International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Belt Ranking and Promotion System
| WHITE – Beginner, any age
GREY – 04 to 15 years of age YELLOW – 07 to 15 years of age ORANGE – 10 to 15 years of age GREEN – 13 to 15 years of age BLUE – 16 years of age or older PURPLE – 16 years of age or older BROWN – 18 years of age or older BLACK – 19 years of age or older RED AND BLACK RED |
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All the following ages must be calculated starting from the year of birth. Therefore the athlete’s age is the one he is going to have at the end of the current year.- In order to be graded purple belt at 16 years of age it is required that the athlete has spent at least 2 years as a green belt.
Belt system and its minimum times BLUE TO PURPLE – 2 YEARS The minimum required times shown above are to be considered starting from the day the athlete is registered at the IBJJF in each belt. In order to request the black belt certificate it is necessary to be currently affiliated to the IBJJF, have gone through a first aid course and be approved in the referee course over the previous 12 months. You may request your 1st degree after 3 years as a black belt. In order to do so it is required that you have renewed your IBJJF membership card every year during the period, have gone through a first aid course and be approved in the referee course over the previous 12 months. You may request your 2nd or 3rd degrees 3 years after being awarded the previous degree. It is required that you have renewed your IBJJF membership card every year during the period, have gone through a first aid course and be approved in the referee course over the previous 12 months. You may request your 4th, 5th or 6th degrees 5 years after being awarded the previous degree. In order to do so you need to:
You may request the red and black belt 7th degree 7 years after being awarded the 6th degree. In order to do so you need to:
You may request the 8th degree in your red and black belt 7 years after being awarded the 7th degree. In order to do so you need to:
You may request the red belt 9th degree 10 years after being awarded the 8th degree. In order to do so you need to:
In case you do not renew your IBJJF membership card and/or your school’s membership to the IBJJF in a specific year, that year will not count in the minimum time required to obtain a new degree. The 10th degree red belt is limited to the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Carlos, Oswaldo, George, Gastão and Hélio Gracie, also known as the Gracie Brothers. Instructors allowed to give grades The membership form of an athlete graded in the following belts: grey, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple and brown must be signed by a black belt instructor who is certified by the IBJJF. The membership form of an athlete graded black belt must be signed by a black belt instructor no lower than 2nd degree who is certified by the IBJJF. |
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Kids Belt System
IBJJF kids belt system seeks to adjust the core of the actual system. The kid, who starts BJJ at the age of 4, can only change belt rank until (he or she) is 7 years old. 10 years olds, they would need to stay in the same belt rank for 3 years. As for 7 years old kids, it has proven that it takes too much time and 3 years means almost half of their lives. For example, (referring to the 20 years old adults) it would be as if you would stay in the same belt rank for 10 years, which can bring lack of motivation and technical discrepancies. A division in each group of existing belts is necessary.
Each belt is going to be divided into three new different belts allowing the instructors to promote the kid in belt rank each year.
Ex 1:
If the kid starts at the age of 4, IBJJF suggests 6 months as a white belt, then being graduated to the grey/white belt on the sixth month of training. As for the white/gray belt, it would take six more months until the next graduation – solid grey. After training one year in the solid grey rank, the practitioner would be graduated to gray/black, after a year of training and the by the age of 7 years old the kid is eligible for the next graduation group which is yellow. After graduating to white/yellow, and 3 years as a yellow belt group, by the age of 10 years old the kid is eligible to enter the Orange belt group, after 3 years in the orange group, by the age of 13 years old the kid is eligible to enter the green belt graduation group. The cycle repeats itself until the students years of training under the kid belt system is finished, by the year of 16 years old (year of birth), which is now entering in the adult belt system.
Ex 2:
If the kid starts at age of 7, IBJJF suggests 6 months as a white belt. After training for 6 months, then you would graduate to the grey/white belt rank. As for the white/gray belt you would train for six more months until the next graduation which is solid grey belt. After training one year in the solid grey belt rank, the practitioner would be graduated to gray/black. The kid is eligible to enter the yellow belt group and the cycle repeats until the years of training is finished. By the year of 16 years old (year of birth), He or her is now entering in the adult belt system.
Ex 3:
If the kid starts at age 10, IBJJF suggests 6 months as a white belt, then being graduated to the grey/white belt rank after six months of training. On the white/gray belt you would train six more months until the next graduation to solid grey belt. After training one year at the solid grey belt, the practitioner would be graduated to gray/black, after 3 years of training. The kid is now eligible to enter the yellow belt group and the cycle repeats until the years of training are finished. Now by age of 16 years old (year of birth), you would be entering the adult belt system.
New Kids Belt System for Competition
For competitions, each color belt group will be joined in the same group, the whole grey group competes
together, the whole yellow group competes together, and same for other belt groups. The same rules apply and no
changes will be made as for weight, age and gender, similar to the way used today.
In a event of a competition for athletes 4 – 15 years old when the number of athletes registered is not
enough to find a match is acceptable to merge two or more different color groups in a bracket.
Examples for belt divisions in a competition:
Grey Group – White/Grey, Solid Grey and grey/Black are grouped together.
Yellow group – White/yellow, solid yellow and yellow/black compete together divided only by age, weight and gender.
SOURCE: IBJJF
