What's The Toughest Belt to Get in BJJ
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- What's up guys!
Today we've got a question that came in from a viewer named Nolan who saw some sort of blog post/video where some coach was saying that the toughest belt to get in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the While Belt, because in his words, the hardest thing to do in Jiu-Jitsu is to get started.
He asks, "Chewster, what do you think the most difficult belt to get in BJJ is? is it the White Belt or is it a different one?"
So, what is the toughest belt to get in Jiu-Jitsu?
This is the question I'm going to try and tackle in this video. But to start, for me at least, it is definitely not the White Belt.
In fact, you just have to show up and go to 1 class and you get it.
Of course, there's a ton of nuance here, especially when you consider how difficult it can actually be for people to "just start". I understand that there are countless reasons why someone might not start BJJ, but once they do, I'll explain why the White Belt is not the most difficult to actually obtain.
Hopefully you guys found some useful insight from this video.
Thanks for watching!
- Chewy
-----------------
Free Ebook: www.chewjitsut...
Want to ask Chewy a question: www.chewjitsut...
Video Courses and Products: www.chewjitsu.n...
T shirts: www.chewjitsu.n...
/ chewjitsu
/ chewjitsu
/ chewjitsu
Intro/Outtro Music : bknapp.bandcam...
If you’d ever like to train with the team and I. Check out my gym Derby City MMA in Louisville,KY.
![[UNCUT] “บอสณวัฒน์” ลากไส้!! ใครหนุนหลัง "แม่ตั๊ก ป๋าเบียร์" I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 30 ก.ย. 67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QlD7mU2KKRk/mqdefault.jpg)
It’s purple IMO.
Once you cross into blue, you feel invincible against the casual non grappler yet still feel puny and miserable against other blues and higher belts. Crossing from blue to purple was the worst grind imaginable for me. It essentially tested my ability to love the sport enough to think about it even when I’m not training.
This 👆
Oss
Well said, I'm at that stage now. My black belt instructor also said that purple is the hardest to get.
Seriously. I never knew how much i didn't know until now. Purple is when you have to honestly clean up your trash fundamentals or you'll fizz out quick.
This is me right now.
Purple because I don't have it yet. Then it will be brown.
Well said.😆
Facts
I agree, I just got started in BJJ and the next one should always be the hardest IMO.
Same
Lmao 👊ss!
I don't know what the hardest belt to get is but it took me 5 years to get my blue belt. no breaks, no injuries. just someone who learns really F#$%ing slow. I am very proud of it. I have been a blue belt for 2 years now and I have no idea how long it will be IF I ever get another belt. but I think what you said about maintaining this hard path with discipline really sounded like the path I am on. Thanks for the video.
5 years is a fair amount of time brother. Was it because of your instructor not promoting people, or were you just super slow at progressing? The fact you got your blue belt and never gave up is fantastic though.
Well done man. I hear you about being a F¨%$@&¨*in slow learner... ADHD here and honestly unless I can repeat repeat and repeat again so muscle memory kicks in.. its just so hard to remeber what I was taught 30 seconds ago LOL. I think the hardest belt to get in BJJ is the next belt. that simple right?
I’ve been a white belt for almost 3 years, no breaks, and I think I’m on the same trajectory. I’m really happy with myself about it, I’m 40 years old and I’m happy to be in there training regularly.
I think it's less to do with being a slow learner and more to do with lousy instruction. Jiu-jitsu concepts are pretty simple but it takes awhile for people to figure them out on their own. Watch Rickson teaching and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Well done brother, better to take longer on a belt and actually EARN it than be given a belt you can’t actually wear. Keep up the good work !
Purple. It takes dedication to grind to the first advanced belt. If you just show up you'll get a white and if you show up enough you'll get a blue belt.
Hey I just got my blue belt. Can I have a minute to enjoy it, please, before I start feeling hopeless about ever getting my purple? 😂😂😂 (I kid, I kid.)
Kinda seems like women and old guys eventually get purple by just showing up as well. Not saying that right or wrong, just my observation.
