WHAT PERCENTAGE OF BJJ WHITE BELTS QUIT?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an exceedingly complicated form of combat sports, as the journey towards earning the illustrious black belt can be exceptionally long. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a Martial Art that involves an intricate series of movements designed to defeat an opponent using leverage and control positions. Students will then advance their positions using transition techniques  before utilising a wide range of submissions like joint locks and choke holds to finish off their opponents.

What This Article Covers:

• How To Stay on Track for BJJ Promotions
• What Inspires a Beginner to Stay In BJJ?
• Why Do Some Students Quit BJJ At the Early Stage?
• Why Do Kids Quit BJJ At the White Belt Phase?
• How White Belts Should Behave
• What Does the White Belt Mean?

Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu takes discipline and consistency, as many of the technical movements rate highly with their level of complexity. Students will learn a large variety of basic concepts and fundamentals movements, in order to understand the correct flow of Jiu Jitsu. The BJJ journey is full of different types of adversities, as it can take over a decade to become a black belt in the Brazilian art. Students will need to learn resilience because it becomes quite common to see white belts quit the sport after struggling to improve.

Let 3X Olympian and BJJ black belt Travis Stevens show you all of the BJJ Basics you need to know!

HOW TO STAY ON TRACK FOR BJJ PROMOTIONS

Once a beginner joins the ranks of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu it becomes all about their desire to train and improve. Students should be working extensively on the mats and mastering all of the fundamental principles they have learnt. Learning the basic foundations in BJJ will give a student an incredibly strong base for later on down the road. Beginners need to stay on track by sticking to the basics, if they go too far down the YouTube rabbit hole they run the risk of wasting their time with movements that may be far too complex. 

Beginners will often question their coaches asking them how long are you a white belt in bjj for, there is no easy answer to this question. Coaches will explain how to progress in the art, but ultimately it is in the hands of each individual. There will be plenty of setbacks along the journey and a white belt will need to learn the ability to ride the waves. There will be plenty of movements that will be hard to understand and practice, sometimes students will need to identify how the move works and adapt it according to their own abilities. As long as the student keeps on showing up to the academy and persevering, then they are on track to reach a new skill level.

WHAT INSPIRES A BEGINNER TO STAY IN BJJ

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a humbling Martial Art, and with the amazing people involved behind the scenes it's no wonder students are lining up to try out BJJ. There are a multitude of factors that will keep students in the academy, like meeting new people and making lasting friendships. The social side to BJJ is extremely important and many of the community members relish in how well BJJ practitioners all get along with each other. Most students will become exceedingly surprised by the atmosphere in an academy and at a competitive tournament. It's the kind of sport where you can have a match against a stranger and then you become friends after the fight. 

Some students are inspired to stay in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu purely for the health and fitness benefits. BJJ offers a versatile way of bulletproofing a students body, as their strength and conditioning will improve dramatically. Students will also find improvements with their agility, their reflexes, their flexibility and their dexterity. Students that start their BJJ journey overweight will soon realise how easily the weight can strip off them by putting in the hard work, making it much easier to stay motivated and keep training in BJJ. 

Often new students will wonder how dangerous is a bjj blue belt or how many black belts are there in bjj. It is natural to have so many questions about how to gain a promotion up the belt ranks. The best thing a new student can do is stick to the basic concepts they have been shown and let the natural order of learning Jiu Jitsu take place. Knowing that eventually a student can become a black belt, that can be the motivation they need to stay on the path of improvement in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

WHY DO SOME STUDENTS QUIT BJJ AT THE EARLY STAGE

There are a host of reasons as to why students decide to leave the sport in the first two years. Sometimes students will give Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a try and just purely decide it is not for them, this could be because of the uncomfortable close contact or the rough nature of chokeholds and joint locks. Some students will begin to feel uncomfortable with how their bodies feel after training, as they look for an easier sport to play. When a student starts Jiu Jitsu they will usually begin using muscles they have never used before which can lead to general soreness early on in the process. 

