Table of Contents
Cameron
Imagine reaching the pinnacle of your respective field and finding out that there is a whole new game to be played. Jiu-jitsu is no different than this specific example. In BJJ black belts can find themselves ranking even more! In this article, we discuss the BJJ Black belt degrees and how one can achieve them!
The Black Belt in Jiu Jitsu
The average person has no shot of making it to this rank. Let me say that again. The average person has no shot at making it to this stage in their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu career. You do not make it to this rank by being average, you have to rise to the occasion and become a whole new person. That person that makes it to this point always ends up above average. This is not to say that if you start average, you cannot become above average because that is what it will take.
Sacrifice, dedication, hard work, and investing in yourself are going to be necessary if you ever want to reach this level of mastery. These are things that the average person just won’t do. Do you want to be above average? Not just in the BJJ world but in real life. Aspiring to make it to this stage in jiu-jitsu will force you to the route of becoming the best version of yourself.
What Does it Mean?
Getting your black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a symbol of power, skill, knowledge, technique, speed, control, and accuracy. A true black belt amasses an expert level of understanding regardless of the disciple that you choose. Teaching is a skill that most black belts possess, they keep the art form alive by teaching others their knowledge about the sport and sharing their passion.
The black belt is a milestone that honestly has a meaning of its own. To each person, it means something different but in its purest form, this is a sign of real mastery over a craft that is not easily mastered.
You Made it! Now What?
Once you reach the highest stage of the sport what is next for you? This can be a daunting question for those that make it to this point but typically they will either just continue to train as usual or branch off and start an academy. At this point, most that go off and start their gym have been coaching for a while as a brown belt so the transition is typically seamless. As a black belt in jiu-jitsu, you do not have to become an instructor, most people that participate in BJJ have jobs or careers outside of the mats that they have to tend to. Adding something else to your plate is not necessary if you do not choose to do so.
By default, you will be considered a leader in the academy you train at and at any other academy you visit. This is just by nature of the sport. People rely on the guidance of black belts to get to their desired goals. The qualities that got you to this point will continue to be put on display in the way you carry yourself.
Martial arts marketing & business consulting to help your gym scale and see real revenue growth.
How Long Will It Take to Get a Black Belt in BJJ
The short answer to this question is about 7 – 15 years depending on several things. When training BJJ a lot of people will run into hardships in their career, typically occurring at the white, blue, or maybe purple belt stage. Depending on your specific circumstance and how much time you put on the mats you can see this happen as fast as 7 years or as long as 15 years.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not an easy sport by any means and it will not get any easier. A lot of people started this sport because they heard it was a life-changing experience. Those that come in for the reason of wanting to reach new heights as a human are more likely to reach the black belt than those that are just after the belts and glory.
BJJ Black Belt Degrees
After receiving the black belt there are degrees that a black belt will receive. The Red and Coral belts are real, and IBJJF recognizes them. This class is called “grandmaster”, there are currently only 19 IBJAJF red belts and most belong to the Gracie family. Yvonne Duarte made history and received the coveted red belt at the start of August 2021 (source).
Here is How Black Belt Degrees Work
First Degree Black Belt – Earned after 3 years of proven activity in Black Belt
Second Degree Black Belt – Earned after 3 years in the First Degree stage or spending 6 years as a black belt
Third Degree Black Belt – Earned after 3 years in the Second Degree stage or 9 years as a black belt
Fourth Degree Black Belt – Earned after 5 years in the Third Degree stage or 14 years as a black belt
Fifth Degree Black Belt – Earned after 5 years in the Fourth Degree stage or 19 years as a black belt
Sixth Degree Black Belt – Earned after 5 years in the Fifth Degree stage or 24 years as a black belt
As a black belt, the last degree you can get is the 6th degree. When you reach this stage you will be presented a whole new belt known as the coral belt or red belt. Getting to a BJJ black belt is enough of an accomplishment already, the number of people that will make it to this stage is so few and far between. As a red belt, you are still considered a black belt. The highest-ranking color belt you can receive is the tenth-degree black belt (signified as a red belt).