Well I'm biased because I just got my blue belt but getting to purple seems....extraordinarily hard. Part of it for me is I believe I'm entering the "conscious incompetence" phase...
. Thanks as always Chewy!
Agreed. White belt is “man I’m learning a lot”.
Blue belt is “I don’t know shit”.
I'm just a blue belt, but I'd say purple is the hardest, and here's why. The instructors at my school have said that the difference between purple/brown/black is mostly time. You learn a little more techniques, but your style is basically set by then. The main difference is you make smaller mistakes and recognize how to counter you opponent sooner.
White belt is easy, you get it just by walking in the door. The blue belt is the next easiest because it just means you've learned the basics and can defeat an untrained opponent who is larger.
But going from blue to purple is a huge chasm, where a lot of people quit. Your ratio of improvement is a lot smaller (white to blue is a near infinite ratio because your starting skill is near zero), and progress is slow.
I guess a lot of people quit before the blue belt too, but you don't hear about "white belt blues", just "blue belt blues".
Joe Rogan mentioned this too. When you're a purple belt, you're pretty much a black belt, you just have to put the time in. That's why purple is so hard to get.
Purple to me. It proves you were able to push through that blue belts blues phase. It also shows you most likely have that drive and determination to get to black. Halfway through my purple now, I’m never going to stop willingly. The only thing that will stop me is body failure or death.
I thought about starting for 10 years. Then I just told myself just go. Just had to roll that ball down the hill. Started at 34 and im 41 now. Just got purple! I can feel my age against these youngsters. Wish so much I would've started when I first started thinking about it.
Good stuff! Keep going. I have no idea how long I’ll go but it’s been 4 months at 54 but I’m hitting a wall because it’s hurting my body pretty hard. Anyways, I just played 3 hours of football non stop and I’m super sore but this vid is making me go one more day when my body says stay in bed. Lol.
Just started at age 39 myself. Wish I would’ve started sooner
Stop it with this nonsense. The red belt is the hardest. Not only do you have to to get through ALL the other belts (including the white belt), but you also have to stay alive for 50 years after your black belt.
As many have listed and for good reason. Purple. I said when i seen the title. You push to get blue and if youve made it this far its tough to keep pushing on unless you love or fall inlove with it. Purple to me is when you show you know your stuff, and nows time to work towards perfecting it and your own personal ways.
Been a brown belt for almost 2 years, and the thought of that black belt just weighs so heavy on my mind. Such an iconic symbol in this art and one that I do not currently feel ready for--however, the thought of it does push me in my training to be better. After all these years, it's kinda crazy to think that _that_ is my next belt promotion... sheesh.
Congratulations, you're close to the 2nd white belt... I'm only a purple belt, but the black belts talk about the infinite depth of the ocean. They say that there's always a bigger shark, lol...
Same here. I've been a brown belt for almost 2 years now too. Same exact feelings!
55 year old brown belt here…been tough
Same here got my brown belt two years ago this past February. I feel the same. I also felt that way when I got my purple and brown belts. Good luck
BB for me definitely. Took 12 year of battling anyone who came through the door. Never thought I'd make it.
Purple is the hardest and once you there is the hardest to be at😅
Purple.
White is the best time ever because everything is new and you get to make any mistake possible without judgment. Blue was the loooong grind because not only you're marked by everybody (higher belts that decide you know enough to go hard on you and white belts that just want to submit a higher belt), the couch won't promote you until he's absolutely sure that you fight in that level.
The purple belt! Most people quits before purple belt... And just a few purple belts will not reach the black belt some day...
Getting to Purple for me was a pain. Training for 4 years or so being subbed by almost every rank and need to have some kind of obsession over details or technical aspects. Learning to learn and take the good with the bad.
Black belt if you look at it from start to finish, in terms of “next belt” it would be blue or purple as you see a huge drop off rate at white and blue belt level
It's obviously the RED BELT, because VERY FEW will achieve it. (55-60 years) 48 years from black belt level!
