Whenever I visit someone else’s school,

I almost always bring my white belt and my black belt.

I’ll wear whatever belt the school owner wants.

I don’t care.

Generally speaking, I'd feel I was disrespecting my instructor if I didn't wear the rank he gave me. Of course, if it wasn't a BJJ school, then I'd wear a white belt, but at another BJJ school, I can't think of a good reason (aside from training nogi) why you shouldn't wear your BJJ rank.

Because belt ranks don't matter, and are somewhat ridiculous?

If nobody else was wearing a rank, then yeah, that would be fine. Otherwise, would still feel I was disrespecting my instructor. But to each their own.

In terms of rank in general not mattering, that's certainly an interesting discussion, which we've kinda explored a bit in a previous thread: https://beltchecker.com/f[...]90573af683

It's mostly foolishness.

It's nice to have some designated people for senior safety decisions,

but then again, safety is the responsibility of everybody in the room.

It's nice to be able to designate people as people who can teach,

but that becomes obvious almost as quickly as who is a monster during rolling when they want to be.

Then we come to the curious paradox that not everyone who is a wizard at teaching can roll like a monster (whether due to age, infirmity etc), and not every monster roller can teach.

People are so prone to loving social hierarchy and the myths explored in Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces.

We crave heroes, and wise men.

Meanwhile, as Robert DeNiro's character said in a Bronx Tale, and I paraphrase:

"the tough guy is the working man, who gets up, goes to work everyday, and feeds his family."

We are all just bags of salty water, guaranteed to degrade, remarkably resilient, yet curiously fragile.

Capable of great feats, of both bravery and cowardice, strength and weakness.

And at the end of the day, we practice an activity that can be useful, for sport, or if one made the strategic and tactical mistake to have to use hand to hand skills.

Of course, law enforcement, corrections officers, etc often must use hand to hand, but their career choice is often very hard on themselves and their families.

Even more so for professional MMA fighters, who choose a profession to sell their bodies and health in exchange for money to entertain the ignorant, vulgar, and often blood thirsty mobs, no different than in the days of barbarism, or the Roman Empire feeding prisoners to lions.

I think when visiting or even enrolling in a new school, one should wear whatever rank they have been awarded. It's simply respectful to the judgement of the instructor who awarded it.

If this new school is to be your new home, then any future "belts" would have to be earned under the criteria of the new instructor. Be that criteria relatively equal, easier, or more difficult to the previous instructors. I have never heard of an instructor actually asking a student to "demote" themselves and wear a lower belt.

If someone came to my school who didn't quite live up to the standards we hold to, I'd simply make it a point to suggest a private lesson to discuss how to "fix a couple of holes I've noticed." This has actually happened in my place!! All of my students quickly discovered that this blue belt did not have the skills my other blue belt students possessed, but simply respected that the belt was awarded and so that was that. The new student did make mention of it to me once, and I simply spoke to them of how different places have different standards, and that they would merely have to meet "our" standards before they could move on to purple belt. Nothing more, nothing less. Everyone was very cool about it.

Ranks are ony an "approximate" guideline for knowledge and skill, after all. We have no "standard" in BJJ, only general guidelines that vary from school to school and association to association. Some people say the belts are being watered down, and I've heard others say that the Royce Gracie from UFC 1 would be lucky to be a purple belt in the modern game! What's the truth? Moreso, what does it really even matter?

There are plenty of people who are naturally talented and rank up quickly simply because they are mat monsters and excel in competitions. Yet they often cannot transfer that "skill" to a non-athletic first month student, even if their life depended on it. There are people who for whatever reason, have gone unpromoted for years and years despite putting in the work and practice and being more skilled and knowledgeable than many of their same-rank peers who have but a fraction of the training time. I'm sure many of us have witnessed at least once what I call the "Cus D'amato effect" - that one teacher or higher belt who doesn't roll all that well anymore, perhaps due to age or injuries, that you may even give fits to on the mat ONLY because you're younger/faster/stronger/bigger/healthier than they are... but whom you absolutely KNOW has 10 times more knowledge than you because they consistently point out things that make you better.

