During a recent episode of the Overdogs BJJ Podcast, Mikey Musumeci joined Professor Robert Drysdale and co-host Hector Vasquez for a discussion about the current state of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
One of the most controversial topics centered on what Musumeci sees as a declining standard for black belts in the sport.
He did not hesitate to share his opinion.
“I’m going to say something controversial,” Musumeci said before arguing that many practitioners earn black belts primarily through longevity rather than technical ability.
“A lot of the times, a lot of black belts in jiu-jitsu right now just got their belt from just training for a long period of time,” he said. “It’s just about the length that they trained, right? It isn’t even about their skill level.”
Musumeci then referenced a previous controversy involving Derek Moneyberg, explaining that his stance on the issue has not changed.
“I got in trouble a while back. I don’t want to talk about it that much, but with Derek Moneyberg,” he said. “And again in my mind, there’s so many black belts that are just training for like a billion years and that they don’t even know any jiu-jitsu. It’s really bad, you know.”
According to Musumeci, the growing number of black belts promoted based on time spent training has diminished the significance of the rank itself.
“In my mind, when I think of a black belt in jiu-jitsu, I don’t think of it in that high regards,” he said. “I think anyone could get a black belt.”
His concerns extend beyond the belt ranking system. Musumeci argued that some instructors who reach black belt status without developing a high level of skill often go on to create isolated gym cultures.
“A lot of these people that get these black belts after training a bunch of years, then they make a gym and they make like a cult with their gym,” he said. “And they kind of brainwash their students to like closing off from the world.”
That criticism naturally led to a discussion about cross-training, an issue Musumeci feels is often tied to an instructor’s confidence in their own abilities. He drew a distinction between elite coaches who restrict cross-training for competitive reasons and those who do so because they fear outside scrutiny.
“If you’re a high-level black belt and you have students, it’s a lot different not having them cross train than if you’re like the mentality I said,” Musumeci explained. “Like a black belt that is just from length of time and they don’t want their students exposed to anyone else because they’ll get exposed.”
Professor Drysdale agreed with the broader concern and questioned the value of the rank if it becomes too common.
“If everyone is a black belt, what’s the value of a black belt?” Drysdale asked.
He also pointed to a period when instructional programs marketed black belt promotions in as little as three years, noting that most practitioners are not BJ Penn.
Drysdale also talked about what he believes gave jiu-jitsu its credibility in the first place: proving its effectiveness through competition.
“Royce Gracie going in the UFC and tapping everyone out,” he said. “That’s where we come from. That is the origin of our credibility. So if we lose track of that, then what do we have?”