I personally think its the purple belt ,, i feel like quitting at blue is so common that most professors/ coaches wont even consider you for one , untill they are pretty convinced that your not gonna quit and they will tie a black belt on you .. when i got my purple belt i said well professor must finally acknowledge at the very least im not a quitting hopefully i grow into it . 🙏
Good luck to You
as a blue belt that stopped training after getting it, I agree. You become a target for white belts to prove themselves against you, and if you've had a break after getting it (summer, injuries etc.), coming back feels as if you're a fake blue belt FeelsBadMan
As a white belt myself, I get what that coach meant. I trained for a year back in 1996-7, moved away...always meant to get back to it, but life with kids just took over. To restart at 51 was a little intimidating. Since I'm still a white belt, I can't speak to which belt is toughest to get, but I can say that purple seems rough...seems that a lot of blue belts call it quits before hitting purple.
Purple. You can enthusiastically hit blue. That grind to “professional” is tough. Long. And whole heartedly in the “middle”
(1 stripe blue out on injury)
For some people the hardest belt to get is white. Actually going through the gym doors. :)
IMO purple is easily the hardest. Most people start BJJ around their early 20s and have time to dedicate to BJJ. But by the mid to late 20s, life stuff is popping up like college, military, moving for work, marriage, kids, etc. Purple belt normally takes about 3 years too, vs. 1 to 2 years for a blue, so that's a long gap in-between for that life stuff to happen and for people to also get discouraged. The biggest issue with purple is that its a senior belt too, so most gyms are reluctant to hand it out to anyone they think may leave the gym, isn't loyal, or hasn't been there long enough. With blue, brown, and black, most gyms know where those people stand already. A home grown white to blue belt is easy to judge, and a brown belt is essentially a black belt who just needs more time in grade. With a Purple belt, there is a lot of variation between blue and brown. Most purples are more likely to compete against browns and blacks in local tournaments too, so if a blue is promoted too quickly to purple, he could get destroyed by very experienced grapplers.
I started around 2009 and got my blue in about 7 months, and then was stuck at blue for almost 13 years. I was actually consistently training that whole time and beating purples in the gyms and in tournaments as a blue, but because of life, I was moving around for work or the military and had to switch gyms a lot times. One of the gyms I was at didn't even do belts because it was only for MMA fighters, and another gym I was at (Fifty Fifty BJJ) you basically had to win like worlds to get promoted. So every new gym, I basically had start from scratch and prove I wasn't still a new blue belt. I've seen this happen to a lot of other people I started off training with too who are still either blue belts, were stuck at the blue belt ranks for a long time, or quit BJJ altogether. If you can get from blue to purple, you've basically outlasted like 90-95% of everyone who will ever try BJJ, so your chances of just outlasting to brown and black are then statistically high.
Purple for sure!!!
Brown and black are hard to get, but I think the hardest factor at this point is just finding solid time to train. When you're in purple, you should have a very good grasp on how to train and conduct yourself. At purple you're pretty much pointed in the right direction for your journey. So, I think purple belt is the hardest and most significant to get.
Blue! Most will quit before getting there. I’m a ten year white belt I have stopped and started so many times.
The next belt is the toughest. I came close to quitting around the time I got my blue belt. I re-focused on why I started jiu-jitsu in the first place. It’s easy to get caught up in the BJJ community. Your reasons can legitimately change. Just don’t let other people’s reasons override your reasons.
Great comment dude.
The actual hardest thing is to maintain a level of training consistency that allows belt progression.
Agreed
@@blertaer4692 I’ve known so many people in my short two years they learn a bit, maybe get the first promotion, then that fire they once had becomes more dull. Some have families, some get a job and/or gf, and it just falls to the wayside. Can’t fault em for it but the most consistent people I train with are some of the coolest I’ve ever known 🫶🤙
as a white belt for 8 years I agree
@@cahallo5964 stop sandbagging and promote already!
@@KazzArie It's not sandbagging if you go to 2 gi classes a year lol
I mean… mathematically, the answer is black or coral. You have to add all of the hard belts together to get there. But individual progression? Getting blue felt harder than purple. By the time I got blue I understood that it truly was just about showing up and training hard. Maybe I’ll say that about brown or black but I’m not there yet 😂
the toughest belt to get is the poka dotted belt. i have yet to see anyone in bjj walk around with it.
