BJJ brown belt in 1 year

[nas89]

is it possible to get a brown belt in one year because i was thinkin of going to brazil for a year and train 6 days a week 4 hours a day i got family there so i will be welcolmed. since it takes 2-3 lessons a week for 8 years to get a black belt i worked it out to about 4 hours a day 6 a days a week for a year to get close to black belt experience tell me what u guys think including info about what place is the best to train 4 hours a day in brazil. it work out to be something likle 1100 hours of BJJ in a year excluding competion

[Brian R. VanCise]

Probably not unless you are anything other than an absolute prodigy. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

Truthfully back in the day you could train that much and make blue belt in 2 years. Now a day's though with mail order bjj starting and weekend workshops so you can teach bjj in a school anything is possible. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon9.gif

Still if you go to Brazil and train like that you should get good! Do not worry about the belt. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif

[terryl965]

Highly doubtful but nobody really knows go and give it a shot and let us know if it is or not.

[SensibleManiac]

In all honesty you'd probably burn out before you reach any level of technical proficiency.
6 days a week, every week, for 4 hours, is alot of training.
Too much.
It would take extreme dedication to train for 5 days a week for 2 hours a day.
Either way, I don't see what the rush is to get a belt. In order to get good you have to stay true to the process and enjoy it.
BJJ is an art that takes time to learn, and can be an extremely good time.

[arnisador]

That would be very unlikely. A blue belt, probably. A purple belt, maybe...but probably not.

[joemoplata]

Not going to happen. If you train that way and remain injury free, you will probably be a fantastic blue belt. Maybe purple if you are really proficient.

[MattJ]

Ditto what the others say. Blue is a more realistic goal. The amount of training you are talking about would be very hard to maintain. Train and have fun! Don't worry so much about rank.

[Andy Moynihan]

How does the belt color scheme in BJJ progress?

[MattJ]

Typically, BJJ ranks go white, blue, purple, brown, and black. Because the progression between ranks is so slow (white to blue is typically 1-3 years), many schools use stripes on the belts to get a better idea of skill.

[Andy Moynihan]

So it's more like belt ranks are "supposed" to be where you have to earn them hard and really take a few good years to burn each level's material in, rather than get a new color every 2 months because you paid for it.

Cool.

[MattJ]

Exactly. Most BJJ schools require you to be competitive in sparring with others (same-size, experience, etc) to advance rank. You won't get a blue belt until you can roll competitively with blue belts, consistently.

This is why I am still a white belt after two years. :erg:

[Perpetual White Belt]

and remain injury free

And this would be the key. Highly doubtful that anyone would be able to roll for that many hours a day at the intesity that you'd need without an injury in the first week let alone an entire year. It's still be worth the experience though.

[arnisador]

This is a good point. Serious injuries are rare but minor ones do happen. The best laid plans of mice and men...

[punisher73]

If I remember correctly Lloyd Irvin (one of the top BJJ Teams in the US) made Blue Belt in 30 days and Black in 3 1/2 yrs. He also says that he made Black Belt in Judo in a year.

If you have a strong grappling background and understand the strategy and are a prodigy it might be possible, but highly unlikely.

Besides, what's the rush?

[elder999]

I think Alberto Crane went from white to black in a little over three years in Brazil, but he definitely qualifies as "prodigy," or at least a talented wrestler beforehand. No rush.......

[joemoplata]

If I remember correctly Lloyd Irvin (one of the top BJJ Teams in the US) made Blue Belt in 30 days and Black in 3 1/2 yrs. He also says that he made Black Belt in Judo in a year.

If you have a strong grappling background and understand the strategy and are a prodigy it might be possible, but highly unlikely.

Besides, what's the rush?
Nope, Lloyd did not get his blue in 30 days nor did he get his bb in 3.5 years.

[punisher73]

Joemoplata---

I only quoted what was on Lloyd's website. Do you have different information about the claim? I do not, I have only read his ads in magazines but have no direct knowledge of him.

