# Highest belt in BJJ



## PhotonGuy (Jan 16, 2015)

I heard that the highest belt in BJJ is red. You start with white and there are five belts from white to black, including black. Then after that there is a red belt for people who are really accomplished in BJJ.


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## Blindside (Jan 16, 2015)

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia


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## Tony Dismukes (Jan 16, 2015)

Yeah, the progression goes as follows:
white
blue
purple
brown
black (up to 6th degree)
coral (red & black = 7th degree)
white & black (8th degree)
red (9th & 10th degree)

One unusual thing about BJJ is that the "degrees" of black belt work differently from most systems. In most arts that use a belt system, when you first receive a black belt you are considered a "1st degree black belt" i.e. shodan. In BJJ, a newly promoted black belt is just a black belt with no degrees. When he gets his _next_ promotion he adds a stripe to the belt and is considered a 1st degree black belt, and so on. If BJJ used the Japanese terminology, a 1st degree black belt would be a nidan.


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## kuniggety (Jan 16, 2015)

I won't say "all" but to put the BJJ belt rankings into perspective, a purple belt correlates to a first degree black belt or shodan in "most" other martial arts. Most black belts in BJJ have been doing it for 10+ years and when you start seeing even one or two stripes on their belts, let alone to the point of being red, they've been doing it for a long time.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 17, 2015)

kuniggety said:


> I won't say "all" but to put the BJJ belt rankings into perspective, a purple belt correlates to a first degree black belt or shodan in "most" other martial arts. Most black belts in BJJ have been doing it for 10+ years and when you start seeing even one or two stripes on their belts, let alone to the point of being red, they've been doing it for a long time.



From what I heard, in BJJ it takes roughly 2 1/2 years to go up a belt so with purple being the third belt it would take on the average 5 years to get a purple belt so I can see the comparison. I did once know of this guy who got a black belt in BJJ in 6 years although he would train for hours a day every day.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 17, 2015)

All of that depends on the school, instructor, organization, etc.  Back in the day it was 2 to 3 years just to move up to Blue Belt.  Now, more like a year or so based on what I have personally observed.  I personally know someone who is now a purple belt after 2 years.  However, he is exceptional and probably not the norm.  There are other people even farther back who achieved high rank very early.  I believe BJ Penn was a Black Belt at around 3 to 3 1/2 years if I am correct.  So it depends on the person, instructor, organizations, etc.


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## drop bear (Jan 17, 2015)

Which one gave himself some sort of wide blue belt?

one of the Gracie's?


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## kuniggety (Jan 17, 2015)

It's going to depend on the organization and the person. There is going to be a massive difference between someone who does it 2-3 x a week and one who does it twice a day. If a person is spending 20+ hrs a week on the matts then I would almost have to wonder if they didn't earn their belts quickly. I've also seen the differences between schools. I spent about a month training with a GJJ school and, from what I saw, I would've been a blue belt awhile ago. I hadn't even been rolling that long at that point and could hold up against most of the blue belts. At home, I study with Axis, a Rickson Gracie affiliate school, and I think I've still got another 6 months of rolling with them before I get it and I'm coming up on my 2 year mark. I still get my *** handed to me by most of the blue belts here.


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## Chris Parker (Jan 18, 2015)

Tony Dismukes said:


> Yeah, the progression goes as follows:
> white
> blue
> purple
> ...



Just a little thing, Tony… no, that wouldn't be the term. "Nidan" (二段) pretty literally means "second degree/level"… there are some Japanese systems that have a black belt ranking prior to Shodan, for the record… commonly referred to as "Shodan-ho", essentially "junior Shodan", or "pre-Shodan". But a Nidan is a Nidan… not just the second ranking within the Black Belt ranks…


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## Transk53 (Jan 18, 2015)

Why has the black belt not been taken as the highest award. I am surprised that red is the highest ranking colour? Just a colour or some historical meaning behind the structure.


