purple belt requirements

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magpie**

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hey guys,
i have searched the website for the past half an hour before posting,and my purple belt friends didn't have much of an answer.

what are the requirements for purple from blue?
is there a list somewhere online?
 
you will never find a solid list that applies to every instructor.... i have heard many times before a black belt is a refined purple, meaning a purple belt must know the majority of the techniques and must be comfortable in every position (top game, bottom game, back control etc)

so i would say, when you can comfortably regurgitate proper techniques for any position, and can use them in a live roll... alongside solid tournament wins i would say thats enough to hit purple
 
well, first you will be a good blue belt then your instructor will make you a bad purple belt.

So, just try to be a good blue belt and the rest should fall into place.
 
you have to be at that purple belt level, technically.
there isn't a set of hard rules. it's one of those things that you can't really describe, but you know it when you see it. at least a black belt knows it when he sees it :)
 
You have to understand all the basic concepts of jiujitsu and be able to apply them in different situations.

White belt = dont understand that there are governing concepts in bjj. Learning is technique based.

Blue belt = Understand that concepts >technique; starting to learn different concepts as applied to limited situations. Can start to apply concepts to situations you have been in instead of relying on techniques.

Purple belt = Understand major concepts; can apply those major concepts in a variety of situations. Rely on conceptual understanding to learn bjj rather than technical learnings.

Brown belt = Have a general, broad understanding of all bjj underlying concepts; Can apply said concepts to know what to do in entirely new situations.

Black belt = Understand in detail all bjj concepts, can apply in any situation. (obviously this takes years and years of refinement; like saulo says black belt is your longest belt).

Thats my opinion - thats why they say black belt is when you start learning jiujitsu. You finally understand all the concepts in detail, and all that is left is training and practicing and applying in different ways to expand and sharpen your knowledge and skills.

Its not very eloquent, but the best example I can think of is by considering a seminar. A white belt will learn some techniques. a Blue belt will start seeing some completely new positions and ideas which change the way they think. A purple belt will use the techniques demonstrated to extract concepts which can shape their game further. A brown belt will extract concepts in order to refine their understanding and apply that to their own game. A black belt will do the same, except on a higher level. Basically purple and up is not about learning techniques (although of course you do). Its about learning how to apply the same idea to different situations.

If you can do that, your growth is exponential, while technique based growth is simply linear.

Final example: white = high school; blue = college; purple = masters program; brown = doctorate program.

So getting your black belt is like getting a phd in bjj. By the time you do post graduate studies, you are dealing with conceptual theories and applications.
 
1500 posts ; )

our purple belts are all bad asses, thats pretty much the requirement. Be a total bad ass. I don't think i've ever seen a purple belt tap to a blue at my gym.
 
Anaconda, that might be the best post I have ever read.

I've never seen someone explain the different levels and philosophy of jiu jitsu so well, good job man.
 
Very nice post by Anaconda, similar things have been said in various books.

The only follow up is that it will depend on the instructor. You and your belt level represent your school so if you go to a competition heavy school you will probably be waiting longer for your purple than a school that isn't as competition oriented. The best person to talk to about it for you is your instructor. At my school you will be on a very long and slow road to purple and up if you don't compete and do well.
 
magpie said:
hey guys,
i have searched the website for the past half an hour before posting,and my purple belt friends didn't have much of an answer.

what are the requirements for purple from blue?
is there a list somewhere online?
Click to expand...

Anaconda had a grea post, but also, one of the big requirements is when you start to regularly tap purple belts.

However something dave Camarillo said has mde me rethink this train of thought.
 
I know a lot of people pay a lot of credence to competition results, but I don't really see it as a true reflection of what people are capable of.

In competition you are only going to be playing or A game. You will find out how your A game compares to people from other clubs, but really you kind find out a lot of these things through observing you roll.

The weaknesses that are exposed in rolling will most likely also be your weaknesses in competition.

I think that I am a relatively good blue belt, but I have had my arse handed to me by some freak blue belt phenoms who should really be purple belts but haven't had anyone to promote them. If I did lose against such a person in competition, would that make me a bad blue belt.

I think Saulos book talks a little about this.
 
No right or wrong answer. The answer you are looking for solely lies with your instructor. All instructors are different. The only consistent answer is hard work is the only true requirement, and when you have worked hard enough you will get it.
 
Thanks guys...thats my understanding based upon what I have learned from my instructor and what I have learned of jiujitsu.

Thats also the reason why I personally abhor belt tests and requiring people to know certain moves to get to the next level. If the moves are that significant they will know them, but not everything will become part of someone's game. I understand its the only way to test, but I just dont like it.

Someone mentioned they had heard an explanation like that before in a book or something - I'd love to know where. I havent seen many books or anything that focus on the more "philosophical" side of bjj but I have looked a bit. The only one that does a little bit is saulo's, but he has a different perspective too, with the white belt survival, blue belt escapes, purple belt guard, etc.
 
SMillard said:
Very nice post by Anaconda, similar things have been said in various books.

The only follow up is that it will depend on the instructor. You and your belt level represent your school so if you go to a competition heavy school you will probably be waiting longer for your purple than a school that isn't as competition oriented. The best person to talk to about it for you is your instructor. At my school you will be on a very long and slow road to purple and up if you don't compete and do well.
Click to expand...

Thanks....do you remember what books you saw stuff like that in? I'd love to read them.
 
Drew Foster said:
Anaconda had a grea post, but also, one of the big requirements is when you start to regularly tap purple belts.

However something dave Camarillo said has mde me rethink this train of thought.
Click to expand...

what did he say?

I agree that a good bench mark is tapping other belts....but I also think that belts are highly subjective. One guy's purple belt level could be another guy's black belt (and I'm talking about the students, not the instructors).

What I mean is, there are some guys that will just never be that good. For those guys, after training for 2+ years you just have to give them a blue belt (as long as theyre training consistently). Once it gets to 5+ years you have to give them a purple, just based on commitment and dedication. I mean, you could hold the belt, but the reality is for what? They arent going to get much better than that.

I dont think though that you can get a brown or black simply based on time put in. Purple is your last chance, and unlike blue you do have to really work hard and learn. I think most people on earth are capable of getting a blue belt, and a lot are capable of getting a purple. I dont think anyone is capable of getting a brown or black though.
 
elvis 78 said:
Anaconda, that might be the best post I have ever read.

I've never seen someone explain the different levels and philosophy of jiu jitsu so well, good job man.
Click to expand...


I enjoyed it too. A simplified version that somebody else, not myself, has posted is:

White Belt = You're new and know nothing about the game

Blue Belt = You now know the rules of the game, but suck at the game.

Purple Belt = You know the rules of the game, and now you're actually good at the game.
 
I think in North America, its extremely hard to get blue..... because in many local tournaments its mostly white belts and in that case many team points come from the white belt division which gives many schools incentive to hold back their guys that should be getting a blue.

Where as in Brasil or certain parts of the US, there are plenty of blue, purple, borwn, black belts competing that most schools hand out blue belts pretty fast in brasil.

I think this will go on until BJJ really develops fully in North America
 
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