Question about BJJ belt system

Discussion in 'Grappling Technique' started by mannywankenobi, Nov 28, 2005.

  1. mannywankenobi The Sherdog Legend

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2003
    Messages:
    7,316
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    If I told you, I'd have to kill you!
    A friend of mine has been training MMA for about 5 years. Needless to say the guy is good. However in our school, because it's strickly an MMA curriculum, we don't use a belt system. (Well the kids do but not the adults.) Anyways, I was wondering the other day about what level my friend is in comparison to the BJJ belt system. I've seen him tap out purple belt level BJJ players who were about to advance to brown belt. And I'm talking about guys who place in their divisions at events like Naga and Grapplers Quest. I've seen him tap out a guy who competes in the Mundials purple belt level. So obviously this guy knows his stuff. (I've seen him tapped out by those guys also mind you but the point is that he hangs at that level.)

    My question is if this guy ever wanted to work his way up the BJJ ranks, would he have to start from the bottom as a white belt. Or do BJJ instructers do some type of assessment of experienced student's skills? How would that work?

    And yes he trains and competes with the Gi.
     
  2. physicaltherapy Blue Belt

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2005
    Messages:
    938
    Likes Received:
    0
    Everyone starts at the white belt level...but he'll probably get promoted pretty damn fast. As a formality...I guess. I'm sure there are certain holes in his game that you can get away with in MMA but not in sport BJJ (and by the same token.....vice versa. e.g. in sport BJJ you don't have to protect your face so you can do some pretty fancy grappling, in MMA you can set up a guard pass with a punch to the face but not in sport BJJ)
     
  3. nick889 Blue Belt

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2005
    Messages:
    619
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Canada
    ya i dont think you can just skip like that, he must be a really good wrestler too. hed probably just go through the ranks and end up an awesome purple belt for a couple years then move up. but if hes an mma fighter i cant see him worrying about what belt he is in bjj, especially if he knows he has the skills
     
  4. mannywankenobi The Sherdog Legend

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2003
    Messages:
    7,316
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    If I told you, I'd have to kill you!
    I'm sure there's holes in his game like everyone else, but that's why I mentioned that he actually competes in sport BJJ and does well in the purple belt and intermediate to advanced levels. I've heard of people who traveled to Brazil or some elite BJJ instructer like a Gracie to get a blue belt even though they don't train under those guys. But I was just wondering how it would work for someone who was past the blue belt level.
     
  5. nick889 Blue Belt

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2005
    Messages:
    619
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Canada
    you mean he beats purple belts in no gi events, i find this a little hard to believe but still hed just move fast through the system, look at bj penn
     
  6. DMcKayBJJ Blue Belt

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2005
    Messages:
    602
    Likes Received:
    0
    Any reputable BJJ instructor would start him at white upon first meeting, since he is not known to have earned a higher belt from any other reputable BJJ instructor.

    However, like anyone else with grappling experience (HS wrestling, judo, garage JJ, etc.), he'd likely earn the instructor's confidence in his skills faster than usual, which would mean that he'd earn a higher belt faster than the typical newb with ZERO grappling experience.

    Simple, no?
     
  7. mannywankenobi The Sherdog Legend

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2003
    Messages:
    7,316
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    If I told you, I'd have to kill you!
    Well like I said, he's been training for 5+ years. In fact he trains full time. So why would it be hard for you to believe he could defeat purple belts. He not only does well with them at no gi events. He also does well with them with the gi on. And like I said, it's not like he's invincible against them. He has his losses against them as well (although he hasn't been submitted in competition in a long time, just losses on points). But after 5+ years or so of full-time training, this is where he's at skill-level wise.

    But looks like I got my answer. He'd still have to start as a white belt but just advance faster. Sounds fair enough. We've had guys come to our school who had like 7 years of wrestling experience or were black belts in some other martial arts style but they also start in the beginner's classes. They just advance faster as well. It makes sense. I was just wondering if they would do the same thing in BJJ because I've told my friend mentioned above that he should actually consider going up the ranks in BJJ since he enjoys competing in it so much.
     
