If you’re a white belt that is training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under a brown belt, then you may have often wondered, can a BJJ brown belt promote me? The answer to this question is yes and it’s completely legitimate. Here’s a breakdown of how promotions work in the world of BJJ. Read on, you may learn a few interesting surprises along the way.
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Purple belts and above can promote in BJJ
Technically, the lowest rank in BJJ that is allowed to promote people is the purple belt. The way the belt system is set up in BJJ is that you cannot promote someone onto your own rank. In other words, a blue belt cannot promote a white belt to blue as then they would be the same rank. Whether you agree or disagree with this idea, in BJJ these are the rules.
So, as a purple belt you can promote a white belt to blue. Then, as a brown belt you can do the same promotion, as well as promoting blue belts to purple. By these rules, as a brown belt you cannot promote a purple to brown though. It also goes without saying that you can’t promote someone above your own rank either.
Can you give out stripes as a BJJ brown belt?
Technically, you can give out stripes from blue belt upwards. Again, this can only be done below your own rank. For instance, as a blue belt you could promote someone up until four stripes on their white belt. However, let’s say they’re a three stripe blue belt, they couldn’t give a two stripe blue belt a new stripe that would equal their own rank.
With this said, to answer the original question – a brown belt can give people stripes. So long as they’re not promoting someone to the same rank as themselves, this is completely ok and legitimate.
Can you ever promote someone to your own rank?
Under IBJJF rules, this isn’t allowed. Similarly, the BJJ community doesn’t really do it either. In other words, even a random gym that didn’t abide the IBJJF system probably wouldn’t promote a purple to a brown belt by a brown belt as this isn’t the norm.
However, there are a few exceptions. Imagine you own a gym in a small town or a country where BJJ is rare. In some circumstances, you could choose to promote someone to your own rank. This sometimes happens in smaller gyms with a talented student.
If the teacher deems the student good enough, then there’s no reason to hold them back. These are unusual circumstances, but no one would really begrudge a promotion in this instance. Sometimes, these promotions are done by the blessing of a known black belt in the country or area.
Can black belts promote a brown belt?
As mentioned, it’s generally a bit unusual to promote someone to your own rank. There is one exception though, and that is of course the black belt. If you’re a black belt promoting a brown belt, then it’s impossible to do this without putting them on your own rank. This is where things can get a little complex.
Basically, under the eyes of the IBJJF, a recognized black belt is when a brown is promoted by a black belt with at least 2 stripes. Each of these stripes represents three years at black belt, meaning they should have at least 6 years of experience at black belt. The issue with this is once again, you may not be a 2nd degree black belt, yet the brown belt in question deserves a promotion.
In this case, most people will understandably see nothing wrong with the promotion and even a 1 stripe black belt has at least three years on the newly promoted black belt. The only issue with this is that the new black belt won’t be technically recognized by the IBJJF. Some people don’t care about this, whilst others draft in senior black belts to do promotions so they’re legitimate in the eyes of the IBJJF.
Conclusion
In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it’s not too unusual to see a brown belt promoting lower belts. Whether that’s giving someone a blue belt or a new stripe, it does happen. At the same time, you shouldn’t be alarmed if a non-black belt is giving out belt promotions.
The reason for this is that you should respect your teacher regardless of rank. In some cases, you can find blue belts that are better than black belts which shows that although your belt rank is special, it’s also not as important or hierarchal as some people like to make out.
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