How I gave up my Purple Belt at a New Gym (And Why You Shouldn't)

Should you have to give up your rank when you join a new gym?

If you're a Blue, Purple or Brown Belt should you have to restart over if your instructor thinks that you don't know enough about their system?

What do you think?

In this video I answer that question.

The question comes from someone who has been training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for a number of years and received his Blue Belt from a legitimate affiliation. I did not list any of the details of this person or his training to keep it private for him.

Because of work he's had to move all over the place and hasn't been able to train consistently at one Brazilian Jiujitsu gym for a long time.

Recently he started training BJJ at a new gym and really likes the instructor and the gym overall.

The problem he's running into is that the instructor wants him to start over because he doesn't know his system as well.

Our friend feels that this is a bit unfair and doesn't want to restart his BJJ journey all over again. He adds that the frustrating part about this is that he's doing very well during rolling against the instructors students and feels fine with the techniques he's showing.

In this BJJ video I share a story about how I personally gave up my Purple Belt when I came to a new gym to train Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. It was a new instructor who didn't care for me or felt threatened by me.

I've also had students who I didn't quite think were up to par with our Blue Belts. And I share whether or not I made them give up their rank. If you watch my BJJ videos you probably know what I did.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the video. And if you're in the process of changing BJJ gyms. I hope this video is helpful to you or gives you some insight into any problems you might have.

Thanks!
-Chewy

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[povang]

Im primarily a boxer and its like saying "Ohhh your ammy boxing record is 20 wins and 2 losses. You haven't fought in 2 years so im gonna have to ask you to wipe those last 10 fights off your record."

Your belt is a record of your accomplishments, nobody has the right to wipe your record.

[andrewldoe]

I took three stripes off my purple belt when I went to my current school. I hadn't rolled in 2 years, and I wasn't consistent prior to that. I figured I'd be happy to just have them let me wear the purple. When my instructor found out he told me, "you never lose rank. You earned those stripes and that belt. Maybe you're not back to where you were, but you still earned those."

[wilson]

I say put on the white belt and then ask him why a white belt keeps choking out his blue belts! LOL

[pullbothbarrels]

never never never give up a belt you earned legitimately

[rturo]

If you earn your rank from a legit professor you should keep it. It would be disrespectful to ask someone to demote themselves. I would say just let them know what the knew requirements are to get promoted

[tobyn]

My coach told us all to wear our belts with pride in new gyms. Fight to prove we earned them and fight to keep them if someone wants to de-rank you.. so that's what I will do.

[DarkKnight]

Plot twist, his real name is "Bob"

[martinkaleta]

Never give up what you allready achieved, if you have earned your rank - this is disrespectfull to the former teacher.

[MF-kbnv]

I have started to take up Judo again after a 25 year absence. I was brown belt prior to leaving. I've decided to start my 3 children at a club and start beginning class with them. The sensei doesn't know I was ever in Judo. In the class I'm considered a white belt and like my kids haven't even started to wear a gi. I admit I'm very rusty and have forgot many names of throws plus my body just doesn't move like it use to. One day I will tell my sensei but right now I'm just enjoying watching my kids play.

[jeffcordero]

I wouldn't want to start over, I've been training for over 7 years (3rd degree purple belt) I've earned some IBJJF medals at large tournaments (Pans, master worlds) and I'm 52 years old. It's not like I have all the time in the world to spend on the mats trying to be the next Buchecha, I do this for fun not to "win." While my focus is not on belt colors I do plan on earning my black belt someday. I don't want to train for 20 years as a purple belt.

[arturofernandez]

Hi Chewjitsu,

Thanks for sharing your story. I started BJJ last November and am new - I don't dispute that at all. Your story spoke to me because I have had this experience outside the martial arts world. And before I get into that I want to express my sympathy for you and Bob experience poor leadership.

