Fighter

If you're the type of person who likes to master a hobby within months - or even weeks - of picking it up, Brazilian jiu jitsu might not be for you. In fact, jiu jitsu is not something that can be learned so easily. Additionally, it quickly becomes more than just a hobby... it becomes a lifestyle. For the majority of practitioners who make it past blue belt, it's as integral to their daily routine as brushing their teeth. 

BJJ is an activity that requires knowledge and practice, so obviously one might ask how long it takes to get a proper understanding of jiu jitsu. However, this is not an easy question to answer.

First of all, obtaining an "understanding" of BJJ is quite relative. The casual observer can gain enough of an understanding of jiu jitsu to know what a sweep, pass, arm bar and choke looks like. But when it comes to understanding the intricacies of a particular sweep, or how one position connects to another, then to another... that takes years of practice and dedicated implementation. For many, obtaining the coveted black belt can take anywhere from six to 15 (or more) years. Even then, many a brand new black belt has been known to say that their real journey of learning the gentle art had just begun!

For those who don't shy away from the long haul, getting a sufficient understanding of jiu jitsu is dependent on 1) how you define an "understanding" and 2) how you learn. I can't address your answer to number 1, but I can give you some tips regarding your number 2:

Be Consistent - An understanding of jiu jitsu - of anything really - requires the cumulation of endless hours of practice. However, if those endless hours are piece meal and inconsistent, you can be guaranteed to have a long, slow journey toward your next belt. Being consistent allows you to easily build off of the previous sessions and build a strong foundation for the next session, without having to go back and review something that you had forgotten because you took a few weeks off.

Identify Your Learning Style - Not everyone learns the same. While jiu jitsu is a very hands-on practice, recognizing how you learn will allow you to modify your individual practice to favor that learning style or supplement your in-class instruction with something that enables you to learn the techniques more easily. 

Study - As much as you'd like to - especially after you've gotten the "jiu jitsu bug" - you can't live on the mat. There's only so much hands-on training that your body can take before your overstrain yourself. So studying is indispensable to your journey. Luckily for you, many high-level professors and academy owners offer online websites full of video instructionals. And of course, there's also YouTube. 

Wherever your journey takes you, and however long it takes, know that your journey is yours and yours alone. 

Train on. Oss.

As a female BJJ practitioner, I don't feel entirely qualified to write about this subject... but I'm game for just about anything, so here we go anyway! XD

To wear, or not to wear, a cup in BJJ... that is the question. I'm sure Shakespeare would have asked the same thing if he had been born in modern times and become as addicted to the gentle art as we all have. He would have probably written something far more eloquent for this blog, too. But, alas, he's six feet under and you've just got me. Lucky you. 

In my experience, the vast majority of jiu jitsu practitioners do not wear a cup. Sure, there are the occasional blokes who choose to strap on an athletic cup under their drawers, but it's relatively uncommon. There are a few reasons for this: 

• Cups were designed to protect from accidental hits to the groin areas... which is pretty prevalent in more high-contact sports like football, MMA and other striking martial arts, but not so much in BJJ. Yes, while the occasional stray knee or elbow can come into contact with a man's bits a pieces during jiu jitsu training, but it's really relatively rare. 
• The discomfort of a wearing a cup during jiu jitsu training far outweighs any protective benefits. Jiu jitsu - probably more than any other sport in the world - involves a lot of strange positions and contortions of the body. As such, having a hard piece of plastic in that area for groin protection will cause more discomfort than it's worth. Additionally, if your cup doesn't quite "fit" as well as it should (they don't exactly come in a plethora of sizes), you risk pinching some delicate skin while you're trying to berimbolo to the someone's back. 
• Wearing a cup during jiu jitsu competitions is illegal. This is principally because that bit of hard plastic can cause some serious damage to a person's elbow or spinal column with enough applied pressure. If you can't wear it during competition, why wear it when you're training for a competition? 

And finally, from the female - or even general training partner's - perspective, training with someone who's wearing a cup is incredibly uncomfortable. I already have to contend with my male training partners' superior strength, but if I'm in a terrible position, the last thing I want is a piece of hard plastic digging painfully into my back. 

