Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is far from being as serious and strict as other forms of martial arts. The main reason is probably due to the fact of it being a martial art/sport that has mostly been developed in Brazil. It would be unavoidable for it not to be influenced by the personality and laid back way of living of the Brazilian people. This also translates to the way BJJ belts are graded. Surely there are very positive and also not so positive points that come with it and this is what helped to form the way our beloved sport goes nowadays.
When it comes to BJJ belt promotions, there are of course federations which try to offer guidelines on how they think it’s the best way to manage the sport but in general these guidelines aren’t compulsory, giving room for the implementation of new ideas and alternative ways of gettings things done.
What do people need to do in order to get promoted? One of the biggest questions people have in BJJ is how to get to the next belt. In this week’s episode of BJJ Cache, they asked two black belts from Mindset Martial Arts what it takes:
