Does a belt mean anything anymore?

[lechien]

Nah. You gotta renew your IBJJF black belt membership card every year to count. If you don't pay the year doesn't count. I'm sure if you got clout they will be lenient with the exact payment, but you are supposed to pay the fee every year to keep prove your dedication to the sport.

when I say sport, I mean IBJJF.

That would only apply if you want to keep getting IBJJF certificates/ membership card to compete or being able to sign the BB IBJJF certificate application form as a second degree.

The way I see it, you just could be a BJJ BB who never sent any money to the IBJJF, never competed in any IBJJF events and just keep giving yourselves a stripe for every 3 years/degree...

That is the the reason why Hillary got Cyborg to sign a IBJJF BB application. Her own instructors are legit BB who never bothered with the IBJJF money scheme.

 

[MeatBeater]

Belts definitely mean something

White Belt - They're going to push me and tire me out
Blue belt - I'm going to get tapped many times over
Purple - I'm going to be used as a grappling dummy/experimentation subject
Brown and Black - Working on drill because I can't provide enough resistance to be a grappling dummy

 

[Bebop]

all a belt tells me is what your instructor thinks of you. and that if you have a blue belt or above, you're probably better than me =)

 

[Rod1]

It is. I just wanted to see what Rod1 was going to reply.

Am i missing something? do people test for stripes in BBs? do councils of high ranking BBs get together to discuss the merit of a promotion?

So its either,

1.- Enter a membership where you basically earn grades based on time

2.- You give them to yourself.

So? my point is that the BJJ blackbelt is generally harder than other arts BBs (i have seen harder belts under certain coaches) but the dan/stripes rankings certainly are not. Specially when said rankings are run by old as hell traditionalist who treat the art like a religion.

 

[Knock Out Ned]

Am i missing something? do people test for stripes in BBs? do councils of high ranking BBs get together to discuss the merit of a promotion?

Like the Jedi Council? Yes, I am a dork.

 

[dahakkuh]

Every teacher has other criterias for giving out belts.

In my academy, its about competition and time you've trained in the academy (not in any other academy, but in ours).

I am a whitebelt, tapping out bluebelts. I dont give a fuck.

 

[Phreaxer]

After this thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f12/machado-belts-1414115/ I have less faith than ever in belts and what they mean. I also train at a place that has very high standards compared to other places in town so it's very likely to see a higher level belt from another school come get tapped out by a lower belt at our school. It's not sandbagging, it's requiring certain things to earn a promotion. We don't have "belt ceremonies" or "mass beltings either". I've noticed other gyms do that. Ours are based solely on each person as an individual

 

[MatthewHall]

I believe your belt is just a representation of where your instructor thinks you are skill wise. Hence the reason some people are white belts for 3 years, some are white belts for 6 months - it just depends on when your instructor thinks your a blue belt. Some instructors base this decision on competition record, some on attendance, some on money or whatever else they choose, and it's all very subjective. Do they mean something? That's like asking someone if Santa Claus means anything - it's up to the person. Ask Rashad Evans how much his black belt means to him, then ask Renzo how much his black belt means to him - probably get a difference response.

 

[The K1000]

Here is something my friend sent me about different belt levels.


"How to Easily Identify BJJ Belt Ranks

The Black Belt

Faster than a speeding bullet.
More powerful than a locomotive.
Leaps tall buildings in a single bound.
Walks on water.
Lunches with God, but must pick up tab.

The Brown Belt

Almost as fast as a speeding bullet.
More powerful than a shunting engine on a steep incline.
Leaps short buildings with a single bound.
Walks on water if sea is calm.
Talks to God.

The Purple Belt

Faster than an energetically thrown rock.
Almost as powerful as a speeding bullet.
Leaps short buildings with a running start in favourable winds.
Walks on water of indoor swimming pools if lifeguard is present.
May be granted audience with God if special request is approved at least three working days in advance.

The Blue Belt

Is run over by trains.
Barely clears outhouse.
Dog paddles.
Mumbles to self.

The White Belt

Must have train ticket pinned to jacket and mittens tied to sleeves.
Falls over doorsteps while trying to enter tall buildings.
Plays in Mud puddles.
Studders.

The Guy in the TapouT shirt in Gi class

Says: "Look at choo choo!"
Not allowed inside buildings of any size.
Makes good boat anchor.
Mere existence makes God shudder"

 

[Bruce Calavera]

Just thought I'd update this because it's my thread that got necroed. After starting this thread I got my blue about 2 months later. I have no idea why or because of what because 1 month prior a few others were promoted to blue. Did a month really make that much difference? I guess so. Now I just train. I kind of don't care about belts anymore not because I'm so beyond the idea of rank but because very little of it makes any sense to me.

 

[lechien]

My point is that a BJJ BB cannot be compared to other arts BBs.
It is just different.
Once you get your BJJ BB, you no longer have to do any exams and just into hoops for some other idiots.

It is like testing a BB for his Dan.
It just means that BB are beginners in other BBs and not master in their MA.
Hell, you would need to be at least a 4 Dan Judo BB to be considered seriously in Japan!

In Brasil, the meaning of a BB is different.

 

[scoad]

At my school, one must earn their belt, and once it is earned they will be tested before the belt is actually given. Schools that just give out belts, shame BJJ.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

1.- Enter a membership where you basically earn grades based on time

The IBJJF website says you can "request" a stripe after a certain amount of time. That sorta implies you can be rejected by some criteria - can anyone confirm that its more than just years of membership?

 

[lechien]

The IBJJF website says you can "request" a stripe after a certain amount of time. That sorta implies you can be rejected by some criteria - can anyone confirm that its more than just years of membership?

It is just years. no other criteria.

 

[Shadowbox]

A belt means whatever you want it to mean. That being said, it shouldn't be your only measure for success. Most people that measure themselves by the color fo their belt quit within a year.

Well said.

Depends a lot on who you get it from too. I moved to a new city about a year ago and checked out a bunch of potential schools, at one of the trial classes, one of the instructors after rolling with me told me I was ready for a blue belt. He may have just been being honest as other instructors in had around that time told me the same thing in more appropriate contexts. But, he also may have been trying to bribe me to train there. With that on my mind, that belt would have meant nothing. Instead I opted to go to an affiliate school and train with high level brown belts, knowing I would have to wait almost a year for the head instructor to come visit and give me my belt. After sitting on a white belt for two years, that blue belt definitely meant something.

 

[brollikk]

while the stripes after getting a black belt in bjj are not skill/merit based but just time-based... getting the actual black belt is a huge task in itself. No other martial art can compare to the difficulty of getting a bjj black belt.

Bjj has undoubtedly the highest standards.

 

[greedysob]

After reading higher learning's thread about the WB who didn't get his blue and many other threads about belts with absolutely no conclusion I've made a list of the things that belt promotion apparently DOESN'T depend as has been stated on THIS forum.

-Time
-Tapping others
-Technical Ability
-Competition Record
-Experience
-Money
-Loyalty
-Active role in one's own club

So if none of these things matter in getting promoted WTF does?

This list you've compiled is just a combination of different people's opinions. Throwing them all together doesn't make it an official guideline. There are a lot of different opinions out there on what makes an "xxxx" belt... It's up to you to find a good school where you respect the instructor's opinion. If you do that recieving belts will mean something.