Im a brown belt, and im just as enthusiastic about training now as i was when i was a white belt.
then you were promoted too early and are realistically at a 3 stripe white belt level, jk jk lool I hope I feel the same way once I'm there
Every belt is tough to get in bjj haha
Purple because the switch is now on blue switch hasn't came on yet
I’m glad you didn’t say white belt
same!
I think it is the white belt
@@MrDayday4641 Yup, the hardest is to get started.
@joeshithragman3264 I think so. There are so many people who will never build up the courage, find the time, etc.
Purple is the hardest. Next is black. Then blue. Easiest is brown.
Purple is hardest because of the joke of how many don't make it past blue.
Black is next because you gotta want it.
Blue is second easiest because of how close you are on day 1.
Easiest is brown because if you've defeated the blue belt blues, then it's just a bit of enthusiasm and determination to hit brown.
best way I've seen someone explain it.
I think it is the brown belt. I believe at purple belt you have anywhere from 4-6 years of experience already under your belt and now you're just starting to realize the things you don't know and how much more there is to learn. This can be both intimidating and exciting, but I think about midway (two-stripe) purple you start trying to develop the skills that your instructor is looking for in a brown belt. In my case it's trying to develop an effective bottom guard game. Maybe it's just me but even at two stripe purple the prospect of becoming a brown belt seems so far away that I actively try not to think about it as a possibility. For me the brown belt feels like the hardest belt to get.
@Chancefortune6333 I agree. I am a 1 Stripe purple and have been training consistently 4 times a week from the start and currently been training for almost 5.5 years. Getting to purple is extremely difficult for most people, but to go from purple to brown, you need to be an all rounded player and actively work on your weaknesses. 1 year in and I have spent more hours on the mat at Purple than any other belt. It's tough, but I love it because it's tough. Keep pushing!
I was a four stripe purple for a year and a half and I just received my brown belt a week ago. It feels absolutely amazing. Yes I worked very diligently on my technique these past few years, but I feel I worked even harder as a blue belt, going from getting rag-dolled at my first competition to dropping down two weight classes and winning my division, then tearing my ACL in practice and coming all the way back after surgery. I still get smashed by all of the other brown belts (the blacks literally toy with me) but lower belts sometimes ask me for pointers and it feels great to have something useful to show them.
Belt nothing; I’m still chasing my first stripe 😂
Same haha, been training for a few months now. I just started by setting myself small goals. I hope for a stripe at some point down the line then after that, the next goal is the next stripe until I can realistically start to think about that blue belt. One small step at a time, and just taking my time and enjoying it without rushing. I think that helps as well.
Took my buddy who coached, competed and trained 4 days a week 4 years to get through brown belt to black belt. So brutal to make it to black.
On a long enough timeline, something - whether it's psychological, logistical, financial, etc. - SOMETHING is going to make it very easy to choose to quit.
I always laughed at the idea that the white belt is the hardest. All you have to do is show up on the first day and pay your dues!
It's the most difficult single step.
@@ed1726 Maybe for some people. But in most cases sticking with something is harder than just starting. That was the whole point of the video
@@djame2 Of course. Thousands of easy steps cumulatively are much harder than a single hard step. That is why I said it's the most difficult single step and why I didn't say simply say it's the hardest. I qualified my statement.
Different perspectives will prioritise different things. I think everyone has a valid point from white to purple to black.
The main point I'd make is that the belt probably shouldn't be anyone's focus.
Showing up each week is a single step and it doesn't necessarily get easier for everyone it may get harder for a lot of people
@@djame2 Again I totally agree and I really don't think we are actually arguing (or disagreeing really). Just the other day I was talking to someone who had been training for some time (brown belt) and they mentioned that they had been in the car park (before a session) on more than one occasion but had had to drive home. I think this why a lot of people are saying purple is the hardest because the real grind (for some people) starts at blue.
