December 11, 2024 • 11 mins
Episode Summary: In this thought-provoking episode of SocialBJJ, host David Rogers challenges one of the most ingrained aspects of Jiu-Jitsu: the significance of belts. Drawing from personal experiences and deep reflections, he explores why belts may not truly define skill, growth, or mastery in Jiu-Jitsu. This episode is an eye-opener for anyone questioning their journey or chasing belt promotions.
Key Discussion Points:
- Belts as a Marketing Tactic: Belts serve as milestones but don’t always reflect true skill or ability. David recounts his seven years as a white belt while dominating higher belts, proving that belts can be misleading.
- The Belt Hierarchy Myth: The traditional hierarchy of belts in Jiu-Jitsu gyms often stifles voices and creates unnecessary mental barriers.
- Skill vs. Rank:
- A D1 wrestler with no formal Jiu-Jitsu training can outperform higher belts due to their experience and background.
- Time spent analyzing your game, watching footage, and learning concepts can surpass the benefits of just mat time.
- Why Chase Belts?
- David highlights the dangers of belt-chasing, which often leads to burnout and quitting after achieving a specific rank.
- True practitioners train for the love of Jiu-Jitsu, the growth it brings, and the challenges it presents.
- Belts and Mental Warfare: Higher ranks can create mental advantages or disadvantages during rolls. Respect for the individual on the mat, rather than their rank, is key.
- Continuous Growth: Jiu-Jitsu is about constant improvement, humility, and overcoming challenges—not about achieving a specific belt.
Memorable Quotes:
- “Belts do not matter. What matters is the time you put into your game and the growth you achieve.”
- “Respect the individual in front of you, regardless of their rank.”
- “Train for the journey, not for the belt.”
Takeaways:
- Train for the love of the art, not for external recognition.
- Analyze and refine your game for consistent growth, regardless of rank.
- Embrace humility, perseverance, and the challenges Jiu-Jitsu presents to become the best version of yourself.
Engage with the Community:
- What are your thoughts on the role of belts in Jiu-Jitsu? Share your perspective with the SocialBJJ community!
- Follow SocialBJJ on your favorite podcast platform for more episodes on Jiu-Jitsu culture, mindset, and training tips.
Join the Journey: Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with fellow practitioners. Let’s grow together on and off the mats!
See you in the next episode.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back guys. So I'm here to dispel a myth today.
(00:04):
Belts do not matter.
They absolutely do not matter. Think about it.
Especially if you're rolling no gi,
it absolutely does not matter. I can see when you're rolling with the gi,
the only thing that it really does, the problem with belts, is
when you're rolling in the gi, there's like this hierarchy.
(00:27):
You see your purple belts, you see your brown belts, your black belts,
and they're treated in a certain way. There's different classes.
If you're a white belt, you can't say anything. If you're a blue belt, you can't say anything.
Because you guys don't really know anything. Purple belts, they can kinda
like chirp a little bit here and there, but they shut up when brown belts and black belts speak.
(00:48):
Some purple belts talk even when they speak too.
But for the most part, you know, there's this hierarchy.
Either you can say something or you can't say something because of the belt that you have.
I know it equates to the experience level, or it's supposed to rather equate to,
you know, I've been doing jujitsu for
roughly a year to two years. I'm roughly a blue belt.
(01:11):
I've been doing jujitsu for about four years. I'm roughly a purple belt.
I've been doing it anywhere between six to eight, maybe even ten years. I'm a brown belt.
Eight to twelve years, I'm a black belt.
Depending on how consistent you train and things like that. But honestly guys,
I was a white belt for seven years.
(01:34):
For seven years.
And I was subbing purple belts.
Giving brown belts a hard time. Giving black belts a hard time.
Like, why do I have to work so hard to sub this white belt?
When you just look at belts, it means absolutely nothing.
(01:55):
It's just a marketing tactic.
That's all it is.
It's purely a marketing tactic. It's a good one.
Honestly, it's a good one. You feel accomplished when you get something,
but does it make you better?
It's nice to be acknowledged. It's nice to be acknowledged by
the community that you spend time with. They see the work that you're putting in.
