BJJ WORLDS

slammer187

I think everyone needs to look at the bigger picture, Saulo Ribeiro decides at what belt Chris competes in, do you really think that Saulo who has won the Worlds 5 times would allow one of his students to sandbag in such a prestigious competition?

Anyway what's done is done and there's no point in being childish and arguing about it.

Kieran81

is it not a fairly blatant display of disrespect from saulo towards chris brennan saying you're not good enough to compete in blue under the ribeiro name, if nogi and gi grades are viewed as equal by the sports governing body

da-bres

I reckon its none of anyones business and the Mods should close the thread.

Its clear that people in this thread are merely speculating and bordering on accusing without full knowledge of Chris's situation.

to reply to shanes statement, I partially agree,Im sure a BJJ blue belt must be awarded when wearing the gi, IBJJF caters for BJJ athletes. Is a No Gi blue t-shirt a valid grade in BJJ?? or is it valid in Next generation jiujitsu/ same as tenth planet?

2 separate sports.

Valid Question.

By the way, An Irish man named Chris Leddy quit his job to pursue Brazilian Jiu Jitsu full time as a career, He traveled to america to learn from the best and train with world champions. As far as i'm concerned people are too busy hating.

Shane Fitz

i dont think anyone is being childish... or hating... well, I'm not
the facts are that a guy, who has competed in Gi at Blue belt, and no-Gi at advanced, was asked to compete as a White belt...

opinions have now been expressed that no-Gi grades dont hold up copmared to Gi grades....
...or the opposite, that the grade as reconised by the IBJJF applies to both.

the debate should now be how that decision affects us here in Ireland and the running of our own competitions.
As i said earlier.. where will no-Gi blues be competing now... we've already had this debate with regard to Gracie Garage Blue belts..

And just to clarify my own position, I am in no way suggesting sandbagging took place, Chris only did as his coach, Saulo asked. would any of us here have acted differently

BJJRevSS

dasmoose wrote: »

Just wanted to voice my support (and congratulations) for Chris, he is not a sandbagger at all, he's a hardworking guy who loves BJJ and has started dedicating his life to it.

You guys can debate whether a no-gi belt is worth the same as a belt in the gi all you want but as you say Shane, Chris entered Advanced at the last IP no-gi tournament against several blues and myself as a purple.

He just wants to get as good at jits as possible and he went to the University of JiuJitsu to do that. If Saulo Ribeiro tells him "you're a white belt in the gi" then do you guys expect him to disagree?

But your missing the point of the discussion he compets here in IRELAND in the BLUE BELT GI COMPS , did he or did he NOT ??? And also another black belt cant demote someone elses student, if there a bad blue belt they'll stay a blue belt for a very long time they dnt go bak 2 white. Its up to the student himself to go back, if he does its because he cant handle getting beaten by people who are actually better than him.

lawrencesummers

slammer187 wrote: »

I think everyone needs to look at the bigger picture, Saulo Ribeiro decides at what belt Chris competes in, do you really think that Saulo who has won the Worlds 5 times would allow one of his students to sandbag in such a prestigious competition?

Anyway what's done is done and there's no point in being childish and arguing about it.

Maybe, but is the bigger picture the fact that another person (who presumably has the right to decide) has previously decided otherwise? Can that be over-ridden? Leave aside the matter of personally wanting to or not, but can you even downgrade belt levels, that is if there is a question over the belt or not

EnjoyChoke

Chris Leddy has just won a gold at the Worlds competing at the belt level his coachs instructed him to compete at.

He's certainly one of the the most respectful players I've met. His (and his coaches) decision should not be taken as a slur on anyone. It's a personal thing, that both he and them took about his grade and is really none of our business. It does not in my opinion reflect on Irish BJJ, GI or NO-GI, it simply reflects on Chris.

By the way the winner of his division Eddie Ng was touted in some circles as a possible match up with Gunnar Nelson in a No-Gi grappling match and has been competing for longer than I have:
http://www.mmauniverse.com/fighters/SS14105

Some of you on here criticising him don't compete from one end of the year to the other, so give it a rest.

da-bres

Would just like to mention aswell on a side note, Chris has never once wore a blue belt training in the gi, always in his white belt, the only reason he competed in the blue belt category at the irish open was because of undue pressure from outsiders such as those on this forum,

I am genuinely annoyed how people are taking away from his achievement.

