16 year old Head Instructor

[DWx]

I don't see the blue belt as a problem. It's not that uncommon to have blue belts in BJJ teaching and sometimes running their own schools. More common a few years ago when there weren't so many high ranks around but blue belt in BJJ is a much bigger deal than an 8th kyu in Karate or similar.

Not his first MA, no. But there can't be 2 martial arts more different than Kempo and BJJ. Kempo is striking focused, preferring to remain standing. BJJ emphasizes ground work so much, there have been many SUCCESSFUL BJJ practitioners who compete in mixed grappling tournaments by sitting down and butt scooting to their opponent! It'd be like given a Chemistry instructor a Physics class because "He has science and teaching experience." Its not the same.

My point wasn't to do with what he's teaching, it's how he already has experience controlling a class and conveying information in a way students can understand. A Chemistry teacher would have no problem covering a physics class and would most likely have no problem teaching a particular topic if they've had time to refresh the material beforehand.

Here's Rener Gracie's response to it all:

https://www.jiujitsutimes.com/affiliation-vs-certification-how-a-16-year-old-blue-belt-can-teach-jiu-jitsu/

If Rener and Ryon Gracie are happy with this guy running a school in their style and under their certification then good luck to him. This kid is not claiming to be anything he hasn't been certified to be.

[JR 137]

Seems as though Rener Gracie & co. feel as though their licensed teachers should be like robots, teaching exactly what they're told to teach, when they're told, and how they're told.

A student of mine one day said that teaching is easy, as all the teacher has to do is read off a PowerPoint display (I teach middle school science and use PowerPoint presentations that I created for the lecture end of class). I reminded him that I created the presentations, not someone else; I emphasized what I felt important, and cut down on/eliminated what wasn't necessary; and I came up with my own real-world applications of the material. Furthermore, if I simply read off someone else's presentation without knowing anything about the material, how could I ever answer a question?

Teaching is regurgitating memorized information; it's making sense of the information and installing a functional knowledge of it to your students.

Gracie & co. saying he's teaching modules that they designed exactly as they've designed them is a complete cop-out IMO. Saying they taught him how to teach isn't enough. He needs to be well ahead of his students, to the point where what he's teaching them is elementary compared to what he knows. He needs to have all the answers, and from personal experience, within reason. No one has every answer, but let's be serious. Someone who's taken a 6 or 12 week course on an art and how to teach is doesn't know squat, regardless of age. Being 16 makes it that much worse, especially when he doesn't have anyone immediately available with any experience. A phone call or email isn't immediately available.

Ever hear of GKR? Only difference here is they didn't give him a black belt with a white stripe through it.

If you haven't heard of it, Go Kan Ryu (GKR) is a "karate school" that takes people after their second or third belt level and makes them instructors in new markets. At least the Gracies didn't give him a costume belt to wear.

[sensei8]

My bottom line in this whole discussion is that...

I wish him luck, I mean that!! Imho, this Blue Belt ISN'T qualified to be the CI because he's a Blue Belt!! I don't give a bucket full of bent pins who certified him, whether he was certified by a Gracie relative of Helio and/or by some other Gracie Black Belt.

Just who in their right mind qualifies a student with only the second rank of said style to be the CI?!

I don't enjoy being slapped in the face, and this is a slap in my face! It belittles what I've achieved on the floor, and it belittles what qualifies me as a CI. I'm not angry; I'm befuddled beyond all measures!!

Most governing bodies wouldn't authorize a CI if that CI only possessed the second rank of the style. So much so, that their charter would be denied!! Sure, that school could still operate, but not under the umbrella of the governing body.

I walk into a Shindokan dojo, and I ask to speak to the CI, I'm new...I've never trained in Shindokan, and this Yellow Belt walks up to me and introduces him/herself, and I inform this Yellow Belt that I'm here to speak with the CI, and this Yellow Belts informs me that he/she IS the CI, and I retort with, "No, really, I'm here to speak with your CI", and again this Yellow Belt tells me, "No, really, I am the CI". Credibility about the ENTIRE style is washed away by this one act!!

Imho!!

[IcemanSK]

Having thought about it more, while I still think having a 16 year old CI is a bad idea, there is some good it in for him. He will a HUGE leg up on other young instructors if he continues to grow and develop. The connections he's made & the attention given to him will be nothing but a plus for him in 5-10 years as he moves forward.

[sensei8]

Hopefully, what I'm about to post will express my opinion on this subject much more clearly...

Should a medical student in their 2nd year of residency hold the position of Chief of Medicine at a hospital??

One might say, "That's not the same!" Sure it is! How so? A hospital IS a business!! A 2nd year medical residency IS someone who has been taught something!! They're good to go! Right? If so, I'll NOT be going to that hospital any time soon, if ever!!

[sensei8]

I just thought of something, sorry, I need to stop doing that.

