All great athletes and world beaters have one thing in common; it took them years and years of blood, sweat, sacrifices and hard work to become an overnight success. There is no shortcut to mastering an art, especially one which will push you to the limit, throw you out of your comfort zone and into the world of endless possibilities. If you are serious about pursuing BJJ, keep one thing in mind, it’s going to be a long journey, but one that will be very fruitful if you are fully committed to the cause. You will start with a white belt, and gradually climb up the ladder. Your efforts will define your success and BJJ rank. In this article, we will teach you everything you need to know about the order of Jiu Jitsu belt levels.
Quick overview of the adult Jiu Jitsu belt levels
Belts are key features of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a great way to measure a practitioner’s progress in the sport. If you are 16 years or older, you can begin your journey as an adult BJJ practitioner. There are eight belt levels for adults in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
- White belt
- Blue belt
- Purple belt
- Brown belt
- Black belt
- Red and black belt
- Red and white belt
- Red belt
What Do the Stripes on a BJJ Belt Mean?
Stripes on BJJ belts are used to measure a student’s ability within a particular rank. More stripes indicate that a practitioner is doing great at his or her rank. For example, a four stripe white belt is more proficient than a one or two stripe white belt. The awarding of stripes differs from school to school. Some schools will give stripes for lower ranked belts only, whereas others will add stripes to all belt ranks except for black and red.
Quick overview of kids Jiu Jitsu belt levels
The BJJ kid belts provide faster promotion between ranks than the adult system. The system applies to everyone below the age of 16. Once you surpass the white belt, you are awarded three different versions of each colored belt. First colored belt comes with a horizontal white bar, the second one is a solid-colored belt, whereas the third one is a colored belt with a horizontal black bar.
Students are eligible for promotion after they have been awarded their third black bar belt. There are five belt levels for kids in BJJ.
- White belt
- Grey belt
- Yellow belt
- Orange belt
- Green belt
Jiu Jitsu belt degrees for adults
White belt
White belt is the first rank in the order of Jiu Jitsu belt levels. Your BJJ journey begins with a white belt and it takes about half a year to two years to upgrade to a blue belt. The faster you learn and develop, the sooner your rank will improve, although spending a good amount of time as a white belt is key as you are still working on building a solid foundation. Consider yourself as a blank canvas and learn as much as you can while you have the white belt wrapped around your waist.
At this level, you will learn about posturing in closed guard, how to open and close the guard, sweeps, and basic submission moves and escapes.
Blue belt
The minimum age to get to this level is 16 years and this is where the fun really begins. If you are a blue belt in BJJ, most masters would expect you to defend yourself against stronger opponents using BJJ techniques. John Danaher thinks a blue belt should be able to be effective on top and bottom alike, have working knowledge of sweeps, escapes and guard passes and be able to finish opponents.
Ideally, you should spend around two years at this level to strengthen your foundations.
Purple belt
Once you have laid your foundations and strengthened them, you should spend some time cleaning up the rough edges, which is where this rank comes in handy. A purple belt should be able to dominate and submit blue belts on a regular basis and put up competitive fights against brown belts, says Firas Zahabi. The time spent as a purple belt is when you start specializing in particular areas of your game.
Brown belt
Brown belts are considered very well versed in their art and have a solid understanding of BJJ techniques. A brown belt is a seasoned campaigner and has been practicing the sport for five to seven years. They understand most of the things a black belt does and begin to help others out in the academy as well.
Black belt
This is the endgame for most people, but it certainly isn’t where the journey ends. A black belt is the most common goal for most BJJ practitioners. At this level, you’re your own coach and can formulate your own approach to the sport and training. Apart from strengthening your skills on the mat, there are a number of additional milestones you need to achieve in order to earn a black belt.
To earn a black belt, a BJJ practitioner must:
- Provide a first aid and CPR course certificate
- Be affiliated with IBJJF
- Attend an IBJJF referee course with a score of over 60 percent
- Be promoted by an IBJJF-affiliated second degree black belt coach
Red and black belt
If you are just getting started, you shouldn’t think too much about this belt, because it takes at least 31 years as a BJJ black belt to attain this rank. This rank represents a 7th degree black belt.
