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BJJ WHITE BELT STRIPES

By Benjamin Strusnik, May 09, 2022

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an extremely complicated Martial Art, as it boasts a series of infinite technical maneuvers. The intricacies involved in the technical make-up of BJJ is astounding and is always evolving. Learning the art of grappling takes a long time and involves dedication and patience.

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What This Article Covers:

An instructor will always watch their students closely, as they are looking to grade each and every student. The measurement of a student's progression in the art will change among different instructors. Different clubs adopt different criteria when assessing potential changes in belt rank. All clubs measure the progression of their White belts by implementing a stripe system, where the student is rewarded with a stripe on their belt as they achieve the prerequisite set by their instructors. Each White belt receives four stripes before they can then be promoted to Blue belt.

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WHY DO STUDENTS WEAR BELTS

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner's wear traditional style uniforms called Gi's, each Gi is made extremely strong so it can be used to choke their opponents. Every student learns how to tie Jiu Jitsu belt around their waist, this is necessary to keep the lapels closed on their Gi, and so they can wear the rank that their belt represents. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu derives from an ancient form of Japanese Martial Arts, which also shares similarities with Judo and Sambo.

The Gracie family were the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and after learning the art from Mitsuyo Maeda in the 1900's they developed the art into their own style of self defense. The Gracie's offered more than learning a Martial Art, they offered a way of life, a Martial Art that transcended past a series of techniques but offered a way of becoming a better person. Wearing the Gi and the belt rank around a students waist, was humbling and extremely honourable. Many students soon felt the humility and integrity of representing the evolutionary Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu would adopt a coloured belt ranking system, as beginners would wear White belts and would move through the ranks of Blue, Purple, Brown and then Black belt. Instructors would grade all of the bjj belts with four stripes each so it was easier to manage the progression of their students. Each belt has different bjj Belt meanings, from the beginner right through to the instructors who wear the illustrious Black belt. Each belt has its own criteria and skill level that is earned by students through sheer hard work and dedication.

There are significant meanings behind every different belt rank, and every stripe that is awarded has an important value towards the progression of a students skill level. Each of the belts are universally different in the skill level they represent. Wearing the belt can be rewarding but it can also be daunting, as there are certain responsibilities attached to each belt level a student is entrusted to bear.

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WHY IS THE WHITE BELT SO IMPORTANT IN BJJ

There is a significant importance in wearing a White belt in BJJ. Some students go through the White belt phase too quickly, this can cause all sorts of problems in their evolution of Jiu Jitsu. The White belt is an extremely important stage in the progression of a student's Jiu Jitsu, as it requires a student to learn the building blocks of the art. Having bjj White belt goals is learning fundamentals in BJJ, they are like supporting foundations to a building, without a strong foundation then the building will crumble under pressure. This is the same for a White belts game, if they brush through the important fundamentals like positioning, posture, balance and grips, they run the risk of being exposed later on in their journey.

Let's have a look at some examples of this.

Without learning the basic principles of staying postured, opponents will easily be able break you down and attack with sweeps or submissions.

If a student does not take the time to understand how to breathe and stay relaxed then it becomes easy for their opponent to expose their weaknesses.

Students must spend significant time understanding how to grip and when to change grips or an opponent will easily bait them into making significant mistakes.

If a student cannot secure dominant positions with the appropriate amount of body pressure, then their opponent will easily escape making life rather difficult for the student.

Understanding the principle of position before submission is another important facet of BJJ, if a student attempts submissions without the appropriate control they will commonly have their guards passed or they will lose position.

So it is extremely important to spend some considerable time as a White belt. Learning Jiu Jitsu White belt moves like basic foundations is the only way a student will build a strong Jiu Jitsu arsenal. Having some high percentage attacking weapons is futile if a student's defense is poor, so spending time mastering the fundamentals is what is required for a student to improve beyond the level of the beginner belt.

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EARNING STRIPES: THE TIME FRAME

Earning jiu jitsu stripes can take a seriously long time, or they can be handed out rather quickly. This all depends on the skill level and dedication of the student, all students learn at different paces so it can be hard to measure for instructors. All students have varying levels of natural talent; they also have different learning processes, it is up to the instructor to understand how to adapt their teaching process to best suit their students. There is also a level of dedication that students must adhere to, because an instructor might be limited in how they can offer their coaching knowledge. Students must, to the best of their ability, adapt to the curriculum of BJJ set by their instructors.

Earning bjj stripes will come for a student who begins to show their aptitude towards the principles taught. Although a student does not have to have a profound technical knowledge to move up to Blue, they do however need to understand the fundamental concepts involved in all of the basic positions and movements. A student can be awarded stripes as quickly as a couple of months but it can also take up to six months per stripe. The time is completely up to the student, as they are the ones that are in charge of their own consistency, dedication and application.

WHITE BELT REQUIREMENTS

There are a number of expectations that a White belt must adhere to throughout their journey as a Martial Artist. Most beginners take a while to learn the ropes in a Jiu Jitsu club, but after a short period of time they realize the importance of their attitude. A beginner must incorporate a humble nature and an enthusiasm for learning if they ever want to learn how to become a Black belt in bjj. It is important for a White belt to understand that there is no place for arrogance inside a BJJ academy.

The majority of students that begin their journey are very timid at the start, so it's easy to install good Jiu Jitsu morals. Aspects like not gloating when they submit someone and not making fun of students who struggle with certain facets, is a non negotiable. Some students will have to change their outlook towards their fellow members if they want to survive. Generally speaking most beginners are extremely humble, as the atmosphere inside a Jiu Jitsu academy quite often meets an exemplary standard.

