Belt Registration

Projects and Investigations BJJ Rank Investigation
1

The primary issue in BJJ in regards to rank is belt registration. This system was started for black belts in 2010 and brown belts in 2011. To earn a black or brown belt in BJJ under the current system, you’ve got to sign a legal/business contracts and navigate the drop-down menu.

http://extranet.ibjjfdb.com/System/Filiacao/Save.aspx?FederacaoId=2

http://usbjjf.org/imagens/AcademyRegistration_USBJJF_.pdf

You also need the signature of a second degree black belt, which is effectively a second contract.

To avoid accidentally signing your business away, you’ve got to see Carlos Gracie Jr himself, who then starts looking for bribes.

There’s not a whole lot to investigate really. Thats the way it is now, and its wrong. People, self included, are being stripped of rank to pad the pockets of Carlos Fracie Jr and enforce shady business deals.

2

It should also be noted that these same contracts are required to compete, effectively rigging the major tournaments.

3

I’ve seen several people talk about ‘signing away your business’, but none of the verbiage I’ve seen in any of the applications for registering your academy say anything like that.

Can you point to where this clause is contained?

4

[QUOTE=Kintanon;2779321]I’ve seen several people talk about ‘signing away your business’, but none of the verbiage I’ve seen in any of the applications for registering your academy say anything like that.

Can you point to where this clause is contained?[/QUOTE]

So, in the pic IBJJF1, you’ll see that if I were to apply, I’d have to formally and in writing, sign with a school which I’ve never trained at and which I don’t teach at. I have no problem getting a signature from that group, but I don’t compete for them, nor do I work for them. I’m not a formal student of theirs. I’m a coworker. I share control of an academy with one of their guys and would like to keep doing so.

Now, this is a problem easily fixed. I can register my academy and then select them from the drop down and then sign up as its head instructor. Makes sense, right? Lets take a look at IBJJF2, the academy registration form. As you can see, its a legal contract that certifies me as head instructor (along with my coworker of course). To sign it I need an IBJJF membership however, which can only be acquired by formally signing up as BTT, which places me officially at a different academy altogether.

The current understanding is Jordan Tabor at Brown, Vinny Souza at Black with him being under BTT and myself being under RFS. When we went to promote, under BTT, the deal sought was Jordan Tabor at Black, Vinny at Black, head instructors at Redline Fight Sports, which is an independent team, with BTT signing off. This deal, which leaves me working solely for my employer, is impossible under that system. You’ve got the forms and the drop-down, play with it. When we went to sort it out with Carlos, somehow it got to 2k (negotiated down from 4k), to work independently.

Sorry about the screen shot quality. It works on my comp, but they shrank when I uploaded them. The same data can be seen on page.

5

[QUOTE=The Villain;2779326]So, in the pic IBJJF1, you’ll see that if I were to apply, I’d have to formally and in writing, sign with a school which I’ve never trained at and which I don’t teach at. I have no problem getting a signature from that group, but I don’t compete for them, nor do I work for them. I’m not a formal student of theirs. I’m a coworker. I share control of an academy with one of their guys and would like to keep doing so.

Now, this is a problem easily fixed. I can register my academy and then select them from the drop down and then sign up as its head instructor. Makes sense, right? Lets take a look at IBJJF2, the academy registration form. As you can see, its a legal contract that certifies me as head instructor (along with my coworker of course). To sign it I need an IBJJF membership however, which can only be acquired by formally signing up as BTT, which places me officially at a different academy altogether.

The current understanding is Jordan Tabor at Brown, Vinny Souza at Black with him being under BTT and myself being under RFS. When we went to promote, under BTT, the deal sought was Jordan Tabor at Black, Vinny at Black, head instructors at Redline Fight Sports, which is an independent team, with BTT signing off. This deal, which leaves me working solely for my employer, is impossible under that system. You’ve got the forms and the drop-down, play with it. When we went to sort it out with Carlos, somehow it got to 2k (negotiated down from 4k), to work independently.

Sorry about the screen shot quality. It works on my comp, but they shrank when I uploaded them. The same data can be seen on page.[/QUOTE]

Alright, I see what the deal is. The verbiage isn’t explicit, but it’s definitely rigged that way. That’s some fucked up shit.

6

The IBJJF school registration page went live on or near 8/26/11 http://web.archive.org/web/20110826004641/http://www.ibjjf.org/school.htm

The dropdown menu page for individual members went up on or near 10/29/11
http://web.archive.org/web/20111029143431/http://extranet.ibjjfdb.com/System/Filiacao/Save.aspx?FederacaoId=2

For Brazilians that data was on or near 3/6/11
http://web.archive.org/web/20110306115907/http://extranet.ibjjfdb.com/System/Filiacao/Save.aspx?FederacaoId=1

These sections of their various sites have existed as under-construction since 2006. It is a very recent powerplay.

7

Spring of 2006 was the first time the CBJJ required IDs from competitors to compete in Mundials (For members from France), followed in 2007 by Brazil, Portugal, and Japan. Canadian players were required to show ID’s in 2008, and finally, the United States in 2010.

8

I’ve been looking into the IBJJF system closely, and this is what I see right now:

(1) A system where you have to belong to a team in order to play, but the president of the league will take a bribe to sneak you under the fence, essentially creating a new team consisting of just you.

(2) The president of the league is the owner of the biggest team.

(3) The two business (Barra and Federation) are intertwined; your fees to the Federation enrich a team you may be trying to beat on the mat.

(4) While the CBJJ is a government regulated entity (in Brazil) with a physical address, telephone, receptionist, etc, the other federations are private business (United States Jiu-Jitsu Federation, Inc, and BJJ Federation, Inc) with a host of addresses leading to retail mail-drops, “virtual” office space, independent Barra gyms and the like; they have no physical door you can walk through and do not maintain even so much as a telephone you can call.

(5) The CBJJ has real, legal authority over the sport of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil; it is, in fact, the NGB for sport Jiu-Jitsu there. It does not have authority over the definition and standards of the martial art, including (importantly) who has licensure to teach the art (professor grade rank). That authority rests with the original Gracie federation, and (arguably) with Gracie Torrance. The IBJJF(USBJJF) can restrict their tournaments to left-handed Sagittarians if they wish, and no one can stop them. However, we as consumers have a right to demand that they not be capricious, self-serving or arbitrary, and raise a stink (or vote with our feet) of we want to.

While the CBJJ is the legal NGB for Brazil, it’s creation: the IBJJF, is not the WBG for the sport, nor is the USBJJF the NGB for the United States; they are, in fact, for-profit corporations owned by Carlos Gracie, and founding members of Gracie Barra. The impression that they are legit amateur athletic governing bodies is intentionally cultivated and mistaken

(6) This last one is not something I plan on making a big deal about at this time, but the 10 mile radius around Carlos’ main gym in Irvine California has 14(!) schools with “Gracie Barra” in the name, 7 times the number of businesses listed as “Gold’s Gym” in the same area, despite California as a whole having more businesses named “Gold’s Gym” than “Gracie Barra”. It’s a strange situation, and I don’t see how it’s possible for an area 10 miles around to muster the people to fill 14 Barra gyms, each reporting around $100K in sales, in the middle of an otherwise normal number of independent BJJ, MMA and MA gyms and dojos. It’s not evidence of anything, but one has to wonder where the very substantial amounts of money collected by the IBJJF and USBJJF are going, considering that they return no goods or services to their members, not even a newsletter, and have no brick and mortar operations at all besides self-funding tournaments. The money may not be going to the core Barra gyms, but one has to wonder how 14 GB gyms thrive in an area with an otherwise normal amount of BJJ, MMA and TMA activity.