Here is from his website, under the bio section on www.lloydirvinlive.com (http://www.lloydirvinlive.com)



Lloyd Irvin Jr. got his BJJ Blue Belt in only 30 days from Leo Dalla. Only months later Dalla had to move back to Brazil leaving Lloyd in Maryland to train by himself. Lloyd did what was thought to be impossible. He received his BJJ Black Belt in only 3 ½ years, while basically teaching himself using his amazing www.TheGrapplingBlueprint.com (http://www.thegrapplingblueprint.com/) system.
Lloyd Irvin is a World Renowned martial arts Coach, Competitor, Martial Arts Expert, Strength and Conditioning Expert and business man. He is a Multiple Time National Judo Champion, a Multiple Time National Sombo Champion and after coming out of a three-year retirement he recently became the 2005 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion. A Graduate of Bowie State University he holds the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt in Thai Jitsu, 2nd Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 5th Degree Black Belt in Combat Sombo, and a 1st Degree Black Belt in Judo.
Lloyd is the only person in the World to hold black belts in BJJ, Sombo and Judo.

[Dave Leverich]

If he had other grappling knowlege I suppose it's possible. But wow, yeah.
BJ Penn got his black in around 3 years, but then he's a phenome too.

[Drac]

Probably not unless you are anything other than an absolute prodigy. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif


Highly doubtful but nobody really knows go and give it a shot and let us know if it is or not.

What they said...You must have TOTAL RECALL and ABSOLUTE muscle memory..

[joemoplata]

Joemoplata---

I only quoted what was on Lloyd's website. Do you have different information about the claim? I do not, I have only read his ads in magazines but have no direct knowledge of him.

Here is from his website, under the bio section on www.lloydirvinlive.com (http://www.lloydirvinlive.com)

I'm not even going to waste my breath discussing it to be honest, but it's he's quite a controversial figure in the BJJ world.

[007tycoon]

Unless you have the natural ability of a BJ Penn or an Eddie Brovo, forget it. Even those two didn't go up in belts that fast.

What's the rush anyway? If you can live and train in Brazil, enjoy yourself and get as much out of it as you can.

[nas89]

thnx a lot guys and yea i see ur point my instructor said tht i was a quick learner and tht he hasnt seen anyone like me in his 15 years of teaching yet he said he expected me to get a black belt in no less than 8 years. m gonna be off to rio and train there just feel a bit lost on where to go and prices of bjj lesson my family are elderly there so there not into this

[Marvin]

thnx a lot guys and yea i see ur point my instructor said tht i was a quick learner and tht he hasnt seen anyone like me in his 15 years of teaching yet he said he expected me to get a black belt in no less than 8 years. m gonna be off to rio and train there just feel a bit lost on where to go and prices of bjj lesson my family are elderly there so there not into this
I think there are some great schools in the states and you don't have to go to Rio to get good a good club. BJJ like most things in life should be about the trip, not the destination. So enjoy the ride and good luck!

[punisher73]

I'm not even going to waste my breath discussing it to be honest, but it's he's quite a controversial figure in the BJJ world.

Fair enough, I didn't know that was the case. As I said, I have no personal interest or experience with him just relaying what I had seen in print.

[Eternal Beginner]

thnx a lot guys and yea i see ur point my instructor said tht i was a quick learner and tht he hasnt seen anyone like me in his 15 years of teaching yet he said he expected me to get a black belt in no less than 8 years. m gonna be off to rio and train there just feel a bit lost on where to go and prices of bjj lesson my family are elderly there so there not into this
I don't know if it is necessary for you to go to Rio to train. There are fantastic schools in the states (lots of them run by the Gracies) where you can accomplish a lot and not have to worry about cultural or language issues.

I trained in Rio and frankly, the training I get from my coach here in Winnipeg is every bit as good as what I encountered in Brazil. The biggest benefit was the fact there were so many higher ranked belts to roll with and that gave me some new good experiences.

I'd recommend you check out some of the really top knotch American schools and see if you can find the level of training at home (assuming you are in the US) that you desire. Some of the best instructors and competitors in the world now train and teach in the USA. Of course, if you want the whole Rio, beach, surf, BJJ atmosphere you have to stick with the original! But for strictly training purposes it is not necessary to go to Brazil.

[swiftpete]

thnx a lot guys and yea i see ur point my instructor said tht i was a quick learner and tht he hasnt seen anyone like me in his 15 years of teaching yet he said he expected me to get a black belt in no less than 8 years. m gonna be off to rio and train there just feel a bit lost on where to go and prices of bjj lesson my family are elderly there so there not into this

Although it's cool having a black belt to a degree its not the be all and end all of everything. You could start training now and continue for the rest of your life. Why worry whether you have a black belt or not in 3 yrs, 5 yrs, 8, whatever?

