Fake It Til You Make It? Not in Jiu-Jitsu...

While it is not common, but has been happening more often lately, the exposure of "fake" black belts via social media has us going through a mix of emotions - mad, entertained, and even embarrassed. Most legitimate black belts wouldn't give this topic the time of day... and we really shouldn't either.

The reason is this. The mats don't lie. Anyone can buy a colored belt and not have to provide verification that they, in fact, are whatever belt color they are buying. However, once they step on that mat with any other color belt that was not earned, it will be quite obvious... and embarrassing. Even if you hold a black belt (or any other color belt for that matter) in another martial art, it does not translate across all the martial arts - especially Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

When I was a white belt training in Brazil, a friend, a brown belt at the time, told me something that has stuck with me since that day. He told me that it's better to be a white belt with the skill level of a blue belt than a blue belt with the skill level of a white belt. Since then, those words have kept me "in line." After all, it's better to be the one impressing others than the one people think they suck for being a higher rank.

In a previous blog, we discuss how our jiu-jitsu journey is our own and that we shouldn't focus on anyone else's rank except our own. Sometimes it's difficult, as we tend to measure our own progress with others. Even when we visit other academies, we are especially curious to see how we fare with others of the same rank even though each school and their promotion criteria varies.

No, not all promotions are created equal. However, you know when there is a huge technical disparity between the belts. If a white or blue belt continually submits their black belt with ease, that is a red flag. Black belts should be like lions playing with their pray. They will often play catch and release and allow the lower belts to move and figure out what's going on or what they are in danger of. As their students move through the belt ranks, their upper belts will start to give them a hard time. Sometimes they'll get caught, but usually they'll have the upper hand the entire time.

The bottom line is that you can't fake skill level in BJJ. If you're antsy about promotions and have an opportunity to cheat yourself - don't. You'll just end up being the guy/gal that everyone talks about because they don't know how you earned the rank around your waist and they'll try to humble you every chance they get... and also, nobody likes getting called out on social media.

Earn it.