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like I said, I'm old school. But that's not old school. I train under Pedro Sauer...direct student of Helio and Rickson Gracie. That's the way it's always been. As far as rank goes, blue belt is the easiest to attain. It really shouldn't take 4 years unless you only train like, once a week.

In all honesty it only takes about 1 to 2 years to earn blue in most BJJ schools. Another 3 to purple, 3 more to brown and 3 more to black. Of course those are just averages. But you'll see by adding them up that it's still 10 to 11 years to black, on average. Clearly, however, skill level and comprehension are more important than time.

I really love both. I picked grappling, but feel very torn. I just notice that I tend to clinch up if it's allowed by the rules. As far as getting better goes...the most efficent way is to join a school that teaches BJJ, Judo, wrestling, or submission grappling. You can to to you-tube and look for techniques if you have no other options. I would suggest the following techniques for starters. -From Guard: Armbar, triangle choke, omaplata, cross choke, guillotine, kimora, scissor sweep, elevator sweep, double ankle sweep and helicopter sweep. -A few was to pass the guard and half guard (anyone telling you to just dig your forearms into the pressure points in the thigh is doing what we call "Crappling." Don't fall for that, the method should be biomechanical, not pain compliance.) -From Side control: pinning techniques, kimora, armbar, obtain the mount, a few basic chokes -From Mount: Maintain the position, Cross Choke, armbar, kimora, moving from mount to side control -Escaping from the bottom of mount, side control, and back mount -Obtaining the back mount from side control and when the opponent "turtles." -From back mount: sliding collar choke, rear naked choke Once you are skilled at performing, applying, teaching, and understanding why the techniques work, you will likely be around the blue belt level. The important part is to practice slowly, and step by step. Of course I don't need to point out that practice without proper instruction is dangerous and not advisable. But if you do, just focus on being careful. Good Luck.

Congratulations Detective!

That's so cool. Have I mentioned I'm jealous? Cause' I am.

Wow. Certainly sounds like a man with a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for providing the link. As a side note, I like how the guys leg follows your mouse as you choose from the menu. Alot of people don't like to be video taped. Most of the time it's so people don't take stuff out of context. For example: Maybe he is teaching a technique or form and doesn't have the opportunity to teach it all or point out every detail. Then the person may be practicing it and teaching it like they see on the tape only to realize later that it's not complete or more detail is needed. Other people don't want filmed because the filmers then go out and sell the info without permission or post it on youtube and such. It's just safer not to allow filming.

Living in North East Ohio and having trained Chuan Fa for some time I can tell you I have met some of the people from that school. They always seemed very respectable toward others in tournaments. For whatever it's worth, I would think their intentions are good.

Greco-Roman takedowns are really good. One of our grapplers/fighters is named Chris Canale. He was an all-American in Greco-Roman and actually represented the US in some overseas events. I can't come close to stopping him from taking me down in no-gi. I just make sure to fall in an advantageous position and beat him from there. However, we have the gi on, he has trouble getting into the clinch. It gives me alot more time to work. I still can't take him down from there, but I think a good Judoka would be able to do so. I work with him on his ground and he works with me on takedowns. I hope to start implimenting them at NAGA-Ohio in December.

Did you train at the Machado's main school?

Lots of good advice here. I agree with ninjanurse that you should first concentrate your efforts on achieving your black belt/sash ect... Once you have your black, see if the offer is still valid. Be sure to communicate the information to your current sifu before starting anything. I've found most instructors get upset because they feel they were lied to. Also, if the other guy is Mantis too...I wouldn't bother going. If he is another system, I doubt your current sifu would mind. Also, others have pointed out that the other guy may just be looking for a way to pull in a skilled person. Be careful of him offering for you to teach classes and such. Because you would then become competition for your current school...which you would not want. In the end it's all about communication. Be sure to lay down the ground rules and communicate with your current sifu the entire time. While I'm not of the opinion that his permission is required, it certainly makes things easier.

That sounds like an awesome time. Under what organization do you train? Is there a website for Master Lawrence? I'd love to read more about him and the organization.

Not really. Most guys don't use the grape vine. You don't really need to hoist the guy. You can just shrimp under. Don't get me wrong. I'm no Eddie Bravo!!! Not by a long shot. I'm not saying he does it wrong...he just does what works for him (and many others I'm sure). It's just that, for me, the grapevine just stalls out the position. I want the guy to move. Then I use his momentum to sweep or his lack of movement to return to guard. I'll make some videos this week to illustrate what I like to do.

