I was recently browsing the internet and noticed an advertisment by Lloyd Irvine. From his credentials, he seems to be genuinely good at what he does. However, his add claims that news students can earn a black belt in judo within one year.
It appears you might be talking about Lloyd Irvin. Here are some links about him, his background, and some claims he makes about training and rank:
"Follow Lloyd On A Journey Of Doing The Impossible. Lloyd got his BJJ Blue Belt In Only 30 Days, Got His BJJ Black Belt In Only 3 ½ Years And Laughs At The People That Said It Couldn’t Be Done. Follow Him On A Journey To Reach Your Potential At Lightning Speeds."
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Lloyd Irvin is a World Renowned martial arts coach, competitor and expert. He is a Multiple Time National Judo Champion, a Multiple Time National Sombo Champion and after coming out of a three-year retirement he recently became aBrazilian Jui Jitsu World Champion. A Graduate of Bowie State University he holds the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt in Thai Jitsu, 1st Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 5th Degree Black Belt in Combat Sombo, and a 1st Degree Black Belt in Judo.
He's the only person in the World to hold black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Combat Sombo and Judo.[
citation needed]
In 2002 he was named The United States Judo Federation International Coach of the year.
[Last Fearner's note: I find it interesting that he is only a 1st Dan in Judo yet he is named the USJF International Coach of the year! Also, how would he offer training to 1st Dan and certification of a Black Belt in Judo if he is only 1st Dan? Although he has apparently won several Judo Championship titles, the concepts of rank, teaching and the authority to promote is typically separate from sports titles.]
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In this link, it states the following:
"After Receiving His Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt In Only 4 Years And Defeating Two Gracie's Mike Fowler Finally Reveals
How His Instructor Got His Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt In 3 1/2 Years, A Judo Black Belt In 1 Year And A Sombo Black Belt In One Year."
[Note: It does not state that you can get the Black Belt in one year, just that Mike Fowler tells you how his instructor (Lloyd Irvin) got
HIS Judo and Sombo Black Belt in one year.]
"Why It Doesn't Take 10 Years To Get A Black Belt (We've All Been Lied To)"
"The Grappling Blueprint is the exact Step-by-step training system that Lloyd Irvin used to shatter the grappling learning curve and went on to earn black belts in BJJ, Judo and Sombo all in under 4 years."
[Again, does not say you can do it, just how Lloyd Irvin did it]
"Enter Your Name And Email Address Below And Discover How He Was Able To Do It."
[Note: "How He Was Able To Do It."]
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This whole "rank debate" is really quite silly, in my opinion. Even if I were to claim in an ad that You WILL earn your Black Belt in ONE MONTH "Guaranteed!" it still would not be a false claim if I issue everyone a Black Belt after one month. All this boils down to is, what is the worth of a Black Belt earned in a short time? A Black Belt is a piece of cloth. Anyone can issue a Black Belt. There are no legal restrictions, nor legal definitions as to what a Black Belt is, or what it takes to "earn" one.
A Black Belt is only worth something in the minds of those who have it, and those who view it as being worth something - - like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I Black Belt is
supposed to represent a level of progress along the various grades of a curriculum. What that curriculum is, and what the standards are for attaining each level may change from organization to organization, and instructor to instructor.
If a person's claim is to offer something they can
not provide, such as rank from an organization they are not affiliated with, or a Black Belt from that organization within one year if they do not permit Black Belts within one year, then that would be false advertisement. The fact is, there are so many people running around claiming to be experts in
arts (IE: Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, BJJ, etc), that it has become a free-for-all on teaching whatever you want, claiming your own "style" and issuing rank at the drop of a hat (or a few hundred dollars).
This is why rank has value, but is worthless at the same time. It really only means what is evident by the source issuing it, and the abilities of the person holding it. If the source is legit and honest, and the person is qualified, then the rank actually means something. Otherwise, it is not worth the paper it is written on, nor the threads it took to sew the belt together. Not all rank is worthless, just those that are given out without justification. Therefore, claims of rank can't be held to any standard but your own, and those who are willing to issue it. There are no false claims about Black Belt rank, time it takes to attain it, or how much it costs unless you mention affiliation with an organization, or other person from whom you do not have permission to do so.
Personally, I am never impressed when someone says "You can earn your Black Belt from me in under "X" amount of time. Time should never be the issue. Quality, and competency is what should be important, in my opinion.