Beyond the Belt: Why Skill Development Matters More Than Rank in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

The obsession with belt progression has become one of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's most persistent and counterproductive anxieties. Students count training sessions, compare timelines on forums, and measure their worth by the colour wrapped around their waists. Yet some of the sport's most accomplished practitioners argue this focus is fundamentally misguided.

Gordon Ryan, one of the best BJJ competitors and an ADCC gold medallist, recently made this point very clearly: "Just get better at jiu-jitsu." The belts are irrelevant." ¹ His view, which was sparked by the controversy over quick belt promotions, makes martial artists think about what really matters on their journey.

The Inconsistent Reality of BJJ Ranking

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt system has a major flaw: it isn't standardised. "The BJJ belt ranking system is not a uniform system. Different BJJ schools, instructors, and affiliations do things in very different ways. Some schools require testing, while others only promote students based on how well they do in competitions or how often they show up.² This inconsistency makes it very hard to know what each belt colour really means.

BJJ promotions are mostly subjective, while judo promotions are based on more standardised rules set by national organisations. Getting a real black belt in BJJ usually takes between 8 and 15 years, but this time frame can change a lot depending on things like:

• Training frequency and intensity

• Quality of instruction

• Athletic background

• Competition participation

• Geographic location and academy culture

Because of this variability, it's almost pointless to compare belt ranks between schools or over time. A blue belt from one academy might dominate a purple belt from another, not due to sandbagging or questionable promotions, but simply because of different standards and training environments.

The Modern Skill-Rank Disconnect

Ryan's statement that "blue belts can beat up black belts now"⁵ is a sign of a trend that is becoming more common in modern BJJ. Several factors contribute to this skill-rank disconnect:

Enhanced Training Methods: Contemporary practitioners have access to instructional videos, specialised seminars, and systematic training methodologies that didn't exist for earlier generations. A dedicated blue belt with two years of modern instruction might possess technical knowledge that took previous generations much longer to acquire.

Athletic Specialisation: A lot of people who do grappling now focus on it from the start instead of doing a lot of different martial arts. This specialisation can lead to rapid skill development in specific areas.

Competition Culture: The modern emphasis on competition has created more athletic, technical practitioners at lower belt levels. Participating in tournaments on a regular basis forces players to quickly adapt and improve their skills.

Information Accessibility: Online platforms have made high-level instruction available to everyone, so advanced techniques are no longer only available to people with higher belt levels.

The Psychology of Belt Obsession

The focus on belt progression creates a number of psychological traps that slow down growth:

External Validation Dependency: When practitioners tie their self-worth to belt advancement, they become dependent on external validation rather than developing intrinsic motivation. This creates anxiety around promotion timelines and can lead to training burnout.

Timeline Comparison: Social media and forum discussions encourage practitioners to compare their progression timelines with others, often leading to frustration and decreased training satisfaction. What matters isn't how long someone else took to reach blue belt, but whether you're improving.

Performance Pressure: Belt-focused practitioners often feel pressure to "perform at their belt level" rather than focusing on learning and improvement. This can lead to overly conservative training or, conversely, reckless attempts to prove worthiness.

Plateau Anxiety: The infamous "blue belt blues"—a period of stagnation and frustration common at blue belt—often stems from unrealistic expectations about linear progression and comparison with others.

What Instructors Actually Look For

Understanding how experienced instructors evaluate skill development provides insight into what really matters. Bobby McMasters, a BJJ black belt and instructor, outlines his promotion criteria, emphasising practical skill demonstration over time-based advancement. ⁶

For blue belt, McMaster requires that students can "chain moves together, and you are generally able to execute at least two 'moves' from each position, offensively and defensively, during sparring." ⁷ More importantly, he needs to "imagine you in a one-on-one self-defence situation, and you are able to at very least DEFEND yourself against most untrained human beings on the planet." ⁸

This perspective prioritises functional capability over technical knowledge accumulation. It doesn't matter if you can perform fifty different guard passes in isolation if you can't effectively pass a resisting opponent's guard during sparring.

