how long did it take you to get promoted
to a blue belt and how often were you
training during that time so real simple
question it took me I think about nine
or ten months to get my blue belt cheap
box and when I was at that time I I was
yeah at SEAL team one I was in the
training department and I had a lot of
opportunity to train at that time
Clinton years not a lot of money to
train in the SEAL Teams so less trips
shorter trips less travel so we were
staying around a little bit more no war
going on on top of all that so we were
we were home a little bit more and so I
train all the time all right sure I
would go to lunch at lunch I would over
to Fabio Santos okay and train the
lunchtime class and then I'd zip back
and do work and then we get done I'd go
back and I would do the beginner class
and then I would do the advanced class
and I would roll with Dean in Higgs and
James Nielson and Craig and the rest of
the guys that were there at Fabio's at
the time and we and Fabio used to kick
Dean and I off the mat at like nine
o'clock at night yeah take it too long
yeah and he'd say why don't you guys get
a life why are you doing it and we'd say
we're just training that dude it's you
you say we got a life it's right here
yeah this is it it and so it was mostly
at Fabio's like you know how you said
you'd like train with your you know your
guys if you haven't trained or whatever
was there that going on yeah yeah
anybody that wanted to roll with me I
had the same policy that I have right
now you want a roll call yeah let's roll
well I have my gear it's in my bag right
now if you want to train will train oh
it's you know Thursday afternoon and
it's two o'clock and we don't have any
work to do and you want to turn Coltrane
so yeah I was doing that all the time
and I thing is once I got blue belt
because I think I got blue belt pretty
pretty quickly and but I was a blue belt
for a long time because because I write
as I was probably getting close to
getting my purple belt mm-hmm I left
I'm left California and I went to
Virginia Beach once I got to Virginia
Beach stepped into a new dojo with
Gustavo Machado and you know started
training with Gustavo and I'm just a
blue belt right and so he's got to know
learn me and figure out what my
personalities like see what my potential
is as a person
and I trained really hard there but I
was also gone a lot traveling and that's
when I was traveling a lot on the road
and I would train with guys on the road
and a win on deployment train with guys
on deployment and then it would come
back into town and so I didn't get
consistent enough with him eyes with him
where he said hey this guy's ready for
his purple belchy so by the time I might
have been close to him thinking okay you
know what and he started looking to him
for a purple belt went back to San Diego
got back to San Diego and now I check
back in to Fabio's well it's been two
years
Muro you need to do you need to prove
yourself again yeah so it was almost
like I was at the bottom of the of the
pecking order in terms of time and reign
even though I'd been a blue belt for a
long time so I ended up being a blue
belt for a long day I want to say it was
a blue belt for maybe like five years
yeah and I was a good blue bow don't get
me wrong sir of course it worked and but
you know there's a long time you when
you when you jump around from school to
school and the instructor doesn't know
you well enough it doesn't see you on a
regular basis and can't assess your
improvement cuz that's the thing with
jiu-jitsu in my opinion you're you don't
get your belt there's not a level
playing field for every person so in
other words it's not hey these are the
skills required for blue belt and now
you get your blue belt and then you've
learned these other four you know these
other 127 other moves and now you get
your purple bout now there's 310 moves
to get your it's not like that at all
and in fact it's also not hey how do you
as a blue belt do against this other
group of blue belts what it is and I
know this sounds a little bit cliche but
it's it's really
how good are you against you right
because if somebody you know let's say
you get somebody that starts jiu-jitsu
when they're older you know maybe
they're 55 years old they're gonna go
and they train until they're 62 or or
they're training and training and
training there's skill level they're
getting injured they're having issues
they gotta work they got it they get
about do a bunch of other things and
they can't they're a hobbyist right
they're not focused and they can only
train so much they learn the moves they
get better ten years go by there's a
chance that they're gonna be a black
belt based on the fact that hey as a 55
year old person that came in here and
started training and the moves that
you've learned and how you've applied
them according to your athletic ability
and your physical capability at the time
hey it's been ten years which is a
pretty rough number for like you know
for getting your black belt so that's
