Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Belt System
Achievement in BJJ is recognised by a series of coloured levels. The recognised belts for adults are: White, Blue, Purple, Brown & Black Belt! Rank is awarded based on skill level, technique and time served!
White Belt
The White Belt is the first rank held by the beginner student new to the art and requires no special prerequisites to obtain. The main focus at this level is to develop a solid foundation of techniques including: Survival Techniques, Positional Escapes, Guard Passing, Sweeps, Submissions and Takedowns. Most of the time spent at White Belt will most likely be in an inferior position and (tapping out) to the higher belts will be a frequent common occurrence. Students can often feel frustrated that they cant get techniques they now to work in actual rolling, this doesn’t last forever though and after about 6 – 8 months they will be giving something back. A general estimate for a student to advance from White – Blue Belt is about 1 – 2 years of consistent training.
Blue Belt
The Blue Belt is the second rank in BJJ and bridges the gap between the beginner rank of White Belt and the intermediate rank of Purple Belt. The Blue Belts focus is on: acquiring vast technical knowledge in all areas of the art, developing a game, positional dominance and being able to escape all inferior positions in a live environment with resisting opponents. Students can expect to be at Blue Belt Level anywhere form 2 – 3 years depending on training frequency.
Purple Belt
The Purple Belt is the third rank belt BJJ. It is considered to be one of the longer held ranks with progress to Brown Belt anywhere from 2 – 4 years. Even though it is an Intermediate rank, the Purple Belt will hold a formidable amount of knowledge and is generally considered qualified to teach.
When someone reaches the rank of Purple belt they wont be so consumed with acquiring more technical knowledge but more on looking deeper into what they already know! Purple Belts will be focusing on using momentum and combinations in their game, which make the amount of energy, used go way down.
Brown Belt
The Brown Belt is an advanced rank that bridges the gap from the intermediate level of Purple Belt to the elite Black Belt ranks. The Brown Belts focus will be on refinement rather than accumulation where the student will hone already practical skills and tighten up any weaker areas. Average time from Brown to Black Belt 2 – 3 years.
Black Belt
As with most martial arts, the rank of Black Belt is the highest rank achievable in the art of BJJ and donates the expert level of technical and practical skill. Estimates do vary on the time needed to achieve this rank but a common estimate is around the 10-year mark. No matter how many years are required, every BJJ black belt will have invested thousands of hours into the art and will hold a skill set that demonstrably reflects such.
