Promotions in BJJ
We will be holding a belt promotion soon and I think it is necessary to review the various criteria of earning a BJJ belt.
We are conscious that belt promotions are important for all Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, as it marks the validation of our peers for all the effort we put in order to reach excellence.
Although there are no fixed prerogatives, exams, or tests, there are a few standards that practitioners should be able to reach in order to get to the next belt.
At Carpe Diem BJJ Jiyugaoka, there are 2 belt promotions per year, one mid-year and one in December. The names of the students who will be promoted are announced in advance.
Everybody is welcome to join the ceremony and an open mat usually takes place afterward.
The ceremony is an occasion to gather, celebrate and express our gratitude to our training partners and friends.
When deciding who to promote, we always gather beforehand with all the instructors and staff of the dojo to evaluate each individual's progression before making a decision.
Our evaluation is based on these criteria:
- Volume of training
It is necessary to separate the volume of training and for how long you have been training. Someone who is training twice a day will obviously be promoted faster than someone who trains twice a month.
Of course, training multiple times per week for a longer period of time is preferable to get better faster, but it is not everything. Indeed, we should make the best of our mat time by training efficiently, and having goals and strategies.
Training for a considerable amount of time will also help you to strengthen your body, increase mobility and flexibility. After graduating from the white belt, you will be considered to be an athlete, able to roll for an extended period of time, and capable of defeating a larger, stronger opponent.
- Individual progression
This criterion depends on each individual. We are sensitive to how our members progress over a certain amount of time and how their Jiu-Jitsu evolves. We will therefore monitor each individual’s progression separately, and evaluate results accordingly. We are taking into consideration previous sports experience, physical abilities, age, and so on.
- Technical knowledge
As an example, to be promoted to blue belt, you will need to have a solid repertoire of techniques and a good understanding of the basics.
Since there are quite a large number of techniques, guards, and systems, it can take a while!
Also, we will evaluate the precision and accuracy of execution. There is a difference between knowing what a triangle choke is and knowing how to do a triangle choke.
- Competition participation and results
Participating in the competition is the most straightforward way to evaluate the efficiency of your game. One said you learn as much in one day of competing than in one month of training.
We encourage our members to compete, but it is absolutely not mandatory.
For our staff, however, it will be essential for them to compete and gather good results nationally in order to progress to the next rank.
- Respect / Leadership
To progress throughout the belt system, you will also have to show the way for new students and be able to set an example for them. Understanding and respecting the dojo etiquettes, as well as knowing the unwritten rules of BJJ would help you to receive a proper acknowledgment. We are aiming to create a positive and healthy training environment, therefore we are sensitive about the way you would interact with others, and about your will to help and take care of your peers.
For higher belts, a sense of leadership is required, as well as the ability to teach and pass on BJJ to others.
- Culture
To become a Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt you will have to know not only about the sport but also about the culture, the history, the athletes, the different gyms, and federations…you will need to know about wrestling, self-defense, judo, mma…there will be many intrications and different components that would make you a specialist of the art.
In that sense, we encourage you to study techniques, watch matches, train at different dojos, or exchange with the Jiu-Jitsu community to be a more complete practitioner.
To get a purple belt, you must widen your repertoire of techniques and become familiar with all groups of takedowns, guards, passing, and submissions. These elements can’t just be learned at the dojo! This is when BJJ becomes more than just a hobby but also a complex subject of study.
Finally, the most important criteria might be your persistence and resilience.
In your BJJ career, there will be lots of times when you won’t have time to train due to professional or personal commitments, you will have multiple injuries and struggles…and you will consider giving up!
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after a difficult event. In Jiu-Jitsu, you need to use technique and intelligence to recover from dangerous situations, we hope that you can carry on this teaching into your life in general!
