The Belt System: A Guide to Your Jiu Jitsu Journey

Jiu jitsu is a journey — patience and discipline will get you far.

Even though we are an entirely no gi school, we still follow the traditional jiu jitsu belting system: white, blue, purple, brown, and black. Each belt symbolizes your progress in jiu jitsu. How long someone spends at each belt is highly individual, but one thing is always true: you cannot cheat mat time. Consistency is everything.

Here is a breakdown of what each belt represents.

White Belt — Where everyone begins. The belt of survival.

It’s where you begin building your foundation with the basics. You are learning how to move and how to survive.

Blue Belt — Your first official promotion.

You can survive longer in your rounds, you’re developing solid defense, and you’re making sense of the game as a whole.

Purple Belt — You’re pretty good.

Your defense is solid, you are chaining your offense together, and you are starting to develop your own personal game.

Brown Belt — A milestone.

Some say only a small percentage of practitioners make it this far. Your deeper understanding of techniques allows your rounds to feel intuitive and creative.

Black Belt — A new beginning.

At this point, your techniques feel almost second nature. You find yourself flowing into transitions you didn't even know existed. Many black belts describe returning to a white belt mentality, seeing the art with fresh eyes all over again.

One thing worth remembering at every stage: your role as a training partner matters more than your rank. As you advance, newer students will look to you for guidance. The more you invest in your training partners, the better everyone gets — including you.

See you on the mats!