I am here to destroy you! I will slice through your guard like a hot knife through butter! I will breach your feeble defense and attack with an onslaught of submissions. I will relish in the reality that is your downfall. I will smash, I will slam, I will pounce my way through your game. And when you do well against me I will turn up the heat singeing your any chance to defend. You will bend to my will; I will have my way. My agenda will be pushed!

That is a warrior mentality. That is the mentality that I grew up with in my academy from white belt to black belt. I was engrained early on in the idea that you should, to borrow a great line from Conan, “crush your enemies, [and] see them driven before you”. I had little mercy for those who I trained with. And in tournaments it was even worse, but I will leave that one alone for now.

This is very much like learning a language. My language was destroying my opponent on the Jiu-Jitsu mat. Many others were speaking the more traditional dialect of slowly moving into a controlling position. I hated the tone they used. It was very annoying, especially when they were speaking to me. I would try to verbally assault them.

This boils down to culture. An instructor does not just teach the techniques that make up his/her style, they are also creators of culture. This culture (method, way of doing something) in Jiu-Jitsu represents the way in which Jiu-Jitsu is translated. Most have slow and technical interpretations. Most are methodical in the way they apply their art. I however started with a very chaotic dialogue. My style was more like yelling than politely conversing.

All styles get their point across. Some are more reserved for certain body types. Some are better for the tall, while others are better for the short. There are positives and negatives for slow and fast talkers. One promotes laziness through excellent technique and the other promotes brawn through brilliant aggression.  A proper mixture of both is best!

When I was young to the art I was a fast talker, the older I get the more I develop a slower more methodical game. I believe in longevity. I believe in the art. It is true that I teach both styles in my program and at the same time I outline the many variables to getting promoted in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu. That being said I find that the most understood pre-requisite for promotion is tapping your fellow man/woman. I find that in the minds of most, the tap is the most respected.

The mentality goes like this: If I tapped a higher belt, than I should be a higher belt! But if there are other aspects to being promoted like,

-Showing respect to others

-Listening to your instructors

-Aiding others by spreading technique and philosophy through the academy

than why do most weigh the Tapout more heavily?

I think it is because it is the easiest to understand. When I was going through the belts it is the only thing I knew. My instructor valued it as the most respected accomplishment in our academy. It became our primary focus.

I was finishing black belts when I was a purple belt. Did that make me a black belt? Now that I am an instructor I can finally answer that correctly. I didn’t have the experience nor the wisdom to be a black belt. And even after I received it I had a great deal of maturity before I was ready for it. 

You are not ready for promotion unless you have adhered to all pre-requisites. I believe them all to be important and only one has to do with submissions. I always talk about instructor obligation but there is also a student one. A good student should respect their training environment and be considerate to others. A good student should listen to their instructors when their instructor gives them advice, especially when they say SLOW DOWN! A good student will also spread what they have learned giving back to the community of Martial Artists that were there to aide them as they stepped up the ladder. And most importantly the promoted Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu practitioner understands that there is more to Jiu-Jitsu than finishing your fellow human!

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