I do think this perspective is at least partly down to the belt system in the first place. It makes people grind, until they realise they can't sustain it and they either quit or learn to relax and try to actually enjoy training and not give a monkeys if a white belt submits you (which no one should). And realise that improvement isn't a straight line.
Also. It's highly subjective (and different people will certainly have different experiences). But still for most people that first step is the hardest (even though it's as easy as literally walking through a door and anyone in the world can do it - well almost anyone). You've never met the huge amount of people who never went to that first session.
Just getting that damn blue belt is seeming to be the hardest. - 2 year white belt
I leave Jiu Jitsu at purple to dedicate at MMA, so I don't know how difficult is to get the brown belt and above. Brown belts that I know receive black after 1 year from the brown, So I thing that achieve the black from brown is not so hard. In my opinion hardest belt to gain is the blue, blue belt is like a "welcome to jiu jitsu". When you are blue, you know how to learn jiu jitsu and everything is easier
I do think there is a good argument to be made for white belt. I started BJJ in 2023, I first started fantasising about taking up a martial art in 2008. Took me 15 years to actually take that leap, a delay I sorely regret but also, a significantly better outcome than the thousands of people who never take that first step. So it's certainly easy to obtain physically, but getting yourself to make a decision is still a significant hurdle and not to be scoffed at
This question should only be answered by black belts since they’ve been through most belts excluding red
Have seen so many disappear at white and blue. Seems like once you get to purple, unless life stuff happens, you'll eventually find your way to brown/black.
The toughest belt is the one that’s one level above you
It's definitely the dessert of my day. Something clicked about half-way through blue belt and it stopped becoming a "grind" and something that I love.
A middle aged white belt who had just started and was full of enthusiasm said he was planning to get his black belt by the time he retired and I said hold on Sparky, let's get you a blue belt first. In fact, let's get you a stripe for that white belt, and I never saw him again. AITA for crushing his spirit?
Yeah, black is obviously the hardest. It contains all of the challenges of the other belts. It’s weird when people treat this question like the belt system isn’t cumulative.
2016 Elliot Hulse vibes, RIP to early Hulse. The spirit lives on.
White Belt
The toughest belt to get is the next one
White belt seems hard because you don’t know anything and get smashed all the time. Blue belt seems hard because you now have reached the first major milestone and are deciding if you’re up for the long journey. Purple belt is hard because you think you should be better than you are. Brown belt is hard because you KNOW you should be better than you are. Then you get your black belt and realize there’s nothing at the top of the mountain and it was all the journey anyway, so you just stop worrying about it.
I keep going because school fees are costly in 2024 ...in honesty, without any martial arts, mental health would degrade
Black belt I’m currently brown belt and injury and age and life in general is making it difficult to put the hours in
Worrying about the color of your belt instead of improving your game ? No wonder people quit after belt chasing so much.
Red belt.
red belt
Purple belt is the hardest to get.
White or Blue belts - you are still a beginner.
Purple and Brown belts - early stages of a Black belt.
A jump from Blue to Purple is most significant IMO.
I’ve been a White belt for almost 5 years, I can tell blue and purple belts are no longer going easy on me and are genuinely struggling to escape my full and half guard as well as my back control, submitting is a non issue as well. Why can’t I become a blue
My toughest belt was my kids white belt. Did BJJ before marriage and then got busy with life and had three kids. Now that my wife noticed my oldest boy is timid and sensitive I’ve been given the thumbs up to take ALL my kids to BJJ. I’m back baby!!
Depends on how you define “toughest” but I think blue.
Every other belt is preceded by some amount of knowledge/experience. To get a blue belt you have to start from ZERO, and you have to get smashed for months, if not years, before you reach it.
Mathematically. Black belt
Only 2% of students reach that level.
Purple imo. Im stuck in the deep blue sea. Have been a 2 stripe blue since 2015. Stopped for years and came back. I was beating all the blues, giving purples the run, belt ceremony came, and shafted... not even a stripe
A month later, tapped a 200lb blue twice in 4 min, he wanted to get one back before 5 min ran out, then... tore both ligaments in my thumb. Dont know if ill ever get purple.
