Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has long been defined by its belt ranking system, a hierarchy that has become synonymous with progress and achievement. However, BJJ black belt Greg Souders believes the current obsession with belts is not only misplaced but reflects a form of childish behavior. In a thought-provoking conversation on The Mayn Idea Podcast, Souders candidly discussed how the belt system no longer serves the purpose it once did, arguing that it has morphed into a tool of marketing rather than a true reflection of skill.
Marketing and Arbitrary Standards
Souders’ stance on the current belt system is clear: it’s arbitrary and subjective. He observes that belts can vary widely between schools, depending on individual instructors’ standards.
“If I go out there in the world and beat somebody who is a certain rank, I’m probably of that same caliber, so here’s your belt, but honestly, it’s arbitrary,” he explains.
This inconsistency leads to confusion about what a particular belt actually signifies, and more importantly, it undermines the significance of each promotion.
In Souders’ view, belts have become little more than marketing tools used by schools to retain students. The promise of regular promotions – like receiving gold stars in elementary school – keeps practitioners engaged, but it doesn’t reflect the true mastery of the art. For this reason, Souders advocates for a new approach to ranking and progression in BJJ, one that would rely less on time spent on the mats and more on actual performance.
“We’re adults, we shouldn’t still be worried about the gold star,” Souders states, emphasizing that a more mature, objective approach is needed.
Prioritizing Performance Over Time
As an advocate for an ecological approach to Jiu Jitsu, Souders believes that advancement in the sport should be based on how practitioners perform in real-world scenarios, especially in competition. He has implemented strict standards at his own school, where students must demonstrate their abilities against practitioners of higher ranks before being considered for promotion.
“If you’re not performing outcomes and even against other white belts, then I’m never going to belt you,” Souders asserts, making it clear that advancement should be based on tangible results, not simply the passage of time.
This performance-based approach could be the solution to the current belt system’s flaws. Rather than focusing on the arbitrary milestone of a new belt, Souders suggests that practitioners should be rewarded for their ability to “affect bodies” – the ultimate goal of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The ability to control an opponent in live sparring, irrespective of rank, is a much more accurate indicator of a practitioner’s true skill level.
Ranking system similar to chess?
Alongside Souders, Josh Peacock of the Combat Learning podcast proposes a radical shift away from the traditional belt ranking system in favor of a system based on performance. Both Souders and Peacock advocate for an ELO-style ranking system, similar to those used in chess and competitive video games, where practitioners earn or lose points based on their victories and losses against opponents of varying skill levels.
Under this proposed system, a BJJ practitioner’s rank would fluctuate based on their performance in competition. Winning against higher-ranked opponents would yield more points, while losing to lower-ranked opponents would result in point deductions. As Peacock explains,
“let’s say I go out and compete, and I compete at a certain level, I get a certain amount of points for winning, and I get points for winning specific ways. But let’s say I lose to a guy that’s 1300, I lose points.”
This dynamic system would more accurately reflect the relative abilities of competitors and provide an objective measure of skill that is continuously updated based on performance.
The ELO ranking system would address many of the criticisms levied against the current belt system, offering a more transparent, merit-based method of assessing skill. It would help remove the pressure on new practitioners, who may feel disheartened by the relentless pursuit of belt promotions, while also giving competitive athletes clear metrics to chase.
“It fluctuates based on the skill set that you’re winning against or losing to,” Peacock notes, emphasizing the adaptability and relevance of such a system in assessing progress over time.
Moving Away from the ‘Gold Star’ Mentality
Ultimately, the shift away from belt promotions and toward a performance-based ranking system would mark a significant departure from the “gold star” mentality that has come to dominate many martial arts communities. Both Souders and Peacock believe that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu deserves a more refined system, one that accurately measures a practitioner’s ability to perform in competition and reflects a deeper level of mastery than simply earning a colored belt. By emphasizing actual skill and performance, an ELO-style ranking system could strip away the subjectivity and arbitrary nature of the current belt system.
The new approach would be a much-needed reform in the BJJ community, offering a system that more effectively measures skill, rewards competition success, and eliminates the childish obsession with belt promotions. As Souders puts it,
“We need to have some objective reality to what we do, and it has to be performance-based.”
Such a shift could lead to a more authentic and meaningful BJJ experience, where practitioners focus less on the next belt and more on their development as martial artists.