Students will also be required to participate in all of the warm-ups. There are a multitude of benefits for students who work extremely hard during the warm-up drills. Firstly students will increase their strength and conditioning, due to the high repetition of workout exercises. They will also start to develop good movement habits, as all of the warm-up drills are directly linked to specific movements used in many of the Jiu Jitsu techniques taught.

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WHITE BELT BLACK STRIPE JIU JITSU

The white belt black stripe in Jiu Jitsu is typically associated with a student's first step of achievement beyond being an absolute beginner. The black stripe on a white belt often signifies a milestone that the student is starting to comprehend and implement basic BJJ techniques effectively. However, it's vital to note that the awarding of stripes, their colors, and their significance varies among clubs and instructors. Always communicate with your instructors to understand the belt system specific to your academy.

BJJ WHITE BELT 2ND STRIPE REQUIREMENTS

As for the requirements of a second stripe at the white belt level in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, students should be expected to demonstrate a growing understanding of fundamental positions, guard variations, and escapes. They'll begin to broaden their knowledge surrounding escape techniques like elbow escapes from the mount and postured escapes from back control. They should also start learning defenses against common submissions. Their guard passing techniques might include knee stapling and knee slicing, and they should expand their repertoire of sweeps and submissions. As always, these requirements may vary depending on the teaching philosophy and curriculum of the academy.

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HOW TO EARN EACH STRIPE

Earning bjj white belt stripes is a great way to measure the progression of a student's skill level. The criteria involved will differ from instructor to instructor, as different philosophies can require a different set of guidelines. Let's have a look at some of the prerequisites involved for each stripe, and remember these can be altered depending on the academy.

FIRST STRIPE

Break Falls: It is important for a student to learn how to break fall to flat on their back and on their side.

Positions: Students must understand the fundamentals behind the four major control positions, side control, back control, mount and closed guard.

Transitions: It is important for students to learn how to transition between control positions.

Escapes: Students will learn a bridging escape from mount and a hip escape from side control.

Guard Passing: Students will learn some basic Guard passing principles like a tripod guard break to pass and a single leg guard pass.

Sweeps: Students will learn the two most basic sweeps, the scissor sweep and the hip bump sweep.

Submissions: Students will learn some basic submissions like an Armbar, Americana and a Rear Naked Choke.

SECOND STRIPE

Positions: Students will start to have a look at different types of guards like half guard and butterfly guard.

Escapes: Students will begin to step up their knowledge surrounding escapes like; the elbow escape from mount and a postured escape from back control. They will also begin acquiring knowledge in defending submissions like Armbars, Kimuras and Guillotines.

Guard Passing: Students will continue their learning into passing the guard by adding knee stapling and knee slicing passes.

Sweeps: Students will look to improve on their sweeping game by adding variations of hook sweeps into their repouture.

Submissions: Students will continue their knowledge of submissions by adding variations of Armbars from different positions, they might also delve into understanding chokes like the Guillotine and Cross Collar chokes.

THIRD STRIPE

Positions: Students will add further positional knowledge like; knee on belly, side mount, north south and more details into half guard.

Transitions: Students will enhance their ability to transition in and out of the knee ride positions and become more experienced moving in and out of half guard.

Escapes: Learning to escape from a knee on belly scenario is next on the list, as well as learning Triangle defense.

Passing Guard: Students will adapt more of their passing skills to incorporate passes from butterfly and half guard positions.

Submissions: Students will start to have a good look into the Triangle submission, they will also develop armbars from knee ride like the farside and nearside Armbar. Students may also look to add a Bow and Arrow Choke into the mix.

FOURTH STRIPE

Positions: Students will have a look at further positions like the turtle and the kesagatme or otherwise known as the scarf hold.

Transitions: Students will develop their arm drag game as well as learn more into the overhook and underhook game, they might also work on movement between turtle and back control.

Passing Guard: Students will develop their standing guard passes, and more in depth details on breaking the closed guard.

Sweeps: Students will look to develop a more strategic Kimura sweep and other sweeps like the flower or the shotgun.

Submissions: At this level students will continue to refine all of their previous submission skills, as well as work on these submissions from kesagatme. Students may also add submissions like the Clock choke.

BLUE BELT

Once they've covered all the bjj white belt stripe requirements, they can begin

moving from the last stripe to the next belt level, students will need to work on techniques like;

Takedowns: Before a student can move on to Blue they should be working on various stand up techniques like the Single Leg takedown and the Double Leg takedown.

Transitions: Students will need to continue to refine all of the transitions they have learned over the last couple of years.

Escapes: Students will need to master their sprawl and continue to work on side control escapes.

Passing Guard: Students should be working on more standing passes like the Toreando pass, they should also practise the Knee Cut pass.

Sweeps: Students will keep refining many of their sweeps and working on variations of the scissor sweep, they should also practise Open Guard sweeps and the Omoplata Sweep.

Submissions: Students should be learning the Omoplata and transitioning from Triangle to Armbar or Omoplata.

Adding stripes on the bjj belt is a great way to measure the progression of skills for a beginner, it will also keep a student focused and interested in continuing to strive for promotion. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a fun and interactive sport that allows students to achieve a high level of self defense, but also make great friendships that last a long time. So keep up the hard work and good luck with your journey into BJJ.

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