Some students get weeded out of BJJ for their rough conduct or their arrogant nature, this is quite normal in BJJ as it is a humble Martial Art. Other students begin BJJ being overweight or have previous injuries, so the likelihood of them quitting is more significant. It can be common to see students slip back into previous bad life habits or suffer from injury setbacks, this can cause a student to give up on the Martial Art journey. Some students become overwhelmed by the complexity of the movements and the slow progression process, which can also force a student to rethink their place in a BJJ academy.

It is hard to measure the actual figure of how many white belts quit BJJ, it would be generous to say that 3 out of every 10 white belts move on to the blue belt level. This would mean that over 70% of white belts quit BJJ, this is an astounding figure as the ones that stay often talk about how amazing the culture is. People have their own reason for doing things and if an injury or money issue stands in a student's way then it is completely understandable. For the students that just give up because it's too hard, they are the ones that should take a harder look at themselves. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is extremely complex but once a student understands the basics foundations the rest of the journey falls into place. 

WHY DO KIDS QUIT BJJ AT THE WHITE BELT PHASE 

Kids also start at the white belt level and as they attempt to move up through the youth Jiu Jitsu belt ranking system. Children are notorious for losing interest in sports they play, as they can become quite bored and look to quit Jiu Jitsu. Kids have a severely short attention span and this can quite commonly lead to them deciding to leave the sport. Kids are well known for changing their minds as they look to try out different sports to see what suits them best. 

Sometimes there are other factors as to why kids lose interest in BJJ, like simple disagreements with some of their friends at their academy or they just lose interest due to the degree of difficulty BJJ has. It is extremely important for coaches to keep their kids' classes fun so all the children stay engaged. That is why most academies play skill building games in their kids' classes, as it helps the children build confidence and enjoy their time in the academy.

HOW WHITE BELTS SHOULD BEHAVE 

Even though white belts are brand new to an academy they still have a moral obligation to be of good behaviour. In a BJJ academy there are women and children and many students that have suffered from different forms of mental and physical abuse. This means that a coach has little tolerance for any sort of bullying, arrogant or abusive behaviour. Beginners should have a moral code of conduct that is displayed while they are on and off the mats. Although beginners may have a second chance a third is not usually given, and the higher belts of an academy will be quick to pull up bad behaviour but also willing to offer guidance to all of their members.

Beginners should be respectful to all of the members in their academy, they should also be humble during rounds both in victory and in defeat. Most academies will have a set of guidelines that all members must abide by, as beginners will learn rather quickly if they want to survive in the sport. Students must also have a duty of care towards themselves and other members they train with, so everyone can train in a safe environment. Male students will also need to behave appropriately around female students, meaning not to sexualise them or bully them during live rolling rounds.

Students must also learn not to be stubborn while they are training in the academy. It can be a constant problem when new students are too proud to tap out to a submission, as this will lead to injuries that otherwise could be avoided. This has the same effect in reverse, as a beginner may not know when to release an opponent from a submission, so new students must be taught to be extra vigilant when they are rolling with other members in their academy.

WHAT DOES THE WHITE BELT MEAN

There are different belt meanings for each belt rank in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The white belt signifies the starting point of the journey and it's the first belt in a string of coloured belts leading to the prestigious black belt. A white belt will need nurture and guidance as they can be quite nervous from the beginning. The beginner belt basically means they know nothing and if they are humble and willing to listen and learn they will soon be full of knowledge and technical skill. Beginners will ask are there belts in no gi bjj, and like most coaches will explain the belt is just the rank and the rank applies to No Gi as well.

Having a strong foundation of BJJ Basics will greatly improve your experience on the way to your black belt!

The white belt has significant meaning in the competition scene, as it stands for the novice belt. There is a certain rule set that white belts must adhere to, which is for the safety of themselves and their opponents. Beginners are not allowed to jump guard or pull any significant leg takedowns with their head to the outside of their opponents body. They are not allowed to do any dangerous submissions like heel hooks, toe holds, kneebars, wrist locks, calf or bicep slicers or any leg locks that twist the knees. They are also forbidden to pull any other dangerous moves like knee reaping, scissor leg takedowns, slams or any spinal locks.

The white belt is just the first stepping stone in a series of more complicated belts. So no matter how many rules are put on the beginners, if they keep busy and follow protocol they will soon be able to jump up the ladder is this amazing Martial Art. 

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