Whether you choose to wear a cup or not - and I hope you choose the latter - make sure you always train safe, and with respect toward your fellow training partner. 

Train on. Oss. 

Nothing's worse than an ill-fitting gi. It's one thing to have ill-fitting street clothes, but you don't normally have people grabbing and pulling you into Del la Riva guard on the street.

In jiu jitsu, it's important to have a gi that fits well. If it's too baggy, your opponent has plenty of material to grab and wrap you up in. If it's too tight, it restricts your movement and you won't be able to pass, sprawl or invert as freely. Simple enough... but when the vast number of gis are sold online, finding a gi that fits well right out of the package is no easy feat. 

Of course, there's no substitute for trying a gi on before you buy. That's when physical store fronts (Fighters Market has one in San Diego) and pop-up stores at the major IBJJF events come in handy. But if you're not in San Diego or a competitor, you have few other options than to shop online.

Here are some tips to help you out: 

Don't Let Your Ego Get in the Way

Just as with your regular everyday clothes, it's easy to think you're a size smaller or bigger than you are, based on how you'd like to see yourself. But as I mentioned before, you don't want to make this mistake with a gi. How do you know if it's the right fit? For one, your gi pants should be large enough that you can do a full squat in them without the material stretching too tight around your thighs or your backside, but not too large that the hems go well past your ankles. Likewise, your gi jacket should be roomy enough around the shoulders that you can easily rotate them, and the lapel ends should be able to cross when you close the jacket around your middle. However, you don't want the sleeves to be too long that they cover your hands, or too wide that your opponent can easily grab them. 

Check the Sizing Guides

Almost all gi brands will have a sizing guide that you can reference to find the right size. Most of the time, these guides are limited to height and weight, which - as you can probably guess - isn't always the best. If you're an average body type, yeah, these sizing guides will be fairly useful. But how many people really fit the average? So take these sizing guides with a grain of salt. There are some gi brands that also include arm and leg length, and others that include even more specific measurements. Especially if you're shopping on an e-commerce site like Fighters Market, it's wise to check both the sizing guides posted on the site, as well as the sizing guides that the brands post on their own websites. And know that these days, a lot of gi brands offer alternate sizes, like L and H (for long and husky) body types. 

Know that All Brands are Not Equal

If you've already bought a gi or two, and you're looking to buy more, maybe from another brand... you must know that all brands are not created equal. If you're a size A1 in one brand, you may not be a size A1 in another. And if you are a size A1 in both, one may not fit exactly like the other. This is because most brands have their own pattern that they use, which is sized up and down accordingly. So when you're buying gis, keep this in mind and don't get upset when the gi you've ordered online from a new brand doesn't fit exactly as you're used to. 

Return... But Wisely

To accommodate the inconvenience of not being able to try on a gi, online gi retailers offer returns - sometimes free, sometimes not. Before you purchase a new gi, it's important that you check the website to see their return policy. Of course, you definitely want to avoid the lengthy and irritating process of having to buy a gi, find it doesn't fit, return it, and wait for a new one to arrive, but if it's unavoidable, it's unavoidable. Just practice wise returning, as I've already detailed in a previous blog post. 

Finding the right size gi is a pain, especially when you're just starting out on your jiu jitsu journey and you don't have as much experience doing it. But hopefully this article has given you some useful guidance. 

Train on... Oss. 

The short answer to this question: jiu jitsu gi color means absolutely nothing. While BJJ gi belt colors carry some serious significance - primarily in alerting you to the level of shark you're swimming with on the mat - jiu jitsu gi colors don't carry any special significance. 

However, while we're on the topic, it's worth noting the history of the jiu jitsu gi colors, as well as when certain colors are more appropriate than others. 

First and foremost, white is the most traditional uniform color for many martial arts with Japanese roots. In Japanese culture, the color white signifies "purity" or "truth", which is likely why it was adopted as the color for martial arts training, particularly judo and jiu jitsu. When judo competitions became popularized, a blue gi was utilized to distinguish one competitor from another, and this was subsequently adopted by jiu jitsu. 

