I realize most of the clubs don't test, although I've heard of some very large organizations who do have evaluations. What I'm curious about is how formal are promotions at your school. One of the things I love about BJJ, at least in my school, is the LACK of pretention. Most of us white belts have black tape wrapped around to make up the black area. And then when we're given a stripe, we're brought up in front of the class and our instructor literally pulls a piece of white athletic tape off the roll and wraps it around your belt. Higher belts are purchased with the black area, but the stripes continue to be pieces of tape. How does it work in other schools? I think our organization is smaller. Lotus Club BJJ is good, but certainly not as prestigious as a club with Gracie or Machado in the name.
Well i train at a Gracie Barra and ours is handled pretty much exactly how you said - a line up at the end of class and a bit of tape is wrapped around your belt. However, if you go up a belt, you have to run the gauntlet. Which basically involves the entire class lining up in two rows, and whipping the hell out of the promotee with their belts as he runs through.
I think increasingly at my club we're looking to have a grading day. This basically is as simple as having a lot of people receive belts on the same day, but allows people to bring friends, family, etc. so it's not as likely to go under the radar as when it's suddenly given out at the end of a class. Certain people who come by rarely may be graded individually since there's no guarantee they will be on hand for the next grading day, whenever it may be. Stripes are, for now, only a white belt thing and are given out as tape at the end of each class as appropriate. S'about it. ^_^ Take care, Stalks
Stripes are given out by the instructors at the end of class off a roll of tape. Belts we usually wait for JG himself to come in to give them. We had one of them tonight after the seminar. The kickboxing instructor was given his purple and had to run the Gauntlet - there and back! Haha the poor guy had some welts.
Same as been said. Stripes at the end of class if anyone has proved themselves. If someone gets a belt however.....let the whippings begin!
Mine is the same too. The whippings for stripes and belts. Also, if you get a belt promotion, everyone gets to hip throw you too, on top of the whipping!
Just had to one up us eh!? Well...um....at my school....they hip throw you, whip you, AND beat you with a metal pipe! So there!!!!