Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has long been revered as a martial art where belts are strictly earned through dedicated training and proven ability on the mats. However, some recent high-profile examples have led to concerns that standards may be slipping at certain academies.
The case of supermodel Gisele Bundchen gaining her purple belt after just two years of training raised many eyebrows in the BJJ community. A purple belt typically requires 4-6 years of consistent training for an adult practitioner to achieve. And many MMA practitioners have only gotten it after a decade in their respective sport. For instance, in 2021 Joanna Jedrzejczyk got promtoed to BJJ Blue belt after more than a decade in the sport. Jon Jones was famously a purple belt for years with his coaches adamant that they won’t promote him until he puts in time in the gi.
In an resurfaced albeit relevant clip, respected MMA coach Firas Zahabi warned about troubling trends he has witnessed of some BJJ schools undermining the integrity of belt promotions.
Zahabi revealed that some clubs are treating belt promotions like scheduled rewards for showing up, rather than recognition of hard-earned skills. “They count how many times you come to practice, and then you have a stripe every so often. It’s all scheduled. They tell you when you’re gonna get your permanent belt,” he said.
The BJJ black belt lamented how this “beltFactory” approach is seeping into his beloved martial art, similar to watered-down karate schools of the past that churned out black belts in a few years through student retention gimmicks.
“They start, okay, karate is popular. Let’s take out the sparring, let’s take out all the hard training and guarantee this guy a black belt in 4 years, 3 years,” Zahabi explained of the economic motivations behinddevaluing martial arts belts.
While he acknowledged some exceptions, Zahabi believes most BJJ remains legit currently since you “have to roll” and prove yourself through live training. However, he hopes financialmotivations don’t lead to undeserved promotions becoming widespread.
“It’s not the same thing, a young kid who’s competing and a guy who’s older..but there has to be still a purity to the game. You know, they can’t try to water it out because I think it’s gonna backfire in the end.”
As the sport of BJJ continues its global rise in popularity, aspiring students should thoroughly scrutinize any schools that appear to be handing out belts as performative accessories rather than hard-earned symbols of knowledge and ability. Upholding the integrity of rank will ensure BJJ’s legacy as an authentic martial art.
