What does a Brown Belt mean in BJJ

[LocalNmass]

Lol.

.......

*Silence*

That video totally contradicts what one.arm.jack says? Should we believe Marcelo in that video? Or believe what a poster on Sherdog says about Marcelo?

Tough choice.

I dunno.

I mean...how much can Marcelo really know about his own training?

Surely he hasn't seen as many matches as we have.

Marcelo is advocating training higher intensity for BJJ competition conditioning, opposed to strength/conditioning via other activities. Marcelo certainly doesn't go 100% in the majority of rolling sessions.

 

[combatcvic]

By the time you get to brown belt, it will mean a lot more to others than to yourself.

Best qoute ever. Gonna steal this for the gram..

 

[Commissar]

This will change over time just like it has with every other belt. It's a matter of market saturation.

It starts with "bjj is a special martial art. Even blue belts can KILL YOU!"

Than it became, "Blue belts can be good, but some of them suck. Purples! those are the guys that are consistently good!"

Now it's "Blues don't know sh!t. Purples are usually good, but their are some who got their belt from time in service, but brown belts are always legit. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT."

VERY soon it will be "Blue belts are handed out like candy, purple belts can be kind of good sometimes, some guys get their brown belts out of pity, but NO one gives out a black belt unless it's deserved.

And in the not-to-distant future it will be "So what, he's a black belt. I know black belts that suck. What did the guy win?"

You will see this amp up as the pity blues become pity purples and than become pity browns. Two guys join. One guy trains consistantly, the other guy inconsistant and not a natural athlete. You promote them together, but the skill gap is there. Now the inconsistant blue belt is being tapped by inconsistant white belts, so now you gotta promote the inconsistant white belts to blue before they're ready as well as. The blue belt never gets more consistent and soon he is given a purple belt out of pity because his motivation is clearly gone, especially since his consistent friend is doing so much better.

This continues for years until one day you have a school full of people who would leave you clueless on their rank if none of them wore belts. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter, since if the instructor has done his job right, he's created a nice family profitable atmosphere.

Sadly, this is true. It took me 4 years to earn my blue (...it took everyone years to earn their blues) and granted, it was a very tough instructor who wouldn't promote his own hit CD, and it was in the very early 2000's when jiu jitsu was just getting its legs, but I can't help but wonder about those who earn their blue after a year or a year and a half now whether the quality of instruction has increased that much, or whether it's simply easier to attain.

It doesn't matter though. Belts are very personal - my belt means a lot more to me than it does to any of you, not because of what colour it is, but because it reflects the time, the dedication, and the passion that I devoted to an art over many years. You might see a brown belt and make (often justified) assumptions on his skill, but he looks at his own brown belt and sees his progression over a very long time.

 

[fozzit]

A brown is a third degree black belt in any asian martial art on the 10 degree black belt system.

 

[DLy]

I don't know what brown belt means anymore. Maybe a culmination of whats already been said. They can play with white belts, work over blue belts, beat up purples, and raise hell for black belts. But even that is vague. Podium chaser purples and blues are annoyingly good when I roll with them...and Cyborg and the other competition level black belts are in another solar system compared to me.

In the end it doesn't matter. Jiujitsu shouldn't be about structure for a colored belt...it's a journey in life as a black belt. Help those who ask for it, and ask for help when you need it. I don't look down on a visiting "soft" black belt from some small southern town, just because I murk'd him for 10 minutes straight. They have their place and can't possibly compare to a Brazilian kid who grew up on the mats. Hopefully visiting our high level gym can motivate them to keep improving and keep learning.

 

[joker26]

and what a brown belt with 4 stripes means ?

 

[lechien]

and what a brown belt with 4 stripes means ?

It means that it is end of the beginning .
Then when you get your bb, it is the beginning of the end.

 

[lechien]

Best qoute ever. Gonna steal this for the gram..

I was having lunch with a good mate of mine who is a putple belt. He kept talking about what defines each belt etc... The usual topic that we have in F12 every second months.
After listening, I just replied that he worries a lot for someone that cannot promote a student .

 

[Sexy Pants]

I don't know what brown belt means anymore. Maybe a culmination of whats already been said. They can play with white belts, work over blue belts, beat up purples, and raise hell for black belts. But even that is vague. Podium chaser purples and blues are annoyingly good when I roll with them...and Cyborg and the other competition level black belts are in another solar system compared to me.

In the end it doesn't matter. Jiujitsu shouldn't be about structure for a colored belt...it's a journey in life as a black belt. Help those who ask for it, and ask for help when you need it. I don't look down on a visiting "soft" black belt from some small southern town, just because I murk'd him for 10 minutes straight. They have their place and can't possibly compare to a Brazilian kid who grew up on the mats. Hopefully visiting our high level gym can motivate them to keep improving and keep learning.

Well Said!