Red and white belt
An 8th degree BJJ black belt rank can be attained after spending 7 years as a 7th degree BJJ black belt.
Red belt
The 9th and 10th degree black belt is represented by a red belt with gold and white bars and is the highest ranked belt in BJJ. After spending 10 years as an 8th degree BJJ black belt, this rank can be achieved.
Jiu Jitsu belt degrees for kids
White belt
White belts are the same for both kids and adults. This rank is where everyone starts their journey.
Gray belt
After spending around 6-8 months as a white belt, kids over 4 years of age will receive the gray belt, which comes in three different stripes, the gray/white, gray and gray/black ranks. At this level, kids normally spend around 8-12 months on each of the three stripe levels before they are promoted. The IBJJF recommends that gray belts spend at least a year at each stripe level before promotion. The gray belt is somewhat similar to the blue belt in the adult ranking system.
Yellow belt
Kids over seven years of age are promoted to the yellow/white rank with at least four years of training. For promotion, kids need to spend at least three years at this rank, with 12 month training required to pass each of the three belt ranks; yellow/white, yellow and yellow/black.
Orange belt
The minimum age to be promoted to this rank is 10 years, with at least seven years of training. Like in yellow belt, practitioners are expected to spend at least three years at this rank to sharpen their skills, with a year spent on each of the three ranks; orange/white, orange and orange/black. At this rank, kids have a very strong understanding of BJJ techniques.
Green belt
This is the highest rank in the order of Jiu Jitsu belt levels for kids. If you see a kid with a green belt wrapped around their waist, you shouldn’t mess with them because they’re very good. To qualify for this rank, a kid needs to be at least 13 years old and have at least 10 years of training. At this rank, most kids are almost as good as blue and purple belt BJJ adults.
How long does it take to get your first stripe in BJJ?
The average time required to get your first stripe in BJJ is 6 months, although it depends on a number of other factors. The amount of time needed to gain your first stripe depends on your performance, ability to learn and adapt and competition results. On average, it takes around 24 to 72 classes to receive your first stripe. The maximum number of stripes you can wear on your white belt is four. Although stripes are a great way to assess a pupil’s progression within their rank, it isn’t necessary for promotion.
What is the highest belt in BJJ?
The 9th degree red belt is the highest rank in the order of Jiu Jitsu belt levels. As mentioned above, it takes almost 40 years to attain this rank, and it’s reserved for only those people who have reached the pinnacle of the art and have contributed immensely to BJJ. Red belt holders are often regarded as grandmasters. If you are only getting started, a red belt is the last thing you should be thinking about. However, you can always take inspiration from people at this rank, because they have dedicated their lives to the sport.
BJJ belt progression timeline
How long it takes to achieve a certain rank depends on you and your coaches. On average, it takes someone 10-15 years to earn a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, unless you are Travis Stevens, who earned it in only 18 months or BJ Penn, who took twice as much time to earn it.
The following table provides an overview of the common time in grade between belts for adults.
| Belt | Average total years training | Time spent at the rank |
| White | ||
| Blue | 2-3 years | 2 years |
| Purple | 4-5 years | 1.5 years |
| Brown | 7-8 years | 1 year |
| Black | 10-15 years | 3 years |
The following table provides an overview of the common time in grade between belts for kids.
| Belt | Average total years training | Time spent at the rank |
| White | ½ years | ½ years |
| Gray | 2-3 years | 2-3 years |
| Yellow | 4-5 years | 2-3 years |
| Orange | 7-8 years | 2-3 year |
| Green | 10-11 years | 2-3 years |
Conclusion
So far in this article, we have learned about the order of Jiu Jitsu belt levels for both kids and adults. Both kids and adults have their distinctive ranks or stripes. You may find all the ranks confusing at first, but with the passage of time, things will start to become easier. If you are having any trouble with BJJ ranks, you can always come back and have a look at this article.
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