The Fastest BJJ Black Belt – BJJ Fanatics

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The Fastest BJJ Black Belt

By Benjamin Strusnik, May 25, 2022

In the world of Martial Arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become one of the fastest growing sports. Many students are joining the ranks in search of improving their skills in the grappling arts. Nowadays students are exceeding all expectations by going through the belt promotions at record pace. Many up and coming athletes are standing out in the world arena of grappling, as the rise of No Gi competitions like ADCC, Polaris, WNO, Five Grappling and Fight 2 Win are becoming exceedingly popular.

What This Article Covers:

Since the Japanese legend Mitsuyo Maeda first introduced Jiu Jitsu to the Gracie family, the art has evolved considerably. Many practitioners have aided in the development of the Martial Art through sheer dedication and innovation. There has been a significant rise in the complexity of many of the technical movements, including inverted attacks and the leg lock systems. Due to the evolution of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, students are reaching the highest levels faster than ever before. With the availability of an abundance of techniques online, it has become significantly easier to learn the Martial Art. BJJ has also risen in terms of competitive tournaments, as many students of the art are winning medals on a global scale. This translates into a more predominant hunger from many athletes to reach the higher levels of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

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HOW QUICK CAN A PRACTITIONER BECOME A BLACK BELT IN BJJ

These days students of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can fast track their pathways towards becoming a black belt. It has become extremely popular for students to compete on an international level, and with the right attitude, dedication and technical skill students can achieve wins at many high level tournaments. Now with the popularity of No Gi grappling and many household names like Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, Mikey Muscamesi and Andre Galvao leading the charge. Students are highly inspired by the feats of their heroes, which is leading towards faster promotions at the lower levels in BJJ. With all these fast promotions the question should be asked how many bjj black belts are there, and as the number rises, a further question should be asked as to why are students receiving the promotion so fast. Students that continue to do well in competitive tournaments are certain to achieve faster belt promotions, and rightfully so. If a student is winning World Championships at lower levels than a coach has no choice but to promote them.

It is extremely common to see kids joining the ranks in BJJ, and due to the high calibre of experienced coaches, kids are receiving a more comprehensive tuition in BJJ. When kids enter the youth Jiu Jitsu belt rankings, they are often excited by the value their academy has to offer. Training BJJ from such a young age has a multitude of benefits, like helping children become exceedingly confident and able to identify the appropriate decisions to make. It also gives children an incredible opportunity to grow within their fitness, agility, dexterity and strength and conditioning. All of these factors combined with the rigorous belt ranking system gives the kids a highly detailed and outlined pathway towards becoming a senior member and black belt within their academy.

Students can reach a black belt in as little as three years and some even quicker than that. To reach youngest bjj black belt goal there must be certain criteria that a student will need to tick. Firstly it takes serious consistency on the mats, as the student will need to train everyday. They will need to be dedicated and stay focused because they will face adversity during their progression. In most cases, to earn a fast promotion the student will have needed to go through the kids belt ranking system. There are other considerations when a coach awards a black belt, like when the student already has previous experience in other forms of Martial Arts. A student could be a black belt in Judo or a highly experienced Wrestler, MMA or Sambo fighter, in these cases the student already has a vast knowledge and a highly capable skill set, making a promotion to black belt in BJJ much easier.

SHOULD INSTRUCTORS GIVE OUT BLACK BELTS SO EASILY

There has been a lot of talk in the BJJ community about how fast some practitioners have earnt their belts. This has been recently highlighted during the feud between Mikey Muscamesi and Geo Martinez, after Geo was awarded his black belt by Eddie Bravo only three years into the sport. It is quite easy to have an opinion on both sides of the fence, as both sides have validity within their arguments.

Many practitioners will adopt the opinion that every student must go through a significant amount of time before they can be awarded a black belt. It is quite common to see students spend two years at each belt level, meaning it should take a minimum of eight years to achieve this honour. Many will argue that a student must put mileage into the belt, as it takes years of ups and downs to truly understand how to become a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. A black belt in BJJ must be a formidable grappler that has a wealth of knowledge, and the question can be asked, can an athlete learn this amount of knowledge in only three years?

The other side of the coin also has a valid argument, as students all learn at different speeds. If a student is training three times a day and six days a week then it is safe to say they are learning at an extremely fast rate. Does this mean they should be promoted to the highest level so quickly, there is no short answer to this as promotions are entirely up to each individual coach. If a student is training all the time and they are winning World Championships or other prestigious tournaments, then awarding the promotion is hard to ignore. Often students that win all the time can be accused of sandbagging, so it's a case of no matter what a coach chooses someone will disapprove. At the end of the day if a student is worthy of the upgrade to a black belt then a coach will hand out the belt no matter how long the athlete has been training.