(02:19):
They see the hard work, the sweat, the sacrifices, the injuries that you endured,
but you're still pushing forward. You're overcoming.
You're growing as an individual.
They see that. And it's nice to be rewarded for that because the belt,
I guess the black belt means that you sacrifice. You put in that effort.
(02:39):
It's supposed to mean that. But that's really it.
Honestly, other than that, if you had any other argument,
it means absolutely nothing because we know.
I've seen purple belts mop the floor with black belts.
I've seen white belts mop the floor with purple belts.
(03:04):
What is a D1 wrestler with 20 years of experience wrestling since they were four?
What is that person? That person's a white belt because they never did jiu-jitsu?
Do you really think that person's a white belt?
But if you're just looking at the belts, you're going to roll with that person.
You're going to get destroyed. Destroyed.
You could even be a black belt. You still might have a really hard time.
(03:31):
I've seen this. I've seen this.
And then you give that D1 wrestler two years of jiu-jitsu.
What, they're blue belt? Are they really? Are you sure?
Because their top game is not a blue belt. They got a black belt top game.
Their submissions are not. Maybe their submissions are going to be a blue belt.
(03:51):
But give them a couple more years. What are they?
Doesn't even matter though. Doesn't matter. No, it doesn't matter.
What matters is that person putting in the time, putting in the time in their game,
analyzing their game. Because look, honestly, let's think about it.
You can spend five years or a year training every single day, not studying your game.
(04:18):
I could train the same year, training three times a week.
But every single time I train, I record my videos. I record my rolls.
I watch over the videos. I'm watching footage. I'm learning instructionals.
I'm watching competition matches. I'm trying to incorporate that into my jiu-jitsu.
(04:38):
And I have the rest and recovery. I'm going to be better than you.
I'm going to be better than you. I'm going to be better than you.
And it doesn't matter how much mat time you had. Right?
In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. But that might be a way that I learned too.
Like, I don't need to drill a million different times for my body to know what to do.
(05:00):
I just need to understand the concepts and tell my body what to do.
Maybe it's from a little bit of an athletic background.
But again, what does belts mean? What do belts mean in that situation?
Absolutely nothing. Because the first seven years of me training jiu-jitsu,
if you would have looked at me, you'd be like, oh, the white belt. Take it easy.
And people did take it easy. They got choked out.
And it was like, well, I'm never doing that again.
(05:22):
And I had a much harder time because they realized, like, oh, he might be wearing a white belt,
but he's not a white belt.
You have to respect the individual that's in front of you, regardless of their rank,
regardless of how much experience they had.
Respect the individual in front of you.
And that's what I love about jiu-jitsu, because if you don't respect the individual in front of you,
(05:45):
you will get humbled.
Jiu-jitsu is very real.
It makes you wake up to that reality.
When you start sleeping, you give too many different positions because of their white belt.
Now, let's speak about why they don't belt people appropriately.
Now, I do got to give a shout out to BJJ Globetrotters.
I know that they'll test you and belt you right then and there.
(06:07):
If they feel like you are a black belt or they feel like you're a purple belt, blue belt, brown belt,
they will belt you when you go to their camps and everything.
They will just belt you right then and there.
But most gyms, they want to see you put in the dos.
They want to see you put in the time.
I lucked out with the gym that I went to finally after seven years.
(06:27):
And they were just like, dude, no way.
We can't be having you say you're a white belt.
You feel like you're a purple belt.
And then, boom, skip blue belt straight to purple belt.
But did I care?
Yes, of course, I cared in the moment because it was nice to be like, finally, I'm not a white belt.
Great.
But did it make a difference?
(06:49):
No.
My game was still my game.
Was I instantly able to beat other people?
No.
Now, it might have had a mental warfare against some of the white belts or blue belts.
Like, oh, dang, he's a purple belt.
Oh, that makes sense.
And then in their mind, they're already accepting defeat without really trying hard.
(07:12):
That's really a possibility.
And that's something that you got to be on guard when you're doing jujitsu.
And that's another reason why I don't like the belts because of that mental battle.
When you see a black belt, you're just thinking, I'm going to lose.
No.
