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(Update) Self Promoted Brown Belt Fired From Martial Arts School

(Update) Self Promoted Brown Belt Fired From Martial Arts School

 

 

BJJ purple belt Joe McCaffery  became widely known few days ago when the video of him promoting himself to brown belt and talking a big game went viral. The videos can still be seen here in spite of him taking them down:

The latest in the whole story is the owner of the Martial arts school where he teaches BJJ, has just fired him:

Master Rocky stated:

Hello my name is Master Rocky Troutman, I am the owner along with my father of Rocky’s Dojo & Gym, Inc. in Sugar Grove, Illinois. I have been in martial arts since 1973 where I have been studying and teaching Isshin-Ryu Karate, Kickboxing and Boxing. We have ran a dojo since 1975 and believe in the discipline, respect and the belt promotion process of karate and all disciplines of martial arts. For the past 2 ½ years I have been traveling the world to kickboxing championships to officiate as a judge and referee. I just returned Friday the 4th of Nov. from Cancun Mexico at the WAKO Pan American Kickboxing Championships when I found out that the jujitsu instructor (Joe McCaffery) who has been renting space teaching jujitsu for about 5 months at my dojo had promoted himself, disrespected previous instructors and filmed it in my dojo without my permission and then put it on his facebook page. I was not only disappointed in him for his lack of respect, being irresponsible and his comments towards others. I have terminated him from my dojo and have taken him off all dojo websites and literature for my dojo. He has tarnished the over 40 years of hard work of not only keeping a dojo open and successful but has put a bad light on my dojo (Rocky’s Dojo & Gym), I will not forgive him for that. If you have questions or would like to talk to me personally my cell number is (630) 466-7414. It is not at fault for this person’s disrespectful comments and attitude.

Sincerely
Rocky Troutman

But when jiu-jitsu times caught up with him, Joe McCaffery gave them a rundown of his credits (following extensive biography) including:

 

 I will be 51 years old in 2 months. I have been studying the Martial Arts since childhood. I boxed in grade school boxed and wrestled both in junior high school and high school. He received formalized boxing training in1980-81 from a golden gloves boxer. I began training in Judo and Jiu-Jitsu 1982 studying Judo and jiu-jitsu with a member of the Olympic Judo Team. In 1987 I continued this training at the Degerberg Academy in Chicago 1988 at the Jiu Jitsu Institute of Chicago and continued for approximately two years training in both Jiu Jitsu and Judo under his Japanese Master Sunichi Namba. It is then that I earned the Rank of Yellow Belt in Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Judo. I have has also made an academic study of and engaged training in other martial arts including Kung Fu, Aikido, and Muay Thai and Tai chi, Wing chun and Jeet- kune do. I also practice Yoga.

I began coaching in high school at the local YMCA youth basketball league and continued that passion from 2004-2009 Coaching youth basketball from kindergarten thru the High School level. I am a certified coach earning his Coaching Certificate through the American Sports Education Program (ASEP) and have coached hundreds of kids.

I began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in October of 2011 at Yobe Jiu Jitsu under Professor Mike Rose who is the protégé of Master Caique Elias who is Rickson Gracie’s student. I left Yobe in May of 2013. I have competed in both gi and no gi competitions as both a White belt, blue belt and purple belt never being submitted and has always placed in the top two positions in all of his competitions. He has trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all over the United States and internationally in Cancun, Mexico, in Lima, Peru and in the Amazon Rain forest teaching local natives the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

I arrived at Gracie Barra in Downers Grove to train in June of 2013 as a blue belt. I was promoted to purple belt in December 2014 and was promoted twice in six months receiving the second stripe on my Purple Belt by Professor Carlos Lemos Jr. a third degree Black belt in July 2014. I left Gracie Barra in October of 2015. I started my own academy One World Jiu jitsu in July of 2015.

I have taken the Gracie Barra Association ICP4 instructor’s certification program which is a 10 week course which also involve approximately 40 hours of actual mat training time to both children and adults. I regularly attend Jiu Jitsu Seminars and currently train and teachs 6 days per week twice a day. I have and doe train regularly in both Gi and no Gi jiu jitsu. I have trained and taught over 1500 hours of Jiu jitsu since opening up my own Academy in July of 2015.

I currently am the owner and operator of One World Jiu-Jitsu in Sugar Grove Illinois. This is where I teach train and coach Jiu-Jitsu.

Certifications

Gracie Barra ICP4 instructor’s Certificate (2014-2015)

American Sports Education Program (ASEP) Coaching Certification (2006)

Competitions

Hoosier Open 2012 Silver Medal (Gi) white belt

Michigan Open 2013 Silver Medal (No Gi) blue belt

IBJJF 2015 Summer International Open Masters 4 Heavy Champion- Gold Medal (gi) Purple belt

IBJJF 2015 Summer International Open Absolute Class- Bronze Medal (gi) Purple belt

Seminars

Master Caique Elias (2012) Yobe/Lombard

Grand Master Helson Gracie (2013) Yobe/Lombard

Professor Marcio Fautosa (2013) Gracie Barra Downers Grove

Professor Salvatore Pace (2014) Gracie Barra Downers Grove

Professor Tusa (2015) Cancun

Professor Ulpiana Malachias (2015) Gracie Barra Downers Grove

But over on reddit people quickly looked into the legitimacy of his credits – given that IBJJF gold medal is fairly easy to look into as it turns out. (clicking on the picture below will take you to the pdf of results from official ibjjf website)

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Another useful member of the community researched a different credit:

 

 

As for promoting himself in spite of claiming to not fall for hierarchies he said:

CJM: I care very much about hierarchy and how it disempowers people. That is why it should be torn down. Teachers should teach not rule. The belt system has nothing to do with the hierarchy. In fact those that expressed outrage cared more about the belt system and who they got it from than anything else.

Those that were insightful knew that the belt is just a talisman. A symbol of what has been accomplished. Others view it as hierarchy. I do not. I don’t look at a black belt or brown belt and say he or she is above me. I wonder where they are on their own journey.

The belt is simply a reminder to yourself of where you are on the journey and how much work you have put in. Anybody that does not get this is misguided. If you wear any color belt and see it as a rank in a hierarchy then you have a problem of perspective and understanding. I prefer the term changing colors to promoting or advancing.

 

Another reddit account said about Joe

Haha I know this guy. He’s a pretty well known scheister in the local community. He was disbarred by the state a few years ago for shady business dealings and lost his legal practice. After that he got it into his head that he was going to open a bjj school. He trained for a while at the place I trained at and eventually got a blue belt. He didn’t really roll much in group classes but took a lot of privates. He then tried to become a business partner of the school and started demanding promotions. That didn’t work out so he left to another more well known school in the area. Within a year or so he was a two stripe purple. I found that odd because this guy won’t roll with ANYONE in group classes, but non the less he was legitimately given that rank. Not much later he was barred from that academy over a bunch of drama involving the owners wife. That’s when he bumped himself up to four stripes and opened his own school in his basement. I don’t think that he had more than one or two students. I’ve heard he’s tried to buy rank from a few black belts in the area, and also unsuccessfully tried to open a Gracie CTC. I honestly figured he would have given himself a black belt by now.

 

Is this a case of trying for notoriety?