass through them a lot quicker. The average time it takes to get a black belt in Taekwondo, or at least the time you can roughly expect to get one with consistent practice is about 3 years. The time it takes in bjj is 10 years. This lack of material reward can be disincentivising. It's not uncommon to feel like you're hitting a plateau (often, safe, and extremely well).

The whole picture of martial arts - bjj is a grappling art. And it's (in my biased opinion) the best grappling art, but it's not more than that. Realistically, if you want to Be Good At Fighting, you need to know how to strike, and how to handle strikes. Bjj will not teach you this, because it is not in its wheelhouse.

But now onto the what it will offer you and if you are interested in these things, I don't think there's another practice that does them as proficeintly.

No striking!! - A drawback if you want the full picture, yes. A massive win if you don't want brain damage.

Best by test - So, I'm well aware that this is the empiricism circle of tumblr.edu, and that was sort of the goal of the original UFC. Or the idea behind its inception was: hey, what if we just put all the fighting styles against each other in a real combat scenario with as few rules as possible? Who would actually win? And it turns out, bjj would actually win. Now, it's more complicated than that, and as the years go by there are layers of nuance that need to be added. But basically, grappling is almost certainly a majority of the picture of complete martial arts, and bjj is still the best grappling practice on offer.

Competence - I expect you'd get this from any martial art and it is not unique to bjj. But oh my god. It's so cool when people can just do the things they say they can. It feels like magic. One of the real selling points of having such a slow progression is that you don't find legitimate higher belts who are not legitimately insanely good at what they do. This is, unfortunately, something I found with Taekwondo... There are black belts who you could probably beat in a fight just by being much stronger or quicker than them. A taekwondo black belt just means a lot less than it might.

You don't have to hold back - no striking means that when you spar, it's pretty much a full on real match. You get to know, intimately, whether you would have won or lost if you were really trying - because you are really trying. This does a great job of disolving a lot of ego because, more often than not, you will lose. You're new, you're going against people who know much more than you, you're just not going to win for the first few months, and that's okay. But the feeling of, "hey, this guy just beat me, and if that was for real, I know deep down that there is nothing I could do to stop him" is a feeling that takes a while to get to grips with. If you can experience that in a safe and controlled setting, it's an experience I recommend.

This is as close to a david and goliath sport as can exist in martial arts - take this with a grain of salt. The best bjj player in the world is Gordon Ryan who is a 6'2" 110kg steroided up brick wall of a man. It turns out that being bigger and stronger is just pretty much always helpful in a combat scenario. But bjj is as close to a real reversal of that as there is in combat sports. The smaller opponent really can win in these situations! Now, I'm 6'0", strong, fairly capable, but I went to an open mat once where a 5'2" girl tapped me out what must have been 10 times in a row with barely any effort. This is where the art comes in. It doesn't matter how big or how strong someone is, if their brain can't get oxygen, they go to sleep.

Anyway, I feel like I've ranted enough here. Do bjj! Talk to me about it. If you have any other questions I'd be really happy to get into them with you.

[9secretsigns]

[nandostateofmind]

40.

Life Has Been Beautiful…..

I turn 40. Born on Thursday, September 15, 1983 at 8:50 am, to Jose Antonio Rivera and Luz Palmira Rivera; Brooklyn, NY. I like to think the weather was nice that day. That the chill of fall was in the air but that summer sun was out there warming up the day one last time before you need a jacket. It was Thursday pay day. The 15th them welfare checks hit and the neighborhood was in a great mood. That my mom looked at me and gave a little smile. I was here now shit was going to be alright. That’s my hope. I wont be googling it either to disprove myself this is my story and I like my version of my birth story.

Now that I have hit 40, middle age. I realize a few things, some wisdom, if you will. First, life has been good to me. I have known love, sadness, joy, pain and everything in between and it formed me into the man I am today. Thankfully, I am happy like really happy. Happy enough that if I passed tomorrow I don’t feel like I left any experiences on the table. I’m blessed, and not social media version of blessed. I’m truly blessed. Not in material wealth necessarily, I don’t have a Rolex. I lease my reasonably priced car. I don’t own a house but I have an apartment to call my own. Clean clothes, lots of sneakers and I am far from hungry. I friends, I have family, I have jiujitsu, life is sweet. I have no complaints that really matter.

I have two beautiful kids. Xavier who is my age when I lost my dad. I talk to him all the time and I love the person he is becoming. He is handsome and sweet. A good athlete and writes really well. I couldn’t be prouder of the person he is. I have Violet my little girl. There are some people in this world who are a gift to lift people who I consider the “light bringers” and Violet is a light bringer. She just brings joy with her. Smart and opinionated. Beautiful like her mother and affectionate like her dad. She makes every day worth it. Those two kids are everything to me. When all else fails I look at their photos and I know that it isn’t that bad at all.

