For those who are new to the martial art, the BJJ belt system can be a little confusing to begin with, but it is actually very easy when explained. Below will give a comprehensive breakdown of each belt, the time needed to progress, and what each color symbolizes. For those wondering, this article is for adults and not for kids, who follow a different grading system.
Table of Contents
White belt
The White belt is the first of the five main belts and is considered as the beginner’s belt. Another phrase used is that whilst at white belt, the practitioner is still a baby in terms of learning and development. Some teachers will claim that the sole purpose of being a white belt is to show up, survive and continue training. Because of this, there is little pressure on white belts to perform.
A good gym will encourage their white belts to try their best and to soak in as much information as possible. Like all belts, the white belt typically has four stripes. These generally rank progress and time spent training. For instance, a four stripe white belt may be closer to a blue belt in terms of skill compared to a zero stripe white belt who is a complete rookie in comparison.
As a rough guide, the average student should expect to stay at white belt between one and two years, depending on factors such as their skill, time spent training, and other qualities such as attitude and application.
Blue belt
The Blue belt is the second step after white and after white is the most commonly held belt in an average gym. Blue belts are still new to BJJ but are typically far more experienced than the average white belt. Having said this, many still see blue belts as youngsters on the Jiu Jitsu journey and whilst they should know most of the basic skills, they are still naive in terms of the depth of knowledge that higher belts will possess.
In literal terms, an example could be that a blue belt is good at a triangle choke for instance, but lacks the ability to really chain together multiple attacks at the same time and see moves further ahead. Unlike white belts, the average blue belt should be able to use their skills in a self-defence situation and have a degree of confidence in pulling off moves such as takedowns and sweeps on an untrained opponent.
The typical time spent at blue is more ambiguous than that at white belt with some staying at the belt for around five years, whereas many gyms will promote from blue to purple in two or three years. Again this depends on the discrepancy of the instructor.
Purple Belt
Purple belt is considered the middle child of BJJ and when a practitioner begins to understand more of the philosophy rather than the science. In literal terms, the previous two belts may be able to pull off the odd sweep, pass or submission and have some areas of quality in their arsenal.
However, purple belt is where the practitioner should be able to chain attacks together with less thought and more speed, meaning they are acting on autopilot instead of a more fractured approach to using the techniques.
An example of this is if an opponent defends a triangle, the purple belt should naturally then switch to the next available option such as armbar or omoplata. Not only this but purple belts are naturally more knowledgeable than the previous two belts with more rhythm and timing when performing moves.
Typically a student can expect to stay at purple belt for two to three years and is generally seen as a quicker belt to gain promotion compared to blue belt.
Brown Belt
The brown belt is the penultimate belt of the five main colors. It is seen as the last step before black belt, with this in mind it is a well-respected belt. Unlike the previous three, it is seen as a mature belt meaning a typical brown belt should be both respected and feared for their ability on the mat.
Compared to purple, the average brown belt should have sharper timing and a more precise selection of attacks. This means they should have a couple of moves of expertise that are the same skill as black belts and should have developed an A game that is very strong.
As a general rule, the time spent on brown belt is similar to purple at two to three years but in some cases can be longer with injuries and lay-offs which are common throughout a student’s training.
Black Belt
Black belt is the last of the main belts and is a rare achievement that most starting out will simply not reach. Because of this black belts are the most respected of the ranks due to the sheer time and dedication applied. In training terms, a black belt is an expert who should have a well rounded game with no noticeable weaknesses compared to the other belts.
As previously mentioned, timing and rhythm will be at a high level for black belts and the level of knowledge is also mountainous compared to the other ranks. In short, all aspects of a typical black belts game will be skilled and full of intricate details that are lacking at the lower levels.
Typically it takes the average practitioner roughly ten years to achieve black belt with regular training. For some, it may take closer to double this with a lack of training and in some rare cases, it has been achieved in under five years if the student is incredibly dedicated.
It should be noted that unlike the previous four belts, the black belt has six tabs on the belt instead of four, meaning you can expect to stay at black belt for well over fifteen years.
Black Belt and Beyond…
The next step after achieving black belt are the coral belts. This starts at black and red belt, then black and white and then finally red belt. The black and red colors are often referred to as coral belts but all of these belts are incredibly rare and very few people will ever accomplish such a belt.
The rank of the coral belt takes on average over 30 years to achieve starting from black belt, so the average student will never see such a sight, with red belt being even rarer. With this in mind, there are very few red belts alive due to the time needed to accomplish the rank and even in the growing world of BJJ it is an incredibly rare accomplishment.
