Second degree black belt here. If others of similar skill are getting striped in your gym, then it's not unreasonable to ask your coach what you should be doing to improve. At our school, we tend to give stripes to regular attendees every three to six months, but if someone only attends once a week, it could be substantially slower. For myself, I was never striped as a brown belt, but then one day, my coach gave me four stripes, and then immediately removed my belt and gave me a black belt. So the bottom line is you never know what the coach is thinking. The best thing is to not worry about stripes at all, but just do your best to learn, get better and enjoy the journey.
Hey man, thanks for this! What's awkward about the Fundamentals classes I attend is that I'm among the juniormost two or three white belts in class - everyone else is multi-striped or a blue belt. And those other juniors aren't regular either, so I can rarely benchmark how they're doing. What I do know is that the blues keep telling me I'm getting better, I suppose that's something - but you've given me some valuable advice, I'll keep track of how my fellow beginners are doing.
Love the story of your promotion - that's incredible, and congratulations! I am slowly beginning to think on the terms of "Just show up, pay attention, and enjoy the process" so I'll get there one day!
As a blue belt but also as a musician, you don't really get good at anything without regular practice. For a song to be memorized you need to play it around 40 times. BJJ isn't that much different except you audience is sitting on your lap while you play trying to choke you. I was fortunate enough to start in a school that basically only had a basics program and white belts so we got taught the same curriculum over and over again where as at some schools you can go months if not years without seeing the same technique twice let alone to have had it presented enough times for you to apply it to rolling. Same was true when I was a personal trainer, people thought I could show an exercise once, right a program and they'd be good to go. No, the first time you get presented it you get the overview, second time, some details, and through being reminded of how the technique works you remember more and more. Now take every thing you know and divide it by 4, that's how much you have in class. So the more consistent you are the faster you'll grow.
Another way to look at it is that in a year, if you go twice a week you have 104 classes under your belt while the guy who went 3 times has 156 classes and if you factor that by hours on the math the difference is greater so not only are you spacing review of techniques out further you're getting less mat time overall. Going 3 days instead of 2 will make a big difference and eventually, like, next year, getting 4 in you'll advance pretty fast.
In other areas you can probably improve having never seen you roll, roll slower than everyone else and make it a practice. Seems counter intuitive but you should be focusing on guarding yourself and escaping at this stage and speed leads to errors which lead to you getting submitted or worse, someone gets injured.
Next, never start a roll without a focus whether it's something you've been working on or something you learned recently, if not that day, in class. You're probably getting stuck in bottom side control (not side mount, your hips are not on the person so it is not a mount, there is another position off S mount which is also called side mount [I will die on this hill!]) so focus on protecting yourself and escaping from that position. Next start preventing yourself from getting into that position (usually end up there when your guard is passed). Jean Jaques Machado has a lot of videos on youtube on this and they are long and boring as hell but every word is important and they are the only real gold on youtube.
I think you've hit one of my key pains - there isn't much repetition of the core moves so I feel like I'm not getting better, which leads to doubt, which leads to me not attending as many classes as I could. What I need to do is ask the seniors to drill stuff with me before/after the class, especially the stuff we did in the last class or the classes that I miss. Get that regular practice in, like you said. It's great point about the number of classes per week too.
The "roll slower" point is fantastic, I never thought of that. I'm fortunate that I have lots of blues in the class that go easy on me and actually give me openings to attack/defend/sweep, so I should take advantage of that and focus on getting the technique right instead of fast. Will try this in the next class!
As for the focus past - yessir! Already doing, though it's mostly positional stuff right now, like "if I'm caught in someone's closed guard, remember to posture," that kinda stuff. I guess I can step that up.
Try to get in 2-3 classes a week and consistency is key. Like the others said, don't worry about the belt stripes, the coach will promote you when he feel you've mastered a variety of skills. Enjoy the journey. Feel free to pull your coach to the side after class and ask him to help you understand what he thinks you need to work on. He may offer you valuable recommendations. Just don't ask him if he thinks you're ready for stripes.
Thanks man, I appreciate this. I really need to focus on the consistency, I definitely roll better when I'm being consistent - and if I spend even two weeks away, it's like everything leaks away. Will keep asking my coach what to focus on, that's a good approach!