acceptable but you might get a kid
that's a really good athlete that in two
years can destroy that guy yeah and he's
not getting his black belt because
you're saying what is your potential how
good can you be as a black belt that's
the question so really it's almost a
compliment the longer it takes you to
get your belts that means in my opinion
that means the better you're gonna that
means the better that your instructor
thinks you're gonna be yeah that's my
that's my thought and not everyone
doesn't like that you know some people
think oh if if this purple belt can be
that purple belt you know this purple
belts better yeah and if this purple
belt could beat the brown belt then I
need to give him his brown belt mmm not
too many things people think that way
you know he thinks that way the purple
belt I can beat the brown belt I should
be a brown belt no yeah no wrong what
yeah so it's so true and this so many
there's so many of those little things
like the reason an instructor might be
influenced to give someone I mean
typically they're not gonna give someone
a belt based solely on the fact that he
taps out that you know brown belt so but
it is influenced by that there's all
these weird thing there's stuff like
sometimes I'm watching like a - blue
belts and they'll see that I'm watching
and it turns into a death match
there's nothing mom's app actually you
know what that just saw the video of a
guy with a
I think you put it on I saw that line
what kind of injured is elbow you think
cuz look like it's elbow yeah maybe like
crap ice yeah didn't tap to the Chimaera
the commuters a beast man yeah Amira's a
beast you know you cannot tap to a foot
lock
you cannot tap to you can even not tap
to a heel hook
yeah heel hook and go really sideways
but you don't have to camera you're
probably gonna have some issues yeah
it's so terrible to watch like I think
guys like get their you know their knee
and stuff in a heel hook and it's like
oh dang that yeah the but man the key
when you see the guys I'm just man and I
did it post that video the someone else
posted I would never post videos like
that in fact they don't like don't watch
that live is that what I did to your
shoulder according to the success
separated your shoulder did not people
not do that I know it sounded nice and
dramatic but it didn't happen yeah I
don't think you've ever almost yeah but
as far as people getting instructing
influenced on why to give guys belt or a
higher belt like some instructs for
example they'll be influenced now but to
give a guy hard belt because I want to
have more black belts under me you know
black belts and typically that'll have a
lot to do with sales you know like where
I can be like hey I have you know a team
of yeah and I've heard the sales pitch
you know you where it's like hey we have
seven seven black belts on the mat three
world champ you know that's good that's
good so people might be influenced by
that and then they'll be like okay maybe
I'll give these two guys their bill cuz
and so now we have four black belts or
whatever there's that and then there if
that's the reason you know I mean it is
good to have 10 black belts in your
association your that is yeah for sure
and but then there's the opposite to or
guys will be like if there then this
typically happens if they're competing
so if a coach is like hey I got these
five brown belts they're obviously on
the level of black belt knowledge
performance all this stuff but when they
go in the tournament in the brown belt
they're killing we got gold medals goat
emails every time so though then there's
that sandbagging sandbag
exactly right so there's yeah there's
all those things in regards to the belt
I said this before I'm gonna say it
again the belt really doesn't have to do
with how good you think you are or how
good even you know you are if you're
like hey I'm tapping you know I'm a
white belt for example I'm a white belt
and I'm hanging with the purple belts
I'm tapping blue belts and brown belts
are good I'm giving them a hard time so
I should be a blue belt it doesn't
matter it doesn't matter at all and you
know it sounds like an exaggeration it
doesn't matter at all it's a little bit
here thing no it doesn't your skill is
evaluated by your instructor that's the
reason why you can be at a certain level
leave come back and still not because
your instructor you can be quite
dominating everywhere the instructor has
to evaluate you yeah that's so that's
exactly what happened with me and I it
wasn't a negative thing it was like hey
you've been gone for two years we gotta
see where you're at joke oh yeah and
it's not just one day being in the back
in here and get your purple bow yes cuz
you've been training for two straight
years yeah matter yeah I know what's
interesting too is this obviously this
applies to people in the business world
people trying to get promoted and and
the more you're thinking hey I'm better
at this job than this guy I should get
there's something else going on there's