At higher levels, the criteria become more nuanced. Purple belts must demonstrate "ridiculously good defence, as well as a very well-developed guard" and have "next to zero obvious holes in your game." ⁹ Brown belts should develop signature techniques and become "known as the 'triangle guy/girl'" with deeply developed approaches to their speciality areas. ¹⁰

The Submission Fallacy

One common misconception involves equating submission success with promotion readiness. The question "Does submitting upper belts mean you've reached their level?" ¹¹ reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about what belt ranks represent.

"While the ability to submit higher belts can showcase technical capability, it doesn't necessarily reflect a practitioner's overall readiness for promotion. Factors such as experience, knowledge, and attitude weigh heavily in the decision to award a new rank." ¹²

Several factors explain why submission success doesn't automatically indicate promotion readiness:

Training Dynamics: "Higher belts may intentionally work on weaker aspects of their game against lower belts, giving the latter an edge in specific scenarios." ¹³ A brown belt might allow a blue belt to work from their strongest position while the brown belt practises an unfamiliar guard or submission setup.

Contextual Performance: Success in controlled training environments doesn't always translate to broader competence. A white belt might consistently escape a particular black belt's triangles but remain vulnerable to the same submission from different setups or practitioners.

Holistic Development: Promotions consider technical knowledge, attitude, teaching ability, and understanding of BJJ principles, not just sparring performance. A practitioner might win rolls through athleticism while lacking fundamental understanding.

The Competition Paradox

Competition results add another layer of complexity to skill evaluation. While some academies base promotions heavily on tournament performance, this approach creates its own challenges.

Rule Set Limitations: IBJJF competition rules, for example, restrict certain techniques at lower belt levels. A blue belt might be highly skilled at leg locks but unable to demonstrate this competency in competition due to rule restrictions.

Style Mismatches: Tournament brackets can create favourable or unfavourable stylistic matchups that don't accurately reflect overall skill level. A guard player might struggle against wrestling-heavy opponents while dominating other guard players.

Mental Pressure: Some practitioners excel in training but struggle with competition nerves, while others rise to the occasion in competitive settings. Neither scenario provides a complete picture of skill development.

Practical Approaches to Skill-Focused Training

Shifting focus from belt progression to skill development requires concrete changes in how practitioners approach training:

Process-Orientated Goals: Instead of "I want to get my purple belt this year," set goals like "I want to develop a reliable guard retention system" or "I want to improve my takedown success rate to 50% against similar-skilled opponents."

Regular Self-Assessment: Track progress through rolling performance rather than waiting for external validation. Are you lasting longer against higher belts? Successfully implementing new techniques? These metrics provide more immediate and actionable feedback.

Position-Specific Development: Rather than trying to improve "everything", focus on systematic improvement in specific areas. Spend a month working exclusively on half-guard escapes, then move to guard passing, then submission defence.

Video Analysis: Record training sessions when possible and analyse your performance objectively. Video reveals patterns and mistakes that aren't apparent during live rolling.

Cross-Training Opportunities: Seek out training partners from different academies, attend seminars, and expose yourself to various styles and approaches. This provides a broader perspective on your skill level and areas for improvement.

The Long-Term Perspective

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is often described as a lifetime journey, but belt obsession can obscure this reality. In general, it takes an average of 10-15 years of dedicated BJJ training to reach Black Belt rank,¹⁴ yet many practitioners approach training with unrealistic expectations about progression speed.

This long-term nature actually supports the skill-over-rank philosophy. If you're going to train for decades anyway, why not focus on becoming the best grappler possible rather than collecting belt promotions? The belts will come naturally as your skills develop, but skills won't automatically improve just because you receive a promotion.

Building Intrinsic Motivation

The most sustainable approach to BJJ improvement involves developing intrinsic motivation—training because you enjoy the process of learning and improving rather than seeking external validation.

Daily Improvements: Focus on small, daily improvements rather than major milestones. Did you successfully defend a submission that usually catches you? Did you hit a technique you've been working on? These micro-victories accumulate into significant progress.

Problem-Solving Mindset: Approach each training session as an opportunity to solve puzzles rather than prove your worthiness for promotion. How can you escape this position more efficiently? What setups make this submission more reliable?

Collaborative Learning: View training partners as collaborators in your development rather than opponents to defeat. Higher belts can provide valuable feedback, while lower belts can present unique challenges that reveal gaps in your game.