It puts on his belt the same way you put on your belt.
It puts on his gi the same way you put on your gi or she.
(07:32):
Right?
They bleed the same way we bleed.
Their bones break the same way our bones break.
Not justifying violence, not seeking violence or anything like that.
But they are a person.
If I'm able to control grips, if I'm able to control their hands, they're not going to be able to do anything to me.
(07:53):
If they're able to control my hands, I'm not going to be able to do anything to them.
Grip fighting, the basics of jujitsu, going back to it.
We talked about building out your game.
It all starts with the grip fighting.
No matter what belt you are, the black belts are just going to grip fight more.
They're going to be more savvy with their grip fights.
They may set up the grip fight.
(08:14):
They might give you a grip that you think you want and you really don't want that grip.
They might be setting you up with the grip fights.
But honestly, a purple belt could be doing that too.
They might have watched something on YouTube, an amazing sequence from a black belt on YouTube
or somebody who did jujitsu for a long time on YouTube or grappling.
(08:36):
Now they got their setups.
Now they got their strategies.
But they're a blue belt.
And you don't know about that setup.
You don't know about that strategy.
Boom, they catch you with it.
Belts do not matter.
It does not matter.
But it's nice to be appreciated.
It's nice to be appreciated, for sure.
So when you get your next belt, are you going to be like, yes, are you just chasing the
(09:00):
belt?
Because if you are chasing the belt, there's no way you could be a seven year white belt.
There's no way because you didn't get the recognition.
Or are you doing this because you want to be the baddest MF in your household, on the
gym?
You just want to be better.
You want to train with the guys.
You don't care about the belts.
You just want to have fun.
You want to enjoy your time.
(09:22):
You want to constantly face danger and overcome it.
Constantly face struggle and overcome it.
Just telling yourself some days, I don't even want to go to Jiu Jitsu.
My body's beat up.
So and so is going to be there at the gym.
They're a tough role.
Every single time they kick my butt.
Every single time.
But guess what?
(09:42):
You go anyway.
Oh, it's raining.
It's snowing.
Guess what?
You go anyway.
Not because you love the game.
Because you're addicted to the game.
Not because I want to get my black belt.
I want to get my blue belt.
I want to get my purple belt.
I want to get my brown belt.
That's not why you do it.
Because those people, those are the ones that get the belt and then they quit.
(10:04):
They get the blue belt and then they quit.
They get the purple belt, they quit.
They get the black belt and they quit.
I think it was a guy who got his black belt from Marcelo Garcia.
He said, I have nothing else to learn and quit.
How arrogant.
But that shows what he was really chasing.
People can chase things for a really long time.
Really long time.
(10:27):
If you're just in this for a short ride, chase the belt.
But if you're in this for an experience that's going to grow you as an adult, grow you as
a human being, grow you as a kid, grow you as whoever you are.
But just ultimately grow you and challenge you and push you to the next level.
Push you to be the person that you didn't think you could be.
(10:48):
To give you that confidence continuously and the reality check and to be constantly humbled.
Because we all need to be humbled.
Then you're going to train regardless of the belt.
Because you know that sugar honey iced tea don't matter.
Alright, I'll catch you on the next episode.
(11:09):
See you guys.
Love you, take care.
Welcome back guys. So I'm here to dispel a myth today.
(00:04):
Belts do not matter.
They absolutely do not matter. Think about it.
Especially if you're rolling no gi,
it absolutely does not matter. I can see when you're rolling with the gi,
the only thing that it really does, the problem with belts, is
when you're rolling in the gi, there's like this hierarchy.
(00:27):
You see your purple belts, you see your brown belts, your black belts,
and they're treated in a certain way. There's different classes.
If you're a white belt, you can't say anything. If you're a blue belt, you can't say anything.
Because you guys don't really know anything. Purple belts, they can kinda
like chirp a little bit here and there, but they shut up when brown belts and black belts speak.
(00:48):
Some purple belts talk even when they speak too.
But for the most part, you know, there's this hierarchy.
Either you can say something or you can't say something because of the belt that you have.
I know it equates to the experience level, or it's supposed to rather equate to,
you know, I've been doing jujitsu for
roughly a year to two years. I'm roughly a blue belt.