  8. b0b Banned Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2005
    Messages:
    2,067
    Likes Received:
    0
    Royce Gracie gives out Blue Belts at his seminars.
     
  9. Joey Guidice Green Belt Professional Fighter

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2004
    Messages:
    1,060
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    LONG ISLAND
    Does he wear a belt when he competes with the gi?...if so what color....that is his rank
     
  10. John O'Brien They call me Barnacle Bill.

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2004
    Messages:
    9,854
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Éire
    In his situation, the best thing to do would to be to talk to a BJJ instructor before his first class with them. Explain to him that although he has not graded in BJJ, that he has a very active and progressive grappling game that's comparable to a purple belt. This is just so he's not considered a sandbagger when he enters gi competitions and also in training. I'm sure he would be promoted to blue belt very quickly. Then the instructor could assess if he was infact a purple belt. Purple belts are probably the hardest belts to get IMO - The instructor makes a decision that he could get badly criticised for which is why they don't give them out. There are many shitty blue belts, but I've yet to meet a really poor purple belt.
     
  11. suicideeyes White Belt

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2005
    Messages:
    128
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    New York, NY

    what?!
     
  12. John O'Brien They call me Barnacle Bill.

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2004
    Messages:
    9,854
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Éire
    He gives out blue belts at seminars, but only if he feels you are at blue belt level.
     
  13. monkey roll Green Belt

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2005
    Messages:
    1,253
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Just go to a seminar. Fabio Holanda also hand out belts at his seminar.
     
  14. i started wrestling when i was 12 and i started doing bjj when i was 18 (self taught) im 23 now and started actual "school" training last year. Because of my wrestler and bjj bg i was promoted to blue within 3 mos. (all the students and most i tell all say this is rather quick) but it was because of my bg that i was promoted quickly so it would definately be the same for your friend
     
  15. Commissar Gold Belt

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2003
    Messages:
    15,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
    Yeah, what color belt does he compete in?
     
  16. mannywankenobi The Sherdog Legend

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2003
    Messages:
    7,316
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    If I told you, I'd have to kill you!
    He wears a purple.
     
  17. Trudge Purple Belt

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2005
    Messages:
    1,574
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    UK
    who lets him wear a purple?
     
  18. mannywankenobi The Sherdog Legend

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2003
    Messages:
    7,316
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    If I told you, I'd have to kill you!
    Who lets him? I guess the tournament officials. Our school lets him wear it. To do the gi grappling you have to wear some kind of belt and at least he's not throwing on a white or blue belt because that would be serious cheating. Here's the thing about our curriculum. We don't wear belts because we don't normally train with the gi. Just every now and then and usually when there's a grappling tournament coming up. At any rate, we do have a belt system. But only the kids at our school strictly go by it. Us adults don't. And the belt system the kids use is very different than BJJ. It's sort of wierd I know. Definitely not a traditional set-up. However, it is an MMA curriculum. Not a BJJ or any other particular curriculum that has a traditional belt system. So when my friend competes BJJ he'll throw on the purple belt because thats who he hangs with. If he threw on a blue belt, trust me, it wouldn't be fair for the other blue belts.
     
  19. ColClaypool Blue Belt

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2004
    Messages:
    890
    Likes Received:
    0

    You are asking what level belt your friends would train or compete with (because of his experience), but at the end of your thread you say that he trains and competes with the GI. Your questions doesnt make sense...Unless he trains and competes as a white belt and then sandbags people at tournaments. In that case your friends a dick.
     
  20. sarge White Belt

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2005
    Messages:
    136
    Likes Received:
    0
    Weird situation. Kind of surprised training mma he would even fool with the gi. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to join a bjj club, that he would start at white and stay there for awhile before being promoted. The politics are pretty hardcore with belt promotions in bjj.
     

Share This Page

X
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.