Once achieving your black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu you will see that there are degrees associated with your time spent teaching. The first component is that only red bar black belts can receive stripes and the stripes are given out based on the amount of time you have spent coaching or instructing others.
In the above image, you will see the breakdown of how much time there is in between each stripe as a black belt. You will also notice that there are age groups that one must be in to receive the belt. It is fun to see how high you can rank once you hit this stage but in all reality, most people who make it here do not even care about their rank, they care about making others the best version of themselves through the sport they love to teach.
White Bar Black Belt
This black belt is typically a competitor who does not lead an academy. Note that if you are a white bar black belt you will not receive stripes like you would if you were a red bar black belt.
Red Bar Black Belt
This black belt is an instructor in the academy you train at. Most of the time these people will still compete. In this rank, you get stripes based on the amount of time you have been coaching others. This is where you will find the ‘degrees’ in the black belt stage.
Martial arts marketing & business consulting to help your gym scale and see real revenue growth.
The Philosophy Behind the Belt
The average person has no shot of making it to this rank. Let me say that again. The average person has no shot at making it to this stage in their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu career. You do not make it to this rank by being average, you have to rise to the occasion and become a whole new person. That person that makes it to this point always ends up above average. This is not to say that if you start average that you cannot become above average because that is what it is going to take.
Sacrifice, dedication, hard work, and investing in yourself are going to be necessary if you ever want to reach this level of mastery. These are things that the average person just won’t do. Do you want to be above average? We can assume that those that train in BJJ in the first place do not just want to be average. Aspiring to make it to this stage in jiu-jitsu will force you to the route of becoming the best version of yourself.
When you arrive, you are truly in the top 1% of humans.
Qualities a Black Belt Possesses
Every black belt we have met has similar qualities. They are steadfast leaders and exceptional human beings. The character qualities that these people emulate should be held to the highest degree because they all possess something uniquely great.
Many people who get their black belt may not be exactly people to model in life but in our experience when we look at black belts we see a form of leadership within the academy they chose to be at. We are careful to tell people to idolize people just because of their belt color but there are positive signs that a black belt typically posses the following qualities:
- Responsible
- Care about the things they do
- Dedicated
- Leader
- Set a good example for others
- Respectable
The black belt is a milestone that honestly has a meaning of its own. To each person, it means something different but in its purest form, this is a sign of real mastery over a craft that is not easily mastered.
Entering The 1%
The average person has no shot at making it to this stage in their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu career. You do not make it to this rank by being average, you have to rise to the occasion and become a whole new person. That person always ends up above average. This is not to say that if you start average that you cannot become above average because that is what it is going to take.
Sacrifice, dedication, hard work, and investing into yourself are going to be necessary if you ever want to reach this level of mastery. These are things that the average person just won’t do.
Do you want to be above average? Not just in the BJJ world but in real life. Aspiring to make it to this stage in jiu-jitsu will force you to the route of becoming the best version of yourself.
When you arrive, you are truly in the top 1% of humans.
Keep Showing Up
That’s 80% of life and is a good place to practice this is within the martial art of Jiu Jitsu. This is just one of the reasons why we firmly believe that jiu-jitsu is a powerful tool for self-improvement. The progression through the system engrains principles in your life that will mold you into a leader amongst your peers.
Keep showing up and putting in the work. Whatever you want in life is going to take a massive amount of time and effort to accomplish anyways. One step at a time you are becoming the best version of yourself through this martial art. If you can continue to find a way to show up and get 1% better in martial arts we do not doubt in our mind that you will be able to apply the same skill in your daily life.
All in all, there are 10 degrees that you can reach after climbing the ranks and getting to the black belt. Jiu Jitsu is an amazing sport that continues to change people’s lives for the better.
Happy Rolling! See You At The Top!