For me it was Brown. Just my experience….i think between leaning and grinding plus some little injuries. I guess with longevity there are more and more challenges. At least for me. I am a 55 year old Brown belt. Just showing up can be really hard…It just depends on your circumstances.
I got my blue belt in 2021. I've taken off alot since i haven't been back for about a year right now. In the mean time I've been working on my business and had my son in 2023. Still going back to get my purple. Just in the works. So I have to say purple right now.
I do know tons of people even scared to walk into a gym. So white might be considering the amount of people who haven't tried but want to. Compared to people who have tried. Probably a 20 to 1 ratio or something cant. Say the numbers
Purple is the hardest for sure - when you get it the chances of you getting black belt one day is increased drastically. I’m at blue belt for almost 7 years now (haven’t worn a white belt at all due to been promoted right away based on my 4 years of MMA and 3 years of grappling pure No-Gi experience), got my 3rd stripe 3 years ago, before the Covid and the full out war in Ukraine started. Our professor couldn’t visit during the Covid and now he won’t due to war, some guys were enlisted, others drifted apart in time, so the gym closed eventually. I’m in a new gym now where I have to prove myself again, so not expecting promotion anytime soon. I’ve seen so many guys quitting when they lost motivation - all of them at blue belt level. Personally I keep training because I love the process, but to be honest it’s not enough motivation for most people out there, which is a shame.
So if you’re training at a gym with black belt instructor and your country is not at war - be grateful, you’ll get them belts relatively easy and much faster.
Seems like it would be purple, closing in on Blue right now....doing Pans next month. Feel like at Purple, you should be able to work over damn near everybody that comes in off the street fairly easily - even as an old Purple belt. When I look at the purple belts around, the knowledge gap between them and your average blue belt seems pretty significant. And after Purple, guys seem to move right through Brown at a rapid pace and then stall out a bit going into Black. But hey, I'm just a white belt - don't know shit about fuck....lol
Purple belt is the hardest to get, hands-down. The skill gap between blue and purple is massive, and once you get purple, getting your brown and black is just a hop, skip, and jump away.
The next one...white thru black. At 64 not much into this belt promotion scene, just glad I can still grind away at all this four or five days a week.
Aug will make two years as a white belt. 46yo and I feel that blue is the hardest only because of the learning curve cmg from white. Regardless of age, conditioning etc. just my opinion.
Purple is clearly the hardest best. At blue you got everything you need, and all the reasons the quit. Also you might not even feel like you're getting any better. At purple its beyond fundementals, so you can't just learn a few things that people don't know or haven't practiced. You have to actually start thinking more advanced and actually maybe even thinking for yourself and being creative. Nothing will come easy between blue and purple. Nothing. Plus you still have to do all the damn warmups. You can't just "show up" for a long period of time as a blue belt and actually advance like you could have at white. Blue is a belt everyone can get as long as they keep going. Purple is reserved for people who do a bit more than show up for 10 years.
I’m a purple belt and I think it’s brown. Purple belts need to be good at their strengths, brown and black belts need to be good at everything. I’m content to just keep doing my thing and having fun, brown belt feels like actual work.
It was purple for me, by far. Took me 1.5y to get the blue belt, another 3.5y to get the purple, 2 more for the brown and 3 more for the black (with the pandemic in between). I believe to get blue belt you are supposed to not suck at jj, but with purple you are supposed to be good at it, and becoming good at something its fcking hard
I think the argument for white belt being hardest comes to what % convert. What percent of white belts become blue belts? What percent of blue becomes purple? Etc. The argument for white belt is the vast majority of non white belts (people who don’t train) never become white belts (start training) so statistically the lowest % success rate. I understand this idea but I think it’s not a true metric just explaining why I’ve heard people say it. However using the %success metric my way I think blue to purple is the hardest. To me it seems like most who start and don’t quit in first month or two make it to blue but huge drop in who makes to purple. Once make purple think high odds of getting brown then black.
Sounds like this could be answered by statistics. What is the drop-off percentage between each belt? Of the people who show up to beginner class and stick around long enough to get their first gi, how many eventually make it to blue belt? Of the people who get their blue belt, how many percent get to purple? And so on.