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## Chris Parker (Jan 18, 2015)

Well, the highest ranks in Judo are entitled to wear a red belt… prior to that, a red/white one… all after black…

There really doesn't need to be much "historical" meaning, really… you have to remember that the idea of belt rankings is really a fairly recent addition to martial arts, beginning with Kano and the Kodokan in the late 19th/early 20th Centuries… prior to that (what might be thought of as the classical period for martial arts in Japan), there was no such usage at all. In fact, dan and kyu ranks weren't in existence before Kano… he took them from the board game Go… and applied them in a much simpler, more linear fashion that they are used in the game (where you can go back in rank, as well as forward, and there are some 30 kyu and 30 dan grades, as well as distinctions between professional and amateur ranking systems).

If you want to look for some historical basis for the colour, though, you might want to look to certain beliefs when it came to the choice of the colour of armour… it was believed that red armour indicated a greater amount of bravery, as you stood out on the battlefield, making you more of a target. The armies of persons such as Takeda Shingen and Ii Naomasa used such red armour, to the point that Takeda's army was famous for it, to take advantage of such a belief. Then again, the belts worn with armour were always white… which is why systems such as Yagyu Shingan Ryu only wear a white belt with their keikogi, regardless of rank (it represents the belt on armour). Black itself doesn't have any historical meaning either, and was simply a choice on Kano's behalf.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 18, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Why has the black belt not been taken as the highest award. I am surprised that red is the highest ranking colour? Just a colour or some historical meaning behind the structure.



Because different places use different systems. I once trained in Kempo where after black belt there was a white belt with a red trim and the highest belt was some type of gold belt.


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## Buka (Jan 19, 2015)

If you train in BJJ, no matter what your rank, roll with a higher belt.

Go on, now.


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## drop bear (Jan 19, 2015)

Buka said:


> If you train in BJJ, no matter what your rank, roll with a higher belt.
> 
> Go on, now.



isn't that a bit impossible?


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## Transk53 (Jan 19, 2015)

PhotonGuy said:


> Because different places use different systems. I once trained in Kempo where after black belt there was a white belt with a red trim and the highest belt was some type of gold belt.



Yeah. The belt system all well and good, but earning a black belt, is the system not somewhat robotic. I mean you have a dozen black belts in a circle, which one would be the quickest, which one has a particular for striking hard and fast etc. Not dissing the system at all, but why not also have little indicators on belts. IE, that colour means the fella excels with striking. Another for a grappler and so and so forth. Personally, I would have rank tattooed. Would be more meaningful to me than a bit of dyed cloth. Just my own personal opinion.


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## Hanzou (Jan 20, 2015)

PhotonGuy said:


> I heard that the highest belt in BJJ is red. You start with white and there are five belts from white to black, including black. Then after that there is a red belt for people who are really accomplished in BJJ.



Yeah, red is higher than black. Thing is, it takes decades to get there, if you get there at all. Red tends to be reserved for those who have dedicated their lives to the advancement of Bjj.

Also while there are five color belts, in between there are 4 stripes. So a white belt with 2 stripes would be the equivalent of a yellow or orange belt in some systems. Purple belts are allowed to teach classes.

The good news is that the majority of Bjj schools don't charge for promotions. It can just take a long time depending on skill.


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Not sure if I could introduce myself as a_ shodan-ho_ without blushing...


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## drop bear (Jan 20, 2015)

drop bear said:


> Which one gave himself some sort of wide blue belt?
> 
> one of the Gracie's?



Funny you should mention that drop bear. Helio Gracie wears a blue belt.

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu of Kentucky Why Did Grandmaster H lio Gracie Wear A Blue Belt


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## Spookey (Feb 8, 2015)

In respo


drop bear said:


> Which one gave himself some sort of wide blue belt?
> 
> one of the Gracie's?



Here is a wonderful video explanation by a second generation black belt very near to the origins of GJJ/BJJ





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ-Y7Ynjv1E
Hope you enjoy,
Spookey


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## Drose427 (Feb 8, 2015)

Tony Dismukes said:


> Yeah, the progression goes as follows:
> white
> blue
> purple
> ...



Our local BJJ school (the one Im looking at for my cross training)m uses the IBJJF system, which is a little different for folks under 16

http://ibjjf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IBJJF-Graduation-System-Poster.pdf


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