something you look at it the more
frustrated you get about not getting
that promotion not getting taken care of
not getting noticed just do your job
work hard you know that don't worry
about the promotion and the promotion is
gonna come yeah in most cases yeah so I
was I wouldn't even frame it where I
would say in all cases there are
exceptions like everything else but in
in our case that that is the situation
yeah I think and think about this too
when you when you in regards to like
your belt right Jiu Jitsu belt if I'm a
white belt chuckle you're my instructor
and I'm like hey I'm winning all these
tournaments all of them gold not a point
score all by submission I'm typing up
blue belts and purple belts sometimes
hey Jocko give me my blue belt I can't
do that
you like it's not up to me even if I beg
you I go on the Internet
I post this petition it's not up to me
see this is
the thing you know when you hear in
martial arts like old traditional
martial arts like you will learn
humility yeah and you will learn
discipline and they would teach it you
know by teaching it by talking about it
in jujitsu it's real yeah look you will
be humble yeah and when you flare up and
say where's my belt that's you not being
humble that's you not you know just
saying hey I need to work harder I need
to keep getting after it yeah and so
you're learning that lesson yeah that's
part of it she'll be you know and again
I've mentioned this perform on the
podcast just because someone is a
jujitsu person just because there are
black belt doesn't mean they have the
same it doesn't mean they have like the
best morals and values it doesn't mean
that at all there could be people
selling belts there's people that sell
belt oh you you are you gonna take ten
privates with me $1,000 each and then
then you that's how you get the black
belt okay cool
no not cool there's a bunch of things
like that too you know oh I want you to
go open a pilot school for me somewhere
so I'm gonna give you your black belt
you're not that good so that way you can
you can give me my you know 12% of your
annual earnings that you know things
like that happen and there's you know
even worse things that happen but the
bottom line is in a pure Jiu Jitsu sense
you should be working hard in getting
promoted as it comes from your director
yeah
so essentially the promotion is this
sort of like an indirect way of you
talking about your belt no actually
actually if it does apply to me I'd say
doesn't matter you work here it well
less than anyone cares or doesn't care
of course I think everyone cares in one
way or another but I'd say the approach
more has to do with the approach like
just like how you said focus on getting
better focus on the learning that's it
the belt is just a symptom of your
learning it's a it's an eventualities
essentially same thing or back to the
fact that doesn't have anything to do
with the person only the instructor on
the flip side of what I said about you
know if I think I'm I think I'm a blue
belt and I'm not getting my blue belt
what's up it's not up to me it's up to
the instructor no matter what same thing
as if you you're like a promotion time
hey echo here's your blue belt and I'm
like I'm not ready for this
well yes I suck I'm I can't even do this
well I can't give the belt back I can't
like take it off and then put it you
know mmm I mean I'm sure there's some
kind of excitement there's that thing
that happened a long time ago with them
with intent there wasn't it was like a
year ago yeah okay but nonetheless that
you know I can't give it back what you
get when you get emoted you're ready for
it so yeah put your belt on and start
start getting after it has nothing do
with your opinion that's that that's the
point there so yeah it's your in
straighter keep training yeah because
sometimes people get their boats and
they stopped training
yeah that's and that's an ending here's
the thing all admit there was a point in
my life where I was like concerned about
that um you know better than this guy
I'm not gonna say when which belt it was
not recently mind you but Joe's like
three weeks ago but then I remember and
when I think about that time man I
wasn't learning that much at all I was
just focusing on like oh good I do so
like you know your game kinda is closed
off you don't learn much your concern
you know all this stuff anybody's happy
who risks not learning yes exactly right
and gets you and it just messes up your
whole jiu-jitsu experience because you
had that you have that Aled added
element of stress it's not good do that
so don't even ask about belts I think
that's a good great Paula that isn't
that is a great policy yeah that that's
the best policy for us do don't ask him
train hard and yeah you'll get what's
coming to you eventually but sometimes
people will ask you hey when are you
gonna get your blue belt or you know you
know people will ask you that whenever I
don't know yeah whatever
my instructor a lot of times people ask
me when I'm gonna get the red and black
yeah