BJJRevSS

Shane Fitz wrote: »

i dont think anyone is being childish... or hating... well, I'm not
the facts are that a guy, who has competed in Gi at Blue belt, and no-Gi at advanced, was asked to compete as a White belt...

opinions have now been expressed that no-Gi grades dont hold up copmared to Gi grades....
...or the opposite, that the grade as reconised by the IBJJF applies to both.

the debate should now be how that decision affects us here in Ireland and the running of our own competitions.
As i said earlier.. where will no-Gi blues be competing now... we've already had this debate with regard to Gracie Garage Blue belts..

And just to clarify my own position, I am in no way suggesting sandbagging took place, Chris only did as his coach, Saulo asked. would any of us here have acted differently

I agree , but did Saulo know that Chris has been competeing in the blue belt gi comps ??? He only knows what hes been told ???

EnjoyChoke

da-bres wrote: »

I am genuinely annoyed how people are taking away from his achievement.

This. For sure.

Shane Fitz

I wasnt criticising Chris' achievement Tom,

But I do think it fair to ask about the decision to compete as a White belt, which was answered,
and also to postulate where that leaves any others who graded no-Gi in Gi comps etc..

lawrencesummers

da-bres wrote: »

I reckon its none of anyones business and the Mods should close the thread.....

Valid Question.

By the way, An Irish man named Chris Leddy quit his job to pursue Brazilian Jiu Jitsu full time ashttp://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72574049#post72574049 a career, He traveled to america to learn from the best and train with world champions. As far as i'm concerned people are too busy hating.

I disagree, the strength of Bjj is largely down to linage, and self policing of belt levels, this is a valid discussion, how would you feel if you lost out at a major competition to someone who seems to be at a higher level?

Fair play to Chris for such huge effort, and it's a pity there is a cloud over the win.

Shane Fitz

BJJRevSS wrote: »

I agree , but did Saulo know that Chris has been competeing in the blue belt gi comps ??? He only knows what hes been told ???

I think that is a bit harsh.

slammer187

BJJRevSS wrote: »

I agree , but did Saulo know that Chris has been competeing in the blue belt gi comps ??? He only knows what hes been told ???

*He only knows what he's been told AND what he's seen from Chris' performance in training and rolling.

BJJRevSS

da-bres wrote: »

Would just like to mention aswell on a side note, Chris has never once wore a blue belt training in the gi, always in his white belt, the only reason he competed in the blue belt category at the irish open was because of undue pressure from outsiders such as those on this forum,

I am genuinely annoyed how people are taking away from his achievement.

What u mean under preasure from outsiders??? did some 1 put a gun to his head and force him to train, sign up and pay for the comp ??? The poor fella seems to like doing things to please other people even ones he doesnt know . He should make his own decisions in future hed be better of.

da-bres

lawrencesummers wrote: »

I disagree, the strength of Bjj is largely down to linage, and self policing of belt levels, this is a valid discussion, how would you feel if you lost out at a major competition to someone who seems to be at a higher level?

Fair play to Chris for such huge effort, and it's a pity there is a cloud over the win.

Em im pretty sure everyone i have ever lost too was at a higher level too me.

If ''the strength of BJJ is largely down to linage'' then im sure saulo had good reasons to not accept the no gi grade.

your argument is flawed as you have little understanding regarding the circumstances of this.

You should mind your own business and this thread should be closed.

da-bres

BJJRevSS wrote: »

What u mean under preasure from outsiders??? did some 1 put a gun to his head and force him to train, sign up and pay for the comp ??? The poor fella seems to like doing things to please other people even ones he doesnt know . He should make his own decisions in future hed be better of.

If your concerned go tell him, rather than talking about him on a forum.

Richy06

Well I remember reading about Chris's plans earlier this year to quit his job and dedicate his life to BJJ for the year. I wished him well and even envied him a little.