I have a friend who visited Brazil with our instructor, years ago. He claimed that people outside of Brazil worry and stress far, far more about "ranks" than what the Brazilians living and training in Brazil actually do. I tend to believe that.

So, again, I say wear whatever rank you've earned and wear it with pride. It's yours until someone gives you a new one. It's as simple as that!

This

hahah. i might have to do that too.. well my brown belt


I know when i visited to a gym in Japan. they gave me a gi to train in and white belt ( after i told him i train in the states) .
when he gave me the belt. i told him, i dont think you want to do that.. then lifted my shirt up showing my brown belt (bjj street belt).
Then the professor figure he would show me Whos boss after i toyed with his other brown and purple belts. But it didnt go his way....

I think you should wear the rank your professor gave you. I've never had a problem wearing my rank at other gyms. However, if I visited or moved to a new gym and the instructor had an issue with it, I wouldn't have a problem wearing a white belt. My focus isn't on the belt. I just enjoy learning BJJ. In the end, the mats don't lie!

playing devils advocate.. If you find out that your professor has no credibility and promoted you to ( let say purple belt). You never done a tournament, nor have you ever cross trained anywhere else ( forbidden).. What do you say then when you finally goto another gym and get smoked by a white or blue belt???

We have a guy that claims to be a black belt in our area that EVERYONE knows hes a fraud, but still running business and giving out belts. when his students finally leave and goto another gym that just scrap their belts and start over.

Now I'm curious, especially on a belt verification site. Name and shame! :)

Interesting to read above, I didn't realise anyone would want you to wear a different belt. I get the comment from Adam LaClair makes regarding moving gyms for sure - but simply didn't realise there would be an expectation of wearing another belt.

Being a white belt, I guess I wouldn't notice as I can't really go less. However, when I visited Berlin last year, and visited another gym, I was massively shy and happy to be a white belt. Didn't have to be anything but than beginner I am!

In many ways, white belt is the best belt. Zero pressure because there's zero expectation. ;D

I think every body who have exsperienced enough and has rolled with different belts enough, knows where they stand with their skills. The down side of belt ranks is other peoples expectations to your level. The higher the belt, the higher are the expectations. My exsperience is that purple belt was mentally the toughest one. Everybody under or at the same belt rank were trying to kill you,,everybody above didnt give you any mercy. As a 48years old brown belt, I know very well my limitations and dont give a fuck if some constantly competing blue or purple belts kick my ass. Im just happy to realise im doing relatively okey, where ever I travel and train. Havent been in Atos Headquarters though... maybe I would feel a 2 stripes white belt again.

Truth

I guess if you're changing gyms, you can let the head instructor know your ranking and leave it up them what they want you to wear. As a visitor, I could not care less what belt I'm wearing. For me, the belt is only important when I'm rolling with someone for the first time - I usually have a certain level I will roll against a belt and adjust as I go.

Well, I gave up my "rank", but is was dropping from a four stripe white belt to a plain old white belt. I took a brief 14 year break and when I re-started I didn't even mention I did BJJ before. I mean, it had been 14 years. I really didn't care what belt I wore. I still don't.

I help teach our kids class and one day I forgot my blue belt and the kids were laughing and making fun of the situation. When the adult class was about to start and the kids were on the way out, one of the kids said "You're going to wear a white belt in the adult class?". I told him "Sure, why not? It's just there to keep my gi closed".

If I ever visit another gym, I couldn't care less what colour belt they ask me to wear. It would be the same if I switched gyms. Maybe I think that way from all the wisdom of being 45 years old, lol.

Except for the pre-verified users,

We all temporarily give up our rank when we come on this site until it is verified.

Think about it...

William Murphy, that was one hell of a jump when you got verified - White to 4th Degree Black Belt!

It was more fun the first time around.

Even though it took much longer.

Yes sir. I think the journey is the real reward.