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greenocelot
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What does getting a Brown Belt mean in BJJ?
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It means you've been training long enough that if you hadn't.changed your white belt, it'd be brown. Giving you a brown belt is just a lot more hygenic.
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This.
It also means the guys you face at competition will be game and more competitive as fewer and fewer higher ranks compete.
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It means your BJJ is legit. I've never known any instructor who gave someone a brown belt who wouldn't be comfortable giving them their black belt after they've tightened up their game a bit. Sometimes guys will get purple who maybe don't have really coherent games yet, but I've never seen someone get a brown just by showing up. I'm sure it happens, but I think it's pretty rare.
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Ari Bolden laughs at this post.
:icon_chee
it means your bjj is pretty good but still shitty compared to a black hence the brown belt.
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Maybe its regional, but i've been seeing more and more Brown and Purple Belts getting belted purely off length of time training.I think alot of it has to do with how populous the area is in BJJ schools and how old the surrounding schools are.
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It means the instructor thinks you are very good, but isn't ready to give you the keys to the jeep.
Once you're a black belt you can basically right your own rules and no one will publicly judge you. It can be a big risk for an instructor to make the initial jump.
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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.
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Sounds pessimistic, but I'm definitely seeing this exact thing. Alot of people talk about Brandon Quick because he is so public. That said, I know a few BBs that I would bet money he could tap more than once. There are alot of "he put the time in" Belts given out to people that put in really easy rolling inconsistent time. Personally, I don't think anyone should be promoted without competing at least once at their current Belt and age bracket.
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Yeah, I don't mean to sound pessimistic. Im more focused on cutting out the illusions.
Personally, I'm indifferent. To the situation. BJJ is still very enjoyable and the potential for quality is still high.
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I think "honorary" higher belts will become the norm too.
But, as a non-practicing Brown myself, it's important to distinguish between those and formerly "real" higher belts who have declined due to age, injury or time spent working, With Family etc.
It'll probably become like judo where either mat or competition distinction will be a determinant of "status" rather than the colour of a belt.
A bit sad really as the Whole aura of the impervious BJJ black belt really motivated me back in the day.
I think I personally never will award anyone anything above an "honorary" blue belt for this reason.
But, as a non-practicing Brown myself, it's important to distinguish between those and formerly "real" higher belts who have declined due to age, injury or time spent working, With Family etc.
It'll probably become like judo where either mat or competition distinction will be a determinant of "status" rather than the colour of a belt.
A bit sad really as the Whole aura of the impervious BJJ black belt really motivated me back in the day.
I think I personally never will award anyone anything above an "honorary" blue belt for this reason.
haha
I missed the days when I though blue belts were killers and omoplata was the best thing after the sliced bread.
I met one of my old white belt students at the local pub. I said hi and as I walked away to get back to my wife, I heard the ex student telling his mates: "do not look now, but this guy could kill you if he wanted to" .
lol.
I missed the days when I though blue belts were killers and omoplata was the best thing after the sliced bread.
I met one of my old white belt students at the local pub. I said hi and as I walked away to get back to my wife, I heard the ex student telling his mates: "do not look now, but this guy could kill you if he wanted to" .
lol.
tenktriangles
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I also see a direct link between size of school and honorary belts. It's hard when you have five hundred students, I guess, but the blues from the big place in my city are hard as kittens. Shits it up for everyone.
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And it's important to not hold everyone up to competition standards.
A competition blue can probably smash some Browns and blacks at his weight. A competition Purple would probably smash all normal Browns and blacks at his weight.
But to Ensure that we don't Chase off all the very essential training partners who don't fit the bill of future champion we can't hold them all back because they don't measure up to the 1 out of 1000 talents.
Or we end up like many other martial sports where only a handful of talents are left and if they're not of roughly the same weightclass, tough Luck on getting relevant sparring.
A competition blue can probably smash some Browns and blacks at his weight. A competition Purple would probably smash all normal Browns and blacks at his weight.
But to Ensure that we don't Chase off all the very essential training partners who don't fit the bill of future champion we can't hold them all back because they don't measure up to the 1 out of 1000 talents.
Or we end up like many other martial sports where only a handful of talents are left and if they're not of roughly the same weightclass, tough Luck on getting relevant sparring.
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Ha! This is how I feel.
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