But as long as we're only guessing, I'd assume that the percentage goes up as the belt colors advances. If you've been in love with wrestling long enough to get a brown belt, I'd guess the chances you'll stick around for another five to ten years are significantly higher. Or to run with the romantic metaphor: From a casual hook-up, how many get into a committed relationship? Of the people who fall in passionate love, how many are still together a couple of years down the road. Of people who's been together for ten years, how many make it to 20?
Sidebar: these statistics are probably confounded by a larger percentage of the people on the starting side being teenagers or in their early twenties. I'd put higher odds on a love affair that starts later in life, for both wrestling and romance.
Cheers
I’m trying out my first bjj class in 4 days, I’m excited for what it will bring
PURPLE. get over the blue belt blues and you stick with it. you dont care that you a nail. one day you a hammer. get your purple and you committed for life. or as long as you can.
The toughest belt is the next belt whever you're located in the belt rank system. Lot of instructors arent in a rush to belt you, so its game on until yo get the surprise. If students only knew how seldom instructors think of belts, they wouldn't make a deal about it.
It even annoys some instructors to have to organize the promo day.
I though the purple was the hardest since I'm a seasoned blue, but then, since I can hang with the purple ones, I stopped aiming at the colored tissue. Submitting purples is good enough for me. Now, brown belts are beginning to have a hard time with me and I love it.
Right now, I'm contemplating the idea of sandbagging students since the belting thang is kind of slow.
I never thought I would think this way, but since lot of guys over here experiment with sandbagging others, I'll join the bandwagon and have fun doing it.
LOL. Hard to get started, easy to stick to it. Purple was the easiest because all I had to do was keep doing what I was doing.... Plus as I was around a few years it just got easier to pick things up.
I’m willing to bet that statistically more people come to Jiu-Jitsu and quit within a few weeks or they just get intimidated and don’t start at all, then those that quit after they have achieved blue or higher belt. Again, statistically. But I otherwise agree with everything chewy is saying, once you develop a love for it you will try to find any reason to go train and often at your own expense if you happen to be ignoring injuries and stuff but it’s all for the love of it.
I have heard that blue belts are the most likely to quit out of discouragement because of the length of time it takes to progress in that range. But I would argue maybe that those particular people are too focussed on the colour of their belt and less on the fact that they are learning .
Sometimes learning isn’t about adding more stuff to your knowledge base, sometimes learning means experiencing the same drudgery 100 times in a row in order to develop an instinctive feel for that particular “thing”.
There’s a lot of wisdom behind a coach saying just keep showing up. I used to think this was a poor way of advising someone to train because yes you do want to train smarter as well like with focussed drills and other things, not just open roll all the time, but the key to longevity is to recognize that every minute put in has some benefit or another.
I am only a blue belt, but I would agree it has to be black belt. Anything worth doing/achieving requires work and commitment, during the ups and the downs. Black belt is the goal for anyone who seriously trains BJJ. Otherwise why keep training. Of course: getting better is likely the short term goal, but black belt is the representation of accomplishing the goal. It is also an indication that you have gotten to the point where you will most likely not be seriously threatened by most others, besides other black belts.
I think the answer depends on when you stopped training or where you are in your training. Most Black Belts will say the Black Belt because of the years put it, for the people who quit at White Belt; they would probably say Blue Belt and so on. I think logically, the Black Belt is the hardest to obtain, emotionally its the White Belt, and contextually its where you left off on your journey. Just some thoughts from your local 4 stripe White Belt.
I have heard multiple black belts give answers to this and they vary, interestingly the one they never said was black.
