When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the black belt is often seen as the final destination in the BJJ journey. This is something that can take well over 10 years of consistent training, so its status and prestige is not taken lightly. However, in some cases you will get people promoted to black belt incredibly quickly. With this in mind, sometimes people ask, “Who is the youngest BJJ black belt ever?”
As of 2021, the youngest black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is Mica Galvao. Interestingly, Galvoa was promoted to the rank of black belt aged 17 years old. This was incredibly young by anyone’s standards, but understandably his promotion was deserved. It should be noted that Mica Galvao bears no relation to the legendary Andre Galvao. By coincidence, they share the same second name.
Arguably, Galvao is the greatest ever 17 year old to have trained BJJ (at that age) which says it all. He was already smashing elite level black belts for years at competition whilst he was still a purple belt, let alone brown or black. This brings us on to the next question…
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What is the youngest age to get your black belt in Brazilian Jiu JItsu?
In BJJ, under IBJJF rules – you aren’t meant to get your black belt before age 19. Does this mean that Mica Galvao will have to wait 2 years until he can compete at IBJJF competitions as he’s technically under age? Who knows, only time will tell.
Arguably, it would be nice to see Galvao compete at this level though as he is most certainly an elite level black belt and has definitely earned his right to showcase his talents on the big stages. Nonetheless, most gyms and teachers stick to this rule quite strictly. As a result, it’s very rare to see anyone promoted to black belt before age 19.
Is it right for teens to get their black belt?
In the case of Mica Galvao, his black belt is undoubtedly legitimate and his skills speak for themselves. Looking at the typical 10 year rule, let’s say that Mica started training aged 7. In theory, 10 years later, he turns 17 and has served his 10 years and is now easily a black belt.
Going further, you could even say he started BJJ at age 10 for example. This would mean he got the black belt in 7 years. Due to his talent and ability, you can imagine he’s training a minimum of twice per day. That means he got the black belt in 7 years but out trained the vast majority of people within that time.
Again, really it boils down to the talent and it would be a waste for Mica to continue competing against brown belts. Clearly, his skill level is with the best in the world, so what’s the point of holding him at brown belt for two more years, just for the sake of a technicality?
Are there any other young black belts?
As mentioned, over the years you have seen various black belts given to 19 year olds and so on. This is understandable but other than Mica Galvao – has there ever been any younger black belts? The answer to this is mostly no, however it’s a bit more complicated than that. For example, in some rare cases where you’ve got a McDojo, you can see people promoting people younger than 17 who don’t deserve it.
In fact, one particular gym in Texas made headlines a few years back for promoting a kid to the rank of ‘junior’ black belt. The issue here is that even if a young child is physically good enough to be a BJJ black belt, it’s also about the journey and mental maturity that should come with the award as well. With this said, most black belts under age 17 are incredibly rare, but even still they aren’t really taken seriously as anyone can give out a black belt if they want.
Because of this for the sake of argument, in ‘real’ terms, Mica Galvao still remains the youngest ever black belt. Of course, this could change and if you got a 16 year old winning ADCC or something then why not? Until then though, 17 remains the youngest age.
Conclusion
Overall, the youngest ever ‘recognized’ BJJ black belt is Mica Galvao at age 17. Interestingly, he also received his black belt in Luta Livre a few months before, so it’s fair to say that he’s a pretty accomplished martial artist.
Nonetheless, this age is still very rare and it just so happens that he’s a true prodigy. For the most part, the average person gets their black belt during their 20s or 30s.
