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Andrew Wiltse: “The IBJJF Time Requirements Should Be Abolished”

Andrew Wiltse: “The IBJJF Time Requirements Should Be Abolished”

If there are just two things that can be said with absolute certainty about Andrew Wiltse, it’s that he’ll always bring on exciting, fast-paced matches – and that he isn’t scared to share his opinion.
In such a manner, he most recently took it to YouTube to speak out on his views about IBJJF time requirements; more concretely, about the Federation’s requirements for BJJ practitioners to “hold on” to their belts for a pre-specified amount of time before they are promoted… And then allowed to compete at the next belt level.

The IBJJF has time requirements. And for the majority of our sport, the IBJJF has been basically the de facto governing body. They are the ones who have set the standard… They make you stay at certain belts for certain times.
You have to be a blue belt for two years before you can be a purple belt. A purple belt for a year and a half. You have to be a brown belt for a year and then you can get your black belt.

They [requirements] should just be abolished, in my opinion. I kind of get why they’re there, they’re supposed to be standards for the sport.

Andrew Wiltse was on the receiving end of these requirements, especially when he was supposed to make a transition to purple belt:

Obviously this is something I’ve had a lot of experience with, in that I was fu*ked by the time requirements, massively. When I was a white belt I won absolutely everything; and I went to blue belt basically as fast as we could. And then I very much won everything.
I didn’t just win the Worlds and then Pans – I went and won the no-gi Worlds and the no-gi Pans. And then I won the open at the no-gi Worlds and the no-gi Pans.

So we messaged the IBJJF and we said: “Listen, he’s [Andrew] won everything. Can we give him his purple belt? It’s not really fu*king right for him to keep competing against blue belts.”
And they said: “no.” They said: “If you give him his purple belt, he’s gonna get absolutely fu*ked.”

Hear more on Andrew’s opinions on the subject on the video below:

He expanded his views on a longer-format video: