Why White Belt To Blue Belt Is A Gigantic Change in BJJ 

White to blue was when I found out how bad I actually was. Higher belts stopped taking it easy on me, and I didn’t know they had been...

Blue to purple for me (still blue) is the hardest b/c you understand enough to know you know nothing in jiujitsu.

I'm a white belt and my professor told me the withe belt to blue belt transition is the one you learn the most!

when i walked into my first class i saw the blue belts and thought to myself "man those guys are so advanced, it's gonna be impossible for me to ever get there"....i just got promoted to blue belt after about 2 years of training and all i know is i don't know anything lol. the intensity of rolls with the higher belts has picked up subsantially. i enjoy it but man it makes ya realize how much you have to learn still.

I just got promoted to blue belt a month ago...I feel like an 8 stripe white belt.

Like the analogy, the white belt learning the language is like ‘I understand the name of the choke that I just tapped to now’, it’s all progress. Learning to speak is where you start building your game.

Please talk about the "after black blelt" for us new black belts... Man, it's like starting all over again 🤣

In the first jujitsu gym I went to, the guy that was teaching us, didn't really know what he was doing and his "system" was that every time a new member joined the gym, the new guys before that "earned" a new belt, it seemed weird at the time but I didn't argue because, I had never attended any martial arts classes before, while there I was basically given a purple belt, then the guy had to stop teaching, ( I later found out that he was a fraud and didn't know jujitsu at all really and was told he would be arrested if he didn't stop teaching ) and I had to go to a new gym, when I got there the instructor asked what belt I was before as it had attended the first session in casual clothes, I told him purple belt and he said okay, and placed me with some purple belts and said, just get comfortable with each other, pretty much immediately, I was getting passed and swepped and the other guy I was training with was clearly going light, like really obviously, he wasn't being a dick or anything but he said okay, listen, I don't think you're a purple, I'm not sure what's gone on there but I need to tell my sensei to ensure, no one gets hurt and he can decide what to do, so I spoke with the sensei and told him who I trained with and he knew the guy and the situation, which he enlightened me to, from there he said, okay, come and roll with me and we rolled and he basically let me do what I wanted and occasionally he would throw in a pass or submission to gauge my ability and he said, okay you're probably only just at blue belt at best, just shy of white belt really and it annoyed me and didn't go back for a while and it took seeing my sensei in public and him convincing me to go back for me to step back in the gym out of embarrassment, now I am actually a purple belt and I now appreciate how long it takes and the real skill level, I'm not full on, I only go once a week oppose to people that go 3 or 4 times a week and it took me nearly 5 years to get where I am now but because I have earned it, it feels so much better and it shows when I roll with someone new or if I attend a different gym, I'm really glad the guy I started with got busted, otherwise within a year with that guy I would be thinking that I'm a black belt and could destroy a gracie, the situation humbled me and opened my eyes, you need to be dedicated and really take in the knowledge

I've been a Blue Belt with 2 stripes for well over 5 years, and prior to that a white of around 6/7 years. I gave up worrying about getting promoted long ago and just tried to learn as much as possible from wherever and whoever I could. Sometimes I feel like I've taken huge strides forward, and there's times I feel like I've taken many more steps back. I can't train consistently because of kids, work and life, but when I do, it's fun. When it stops being fun, then I'll stop :-)

Hey I just wanted yo say I was on the verge of quitting BJJ and I watched your videos and it gave me that passion again

Oh damn, that language analogy changed my life! Thanks Coach!

As a writer and newly minted blue belt, I love this analogy.

Just got my blue belt on friday. Definitely feel like I'm walking into a new world.

I would love to see a video compilation of someone going from white to black.

love your content as always! I would love to see blue-purple and purple-brown. I was recently promoted to purple and feel an immense pressure as honestly I still feel like a half-decent blue belt most days.

I’m a blue belt but then COVID happened so I’ll be coming back as a white belt 😂

4:00, my coach always says something just like that. He likes the reference ‘ white - black belt is like learning to ride a bike. First you start off with training wheels, once the black comes the training wheels come off. Now you can ride a bike. Do wheelies, no handers. ‘ would love to see a video explaining the difference / learning gap after black belt.

I was once told that as a Japanese Jujutsu and Jodoka shodan (black belt) I would be a blue belt, I still started as a white belt, my coach asked me what I knew and where I trained. I told him what dojo/ Gym I trained at, he then said he liked my humility and I was where I needed to be. So, I feel like I can relate to you thinking that you were a blue belt!

Your knowledge in bjj is amazing!!

Started as a white belt pre Covid so I'll be going back as a clear-belt!

What a great perspective on belt rankings. Thanks for sharing!!!

Lovely video Chewy! I would love to see a video on blue to purple transition or or brown to black :)

I can’t wait to become the First Native American Woman BJJ Black Belt!! Thanks for your videos 🤍

I'm now 3 stripe white belt and I can see alot of improvement from last year. Still not ready for blue. I am more than happy to sit on my white belt for the next year our grading are in December. So this coming year I will compete more and stay consistent developing my game.

Would love to hear your thoughts on after black belt. And even your thoughts from black to red if possible?

It's funny that you use this language analogy because I'm watching your videos and applying some of the tips to my language learning.

It's like that in every skill - the biggest amount of progress is made at the very start, and then it begins to be smaller and take longer

Life is like an inverted X-Guard, complicated yet elegant

Loving the new edits, chewy stepping that game up!

Great video. My Sensei always say you know Jiu-Jitsu but you don’t know Jiu-Jitsu. Great video. Very helpful in understanding the journey to black belt.

You shoud start record your own podcast about jiu jitsu!

Damn I was rewatching this video and I think I accidentally deleted my comment instead of editing? 😳 this really aged well though. So many golden nuggets of value

That was awesome 👏 - makes me want to be a brown belt...oh, yeah, got to get to purple first 😝

got promoted to Blue in Dec 2020, was totally surprised . Now the purple and brown belts are like ok now it's on once we can roll again (cant due to covid in Ontario right now) I know I will get smashed but I dont care, Im like, bring it on !

The writing the book analogy is brilliant

Ok so, I’m a 4 stripe white belt, and I’ve been my 4th stripe for almost a year now, what can I do the improve my technique. I know you said to not worry about getting your blue belt, but I always want to get better, so if you have any tips I can learn so that I expand my knowledge. Love the vids!!

A language of the body is a great way to describe it

"Differeence" - Titlecard

Thank you for the explanation of the belt rankings.

That was a really informative analysis! No wonder I’m still a white belt! Lol! I would like to hear the “after black belt” transition. Will you have the same transformation even if you don’t compete at a black belt level or is competition a part of that?

I got my Blue Belt today. Took me 2 years of hard work.

This video and analogy is brilliant so looking forward to getting back on the mats!! X

“Even if you think you know the language, you don’t.” This cracked me up because it’s so true.

Thank you for the explanation Chewy. OSS.🤙

Brown belts are just low-key black belts...

I’m more concerned about getting from Blue to purple. I feel like more people struggle there compared to white to blue. You learn 5-7 submissions a couple sweeps and 1-2 take downs you basically have you’re blue belt in 6 months- 1.5 years. I had my blue belt within 1 year and my coach at the time said that I could have had it within 6 months but he didn’t want to promote me to quickly. I know most things a purple belt knows I just can’t go into auto pilot mode and just flow like a purple belt can. Thats what’s stopping me from getting purple belt. I’ve been stuck at blue for 5 years and I have left and come back to jiu Jitsu multiple times because I get very frustrated. I constantly see people progressing past me.

Chewy, please elaborate on you thoughts after achieving black belt. I'm very curious about what you think.

"AOL Instant Messenger" Ah yes, the good old days.

Im a 1 stripe white 👍

Interestingly, I've heard famous black belts say the biggest is "white to blue" "blue to purple" "purple to brown" and no one has said brown to black

Wonderful explanation 😊

I am interested in the shift that takes place during the black belt

demn i was 3 stripe white belt at the beginning of this year, now im going back to zero, just keeping my body and flexibility in shape just to be able to come back when the gym opens back.

I was the exact same way coming into jiu jitsu haha I was the biggest MMA fan you would ever meet. I watched every UFC card front to back. I watched a ton of PRIDE fights as well along with other promotions. I thought I knew a decent amount. I thought I was going to clear the gym out. I just got beat up bad. Getting my ass kicked by this girl half my size was just a big wtf moment. I feel as though this could be said about anything. Whenever you first learn something the bulk of what you learn will happen early on. Like a 6 month guy isn't anywhere near the skill of a 3 year guy even though there's only a 2.5 year difference. Only in rare cases would you find 6 month guys beating 3yr guys. But a 17.5 year guy can't dominate a 15yr guy. Or he can it depends on the guy. The line begins to thin out a few years in. Like it's very possible for an 8yr guy to beat up a 15yr guy even though there's a 7yr gap in experience. My instructor can defeat this other guy I train with who has been training 4-5yrs longer than him. Because after a certain period of time the line thins out.

Really great perspective

3:38 can you cover this shift?

Got my blue belt today!!!

Hell I just got my purple belt about 3 months ago and I still don't feel like I'm there. Didn't feel like it when I got my blue belt either. But I've learned to become comfortable with that feeling

Tips on breaking thru the barrier from blue to purple? Not interested in the belt but the ability. I want to be able to roll with purples and not get crushed. Blue belt blues for almost 2 years now 😢

It's a little bit like math: arithmetic is the ABC's, algebra is writing sentences, and calculus and above is writing papers. The stronger your foundation the better your advanced skills will be. Learn the basics and never hurry a move. Pay attention to every little detail because they matter.

Got a question for you. I just started training Bjj a month ago and have been going three times a week but my professor wants me to go 5 times a week which is hard for me due to the rest of my life. Most people in gym do seem to train 5 days a week that just won’t work for me. How do I handle this???

Hi, I really want to try BJJ but the thing I'm most worried about is it messing up my ears (cauliflower ears) and I don't really want to wear headgear and I feel like people could pull on it. I was wondering if you have had a problem with getting cauli ears or if a lot of people you know who do BJJ have it.

Haha typo in the title screen!

Interesting video

regular black belt to world champ, is probably a bigger difference than from white to black?

Hi, some time ago my coach mentioned "breathing exercises" in training. Could you dive into this a little?

I feel like I still babble and struggle to make sentences lol

It took me 11 years to get my blue belt!

@chewjitsu please elaborate on the next big discovery/breakthrough after black belt for us “new” black belts. I’ve had a few during my first year at black belt. But I’m very curious as to what you mean.

I'm a new black belt, I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. I'm still trying to figure my next step... any advice would be amazing. Thanks

Very well said. Now I understand. I can get caught up on videos and what I can do to be a better white belt. But really I should just focus on what I am taught. But its like candy. Maybe I should try this or that. Any suggestions? Guys. Or just wait.

Question I went too my first bjj session Saturday which was amazing loved it, I go bruises surprise will this faze out the bruises??

Look up “Roy Dean makes is a purple belt” Roy has killer content btw

Blue to Purple is a big gap too in skills and stamina !

I’m going to send in a question just so Chewy calls me brother lol.

I come from a wrestling background. I’ve been a white belt for a year and a half, and just switched gyms, so I have to start all over again. Kinda sucks :/

When there is new video first press the like button and then keep watching the video

My old instructor told me it would take 2 years to earn my white belt he was a black belt and eveytime we rolled he ragged dolled me eveytime submitted me every 30 seconds and I never trained before I changed schools is that how its supposed to be when a white rolls with a black belt ? I haven't rolled with my new instructor yet

How is blue to purple? And what's after black that is a big shift?

I've been a white belt 10 years. I probably only trained for 6 of those years. I dont think I will ever get it. I'm definitely at the "defend against a similar sized untrained opponent". Well past that. So Idk what the hold up is. Probably my inconsistency.

diffreeeeeeence

what is the other shift after black belt?!?!?!

Now the question is what are the A B C, s ? What is the system that shows clearly and simply an Alphabet that will unify everyone in the field? Because every gym comes with its own theory

blue=beginner Purple=intermidiate Brown=advanced-intermidiate Black=advanced

Hey, who is the dude in the photo behind you on the bicycle?

I got my bluebelt in mars :)

Baby Brown here I feel like I don't deserve it.

One time and only once I submitted black belt. He's submitted me 1000 times. Next time I rolled with him he set me up for the spider web and got me. I haven't submitted him since. Ugh

I’m a 2 stripe white belt I’ve been doing jiujitsu 4 years straight 5 days a week so I know quite a bit and that’s being cocky I really do Ive got triangle down pat bow and arrow down pat leg locks toe hold wrist locks calf slicers hella amount of gi chokes and the reason I’m still a 2 stripe is cause I couldn’t really afford to go to the siminars the ones I got was the ones that came to my training facility and I really wanna get my blue belt so I was wondering if I go straight from 2 stripe to a blue belt

The typo in the title card drives me insane

What about purple belt ?

forever whitebelt nogi sandbagger club!

white zero stripes vs 1 stripe, is similar to brown vs black! (?)

jesus the like to dislike ratio says it all

Purple belt : am I a joke to you?

Covid made me 4 year white belt

The minute i got the blue belt the brown and black belts that used to go easy on my put it on me big time now...blue is what white belts want to sub the most and higher belts what to practice new shit on you

im white belt , one year of training they struggle to tap me now im not so easy no more , some blue avoid roll with me in front of everyone .. is that normal ?

So thats the diffreence

I train at a gracie barra, and I can 100% feel I've improved as a white belt with 1 stripe. I won't lie; I've not been consistent with training. But there are a few guys who recently got their blue belt, but some of them I can't understand why. I used to box, a sport where there's no belts or promotions, so those things don't mean much to me. I'm on my 8th month and still feel embarrassed calling our black belt professor! 🤣🤣