BJJDOC: What message do you think it sends to the BJJ world that a regional purple belt tournament is offering what ADCC pays elite champions?
“I think it sends the message that there is a better way for comps to run than the traditional approach,”
Henshall explains. Traditional promotions follow a familiar formula:
“come up with a cool name, get a local venue, order medals, get a few competitors from local teams on, possibly get the local lads to sell enough tickets to maybe pay a bit of a ‘name’ to main event.”
Henshall‘s approach is fundamentally different.
“The way I run Ikigai, everybody has a chance to get paid—that being the meaning of the word ikigai: do what you love, get paid to do what you love. It’s important for the growth of the sport that competitors get something tangible that makes training and competing worthwhile. A medal and experience is all good, but it doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table.”
The sustainability question looms large. Unlike other promotions that operate
“basically as fundraisers and ‘out of our own pocket,'”
Henshall has built what he calls a sustainable business structure.
BJJDOC: Would you consider this model sustainable or is it a one-off statement meant to challenge the current hierarchy?
“The promoter needs to be willing to take some risks, and probably would need a different avenue of revenue so you can front the money,”
he admits.
“But that’s where it’s the promoter’s job to manage the budget, take the risk—because if it does as well or better as expected, you also get the rewards.”
BJJDOC: Why not spend the prize money on black belts instead—what’s the incentive for backing blue and purple belts?
“I think once we start going into the purple belts and putting 10 grand on the table, the VERY best guys are going to come forward,”
Henshall predicts.
“Some may have MMA experience, judo backgrounds, etc., and that is to be expected at the highest levels of purple belt competition.”
“In all honesty, a lot of the more exciting matches for spectators on any show are usually the lower belts!”
Henshall notes.
BJJDOC: What would you say to those who claim this model might encourage belt gaming or draw in athletes who aren’t really purple belts?
With significant money on the table, the question of belt legitimacy becomes critical.
“Yes, I have [had to reject competitors], multiple times. People will try to deceive you when money is on the table to be won, but I’m very thorough with my checks on each competitor.”
BJJDOC: Have you ever had to reject a competitor based on suspicious experience level? What does that screening process look like?
“For lower belts, I also put in further requirements. For the white belt £2000 tournament I am doing, you must only have trained a total of under 2 years in ANY art which involves grappling. So if they had an MMA fight 3 years ago, they are excluded from the tournament.”
BJJDOC: A viral post on our site pointed out a blue belt with 218 wins and 130 submissions. If someone like that entered one of your tournaments, would you see that as fair or gaming the system?
“I would allow that person in our tournament as long as he was announced first, so everybody who enters knows what they are up against. I wouldn’t put in 15 fat dad blue belts then announce some prodigy killer as the final entry once everybody else is committed.”
BJJDOC: In nogi, divisions are often based on “beginner vs. advanced.” Do you think belt divisions are a better or worse way to classify talent?
“It’s definitely trickier judging off belt rank, you can have a blue belt who has been training for 12 years solid, but due to age cannot yet get a purple belt etc, so we try do both belt and we put a restriction on training time and accolades in other grappling arts depending on the level of the tournament.”
“Again it’s just about doing your homework as the event organiser and promoter, but if we have 2 athletes, both blue belts, both trained 3 years but one trains once per week in the garage with his sister and one trains at a world class gym 7 days per week with monsters then that is on the guy who trains once per week to understand there’s levels, he’s not being cheated, he’s just not put the work in the other guy has, so don’t enter tournaments for thousands of pounds if you’re not a serious competitor because you’ll be found out quick!”
BJJDOC: You’ve been critical of traditional BJJ events being “boring” for spectators. How are you designing your shows to actually fix that?
“BJJ events, even the big ones, are in general terrible for spectators. Even if you love jiu-jitsu, the atmosphere is dull. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it just doesn’t work.”
“How can you expect to sell to someone who’s used to seeing Chisora or some other heavyweight boxer trying to flatline someone—blood and guts, drinking a pint with music on and a party atmosphere—that the silent sports hall with a bunch of nerds in flip flops drinking ice tea and rolling around each other’s feet is the better, more entertaining thing to watch? You can’t.”
“BJJ is not a spectator sport, so we need to focus on the things we can control: the event, the show, the fact your friend/son/apprentice can go win 10k makes it exciting. Add a bar, music—we are starting to make it something that can appeal to people who have no idea about jiu-jitsu.”
BJJDOC: You mentioned in your last interview the rise of leg locks and how they’ve reshaped the meta—how are you seeing that impact lower belt divisions?
“Everyone knows leg locks now,”
Henshall observes.
“They are an irrefutable part of jiu-jitsu whether you like them or not. They are almost at the point of being fundamental.”
BJJDOC: Do your events ban any techniques (following the specific belt criteria or otherwise)?
Despite the tournament being specifically for purple belts, all techniques are allowed.
“We allow all submissions at all levels unless specified. Let them white belts heel hook each other—why not?”
“In sport jiu-jitsu, they are hugely utilized because they are effective in the realm of sport jiu-jitsu.”
BJJDOC: With influencers entering BJJ and even Dana White floating the idea of a Zuckerberg vs. Hardy match, are we in danger of turning BJJ into another circus—or is that exactly what the sport needs to grow?
“Influencer boxing gets stick, but at the end of the day, it’s working. It gets eyes on the sport, and these guys bring massive numbers.”
“Look how much attention celebs who train get in the BJJ community—photos of them training or quotes about BJJ constantly being shared by clubs all over the world to help advertise their classes. It can only help, and I’d be open to anybody with a name coming over to compete for us at any level.”
BJJDOC: Would you ever consider booking an influencer or pro athlete with no belt to fight a legit purple belt if it sold tickets?
“Where the attention goes, money follows, and we are a business.”
BJJDOC: Do you think you’re helping build the next generation of elite grapplers—or a new tier of BJJ celebrities?
“I think I’m doing something different and showing it’s possible for some 16/17-year-old guy to train full time and compete. In our events, the least you can earn for a win is £250 ($315 USD), the most you can earn for a single match is £2000 ($2,520 USD), a tournament win anywhere from £2000 to £10,000 ($12,600 USD).”
“If they could do that every week or a couple times per month at different events, they really can train and compete in jiu-jitsu as a profession. That’s what I want.”
The July 19th Tournament
The upcoming purple belt tournament at Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Centre represents the next step in Henshall‘s evolution of competitive grappling. With £10,000 ($12,600 USD) on the line—outperforming what ADCC pays world champions—the event is poised to attract the best purple belts from across the UK and beyond.
“I think I’m doing something different,”
Henshall reflects.
“This is the first thing that I’ve been like, ‘I want to be the best at this.’ I think I can do something really big here and be the best at this in this country.”
Whether Henshall‘s model will prove sustainable or inspire other promotions to follow suit remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: by offering purple belts what ADCC pays world champions, Ikigai Submission Grappling is forcing the entire BJJ community to reconsider what competitive grappling could—and should—look like.
Ikigai Submission Grappling’s next event takes place July 19th at Manchester Bowlers Exhibition Centre, featuring a £10,000 ($12,600 USD) purple belt tournament. For more information and competitor registration, visit their social media channels.