PS. My guess would be purple, it just seems like the biggest jump
none are really hard to get to... you just have to keep training long enough that it happens. The key is it requires you to be very discipline, and for a long time. The reason so many quit at white and blue is that most need to feel motivated to keep training. It's not that hard to stick to anything for a couple years, but it certainly is more difficult to stick to something for 7-10 years or more. That's because it requires discipline, not motivation. Most people severely lack discipline. The speed of getting to each belt varies greatly. To speed it up you must be extremely focused, and invest a great deal of time both on and off the mats, toward learning and then practically applying the knowledge in sparring. Focus on constant improvement, and not the belt, and the belt actually happens faster. The other issue that makes people quit is they get too emotional. They get too excited when things are good, and get too down when things go bad. Highs and lows will happen in jiu jitsu, without question, for everybody. Be even keeled and remain rational, and you will more likely ride the waves to the other side.
I mean.. the premise of the question is a bit silly. A black belt is obviously harder than a brown belt, because to get it you have to do everything that a brown belt did, and then some extra.. same with brown vs purple etc etc.
Should the question be, which is the most difficult belt to get promoted from?
Got to blue.. neck injury and fusion with loss of use of hand cost me.. need to work. Can’t afford not to. Still connected to the community.. but my boy starts his first class this weekend.. I hope he loves it.
Gotta be purple. Most of the attrition in BJJ happens sometime between white and purple.
Most people who are going to drop off do so before blue, and disappearing blue belts are so common they're a punchline in the BJJ community.
But I feel like most people who are still training after they get their purple belts have found that inner passion for the art by then and have made training so habitual at that point that jiu-jitsu is just part of their lifestyle.
At that point, it really becomes a matter of when, not if, they'll get their black belts.
Loved the “Rolling is the desert of my day.” 🤌
Personally, I think its the blue belt because it is impo the longest and hardest to get. At white belt you have no knowledge of what to do. Once you start getting proficient then you start challenging yourself and that can be discouraging. So, yeah, I think its Blue.
White belt is easy. Just trying gets you the belt.
Blue is a matter of becoming proficient enough to defend most things and dominate other white belts so that one was easy for me too.
Purple was hard to me. I got my first two belts so quickly that having the blue for 3 and half years seemed like forever. I was tapping some really good grapplers and stuff and they were asking me why I was still blue. It started to get to me.
I had purple for about a year when I got my brown and that time I didn't want to be promoted. My instructor told me to believe in my skill and so far I think he is right.
I will work carefully toward black belt. I have twice as many injuries as belt promotions...
Chewy is there any favoritism that you’ve seen from instructors in regards to belts? What about when you switch dojos?
It only makes sense to be black belt considering you have to get all the other belts first lolol what kind of question is this?
Um seems kinda obvious the answer is black belt. Since you need the other ones to get a black belt. That means a black belt is the difficulty of the other ones + more. Am I missing something here about the question?
It's all of them. Jiu Jitsu is hard to begin and harder to be consistent with. So all of them.
Blue…it can be a long struggle for some which makes it difficult to stay with it. Also some schools have a very strict curriculum for reaching blue imo
I want to leave a comment here, I've been doing Jiu-Jitsu four years I'm a blue belt and honestly it's the toughest thing wanting to go to class sometimes not that I don't like jiu-jitsu it's just there's just so much I could say about it, but being a blue belt is probably the toughest position in the hierarchy belt system in my personal opinion. I don't know things just get a lot harder and harder I feel like I'm the weakest blue belt sometimes well that's not necessarily true,but I've noticed that jiu jitsu isn't always about technique not saying that's not the case sometimes you have to be really strong and in really bad positions and to say you don't need to be strong they're lying to you. To make it you have to get into the gym and BJJ class because other people are doing it too that's all I have to say.
Being a blue for nearly 6 years I have to say at this point purple! I’ve had time off the mats but still, I still don’t feel good enough to be purple yet even thou I can handle myself against purple and browns.
Green belt IMO... limited time and takes laser focus as a kid to get there. Once they reach adult belts, they are already murderers hiding in a sheep's clothing.
It takes bit of years to earn it 🟣 after hard work from the white ⚪️and blue 🔵once you in to it you comets you self you’re in middle you not too good you not to bad same time you prepare to 🟤 so you have to improve yourself to earn it but the difficult one is ⚫️ Black 🥋definitely it takes time the quarter of you live of hard work and determination and dedication and decision and discipline . 🤙🏼