A lot of martial art has a belt system. In some arts a 7 year old child can earn their black belt within 2 years, while in others the black belt is a highly coveted status that can take over a decade to achieve. In BJJ the belt system can at times be confusing. There are belt ranks set up for children, and ones set up for adults. Some academies cross childrens green belt rank over to adults to provide clear feedback between white and blue.
Perhaps one of the most valuable (and sometimes discouraging) factors in BJJ is the difficulty in getting promoted. Ive seen guys who have trained off and on for years still be white or blue belts, and that maintains the sanctity of the art. Historically, there were different thought processes insofar as belts went; supposedly originally there were two belt colors: white and navy (similar to Aikidos white and black).
In the grand scheme of things, a belt doesn’t really matter. In a world in which Jon Jones is a white belt, Im perfectly content being a white or blue belt, and the reality is that I know some blue belts who can beat some black belts (as was the case when Anthony Pettis arm barred Benson Henderson.) That said there are intermediary belts that are interesting. For example, Ive noticed that very often purple is the first belt that many people take seriously. People think of purple belts as being at a high enough level to instruct and in some cases to run academies altogether. The first place I trained BJJ had a purple instructor for the vast majority of classes with the black belt only occasionally popping in, clearly purple is the beginning of serious BJJ tenure
Heres where stuff gets interesting: academies sometimes give belts that are not recognized by the BJJ community. For example: adults getting green belts and kids getting Junior Black Belts. Ive never seen a Junior Black Belt in person, but Ive seen plenty of adult green belts, in fact I used to train at an academy that just stopped awarding them about a month before I arrived there. The idea is to give white belts a step between white and blue. White belt can be a very long and arduous journey, and many people may quit before they ever get to blue, the green belt can be one way to bridge that gap. And, no, I am not discrediting people who are adults and wear green belts, but most tournaments dont have a green belt division
Do we want people in our sport who would quit between white and blue because its taking too long? I view the length of time between white and black belt to be a filter for people who would potentially dilute the sport. Its why BJJ black belts tend to be the toughest people on earth.
Emil Fischer is an active blue belt competitor under Pablo Angel Castro III training with Strong Style Brasa and is sponsored by Pony Club Grappling Gear and Cruz Combat. For more information, other articles, and competition videos check out his athlete pages at www.facebook.com/emilfischerbjj and www.twitter.com/Emil_Fischer
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