I served in the U.S. Army and deployed for a full year and a half before electing to try out for the 75th Ranger Regiment. I crushed the fitness and technical standards in selection and graduated at the top of my class. I was assigned to a Battalion on the East coast and was sent to a leadership school. Again I graduated at the top of my class. The day came when I met my platoon sergeant and the first words he said to me were, "Your kind usually doesn't make it here." By 'your kind' he meant Rangers who are 'imported' from having prior service in other units. There is a big attitude of 'if you didn't do it here, it doesn't count.'

So after having proven myself in a combat battalion for 15 months, in country, in an active war zone, I had this guy with a superiority complex tell me I was no better than the green kids who just got out of basic training. I tolerated it for as long as I could but I never got out from underneath that leader. He made sure I was the last to get any relevant training opportunities after that and he made sure that I got the weakest privates assigned to me.

We live and we learn. Because of the experience and feeling completely hopeless under my leadership I gave up on my aspirations of becoming an operator at a higher tier. I got out of the Army and got on with my life. It's by far one of the worst experiences and feelings of betrayal I have had to this day.

Empathetically,

A

[GOmegaPHD]

Going from a blue belt in no-gi to a white belt in gi was a 100% necessity. I had no idea how the Gi worked, it changes the entire game, you can't brute force anything technical, and people can catch you slipping really fast!

[Combatinho]

As an instructor I would honor the belt level unless he does not hang in there with other belts that are the same size, age, and physical abilities as him. I would let him know the next belt requirements and award him when he is capable. I personally woud not give up my belt and would request to hold me in rank until I "caught up" to my peers.

[jasonjohansen]

I wouldn't give it up. When we have student's from other schools come through, they remain the rank they are at until they are caught up, unless it's obvious they bought the belt on-line and are a complete novice...

[justanotherwarr]

Wow, I didn't know Dan Blizerian did Ju jitsu.

[sampokemppainen]

New bjj gym asks you to lose your belt, tell them to get a premission from the person who gave you that belt.

[JDjr.]

Yikes. I think not giving up a belt is even more important as a blue belt than any other. To me, the first earned belt (blue for BJJ, yellow for judo, whatever) just means "I know what I am doing and know how not to hurt myself or my partner". I am a blackbelt in judo and a blue belt in BJJ but I would rather demote myself all the way to yellow in judo than white in BJJ. I don't need a blackbelt to help someone improve a technique I can do well, but no one really knows how much mat time you have put in and to me, a colored belt shows just a little bit of that.

Where I did BJJ for a while, I came in as a judo brown belt but no "actual" BJJ experience, but that white belt bothered me. I didn't really think I "deserved" a blue belt, but I wasn't allowed to roll because I wasn't high enough ranked (they wanted you to have 2 or 3 stripes to roll) and that really bugged me. It also bugged me how they awarded belts- if you came consistently enough ( I think 2 classes per week), you got a promotion after a certain amount of time. No skill requirements, no rolling/mat time requirements, just "show up for x months".

I don't think I'm even close to being on topic anymore, so tl;dr: Unless it keeps you from training all together, keep the belt.

[Pfsif]

You encountered a Narcissist (Brazilian guy).

[Silverbackpumphrey]

Rank DOES mean if it didn't we would even have rank. Rank is like rank in military it represents knowledge and skill level. It also gives a structured order of things. I agree with Chew, don't give up the belt you have earned and be respectful of those ranked above you. While at the same time it is only respectful to direct questions as to" how to this or that" to the instructors unless they trust the lower belt enough to answer those questions.When it comes to fighting, I agree with Helio because nothing matters in a fight there's only one victor..

[kingash]

I think that you handled those situations perfectly. When you were asked to surrender rank, you did so even though the instructor in question was just making a power play. And when it was in your hands to make the same call, you built your new student up. Giving him the chance to live into the rank. Train to gain skill, not rank. Rank can be given or taken away, skill can’t.
I would also advise you to go back and learn those Judo throws. Not because you need them necessarily, but because you’ll learn things that will make your technique better in other areas. I learned that the hard way about skills that I ignored in my first 20 years of training. You don’t have to forget how to wrestle to learn something new. Just advice, and like nostalgia, it often means more to the person giving it than the person receiving it.