When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the red belt is the final belt to achieve and is a very honorable accolade that is awarded to very few. The reason for this is that it can take almost a lifetime to achieve and is not for the average practitioner. Because of this, in literal terms the red belt is the hardest belt to obtain in BJJ. Many of the red belts listed below were awarded their rank by the legendary Helio Gracie, who is seen as one of the greatest of all time and most influential figures in the art.
As seen with our coral belt list, the number of members in such an elusive club is in double figures. The same goes for red belts, which takes even longer to get. Further, there are two different sub-rankings within the red belt which begins at the 9th degree and the absolute last rank you can obtain is the 10th degree on your red belt. Even within the community of red belts, the 10th degree is incredibly rare and is only owned by a select few.
Interestingly, the red belt is also known as the Grandmaster rank within BJJ. This title is often reserved for the most senior ranks in the art and is quite a serious term that has connotations of extreme knowledge within the martial art. Whilst the term is used also used in other martial arts as well, usually it is used to describe a black belt.
Table of Contents
9th degree BJJ red belts
1.Pedro Hemeterio
2. João Alberto Barreto
3. Reyson Gracie
4. Flavio Behring
5. Carlson Gracie
6. Carley Gracie
7. Geny Rebello
8. Armando Wridt
9. Oswaldo Fadda
10. Pedro Valente
11. Luis Carlos Guedes de Castro
12. Francisco Mansur
13. Rorion Gracie
14. Relson Gracie
15. Francisco Sá
16. Amelio Arruda
17. Arthur Virgilio Neto
18. Crézio Chavez
19. Deoclécio Paulo
20. Eduardo Gomes Pereira
21. Geraldo Flores
22. Helio Vigio
23. José Higino
24. Julio Secco
25. Luiz Franca
26. Nahum Rabay
27. Nilton Pereira da Silva
28. Octavio de Almeida
29. Oswaldo Carnivalle
30. Oswaldo “Paqueta” Rosa
31. Paulo Mauricio Strauch
32. Pedro Emerito
33. Walter Nogueira
34. Orlando Saraiva
35. Rickson Gracie
10th degree BJJ red belts
How long does it take to get a red belt in BJJ?
From the first coral belt (red and black), you can then advance to the second coral belt (red and white) after 7 years. You then stay at this belt for another 10 years, before moving on to the red belt. In other words, it takes a minimum of 17 years of regular training after receiving your coral belt before you are given your red belt.
To put it another way, if you are awarded your BJJ black belt aged 20 and train for a lifetime, then you would receive your red belt aged 67 which is the youngest age that you can get the red belt. Obviously, if you begin training later on in life, then this date gets pushed back further and further. As you can imagine, for most people this goal is not obtainable or realistic.
How many red belts are there in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
At the time of writing, there are a total of 40 red belts to have lived (some of the older ones have passed away). However, this number gets added to every few years. As you may have gathered, literally every name on this list in Brazilian, whilst the even rarer 10th degree red belts are all from the original Gracie family.
As you may expect, in 50 years or so there will be a lot more names on this list, including those without Brazilian ancestry. This is because, in the big scheme of things, BJJ is still a fairly new art form.
What should also be noted is the confusion around Rickson Gracie and his red belt. A few years back, Rickson was awarded his red belt by his older brother Rorion. Whilst Rickson accepted the belt during the ceremony, he still wears his red and black coral belt and has claimed that he will not wear his red belt until he is old enough (aged 67). So, depending on your perspective, you could argue that Rickson either is or isn’t a red belt. Nonetheless, we have included him on this list anyway.
What does a red belt mean in BJJ?
In literal terms, a red belt in BJJ is someone who has truly mastered the art and put in a lifetime of work into their martial art. As you can imagine, there’s a great deal of respect for those who earn this status. Legendary BJJ practitioner Renzo Gracie said that the red belt was “for those whose influence and fame takes them to the pinnacle of art.” With this said, the red belt is regarded in very high esteem within the BJJ community.