As mentioned, stripes are entirely subjective and have little shared meaning beyond your gym. It's never clear whether the stripes are from skill gates, testing, or attendance. My gym doesn't even do stripes at all because they're considered unnecessary stress when everyone should just be focused on getting better in their own ways. Though if it gives you more confidence, you could ask your coach or senior belts where they're seeing room for improvement
Whoa. I'd never even heard of a stripe-free gym. I guess since there is no universal standard, so I shouldn't be stressing and comparing. Will ask the coaches about where they think I can improve, that helps. Thank you!
It tool 9 months of consistent training for my 1st stripe, Even with hours in open mat too. Some gyms don't just give them away! Also we have no stripes after white belt. Its just organic, measure against yourself a few months back, could you now beat yourself?
Wow, so many different systems of ranking, I had no idea. Thank you for sharing your experience. And that's an interesting question. I definitely think I could kick my own ass if I faced off with the version of me that started 11 months ago 😂
I suppose it is progress, cheers to that! The coaches do roll with me sometimes, I shall start asking them for a roll proactively, and ask them what I can improve afterwards.
May we both get our respective promotions in due time 🥂
Until you can be consistent with training, you may be viewed as a hobbyist and not considered for promotion. I wouldn’t bring it up with your professor until you’ve shown a serious, regular effort and just enjoy the journey. I’m in a different situation… my school does time and attendance stripes so I have 4 stripes but I don’t feel that I’ve earned them with any appropriate level of skill. But I just do it for fun, so stripes have never really mattered to me.
I hadn't thought about how the coaches might be perceiving me, that's a new consideration for sure. I should be more regular, ask questions, ask for tips, show them that I'm serious about gaining skills. And enjoy the process, of course. Thank you!
Just keep showing up. There is no universal rule on promotions, every club has it's own rules on promotions. However all clubs seem to value and reward consistency. If you 'show up' often you're likely to learn the skills you need to beat your opponents, defend yourself better, and enjoy the overall BJJ experience. I attend 5-7 classes per week for the last 4 years. I've taken two breaks cause of bone breaks that forced me to sit-out for a few months. But I returned to the mats and hit them often, both instructional classes and open mats. I've been a blue belt for 3 years, and I don't think about promotions, the best mindset to embrace if that of gaining skillset and improving your mat game so that it can serve you better for Tournaments or Self Defense or for Fitness. Hope that helps.
It does help indeed! Thanks for sharing this, I need to prioritize going to classes regularly and consistently, even if I can't do it too frequently - the instructors will get used to my pace too, I suppose 😂😂 Sorry to hear about the breaks, and I'm glad that you're all better now!
Hi BJJ gang. I started training 11 months ago, I am enjoying it, but admittedly I have been pretty inconsistent. I wanted to attend two classes a week, but on average I manage just 4 or 5 classes a month. I'm now approaching my 50th class and the seniors are telling me that I'm getting better, but I'm staring to get anxious about not having received my 1st stripe yet. Could be that I haven't been consistent enough...or that I just suck haha (I rarely win any live sparring rounds, not even against other white belts). Can you folks share what your experience of getting your first stripe was like, and how long it took? And any advice you can share? Should I talk to my coach and see if I'm doing anything wrong, do I just keep showing up, etc etc? Thanks 🙏
TxWrestle (47 )
6/28/2025 4:04 PMSecond degree black belt here. If others of similar skill are getting striped in your gym, then it's not unreasonable to ask your coach what you should be doing to improve. At our school, we tend to give stripes to regular attendees every three to six months, but if someone only attends once a week, it could be substantially slower. For myself, I was never striped as a brown belt, but then one day, my coach gave me four stripes, and then immediately removed my belt and gave me a black belt. So the bottom line is you never know what the coach is thinking. The best thing is to not worry about stripes at all, but just do your best to learn, get better and enjoy the journey.
DavidArsalan (21)
6/28/2025 4:56 PM(In reply to this)
Hey man, thanks for this! What's awkward about the Fundamentals classes I attend is that I'm among the juniormost two or three white belts in class - everyone else is multi-striped or a blue belt. And those other juniors aren't regular either, so I can rarely benchmark how they're doing. What I do know is that the blues keep telling me I'm getting better, I suppose that's something - but you've given me some valuable advice, I'll keep track of how my fellow beginners are doing.
