White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black, Coral, Red
Belt ranks exist in Jiu Jitsu (and most martial arts) as a method of marking progress over your time training. There is no governing body for Jiu Jitsu that dictates what the requirements are for each rank, so it is up to the professor to determine what the path to black belt will look like for their students.
What To Expect From Us For Belt Ranking
- We do belt rank ups based on merit, not time or money spent. When your instructors see you making progress in class or in competitions, they will confer with Professor Hammonds who will then determine when a promotion is due.
- There are only 4 belt promotions to get to your black belt, and since it usually takes around a decade of consistent training to earn a black belt you can expect to wear the same rank for several years at a time before getting promoted to the next rank.
- At white belt, you will receive up to 4 stripes on your belt as a “mini promotion” on your way to your first belt promotion. This serves to mark early milestones and help to keep you focused on your first major rank goal of blue belt.
What We Expect From You For Belt Ranking
- Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard: this applies to belt promotions as well! Slow consistent work will eventually outpace the talent that burns out quickly within a few years of training.
- Are you able to demonstrate proper technique during live sparring rounds? “winning” a sparring match is not as important as being able to demonstrate that you know how to depend on technical expertise instead of relying on physical attributes (strength, flexibility, etc).
- Attitude and mindset. Are you teachable and setting a good example for those less experienced than you? Even if you have only been training for a month, you know more than the new person there for their first class. While you may not ever have a desire to teach, as you move up in rank you will be looked up to as an example by newer students.
- Competition results factor in for those on the competition team. However, it doesn’t have to be all wins in order to progress in the ranks. What your instructors are looking for in addition to your tournament results is how well you are developing grit and follow-through.
Tips For Ranking Up
- It has been mentioned on this page already, but consistency really is the main key for progress. Pick a set training schedule that you know you can do even on a bad week – that way on a bad week you don’t add extra stress. On a good week add more training as a bonus.
- Ask your instructors what you need to work on in order to progress. Starting out in the fundamentals class, the answer will likely be “everything”. A good time to ask is once you reach the point that you are sparring live rounds and starting to feel like you’re either making good progress or hitting a wall. An efficient way to go about this is to request your professor to watch one of your live matches during class with the intent to provide feedback afterwards.
- Instructors are available for private coaching. In scheduled classes your instructors must try to divide their time evenly among all students. These private sessions are extra time focused just on your specific questions that there isn’t time to address in a group class.
- Compete as often as possible! Check with the front desk or on our competition information page for upcoming local or regional events. Competitions are the best way to objectively assess your progress against people who have not been learning the same things you have been. They also can help focus you on finding solutions for problems you run into during the competition.
- Check the schedule for open mat times and use those times to get extra practice in with a training partner (or solo drills even) – That’s what those open mat times are there for!
