Chris Haueter, one of the original “Dirty Dozen” non-Brazilian BJJ black belts, recently proposed a revolutionary simplification of the BJJ belt system.
Inspired by traditional Japanese martial arts, which historically used only three belts, he suggested condensing the structure to just white, brown, and black belts, with three stripes each.
He believes this would better represent the stages of learning: the white belt for beginners, the brown belt for advanced fundamentals, and the black belt for mastery and continued dedication.
Heuter also expressed skepticism about ranks like the coral and red belts, suggesting they were added as a way for older black belts to create new milestones for themselves:
Older black belts wanted to add another belt.
And, well, when it comes to getting the actual black belt…
There is only one thing that stops you from getting it, in Haueter’s eyes.
And that is actually stopping training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
The only thing that can really stop you from achieving a black belt is quitting.
Check it out on the Combat Base podcast, for more insights from the OG black belt:
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