(01:11):
I've been doing jujitsu for about four years. I'm roughly a purple belt.
I've been doing it anywhere between six to eight, maybe even ten years. I'm a brown belt.
Eight to twelve years, I'm a black belt.
Depending on how consistent you train and things like that. But honestly guys,
I was a white belt for seven years.
(01:34):
For seven years.
And I was subbing purple belts.
Giving brown belts a hard time. Giving black belts a hard time.
Like, why do I have to work so hard to sub this white belt?
When you just look at belts, it means absolutely nothing.
(01:55):
It's just a marketing tactic.
That's all it is.
It's purely a marketing tactic. It's a good one.
Honestly, it's a good one. You feel accomplished when you get something,
but does it make you better?
It's nice to be acknowledged. It's nice to be acknowledged by
the community that you spend time with. They see the work that you're putting in.
(02:19):
They see the hard work, the sweat, the sacrifices, the injuries that you endured,
but you're still pushing forward. You're overcoming.
You're growing as an individual.
They see that. And it's nice to be rewarded for that because the belt,
I guess the black belt means that you sacrifice. You put in that effort.
(02:39):
It's supposed to mean that. But that's really it.
Honestly, other than that, if you had any other argument,
it means absolutely nothing because we know.
I've seen purple belts mop the floor with black belts.
I've seen white belts mop the floor with purple belts.
(03:04):
What is a D1 wrestler with 20 years of experience wrestling since they were four?
What is that person? That person's a white belt because they never did jiu-jitsu?
Do you really think that person's a white belt?
But if you're just looking at the belts, you're going to roll with that person.
You're going to get destroyed. Destroyed.
You could even be a black belt. You still might have a really hard time.
(03:31):
I've seen this. I've seen this.
And then you give that D1 wrestler two years of jiu-jitsu.
What, they're blue belt? Are they really? Are you sure?
Because their top game is not a blue belt. They got a black belt top game.
Their submissions are not. Maybe their submissions are going to be a blue belt.
(03:51):
But give them a couple more years. What are they?
Doesn't even matter though. Doesn't matter. No, it doesn't matter.
What matters is that person putting in the time, putting in the time in their game,
analyzing their game. Because look, honestly, let's think about it.
You can spend five years or a year training every single day, not studying your game.
(04:18):
I could train the same year, training three times a week.
But every single time I train, I record my videos. I record my rolls.
I watch over the videos. I'm watching footage. I'm learning instructionals.
I'm watching competition matches. I'm trying to incorporate that into my jiu-jitsu.
(04:38):
And I have the rest and recovery. I'm going to be better than you.
I'm going to be better than you. I'm going to be better than you.
And it doesn't matter how much mat time you had. Right?
In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. But that might be a way that I learned too.
Like, I don't need to drill a million different times for my body to know what to do.
(05:00):
I just need to understand the concepts and tell my body what to do.
Maybe it's from a little bit of an athletic background.
But again, what does belts mean? What do belts mean in that situation?
Absolutely nothing. Because the first seven years of me training jiu-jitsu,
if you would have looked at me, you'd be like, oh, the white belt. Take it easy.
And people did take it easy. They got choked out.
And it was like, well, I'm never doing that again.
(05:22):
And I had a much harder time because they realized, like, oh, he might be wearing a white belt,
but he's not a white belt.
You have to respect the individual that's in front of you, regardless of their rank,
regardless of how much experience they had.
Respect the individual in front of you.
And that's what I love about jiu-jitsu, because if you don't respect the individual in front of you,
(05:45):
you will get humbled.
Jiu-jitsu is very real.
It makes you wake up to that reality.
When you start sleeping, you give too many different positions because of their white belt.
Now, let's speak about why they don't belt people appropriately.
Now, I do got to give a shout out to BJJ Globetrotters.
I know that they'll test you and belt you right then and there.
(06:07):
If they feel like you are a black belt or they feel like you're a purple belt, blue belt, brown belt,
they will belt you when you go to their camps and everything.
They will just belt you right then and there.
But most gyms, they want to see you put in the dos.