Love the story of your promotion - that's incredible, and congratulations! I am slowly beginning to think on the terms of "Just show up, pay attention, and enjoy the process" so I'll get there one day!
ChrisWrestling (58 )
6/27/2025 11:51 PMAs a blue belt but also as a musician, you don't really get good at anything without regular practice. For a song to be memorized you need to play it around 40 times. BJJ isn't that much different except you audience is sitting on your lap while you play trying to choke you. I was fortunate enough to start in a school that basically only had a basics program and white belts so we got taught the same curriculum over and over again where as at some schools you can go months if not years without seeing the same technique twice let alone to have had it presented enough times for you to apply it to rolling. Same was true when I was a personal trainer, people thought I could show an exercise once, right a program and they'd be good to go. No, the first time you get presented it you get the overview, second time, some details, and through being reminded of how the technique works you remember more and more. Now take every thing you know and divide it by 4, that's how much you have in class. So the more consistent you are the faster you'll grow.
Another way to look at it is that in a year, if you go twice a week you have 104 classes under your belt while the guy who went 3 times has 156 classes and if you factor that by hours on the math the difference is greater so not only are you spacing review of techniques out further you're getting less mat time overall. Going 3 days instead of 2 will make a big difference and eventually, like, next year, getting 4 in you'll advance pretty fast.
In other areas you can probably improve having never seen you roll, roll slower than everyone else and make it a practice. Seems counter intuitive but you should be focusing on guarding yourself and escaping at this stage and speed leads to errors which lead to you getting submitted or worse, someone gets injured.
Next, never start a roll without a focus whether it's something you've been working on or something you learned recently, if not that day, in class. You're probably getting stuck in bottom side control (not side mount, your hips are not on the person so it is not a mount, there is another position off S mount which is also called side mount [I will die on this hill!]) so focus on protecting yourself and escaping from that position. Next start preventing yourself from getting into that position (usually end up there when your guard is passed). Jean Jaques Machado has a lot of videos on youtube on this and they are long and boring as hell but every word is important and they are the only real gold on youtube.
DavidArsalan (21)
6/28/2025 4:51 PM(In reply to this)
I think you've hit one of my key pains - there isn't much repetition of the core moves so I feel like I'm not getting better, which leads to doubt, which leads to me not attending as many classes as I could. What I need to do is ask the seniors to drill stuff with me before/after the class, especially the stuff we did in the last class or the classes that I miss. Get that regular practice in, like you said. It's great point about the number of classes per week too.
The "roll slower" point is fantastic, I never thought of that. I'm fortunate that I have lots of blues in the class that go easy on me and actually give me openings to attack/defend/sweep, so I should take advantage of that and focus on getting the technique right instead of fast. Will try this in the next class!
As for the focus past - yessir! Already doing, though it's mostly positional stuff right now, like "if I'm caught in someone's closed guard, remember to posture," that kinda stuff. I guess I can step that up.
Thanks again Chris, this is great. Cheers!
bjjgrappler (14)
6/27/2025 9:11 PMTry to get in 2-3 classes a week and consistency is key. Like the others said, don't worry about the belt stripes, the coach will promote you when he feel you've mastered a variety of skills. Enjoy the journey. Feel free to pull your coach to the side after class and ask him to help you understand what he thinks you need to work on. He may offer you valuable recommendations. Just don't ask him if he thinks you're ready for stripes.
DavidArsalan (21)
6/28/2025 4:32 PM(In reply to this)
Thanks man, I appreciate this. I really need to focus on the consistency, I definitely roll better when I'm being consistent - and if I spend even two weeks away, it's like everything leaks away. Will keep asking my coach what to focus on, that's a good approach!
Julian Chang (162 )
6/11/2025 7:33 PMAs mentioned, stripes are entirely subjective and have little shared meaning beyond your gym. It's never clear whether the stripes are from skill gates, testing, or attendance. My gym doesn't even do stripes at all because they're considered unnecessary stress when everyone should just be focused on getting better in their own ways. Though if it gives you more confidence, you could ask your coach or senior belts where they're seeing room for improvement
DavidArsalan (21)
6/11/2025 9:29 PM(In reply to this)
Whoa. I'd never even heard of a stripe-free gym. I guess since there is no universal standard, so I shouldn't be stressing and comparing. Will ask the coaches about where they think I can improve, that helps. Thank you!
legflexxxer (31 )
6/12/2025 10:58 AM(In reply to this)
It tool 9 months of consistent training for my 1st stripe, Even with hours in open mat too. Some gyms don't just give them away! Also we have no stripes after white belt. Its just organic, measure against yourself a few months back, could you now beat yourself?
