The white belt is the first belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, worn by every beginner from the first class until the instructor promotes them to blue. The IBJJF sets no minimum age and no minimum time for it.
- Rank: the first adult belt in BJJ; the IBJJF General System of Graduation sets no minimum age and no minimum time at white.
- Sourced history: bjjheroes.com notes that in the early Gracie academies, before the 1969 federation, white was the belt for students and blue the belt for instructors.
- In judo: beginners also start at white, in the kyu grades.
What does the white belt mean?
A white belt means you are learning the language. In the early days of Gracie jiu-jitsu, according to the Royce Gracie page on bjjheroes.com, jiu-jitsu had two colours, white for students and blue for instructors, so white covered every student regardless of experience. Today it is the first of five adult belts and the one where the basics are built.
Nobody expects a white belt to win rounds. They expect you to turn up, be safe, and learn the positions.
How long are you a white belt?
As long as your instructor decides. The IBJJF General System of Graduation sets no minimum time at white belt and leaves the pace from white to black to the professor. The blue belt has a minimum age of 16; younger students move through the kids belts instead.
For competition, the IBJJF Rules Book bars some newcomers from the white belt divisions: a judo black belt, a freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestler with college-level or national experience, and anyone who has fought MMA, amateur or professional.
What does a white belt work on?
- Survival: posture inside guard, frames under side control and mount, and when to tap.
- Movement: the shrimp, the bridge, the technical stand-up and basic breakfalls.
- Positions: closed guard, side control, mount and back control, from both sides.
- A few high-percentage attacks: the armbar, the cross collar choke, the rear naked choke.
- Etiquette: bowing in, hygiene, controlling your strength with smaller partners.
How do you get through the first year?
Train consistently; intensity can wait. Two or three classes a week for a year beats six a week for two months followed by a quit. Ask higher belts what they would do in the position that keeps catching you. Keep a note of what you learned after each class; the first year is when the most new material lands and the most gets forgotten.
White belts are the easiest people in the sport to buy for, because everything is new. Our gifts for white belts collection is built around that first year.
Sources
- Royce Gracie page on bjjheroes.com, BJJ Heroes
- IBJJF General System of Graduation, IBJJF
- IBJJF Rules Book, IBJJF
Related terms
Blue belt (BJJ), Stripes, Spazzy, Belt, Tap / tapping out, Shrimp / hip escape.