Christian Graugart is the owner of BJJ Globetrotters and on a recent podcast with Sonny Brown, he questioned why people competed and the value of belts in Jiu Jitsu. In brief, he argued that the main reason was for validation as part of a ‘monkey hierarchy’.
“Imagine a competition with no medals or podium pictures. That’s literally what we compete for. It’s to post pictures of you on the podium, so you’re one up on the monkey hierarchy. What’s the purpose of a medal, it’s like a proof that you won. It’s the same thing for the Jiu Jitsu belt. Why do you have to wear a belt everyday? It’s proof that you got promoted if someone wasn’t there to see it. When I was promoted it still felt like a real accomplishment, but that’s like the monkey inside of me.”
By this, he meant that a lot of people need validation in BJJ and these are ways of proving it. For some time, people have argued about the need of belts in BJJ and whether they are status-driven. Whilst Graugart has a great point, you could also argue that without structure and hierarchy, things become more chaotic. At least where belts are concerned. However, when it comes to competition and image, he certainly has a point.