DavidArsalan (21)
6/12/2025 12:45 PM(In reply to this)
Wow, so many different systems of ranking, I had no idea. Thank you for sharing your experience. And that's an interesting question. I definitely think I could kick my own ass if I faced off with the version of me that started 11 months ago 😂
legflexxxer (31 )
6/12/2025 1:39 PM(In reply to this)
Well there you go progress mate!
I'd say try to get a roll with the head coach or other coaches. They shoudl report back, or simply get noticed when rolling/open mat.
Keep going, its just a stripe! Been stuck on blue here for ages, it will be purple when the time's right.
DavidArsalan (21)
6/12/2025 2:39 PM(In reply to this)
I suppose it is progress, cheers to that! The coaches do roll with me sometimes, I shall start asking them for a roll proactively, and ask them what I can improve afterwards.
May we both get our respective promotions in due time 🥂
TobyCarter (134 )
6/11/2025 6:25 AMUntil you can be consistent with training, you may be viewed as a hobbyist and not considered for promotion. I wouldn’t bring it up with your professor until you’ve shown a serious, regular effort and just enjoy the journey. I’m in a different situation… my school does time and attendance stripes so I have 4 stripes but I don’t feel that I’ve earned them with any appropriate level of skill. But I just do it for fun, so stripes have never really mattered to me.
DavidArsalan (21)
6/11/2025 9:27 PM(In reply to this)
I hadn't thought about how the coaches might be perceiving me, that's a new consideration for sure. I should be more regular, ask questions, ask for tips, show them that I'm serious about gaining skills. And enjoy the process, of course. Thank you!
InkedRican (33)
6/11/2025 5:38 AMJust keep showing up. There is no universal rule on promotions, every club has it's own rules on promotions. However all clubs seem to value and reward consistency. If you 'show up' often you're likely to learn the skills you need to beat your opponents, defend yourself better, and enjoy the overall BJJ experience. I attend 5-7 classes per week for the last 4 years. I've taken two breaks cause of bone breaks that forced me to sit-out for a few months. But I returned to the mats and hit them often, both instructional classes and open mats. I've been a blue belt for 3 years, and I don't think about promotions, the best mindset to embrace if that of gaining skillset and improving your mat game so that it can serve you better for Tournaments or Self Defense or for Fitness. Hope that helps.
DavidArsalan (21)
6/11/2025 9:25 PM(In reply to this)
It does help indeed! Thanks for sharing this, I need to prioritize going to classes regularly and consistently, even if I can't do it too frequently - the instructors will get used to my pace too, I suppose 😂😂 Sorry to hear about the breaks, and I'm glad that you're all better now!
DavidArsalan (21)
6/10/2025 11:06 AMHi BJJ gang. I started training 11 months ago, I am enjoying it, but admittedly I have been pretty inconsistent. I wanted to attend two classes a week, but on average I manage just 4 or 5 classes a month. I'm now approaching my 50th class and the seniors are telling me that I'm getting better, but I'm staring to get anxious about not having received my 1st stripe yet. Could be that I haven't been consistent enough...or that I just suck haha (I rarely win any live sparring rounds, not even against other white belts). Can you folks share what your experience of getting your first stripe was like, and how long it took? And any advice you can share? Should I talk to my coach and see if I'm doing anything wrong, do I just keep showing up, etc etc? Thanks 🙏
DavidArsalan (21)
7/06/2025 6:42 PM(In reply to this)
Bit of an update: got my first stripe 😂😂 I guess I just have to keep showing up, do good, stop caring about the stripes, & just go for it.
ladron fr (56 )
7/07/2025 7:06 AM(In reply to this)
Congrats man,
the fight must goes on !
DavidArsalan (21)
7/08/2025 12:23 PM(In reply to this)
Thank you!! I've already missed three classes since getting the stripe and it fell off during the wash, but on we roll indeed 😂