They want to see you put in the time.
I lucked out with the gym that I went to finally after seven years.
(06:27):
And they were just like, dude, no way.
We can't be having you say you're a white belt.
You feel like you're a purple belt.
And then, boom, skip blue belt straight to purple belt.
But did I care?
Yes, of course, I cared in the moment because it was nice to be like, finally, I'm not a white belt.
Great.
But did it make a difference?
(06:49):
No.
My game was still my game.
Was I instantly able to beat other people?
No.
Now, it might have had a mental warfare against some of the white belts or blue belts.
Like, oh, dang, he's a purple belt.
Oh, that makes sense.
And then in their mind, they're already accepting defeat without really trying hard.
(07:12):
That's really a possibility.
And that's something that you got to be on guard when you're doing jujitsu.
And that's another reason why I don't like the belts because of that mental battle.
When you see a black belt, you're just thinking, I'm going to lose.
No.
It puts on his belt the same way you put on your belt.
It puts on his gi the same way you put on your gi or she.
(07:32):
Right?
They bleed the same way we bleed.
Their bones break the same way our bones break.
Not justifying violence, not seeking violence or anything like that.
But they are a person.
If I'm able to control grips, if I'm able to control their hands, they're not going to be able to do anything to me.
(07:53):
If they're able to control my hands, I'm not going to be able to do anything to them.
Grip fighting, the basics of jujitsu, going back to it.
We talked about building out your game.
It all starts with the grip fighting.
No matter what belt you are, the black belts are just going to grip fight more.
They're going to be more savvy with their grip fights.
They may set up the grip fight.
(08:14):
They might give you a grip that you think you want and you really don't want that grip.
They might be setting you up with the grip fights.
But honestly, a purple belt could be doing that too.
They might have watched something on YouTube, an amazing sequence from a black belt on YouTube
or somebody who did jujitsu for a long time on YouTube or grappling.
(08:36):
Now they got their setups.
Now they got their strategies.
But they're a blue belt.
And you don't know about that setup.
You don't know about that strategy.
Boom, they catch you with it.
Belts do not matter.
It does not matter.
But it's nice to be appreciated.
It's nice to be appreciated, for sure.
So when you get your next belt, are you going to be like, yes, are you just chasing the
(09:00):
belt?
Because if you are chasing the belt, there's no way you could be a seven year white belt.
There's no way because you didn't get the recognition.
Or are you doing this because you want to be the baddest MF in your household, on the
gym?
You just want to be better.
You want to train with the guys.
You don't care about the belts.
You just want to have fun.
You want to enjoy your time.
(09:22):
You want to constantly face danger and overcome it.
Constantly face struggle and overcome it.
Just telling yourself some days, I don't even want to go to Jiu Jitsu.
My body's beat up.
So and so is going to be there at the gym.
They're a tough role.
Every single time they kick my butt.
Every single time.
But guess what?
(09:42):
You go anyway.
Oh, it's raining.
It's snowing.
Guess what?
You go anyway.
Not because you love the game.
Because you're addicted to the game.
Not because I want to get my black belt.
I want to get my blue belt.
I want to get my purple belt.
I want to get my brown belt.
That's not why you do it.
Because those people, those are the ones that get the belt and then they quit.
(10:04):
They get the blue belt and then they quit.
They get the purple belt, they quit.
They get the black belt and they quit.
I think it was a guy who got his black belt from Marcelo Garcia.
He said, I have nothing else to learn and quit.
How arrogant.
But that shows what he was really chasing.
People can chase things for a really long time.
Really long time.
(10:27):
If you're just in this for a short ride, chase the belt.
But if you're in this for an experience that's going to grow you as an adult, grow you as
a human being, grow you as a kid, grow you as whoever you are.
But just ultimately grow you and challenge you and push you to the next level.
Push you to be the person that you didn't think you could be.
(10:48):
To give you that confidence continuously and the reality check and to be constantly humbled.
Because we all need to be humbled.
Then you're going to train regardless of the belt.
Because you know that sugar honey iced tea don't matter.
Alright, I'll catch you on the next episode.
(11:09):
See you guys.
Love you, take care.
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