The Instructor's Dilemma

From an instructor's perspective, the belt system serves important functions beyond skill measurement. It provides structure for curriculum development, helps organise training groups, and offers motivational milestones for long-term engagement. However, the most effective instructors understand that these administrative functions shouldn't overshadow skill development.

McMasters notes the importance of comparing "apples to apples, meaning that if you are a 90lb, 49-year-old, unathletic person, your actual, practical ability is not being compared to that of a 19-year-old ex-wrestler." ¹⁵ This individualised approach recognises that skill development occurs differently across practitioners while maintaining meaningful standards.

Cultural Implications

The skill-over-rank philosophy has broader implications for BJJ culture. It encourages:

Reduced Ego: When rank becomes less important, practitioners can train more openly and accept feedback more readily. The fear of "losing to a lower belt" diminishes, allowing for more productive training.

Collaborative Environment: Academies that emphasise skill development over rank tend to be more collaborative and less hierarchical, creating better learning environments for all students.

Long-term Retention: Students who develop intrinsic motivation are more likely to continue training throughout their lives, regardless of whether they receive regular promotions.

Quality Control: Focusing on demonstrated skill rather than time-in-grade naturally raises the average quality of practitioners at each belt level.

One Last Word

Gordon Ryan's blunt assessment that "belts are irrelevant" might seem extreme, but it highlights a crucial truth: the belt doesn't make the practitioner; the skills do. While the ranking system serves important organisational and motivational functions, it should never overshadow the fundamental goal of improvement.

The most fulfilled and successful BJJ practitioners are those who fall in love with the process of daily improvement rather than the outcome of periodic promotions. They understand that mastery is not a destination but a direction, and that each training session offers opportunities for growth regardless of the colour of their belt.

By shifting focus from external validation to internal development, practitioners can avoid the anxiety and frustration that plague belt-obsessed students. They can train more freely, learn more openly, and ultimately achieve higher levels of skill than those constantly worried about their next promotion.

The belt system will continue to evolve, standards will vary between academies, and controversies over promotion timelines will persist. But for the individual practitioner, the path forward remains clear: show up, train hard, focus on improvement, and trust that the belts will take care of themselves.

After all, when you're seventy years old and still training, will it matter whether you got your black belt in eight years or fifteen? What will matter is whether you spent those years becoming the best grappler you could be.

If you’re ready to dive into the world of authentic Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, consider visiting The Jiu-Jitsu Foundry at 72-C, Jalan SS21/62, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, WhatsApp 011-11510501. Embrace the challenge, improve your skills, and discover how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can transform your martial arts journey!

Be good!

References:

1. BJJ Doc. (2025, September 7). Gordon Ryan: Just focus on getting better at jiu-jitsu. The belts are irrelevant for a good point. Retrieved from https://bjjdoc.com/2025/09/07/gordon-ryan-just-focus-on-getting-better-at-jiu-jitsu-the-belts-are-irrelevant-for-good-point/

2. McMasters, B. (2023, March 21). Belt Promotions. Open Source BJJ. Retrieved from https://www.opensourcebjj.net/post/belt-promotions

3. BJJEE. (2024, May 5). Understanding BJJ vs Judo Belt System and Promotion Differences. Retrieved from https://www.bjjee.com/articles/understanding-bjj-vs-judo-belt-system-and-promotion-differences/

4. Ibid.

5. BJJ Doc. (2025, September 7). Gordon Ryan: Just focus on getting better at jiu-jitsu, The belts are irrelevant for good point.

6. McMasters, B. (2023, March 21). Belt Promotions. Open Source BJJ.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. BJJEE. (2024, December 2). Does Submitting Higher Belts in Jiu-Jitsu Automatically Make You an Upper Belt? Retrieved from https://www.bjjee.com/articles/does-submitting-higher-belts-in-jiu-jitsu-automatically-make-you-an-upper-belt/

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Sensō Jiu Jitsu. (2022, December 31). 10 reasons you WONT get promoted in BJJ! Retrieved from https://sensobjj.com/blogs/graciemag-1/10-reasons-you-wont-get-promoted-in-bjj

15. McMasters, B. (2023, March 21). Belt Promotions. Open Source BJJ.