If it takes you 8 years and you train for another 40 it won't really have made any difference to you how long you had a black belt to hold your gi together rather than a blue, brown, orange, pink or whatever.

Even when you're a black belt, you still make mistakes and learn when training just the same as whatever belt you had on before!

By all means train hard, but also relax and enjoy your training would be my advice and don't worry about the grade. It'll come when it comes.

[joemoplata]

Although it's cool having a black belt to a degree its not the be all and end all of everything. You could start training now and continue for the rest of your life. Why worry whether you have a black belt or not in 3 yrs, 5 yrs, 8, whatever?

If it takes you 8 years and you train for another 40 it won't really have made any difference to you how long you had a black belt to hold your gi together rather than a blue, brown, orange, pink or whatever.

Even when you're a black belt, you still make mistakes and learn when training just the same as whatever belt you had on before!

By all means train hard, but also relax and enjoy your training would be my advice and don't worry about the grade. It'll come when it comes.

Unless you want to be able to sell your credentials later.

Look at what happens when someone puts it out there that they got their BB in 3.5 years, 3 years, 5 years....whatever. Here's what happens:

People start talking. When people start talking, you have opportunities you didn't have before. Ask most people, would you rather train with BJ Penn or with the guy who trained BJ Penn?

If your goal is to be a professional jiujitsu player or instructor then do it...commit to it all the way I say. It will pay off later for you if you choose to use your name as your marketing tool.

[matt.m]

Rule of thumb for me is: "I have seen too many people try and push and rush for rank."

I have been a blue belt in TKD since December of 06. However, I spent the beginning of 07 recovering from a knee rebuild. Regardless, I have also began teaching a Yudo class once a week and subsitituting once in a while when other black belts needed some help.

I tested for my hapkido blue the same time I tested for my Tae Kwon Do blue and got it before I have tested for TKD. The point is that it is not a race against anyone else. Just try and better yourself. I am a 2nd dan in Yudo and have a very decent career in competition. However, I began with one student and now I have 15 regular and 20 enrolled. I began instructing in June. I am not testing my group until April. No problems, just train hard. Feel good about your training and go with the flow.

Slow and steady wins the race. However, I have heard from some that if you go on the cruise with Royce Gracie and pay him a couple thousand he will give you a blue belt and certificate right there on the spot.

My info came from a member of Vaghi JiuJitsu club in St. L. Vaghi is a 3rd and under Rickson. So there has to be some merit to the tale.

Just remember, slow and steady wins the race......have fun and learn and embed the technique in your mind.....don't just chase a belt for chasings sake.

Good luck and have a great time. Far too many times I have seen folks chase a belt and end up quitting because they are either depressed or not as good as their peers in the same belt rank and they know it. Most of the time with these scenerios they quit.

Just my .02

[joemoplata]

I have heard from some that if you go on the cruise with Royce Gracie and pay him a couple thousand he will give you a blue belt and certificate right there on the spot.

My info came from a member of Vaghi JiuJitsu club in St. L. Vaghi is a 3rd and under Rickson. So there has to be some merit to the tale.


While I'm not discputing this claim, you have to understand that there is no love lost between Rickson and the rest of the brothers. They're not very supportive of each other so I trust it LESS coming from a Rickson guy.

[Ybot]

While I'm not discputing this claim, you have to understand that there is no love lost between Rickson and the rest of the brothers. They're not very supportive of each other so I trust it LESS coming from a Rickson guy.
Actually, I believe the brothers are supportive of each other. I just also believe that none of them are above promoting their own brand of jiu-jitsu over the others.

Royce has a reputation for giving out blue belts like crazy. I'm not going to argue whether he gives them out too early or not. The thing is that he gives them out at seminars. On the other hand, I rarely hear of him promoting guys to purple at seminars.

As far as brown in a year. Very, very, unlikely, even if you are a phenom.

[joemoplata]

Actually, I believe the brothers are supportive of each other. I just also believe that none of them are above promoting their own brand of jiu-jitsu over the others.

Royce has a reputation for giving out blue belts like crazy. I'm not going to argue whether he gives them out too early or not. The thing is that he gives them out at seminars. On the other hand, I rarely hear of him promoting guys to purple at seminars.

As far as brown in a year. Very, very, unlikely, even if you are a phenom.
I would agree with the blue. I have rolled with quite a few Royce/Torrance blues in my time and some were definitely not what our school would consider a blue. But the purples and above I have rolled with have been excellent.

[fistlaw720]

No way!

A brown belt in bjj takes close to 10 years to earn. My training partner is a purple belt now and has been training 5 days a week 3 hours a day for 7 years. He can tap out just about anyone put in front of him. Hell, he rolled with Royce Gracie and lasted quite a long time.

IMO, I would rather be like him then have a particular belt around my waist.

[USP45CT]

I'd rather be overcooked than undercooked in all honesty. Don't worry about the belt just do your best.

[Brian R. VanCise]

I'd rather be overcooked than undercooked in all honesty. Don't worry about the belt just do your best.

I like your thinking here USP45CT!

[USP45CT]

I'm very new at BJJ and have been training Muay Thai for about a year in and a half very consistently. Well to make the story short I broke the ***** out my number 1 metatarcel and while it will heal it will never be quite what it was so I want to be highly competitive in something. I did get a few fights in during this time and loved winning and competing at a high level so BJJ was a natural choice for me. I'm not quite like a normal beginner because my cardio is really solid, but in all honesty could really care less about my belt level. As long as I am progressing and know I am progressing and gradually becoming more proficent then whatever color they want me to wear is fine by me. On a side note getting gi choked by my instructor, Justin Christopher was a nice experience.

Truthfully belts don't matter man and that was the beauty of Muay Thai I thought. The only belt I ever wanted was the one I win out of competition.

PS. I train out of Cincinnati Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy under Jim Kelly( a BB under Pedro Sauer)

[slideyfoot]

is it possible to get a brown belt in one year

No. You have aforementioned famous examples like BJ Penn, but he had an enormous amount of talent and wealthy parents willing to get him the best instruction: still took him 3 years to get his black belt.

There's a guy at the place I attend who trains every day (the timing of his shifts at work mean he has enough time to attend plenty of classes): he's a purple belt after 2.5 years.

[TheArtofDave]

Just remember that the belt doesn't mean anything without the knowledge that goes with it. The belt may look good, but without the aforementioned knowledge its just a belt.

You want more than a belt so train for the knowledge, have fun pushing yourself to get there, & when the time comes that you reach black belt you won't see it as the end of a journey. You'll see it as the beginning because there is always something to learn.

[Dagney Taggert]

This is such a worthy discussion. The road of the true martial artist is not paved with submissions, and bodies and fights won and fast belt progress. I used to know a guy like this. He had gallons of natural physical talent and progressed quickly, but he was a disrespectful jerk who eventually got booted from our school. The black belt does not mean a damn thing if your mental state is that of an overzealous, insecure, meat-headed, bratty kid.

The road is paved with frustrating losses, well earned triumphs, annoying ill timed injuries, time off for injuries, time off for family priorities, class, practice, more classes, more practice, practice when you are so worn you have nothing left, FINDING more to give, and then more practice. It's supposed to take a long time. It's supposed to be difficult.

[TheArtofDave]

It's been noted & well worth repeating. It's all about the journey

[kungfu penguin]

i would rather be a great white belt than a crappy blue belt i am no master of any art, and can barely hold my own with some of the white belts i trained with however i did go to a school where their blue belts were not so great and held my own their the key is knowledge not the belt

as a side note rio has beautiful beaches with more beautiful girls lots of guy go to rio with the intention of training and they are lured away by the babe on the beach go for the experience not the belt martial arts already has enough belt hunters just my 2 cents--tom

[Cirdan]

Doing the math on hours spent training and how much to get promoted just like that is a mistake. Training a lot is good, yes. If you dedicate a year to intense training you will no doubt make huge improvements. However it is imortant to keep focused on where you are and what you need to work on at the moment. The time off the mat counts for something too, don`t leave your brain at the door. The sleep you get every night is invaluable too.

(edit) why am I responding to a two and a half year old post made by a closed account?