Today, white and blue are the only colors available for judo gis (the sale of which is heavily regulated by the International Judo Federation (IJF), which keeps regulation judo gis limited to those two colors). The International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), the largest worldwide jiu jitsu promotion, allows for black gis as well... which is great for those who fancy themselves as modern-day ninjas. However, for the major events, like the IBJJF World Championships, black belt competitors can only wear a white or blue gi in the finals. 

The greater jiu jitsu community is quite a bit more relaxed when it comes to gi colors. While some academies have strict "white gi only" requirements during class, most academies don't... which is why you'll see jiu jitsu practitioners rocking everything from grey and green, to camo, pink and everything in between. I've even seen a tie-dyed rainbow gi! 

Often, the choice to wear a colored gi over the traditional white gi is simply due to personal preference. However, keep in mind that a white gi is always harder to keep clean - and white - than a colored gi. Even if you take all necessary precautions, your academy may use puzzle mats, which have a tendency to discolor a white gi, or it just may not keep the mats clean enough to eat off of. 

Whatever gi color you choose, just remember to tap early and tap often. 

Train on... Oss. 

Now THAT'S the million-dollar question. There is no straight answer to how long it takes to get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It really all depends on your individual journey. That being said, there are some things that determine whether your journey is relatively fast, or much slower than your peers.

On average, most jiu jitsu practitioners receive their black belt in anywhere from 6 to 15 years. For most academies, this depends on a number of factors: 

Time on the mat

Nothing beats time on the mat. You can't progress in your jiu jitsu career without putting in hours upon hours of time on the mat, and practical experience trumps any other kind of experience. YouTube Cowboys will not receive their black belt without time on the mat, no matter how many John Danaher videos they religiously watch. You have to be able to feel the technique, feel how it works or doesn't work, feel how it must be adapted depending on your opponent's movements or reaction. You can't fully learn a technique unless you apply it. Of course, there's something to be said about supplementing your jiu jitsu practice with study. Jiu jitsu is a physically intensive activity. Depending on how old you are - or even if you're a young whipper snapper - packing in too much jiu jitsu takes a toll on your body or causes burn-out. Exercising your brain will allow you to continually advance in your progress without compromising your body or your journey. 

Amassed knowledge

Every person learns at a different rate. Two people can be training for the exact same time, yet have a very different level of amassed knowledge. And that's okay. Everyone's journey is his or her own. It certainly doesn't mean one person is better than another... nevertheless, this definitely causes some people stress. It's hard not to compare yourself to others, especially when your homeboy that you started with is getting promoted to brown, while you feel like you're stagnating in your purple belt. The worst thing you can do is freak out and quit jiu jitsu. The best thing you can do is assess why you're not learning as fast and come up with strategies to help yourself improve. 

Competitive experience

It's no secret that competitors advance through their belts a lot faster than hobbyists. This isn't because of some inherent bias in the jiu jitsu community. It's because competition affords you an incredible experience to learn what works and what doesn't work, with opponents that are going 100 percent. I tell my students that every competition is worth about three months of solid training. Plus, competition gives your professor the best view of how you compare to others in your belt division. If you're getting smashed, obviously you should spend a little more time developing in your current rank. But if you're dominating your division each and every time you enter a competition, you're probably ready to rank up or risk being called a sand-bagger by the opposing teams. 

Professor's judgment

Ultimately, the decision lies with your professor. Even if you've been sitting on a belt for years, you're dominating your divisions and you've demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the gentle art, you're professor just might not promote very easily. Or he or she might not like you (I've seen it happen). Or - God forbid - you had actually asked to be promoted. One thing that is ingrained into the Brazilian jiu jitsu culture is: you do not ask for your belt. Don't even give hints. If you ask, you've just added more time onto your journey. And to be really honest, if you're asking for your next belt, why are you really doing jiu jitsu anyway? Are you doing it just to say to the ladies "I'm a BJJ blackbelt"? Pfft. Get out of here. Then you don't deserve it. Sure, work hard toward earning your black belt, but don't let that be the primary reason you're doing jiu jitsu. 

Again, there's no clear cut answer to this question, but hopefully I've provided some enlightenment on how you might advance through your belts and one day - hopefully - achieve that prestigious title of "professor". 

Train on... Oss.