Stripes/Belt color *beating dead horse*

[Ballzilla]

Ok. I just saw the thread titled "Stripes" and read all of the hilarity that ensued. I had never heard of or seen stripes on a belt at my school (haven't been there long) so I was unaware that there was such a thing. I combed the old threads to find out that they signify progress and all that crap but answer me this. Progress or not, the person wearing the belt is still the same rank correct? It seems stupid to me to put stripes on a belt to signify progress. If the wearer is still the same rank......that's not progress. That's just putting tape on your belt. Is this common practice?

 

[fiftysvn]

It's common.

 

[El Beebo]

I always thought stripes were rank. As in, a 3-stripe blue is higher ranked (and closer to purple) than a no-stripe blue. I could be wrong, though.

 

[Goat Meal]

OP is not very smart.

 

[879lexus]

Remember it's a business also. Instructors want to make $$$...Stripes are also a way to motivate students to stay with BJJ. The turnover rate for new students is probably high and to keep students in a school and make $$$, you have to motivate them somehow..

 

[Bmurph]

OP is not very smart.

I'm sure he's plenty smart. He just felt like starting a thread and seeing how many people will humor him. Yayyy, TS! Great thread! I'm sure it'll see the usual traffic that these threads get and then be gone in 2 days. Congrats!

 

[Ballzilla]

Remember it's a business also. Instructors want to make $$$...Stripes are also a way to motivate students to stay with BJJ. The turnover rate for new students is probably high and to keep students in a school and make $$$, you have to motivate them somehow..

Makes sense.

I see the keyboard warriors have arrived bright and early.

 

[VeryMuch]

Ok. I just saw the thread titled "Stripes" and read all of the hilarity that ensued. I had never heard of or seen stripes on a belt at my school (haven't been there long) so I was unaware that there was such a thing. I combed the old threads to find out that they signify progress and all that crap but answer me this. Progress or not, the person wearing the belt is still the same rank correct? It seems stupid to me to put stripes on a belt to signify progress. If the wearer is still the same rank......that's not progress. That's just putting tape on your belt. Is this common practice?

Belt color only means something because it's accepted that it does. If putting stripes (tape) on the belt is accepted as meaning progress has been made within that belt level, then that means something too.

My brain hurts from wondering how that would have to be explained to someone.

 

[Irenaeus]

Belt color only means something because it's accepted that it does. If putting stripes (tape) on the belt is accepted as meaning progress has been made within that belt level, then that means something too.

My brain hurts from wondering how that would have to be explained to someone.

This pretty much nails it.

 

[VeryMuch]

Remember it's a business also. Instructors want to make $$$...Stripes are also a way to motivate students to stay with BJJ. The turnover rate for new students is probably high and to keep students in a school and make $$$, you have to motivate them somehow..

True enough, but also kind of cynical. Teachers of anything generally try to provide incentives/goals to motivate students to make progress, achieve milestones, etc.

 

[HomerPlata]

I always thought stripes were rank. As in, a 3-stripe blue is higher ranked (and closer to purple) than a no-stripe blue. I could be wrong, though.

This answer highlights the idiocy of the TS's question.

 

[Ballzilla]

The only stupid question is one not asked. The idiocy lies in the amount of people that decided to come in, take the time to read and then take even more time to call me a tard.

I got my answer 7 or 8 reponses ago.

/thread

 

[Bmurph]

The only stupid question is one not asked. The idiocy lies in the amount of people that decided to come in, take the time to read and then take even more time to call me a tard.

I got my answer 7 or 8 reponses ago.

/thread

Dude...GTFO. You should have had your answer during your 'combing of old threads' or with a simple google search.

 

[Knuckles69]

For me, my rank is Blue belt and I don't really mention my stripes.

The way I've heard it explained is that stripes 1-3 are generally about consistent attendance and in most cases attendance is complimentary to progress. Your 4th stripe is really an indication from the head instructor that you're on his radar for your next belt promotion.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Remember it's a business also. Instructors want to make $$$...Stripes are also a way to motivate students to stay with BJJ. The turnover rate for new students is probably high and to keep students in a school and make $$$, you have to motivate them somehow..

BJJ and Judo were the only two martial arts I ever did where people didn't have to pay for promotion exams (though some Black Belts do make money by only promoting at seminars and not allowing their junior/affiliate instructors to promote even at the lowest levels). I think the role of money in ranking in BJJ is not a problem, certainly not relative to trad martial arts like TKD or Karate.

 

[Ballzilla]

Dude...GTFO. You should have had your answer during your 'combing of old threads' or with a simple google search.

Point taken. Here's an excerpt from my 'simple google search':

In addition to the belt system, many academies award "stripes" as a form of intra-belt recognition of progress and skill.[18] The cumulative amount of stripes earned serves as a rough indication of a practitioners skill level relative to others within the same belt rank (i.e. a blue-belt level practitioner with four stripes would be more adept than a blue-belt practitioner with one, but not a purple belt with one.)[19]

Stripes can be as formal as small pieces of cloth sown onto the sleeve of the belt, or as informal as pieces of electrical tape applied to the same general area. Although the exact application (such as the amount of stripes allowed for each belt) varies from school to school, the IBJJF sets out a general system where 4 stripes can be added before the student should be considered for promotion to the next belt.

Stripes are only used for ranks prior to black belt, after black belt is achieved, the markings are known as "degrees" and are only formally awarded (with time-in-grade being as significant a factor as skill level). Unlike the belt system, stripes are not used in every academy and, where they are used, they may not always be applied consistently.[2]



This still did not answer my question about stripes being regarded as an actual rank. I got my answer from one of you. So now I am well aware that a 4-stripe white belt is still just that......a white belt. 4-stripe purple belt and a brand new purple belt are both still purple belts. The stripe does not signify an actual rank. That's what I wanted to know and I got that. I apologize for being new at something. How dare me?

 

[HomerPlata]

Of course it's a rank. They are used to separate levels of ability. Is a 3-stripe white-belt more advanced than a no-stripe white? Yes. What a fucking ridiculous question.

 

[Knuckles69]

Of course it's a rank. They are used to separate levels of ability. Is a 3-stripe white-belt more advanced than a no-stripe white? Yes. What a fucking ridiculous question.

I have to somewhat disagree.

Your rank is your belt. The stripes are a measure of your progress within your rank.

An example of this is when you enter a tournament. You grapple against people of your same rank (i.e. belt color) without regard for the number of stripes on their belt.

Progress within a rank shouldn't be considered the same as achieving a rank.

 

[Ballzilla]

I have to somewhat disagree.

Your rank is your belt. The stripes are a measure of your progress within your rank.

An example of this is when you enter a tournament. You grapple against people of your same rank (i.e. belt color) without regard for the number of stripes on their belt.

Progress within a rank shouldn't be considered the same as achieving a rank.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[Nagster5]

For me, my rank is Blue belt and I don't really mention my stripes.

The way I've heard it explained is that stripes 1-3 are generally about consistent attendance and in most cases attendance is complimentary to progress. Your 4th stripe is really an indication from the head instructor that you're on his radar for your next belt promotion.

This seems more in line with what I've seen.