Reflections on a 13 year milestone, part 2: Belts

My favorite way to use belts as a teaching tool is breaking down belt ranks as skill-sets in the following fashion (I first heard these analogies from Chris Haueter in 1997):

White belt- Survival, or as Chris liked to say:

‘Learning to dog paddle enough to keep from drowning.’

In other words, able to hold posture well enough to not get submitted every 30 seconds.

Blue belt- Escapes from primary positions (mount, side control, etc.).

Purple belt- Guard development, specifically open guard.

Brown belt- Guard passing, and preventing escapes (top game).

Black belt- Submissions.

Here were my specific experiences and epiphanies:

White belt (1996-1998):  Survival was definitely huge, learning not get submitted by my instructor in 30 seconds or less.  I also began to see how combinations worked based on an opponents reaction.

Blue belt (1998-2002):  I actually quit BJJ for a period of six months, and had a pretty serious lag (training once every couple of weeks) working swing shift for nine months.  Before the lag and time off, my primary focus was centered on the climbing armlock and triangle from the guard, as well as guard recovery.  When I returned I got into half and butterfly guards.

Purple belt (2002-2006):  Continued work on half and butterfly guards.  One of my training partners really started dedicating a lot of time to training, and I began to see the link between hard work and progression.  My lack of dedication to cardio was notorious, so my biggest leap here was probably doing supplemental conditioning classes and continuing to train after I was tired and wanted to go home. =)  Last but not least, I started consciously trying to remove muscle from my game; understanding that just because I got a tap, sweep, or improved position didn’t mean that I was necessarily doing jiu-jitsu.

Brown belt (2006-2010):  My turtle position and defense got more developed, as some of the skilled guys began blowing through my guard.  I also started to develop a top game when working with the guys who weren’t quite as experienced.  The next phase had me spending a few years in between schools where I did privates with my coach a couple of times a month.  Although I wasn’t physically on the mat as much I feel this time was pretty crucial because I got know myself a lot better in terms of personal strengths and weaknesses. 

Black belt (2010-     ):  3 months ago I started isolating back attacks to improve my submissions.  It’s the first time I’ve stuck to a top position and submission (chokes) for any length of time.  It has taken some serious discipline, as more than a few times I’ve gone through hour-long sessions and gotten like one choke.  Also, I’m starting to focus on getting and breaking inital grips during guard attacks and passing.  I’ve found that if I let any of the very talented local grapplers get their initial grip, I’m starting out halfway into their trap.