I can’t believe I’m actually writing a post about this.
Oh well, here it goes.
Today on Facebook, I saw two people who I hold in high regard make posts expressing frustration with the recent trend of blue belts writing for prominent blogs. This got me thinking a bit and I wanted to share my thoughts, being that I’m a blue belt who writes for prominent blogs and publications.
If you look at the concentration of people in the jiu-jitsu community, the largest numbers are at white and blue belt. The reason for this is that a lot of people quit at those belts; therefore, you’re going to have the largest cross section of our population at those ranks.
But are their perspectives worthwhile?
Sometimes. Only sometimes.
You don’t have to be an astrophysicist to describe what the nighttime sky looks like to the average person. You don’t have to be a doctor to tell people what it feels like to be sick. I’ve seen high level mathematicians and physicists on college campuses who couldn’t communicate their knowledge half as well as their lesser colleagues. The ability to express something in words doesn’t necessarily rely on real-world experience and knowledge.
A lot of information on the internet is absolute garbage, and no one can stop that information from being put out there. I’ve watched dozens of instructional videos that made me cringe, and have read posts – sometimes right here on the Jiu Jitsu Times – that I thought were highly questionable.
Not everyone is cut from the same cloth; some people are able to verbalize their observations much better than others. And sometimes, those who can teach can’t necessarily do, and those who can do can’t necessarily teach.
I train at the premier MMA gym in my region, and one of our main no-gi instructors is #justabluebelt because he’s a phenomenal teacher and a lifelong grappler.
That’s right; some blue belts have been grappling for a LONG time. Some white belts have been grappling for a LONG time.
What rank does Fedor Emelianenko hold?
Or Rumina Sato, one of the first, if not the first, non-jiu-jitsu guys to submit a jiu-jitsu black belt in MMA . . .
. . . but wait, Sato is #justabluebelt!
Very often when reading the comments on my articles, I see people comment that because I am #justabluebelt, I should not be writing these articles; I should not be expressing my views and opinions. When I then challenge the individuals to find fault in the articles on which they’ve commented, very often they fail to provide any such examples.
Recently, I read a comment on one of my articles in which someone asked what the credentials are to be a Jiu-Jitsu Times writer. My answer to him was that, while I am uncertain about the credentials, mine are pretty straightforward:
- A bachelor’s degree in English and Rhetoric
- Training martial arts since 1993, Brazilian jiu-jitsu off and on since 1999
- Extensive competition experience within the past several years
I can’t speak for other writers and I’m sure that many are differently qualified.
The complaints of the two gentlemen mentioned above are very likely valid. I see my colleagues in the writing community put out large volumes of trash, and many people – white through black belt – have no business writing.
But some of us have credentials that our belt color may not reflect. Some of us are experienced writers who want to give back to the art that has given us so much.
If you are reading this and it upsets you, why? Because a blue belt wrote it? Well if you take issue with what I’ve written here, by all means express it in the comments section. Or better yet, reach out to Jiu-Jitsu Times and start writing for us.
The post Some thoughts on blue belts who write about jiu jitsu, by a blue belt who writes about jiu jitsu… appeared first on Jiu-Jitsu Times.