They call the first level of
material, “Combatives”. This is for beginners, and consists of 36
techniques organized into 23 lessons. The premise is that these 36
techniques will contains 95% of everything needed to defeat an
unskilled opponent. At this level the student wears a White Belt as
they train through the 23 lessons, from beginning to end, three times
each. There is no free sparring at this level.
After the student passes a rigorous
exam covering all 36 combative techniques in painful detail, they are
awarded a Blue Belt.
Their new belt starts out plain, and
as they progress through four levels they are awarded white stripes
to adorn their Blue Belt. This is when free sparring, or rolling,
begins.
The first level, logically called
Blue Belt Stripe One, consists of 60 techniques. It takes a year to a
year-and-half to cycle through the curriculum.
Mixed in with all the other new stuff
are counters to everything that was learned as a White Belt. At Blue
Belt Stripe Two there are 60 more techniques, including counters to
everything learned in Blue Belt Stripe One.
This is as far at the Gracie brothers
have gotten in releasing their curriculum to date. Rank beyond this
is based on attendance, time-in-rank, and general ability.
They get a lot of grief for
presenting their material via an online video system, and for doing
the testing by having the exam video recorded and submitted to them
for evaluation.
I'm a 30 year veteran of traditional
Karate, and recently retired from a career as a high school teacher.
I can attest to the quality of the program, and to its testing
system.
My favorite is the complaint that
goes, “somebody could memorize the test material without actually
learning the techniques.” If you think so, try it.
Another is the claim that you could
get some experienced Jiu-Jitsu guy to take the test for you. Unless
he's a student of Ryron and Rener, he won't pass without putting in a
lot of work ahead of time.
For example; in the test the
candidate can't just do a fine Americana Armlock, he has to
do it Rener and Ryron's right way. All of the steps as shown by Rener and Ryron
must be there.
He starts from the mount; grabs his
partner's wrist with one hand; shoots his other hand underneath as
his partner's arm nears the floor; applies pressure as the arm hits
the floor; his partner taps.
He just lost 7 points, and he's only
half way through a single one of the 36 techniques. This looks like
he's on the way to about 500 deductions. The limit for passing is 20.
Keep in mind that this is a guy who is doing a fine move, just not a
fine Gracie move.
During testing, the techniques are
divided into 4 groups, and each group is recorded within a
five-minute time limit, and each must be done in a continuous shot. No
editing, or the whole thing is rejected.
To cheat on the exam
sounds like a lot of work to me.
Let's say you manage to cheat the
exam somehow; what do you gain? You've put in a lot of work and
ingenuity, and sent the Gracies an $85 exam fee in exchange for a
Blue Belt. By walking into any martial arts supply place you can buy
a belt for about $10. Why not buy yourself a nice, Black Belt
instead?
At the higher levels, the tests for
Blue Belt stripes are much, much harder. I spent a year and a half
learning the precisely correct Gracie material, and it still took me
a couple of months of cramming to get ready and to perform the exam.
I've earned a University degree, and
have a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, and my Gracie Blue Belt Stripe
One exam is harder than any test I've ever taken. It was harder than
any five exams I've ever done put together.
If somehow, by some miracle you
manage to cheat through all four levels of Blue Belt, you're still
just a Blue Belt. These are common as dirt, and really carry no
status at all. Purple really means something, and is sort of the
equivalent of a Black Belt in other arts.
Evaluation for Purple Belt, and then
again at Brown Belt, and again at Black require in-person evaluation
by Rener or Royce Gracie. How are you going to fake that?
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