What does being certified mean in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? For most people, this means having a recognized black belt under the IBJJF system. This means, your black belt is officially recognized by biggest BJJ organization in the world. Having said that – may would argue that this is purely a technicality and isn’t needed for the most part. In this article, we shall look at how to get your black belt certificate and whether it’s actually worth it or not.
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How to get your black belt certificate in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
The first step is to actually get your black belt. This means you should legitimately earn it, and not just buy a black belt on Amazon. As the saying goes, “the mats don’t lie” and this is true with BJJ. People will know and with social media bigger than ever, you will eventually get found out. As big as BJJ is now, any legitimate practitioner will be able to trace their roots back a few generations and prove their lineage.
With this out the way, if you still want to be certified under the IBJJF, you will need to go onto their website to do so. Here, you can then register as a black belt under the IBJJF under your association (this means the gym you train at and IBJJF will contact them to check you out). According to IBJJF, you can get this when you turn black belt, but you cannot get the certificate until at least two years of black belt.
Here’s the catch, the process of registering as a black belt under IBJJF costs $400 as a ‘processing fee’. This means, you will have to pay to sign up as an IBJJF black belt. Then, you will have to provide your certificate of life saving training (CPR) etc, which isn’t a bad idea if you’re teaching BJJ. Lastly, you’ll also need an IBJJF rules certificate that proves you know the rules of IBJJF competition. To pass this test, you’ll need at least a score of 60%.
After this, your background will be checked out and you’ll then get mailed a physical certificate to prove that you’re a black belt under the IBJJF organization.
How many people are certified IBJJF black belts?
As of the time of writing this (July 2021), there are apparently 5972 certified IBJJF black belts on the IBJJF database. Obviously, this number grows with each passing year. Many people will sign up under this scheme to be able to compete (to compete at large IBJJF competitions, you will need to be registered under the IBJJF system). The likes of Keenan Cornelius and Cyborg Abreu have signed up and are certified under IBJJF, which makes sense due to their competition backgrounds.
Do you need to be certified in order to have a BJJ black belt?
The answer to this question is a resounding ‘no’. Obviously, there’s far more than 5972 black belts in the world. In short, if you don’t care about the certificate nor do you want to compete at big IBJJF events, then there’s not really any need for a certification.
For instance, the likes of Gordon Ryan is not IBJJF certified. Does this mean he’s not legitimate? Of course not. Many regard him as the greatest ever and he has nothing to prove, yet he does not have a certificate.
There was also the issue of Enson Inoue who could not get recognition of his black belt under the IBJJF. He spoke on this issue here, which seemed a technicality but an incredibly frustrating one at that. As Enson mentioned, he was training BJJ before the IBJJF even started their certification program which speaks volumes.
As well as this, many gym owners have started giving out their own certificates as a form of recognition to promoted students. This is merely a piece of paper, but is obviously very special for some people and proves validation.
Conclusion
In summary, if you’re wanting to get certified in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, then the IBJJF will provide a certificate provided you can meet their criteria. Otherwise, it’s down to you. Ultimately, there’s thousands of BJJ black belts out there who aren’t certified – but what does this mean? It doesn’t make them illegitimate and in the big scheme of things isn’t a big deal. Due to the lineage system of BJJ, it’s also incredibly easy to track down frauds too.
As mentioned previously, there’s also the acid test of rolling. If you don’t perform anywhere near close to a black belt during sparring, then people will start figuring you out and talking. To conclude, an IBJJf certificate is an option, but it is mostly a technicality and a piece of paper that shouldn’t define you or your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legacy.