I know love. The love of my friends. Maybe we aren’t that close maybe we don’t speak frequently. Maybe I haven’t seen them in a long time but I love them just the same I have the memories of a million adventures that I cherish. I have my family blood and not blood. I have been blessed with a great circle of people around me that when we do finally see one another its like no time has passed and the vibes remain the same. Along with the of my children, friends, and family, I have my wife. Even is she decides that its over tomorrow I couldn’t regret anything because I got to experience the fairytale, I got the Disney version of love even if it were only for a limited time. Right now, we are still riding and I have no complaints that’s my best friend. So for 40 years I have been blessed with love and happiness.

I may never have a six pack. I may never have a benz. I may never have a threesome. I may never be famous. I may die and no one outside my immediately mourn me. However, Ive known joy so profound that I am missing nothing, I want nothing, I am happy. I am40, and life is beautiful.

[thegoofyfanaticus]

(( Art gifted from incredibly talented PoisonedMartini. Original story by me. )) Jordan focused in on his opponent as he came closer. Santiago Rodriguez, as Jordan recalled from the profile card he was sent, was the exact same height as Jordan and basically the same weight. On paper, they were a perfect matchup. As Jordan watched Santiago move closer, Jordan realized what he was thinking about before Santiago interrupted his thoughts. This dude was a black belt in BJJ which meant he was going to have a nasty ground game. Jordan was suddenly very thankful he had Cody as a mentor. At first, he had questioned why Cody had become his mentor. He wasn't exactly sure if mentors were assigned or if they got to pick who they wanted to mentor, but he didn't think he was the right fit for him considering Jordan was a straight-up brawler and Cody was a wrestler. He probably should have asked Cody about it, but Cody had immediately put Jordan to work on his grappling. Cody, being a world-class amateur wrestler for Team USA and a wrestling coach for one of the regional teams for Florida, knew a weakness when he saw it. He had told Jordan that anyone in the pack would target Jordan's wrestling skills if Jordan didn't improve them dramatically. Now watching Santiago slowly and methodically circling Jordan hunched like a cheetah ready to pounce on his prey, the cub grew exponentially more thankful for who his mentor was. Santiago didn't know that Jordan had been working on his wrestling; all Jordan's profile would have said was bare-knuckle fighting. Jordan grinned as he realized he had the slight advantage of surprise. This relaxed Jordan and he felt himself completely at ease with how this fight could now go. That is when he noticed, Santiago was fighting in his white underwear?! "Don't you make enough money to fight in something more than your whitey tighties?" Jordan taunted hoping the completely juvenile remark would catch Santiago off guard leaving him an opening to strike. Santiago only stared at the pale white fighter before him. He chose to ignore the immature snark from this newcomer. Based on the looks of the pretty boy, he knew how to fight and was looking to throw Santiago off his focus. This punk in blue shorts didn't know how focused Santiago was in a fight. Or how dangerous he was. Santiago studied his opponent's physique while judging his attack. This punk was lean and ripped. His weight came mostly from muscle mass. The way he stood told Santiago the punk was a brawler like his card said. Still, he was warned that this group Jordan came from focused on training in all aspects. Santiago would need to see just how much this newbie could grapple. That is when Santiago saw his opening, striking his victim like a cottonmouth viper.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

if you get this, answer w/ three random facts about yourself and send it to the last seven blogs in your notifs. anon or not, doesn’t matter, let’s get to know the person behind the blog !

Hi Jen!! Happy Fri-yay!! I hope your weekend gets kicked off to a great start! Thank you for sending this my way, these are always fun!

Random Fact #1 - I love learning languages. I know a decent amount of Spanish and am currently learning Portuguese. Once I feel like I pick up enough to use context clues, I like to watch shows or movies in a different language to see how well I can pick up on what's being said. I most recently watched 30 Coins on HBO without the English dubbing. (side note, if you like religious horror I 110% recommend that show. Season 1 was really good.) Next up is Paradise.

Random Fact #2 - I have a green thumb. I grew up in New Jersey and our state nickname is the Garden State and I think when I learned that as a child I took it as a responsibility to garden. I have 15 house plants (in a one bedroom apartment) and every summer I overload my balcony with tomatoes, peppers and herbs. I actually just started my seeds a few days ago! Last year we had so many peppers that at the end of the season, I dehydrated them all to use as chili flakes and we still have half the jar.

Random Fact #3 - I have my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Unfortunately I had to stop training about two years ago because I was dealing with injuries and health issues, but someday I hope to be able to get back to it. As a former marathoner, I can honestly say that training BJJ was the most intense workout I ever had in my life. I miss the adrenaline of "getting into fights" (sparring) and would love to get back in competition shape again. (Bonus fun fact, I won the Colorado state championship for my weight class in 2016) Occasionally I still dream in triangle chokes. Every now and then I slap a choke on my little brother (he's a foot taller than me) just to remind him that I can whip his ass.