How much experience, on an average, does a BJJ Blue Belt possess?

 

How long does, on an average, it take for a White Belt to earn a Blue Belt?

There stands a chance that this Blue Belt CI will be passed by his own students; not a satisfying thing for the student body to embrace. His student body, might loose interest faster than one might imagine, the future of this school is always dependent of the CI first, and the governing body second.

After all, not every student passes every testing cycle, and this Blue Belt CI is no exception. Within the community that his school exists, credibility of this school might've been already affected, and by now, other MA schools in this community have already scoffed at the proposed assumption of being equal to other CI's!!

[Spartacus Maximus]

A sixteen year old is not an adult. There are always some people who have a higher level of mental maturity at that age, but the fact of the matter is 16 is much, much to young to be chief of anything.

There is absolutely no way a 16 year old can run a school or other business alone and idependantly. The skills or technical knowledge or talent he may have do not matter and change nothing to what the average prospective student will think.

[Patrick]

Point of clarification: from reading the articles, it seems like he became head instructor at 17. Certified at 16, teaching full time at 17. Maybe I read it wrong, though.

I was going to raise the point that Danielle did, which I think is a great one: once in a while, you hear of a teenager running a wildly successful business. Of course, they are the rare exception. But that's the point: there are exceptions.

Bob, your list of what CI does actually reads fairly closely to what a business owner does. Change a few words and it's pretty much dead on. I didn't find your yellow belt example to be a good one. That speaks more to me about the marketing aspects of the arts. In your story, the prospective student doesn't respect the school because of the color of the instructors belt. But in reality, the color of the instructors belt is, at best, only a partial indicator of their ability as an instructor. Wearing a black belt is kind of like having a row of trophies in your lobby. It's a marketing thing more so than an actual indication of instruction quality.

I don't think that it's completely inconceivable that there can be a teenager who is a decent (I didn't say great, which he could be, but decent) head instructor. I don't think you can say that. Would you even consider most adult head instructors "decent"?

A teenage business owner will deal with the exact same criticisms. How can you trust the business? The kid will probably just blow your money! How can you trust the instruction at the school? It's the same sort of thing. It's a criticism of mental maturity, experience and responsibility. And yet, kids who check those boxes do exist. What do we do with them? What I do professionally today, I did when I was 15, and I faced some of these thoughts. What to do with me? Should I be held to your idea of what I should be, rather than the idea of what I want to be?

I realize that everyone here is just offering their opinions as an onlooker, not thinking of themselves as the parents of this kid, but it might be something to consider.

So you won't be the teenage business owner's customer. That's your choice. You'd happily have him as your paper boy (kind of a dated reference, heh), but you couldn't trust his business, right? Because he's probably not responsible. He's probably like the teenagers you've known in your life. For the same reason, you couldn't trust him to run a small martial arts school in Mississippi. He can't help anyone. You can't trust his instruction. These criticisms, between business owner and martial arts instructor, aren't dissimilar. You have an idea of what a head instructor should be. And because it doesn't come close to meeting that idea, it's problematic. But don't many adults fail to meet that same idea? Many adults are awful martial arts instructors and terrible, irresponsible business owners.

All of this doesn't mean he won't be the ideal for someone else. It doesn't mean he can't command respect from adults. It doesn't mean he can't reach kids and teenagers in a way many adults can't. And it doesn't mean he can't be a better teacher or business owner.

I believe that a 16 year old can run a business "alone and independently," (quoting Spartacus Maximus here), but that's not what he's doing and that's not what most business owners do, is it? Most people have someone they rely on, whether it be an employee, an accountant, a temp agency, whatever. While emancipated minors do exist, it's pretty clear he's not alone (his parents are even mentioned in the article).

As an aside, the website mainly looks impressive in the context of the martial arts, where many schools have poor websites. I could set something up like this in a few hours with maybe $50. There are some assumptions in this thread and the idea that this was a costly website is one of them. This is just a template site that the Gracies offer to schools. For example: http://www.graciejiujitsudestin.com/ http://graciectc.com/ashburn/

What everyone is saying is generally true, for almost everyone. But I do think it's problematic when you never allow for the exception, because exceptions do exist. That's really all I'm saying. If you are that exception - or your kid is that exception - you reach high and you go for it.

Patrick

[Judodad_karateson]

Patrick, his age is but one issue, my biggest concern is his rank. Why even have ranks above blue if everything you need to know is in belt belt? Who is teaching HIM to rank up? Who is teaching students paat blue belt level?

[JR 137]

Patrick, his age is but one issue, my biggest concern is his rank. Why even have ranks above blue if everything you need to know is in belt belt? Who is teaching HIM to rank up? Who is teaching students paat blue belt level?

I'd imagine he's traveling to train with his mentors periodically/regularly, and not taking students above his rank.