I'm not going to get into the argument about his belt credentials because there's far more knowledgable people already doing that.

Having said that I have to say a huge congrats to you Chris, I'm sure you and your coaches knew best. Placing in the worlds at any belt is a huge achievement and it validates your decision to make the sacrifice you did. Keep up the good work!!

lawrencesummers

da-bres wrote: »

Em im pretty sure everyone i have ever lost too was at a higher level too me.

If ''the strength of BJJ is largely down to linage'' then im sure saulo had good reasons to not accept the no gi grade.

your argument is flawed as you have little understanding regarding the circumstances of this.

You should mind your own business and this thread should be closed.

Wt I'm getting at is that it's fine to be beaten White by White, or blue by blue, but to compete at White and be beaten by not just someone who should be blue but possibly is a blue is not fair, and nobody would like that.

I'm not doubting saulo had his reasons, the questions is if those reasons were legitimate or not, and if the fighter should have accepted them or not.

You obviously know the guy personally and feel the need to defend him which is admirable, that's where your opinions are being formed from and I'm not disputing them, it's a pity that such an achievement is being overshadowed, but it seems when you read about the winner of the division that the White belt mundials are a sham, and that is probably the biggest loser here, if anyone has aspirations of competing in the white belt mundials it seems that you might be up against people that would survive at purple belt.

SDTimeout

Just on a side note, can people not agree and i think Joey mentioned it earlier. In theory if someone got to brown belt no gi. They would be mauled by every brown belt who got there in a gi. Assuming the guy isn't amazingly talented.

Shane Fitz

SDTimeout wrote: »

Just on a side note, can people not agree and i think Joey mentioned it earlier. In theory if someone got to brown belt no gi. They would be mauled by every brown belt who got there in a gi. Assuming the guy isn't amazingly talented.

our governing body, and the organisation that oversees the mundials does not allow for the distinction... your grade is your grade.. Gi or no-Gi

SDTimeout

Perhaps the governing body is wrong ? FIFA is the football governing body and it's being crucified in the news for alleged corruption.

Shane Fitz

what... corruption at the top of the IBJJF... next you'll say that steroids are prolific at the elite level too:D

da-bres

Shane Fitz wrote: »

our governing body, and the organisation that oversees the mundials does not allow for the distinction... your grade is your grade.. Gi or no-Gi

Is this so?? Is a tenth planet blue belt a brazilian jiu jitsu blue belt??

its an interesting question.

Its true though, no disrespect to no gi graded people but if you have never competed in the gi you can not contend with a gi fighter at the same belt/ t-shirt level.

Richy06

I don't think likening a blue belt in Gi or No Gi stand on equal ground in a competition is really grounds to accuse them of corruption on the scale of that which is rife in FIFA at the moment.

bjj-fighter

Regardless of all this politics, and congrats to Chris, I think that the Mundials should not have a White belt divison. AFAIK The Pan-Ams doesnt, and I think that would be the better way. Anyone agree?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Mod hat time...

Guys I'm not closing the thread - however I've bumped it up to a Cmod for their consideration.

In the mean time I'll ask everyone to show a little respect please, and erm - stop closing ranks.

We all have training partners and buddies here, and its admirable to get behind them but try rise above that and think whats right for your sport and not your buddy.

lawrencesummers

SDTimeout wrote: »

Just on a side note, can people not agree and i think Joey mentioned it earlier. In theory if someone got to brown belt no gi. They would be mauled by every brown belt who got there in a gi. Assuming the guy isn't amazingly talented.

This thread is going to get messy.

SDTimeout

I'm asking this one more thing, i know we had a similar issue on here before with a guy who got a Gracie Blue Belt via an online course ? Was that resolved that he had to enter at white belt level for competitions over here ?

Shane Fitz

bjj-fighter wrote: »

Regardless of all this politics, and congrats to Chris, I think that the Mundials should not have a White belt divison. AFAIK The Pan-Ams doesnt, and I think that would be the better way. Anyone agree?

To follow on from that Karl, from the EFN thread going at the moment, they are saying that the White divisions dont count as to the Team medals, and are not considered as officially part of the Mundials.