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HOW FAST HAVE SOME OF THE WORLDS BEST BEEN PROMOTED

Back in the beginning students of BJJ would only have a certain amount of content to work with, as they could only learn what their instructors showed them. In this day and age there is an infinite amount of online content that practitioners can access. This is a huge reason why so many students are reaching this goal faster than practitioners of old. There is also a monumental rise in the availability of BJJ tournaments, meaning students can compete in a wide variety of competitions which will enhance their ability to improve.

Athletes like Nic Gregoriades, Gunnar Nelson, Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro and Orlando Sanchez all achieved their black belts in four years. DJ Jackson, Richie "Boogeyman" Martinez and Fabiano Scherner all were awarded their belts in just under four years. Three athletes have all earned their black belt in three years and five months and they are Mike Fowler, Gabriel Morales, and Lloyd Irvin. Geo Martinez, Mads Burnell, Caio Terra and BJ Penn are all tied at second place, as they have all been promoted to the black belt level in only three short years.

The fastest black belt promotion belongs to the American Olympic Judoka Travis Stevens. Travis progressed through all of the belt rankings under the famous DDS coach John Daniher. Being an Olympic level Judoka has given Travis a huge advantage within the BJJ academy and under the tutelage of Daniher it is easy to recognise his skills. Travis only spent weeks as a white belt, and after one month at the blue belt level, Daniher realised how dangerous is a bjj blue belt like Travis was, so he was given his purple belt. A few months later Travis could not be denied his brown belt. Travis then spent twelve months as a brown belt before John Daniher awarded him his black belt, totalling eighteen months from white to black belt which is an amazing accomplishment.

HOW HARD IS IT TO GAIN A PROMOTION TO A BLACK BELT IN BJJ

Typically it can be extensively hard to gain a black belt promotion. A student must tick off a number of categories before they will earn the right to wear the prestigious belt around their waist. From the start of a beginners journey they will learn what percentage of bjj white belts quit the sport, as they try to improve on their initial skill set. If a student can get through their first few months then they will often keep training and aim for a future promotion. As a white belt it can be extremely difficult to grasp the overall understanding of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu movements. Students will need to show consistency if they have a chance of retaining any technical proficiency at the early stages.

As a beginner heads towards their first promotion they can see how good is a bjj blue belt, once they earn the promotion they realise how little they actually know. As they head towards the next belt promotion they will need to work extensively on their technical skills. The blue belt level is a phase where students will either quit or embrace their belt rank, the ones that stick around will be thankful they did. As the student gains the knowledge and practical skill to move up to the purple belt level, this is where the journey gets even tougher.

During the purple belt phase practitioners will need to master their flow chains and begin to explore their game style. This level is about conceptual thinking and how to evolve their BJJ game style to suit their abilities. This phase can be a tricky time for students and they must stay consistent so they can maximise their chances at rising further up the BJJ ladder. As a student enters the last belt rank before a black belt promotion, they must refine all of their technical systems. If a student has a weakness then they must refine it and turn it into a strength. Brown belts are extremely dynamic and will usually be ferocious on the academy mats. In most cases a brown belt is ready for a black belt promotion, they just need to jump the last hurdle. Usually brown belts will need to show exceptional skills as an academy coach, as they are mentors to all of the lower belts.

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EVERYBODY SHOULD TRAIN IN BJJ

The world can be a dangerous place with the increase of violence and the significant rise of mental health issues. Most people will go through their lives unaware that there can be a solution to many of their adversities. The structure of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu caters for people from all aspects of life. Programs are run to help children become confident and develop their attributes in agility, dexterity and strength and fitness. They will also learn how to develop good decision making while under extreme pressure situations.

BJJ is also great for women as many programs are developed to help women become empowered. Learning self defense techniques and understanding concepts in violence prevention is crucial to the survivability of many females. Many of these programs are also tailored for law enforcement or even the general public, as everyone has the right to feel safe and know how to defend themselves and their loved ones.

Another important aspect is the effect that Jiu Jitsu has on people that suffer from mental health issues. BJJ has proven to be a great source of therapy, as many people in need will attest to the validity of the Martial Art. The BJJ community is among some of the most integral people in Martial Arts, the atmosphere at a BJJ academy is amazing and the friendships you will make are incredible. So training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the best life choices someone will make and should be chosen by many.

Let one of the toughest men on the planet, Judo Olympic Silver medalist and BJJ Black belt, Travis Stevens show you exactly how he plays his game!

travis stevens judo bjj black belt

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