Do you know where he trains?

I think that you could make some of them work. You just have to modify them by using limbs instead of garment grabs. You could also look into some Greco-Roman Wrestling style of throws, as they are based mostly on grabbing the body above the waist. Try a Google search, and see what you get. There are some that translate well. Others that do not. Sadly, in my opinion, it's easier to translate the gi throws to no-gi than it is the no-gi throws to gi (excluding single leg, double leg, and ankle picks). This is because it's difficult to get the tight grips on the neck when the opponent can stave you off with grips on the gi.

That's true. There are more white belts. But the number is increasing I'm happy to say.

You just have to shift. Quite often people move into it. But I just don't understand why he keeps it grapevined. It's not necessary for the move. I think I'll post some half guard stuff.

You can ´´control ´´ a BJJ purple belt with no previus training ? It soundS VERY weird. A purple belt in BJJ means 4 years of training or more. 1) Is the guya REAL BJJ purple belt ? 2)Does he weight 100 lbs and you 200 lbs ? 3)Is that guy injured? 4) If all above were negative...You are a prodigy , indeed. It could also simply be that the purple belt is letting him work.

Yeah, no doubt there's merit to it. Afterall, he is among the best in the world. I have the same problem as you. When I try to use a grapevine, I'm on my back. Since that's not where I want to be, I would prefer to let the grapevine go and get to my side. This allows me to get my underhooks and gives me much more mobility. I'm just not that good at the way Eddie uses it. But then again, that's the nature of Jiujitsu.

Being arrogant often holds people back later in life. They tend to think they way they do things is best and begin to close their mind to other options. However, he was well known for saying "empty your cup." So it's hard to determine if his arrogance was just the natural tendency involved with youth or would have slowed him later in life.

Makes you jealous doesn't it. Of course, he made martial arts his full time job. Everything he did centered on it...his movies, his students...he had no choice but to be skilled.

Wow! I'd have to respectfully disagree with this assessment. Being directly associated with Pedro Sauer and having worked with excellent practitioners such as Saulo Ribeiro, Royler Gracie, David Adiv, and Sydney Batista I have come to learn that Jiujitsu is far more about being cerebral than strong. There's no doubt that being atheletic is a big advantage. But the same goes for anything that requires human movement. It's not necessary however. In fact, BJJ at it's highest levels is about using the minimum effort for the maximum effect. Additionally, sparring should only be about 30% of training. We have a few guys who come in three or four times a month and just pay a mat fee and grapple. They are big guys who used to be wrestlers and think they are tough. I crush them. They go so fast and hard that they make huge mistakes. Muscle and atheleticism are only helpful if applied in the proper manner. In January I will be promoted to Purple belt. This is faster than some of the others and even passes some who were there before me. I attribute this to taking the advice of my instructors and putting my focus on drilling. As a last point I would like to point out that the art's founder (Helio Gracie) is still capable of performing the techniques of the art. Certainly, he's not going to win a world champoinship, but that's not the goal. The goal is self preservation. If a 96 year old frail man can do it...almost anyone can learn it. A good point however is about injury. There will certainly be some injuries. The most common are little bruises up and down your arms and legs from people grabbing and holding. Sore muscles from a good workout and some stiffness are also common. If you acknowledge submissions intellegently by tapping out you will rarely get pulled muscles or injuries in the joints. There's really no excuse for getting injured due to a submission. But that refers back to my original post in the thread. The other thing that's important is to pick training partners with similar goals as you. Don't train with a guy who wants to go into MMA or be a world champion unless you want a really hard roll. Similar goals will equal similar styles of rolling.

Yup... I think you'll find the two styles very evenly matched after watching and considering all of those. In the Royce Gracie fights, Royce loses both of them (one in a very contraversial decision). However, the Rickson and Royler visit demonstrates Rickson doing very well against olympic caliber guys. I haven't seen the other two.

This is the best way to get better. Training with him will take that natural ability and refine it. Remember, just because you can handle somebody doesn't mean they can't teach you or that you can't learn from them. You have a wealth of information in the purple belt next door.

That's awesome! Batman is my favorite comic character.

Those kinds of things vary from school to school. Bushido is correct, just ask your instructor. That way you don't get confused.