- 05 Mar
- Posted at 13:39
- in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
To continue our journey through the belts, we arrive at purple. Going from blue belt to purple belt is for those who are truly dedicated. Some people even refer to the purple belt as the “mini black belt” because it really opens the door to the more advanced world of jiu-jitsu.
As Rick Ellis of Art of Skill explains in the video below, a new purple belt is a “solid intermediate athlete who is standing at the doorway of the advanced game.” What he means by this is that they have an understanding of jiu-jitsu that is similar to a black belt—they’re just not nearly as good. Despite lacking the black belt’s skill, purple belts demonstrate a more complex approach to jiu-jitsu than white or blue belts. Simply put: this level of jiu-jitsu is more advanced and requires more thinking.
This means three things: a more sophisticated understanding of the basics, a more sophisticated approach to strategy, and a more sophisticated leg game.
Less Moves, More Depth
As Rick explains, it’s useful to think of blue belts as advanced beginners. They know dozens of techniques and they can execute these techniques effectively. However, new blue belts are still learning. They’re still acquiring new techniques.
About midway through your journey as a blue belt, however, a lot of people get what’s known as the Blue Belt Blues. You’ll start to feel as though you’ve plateaued. Even if you learn a bunch of new moves, it doesn’t seem to matter. It can be tough to feel as though you’re not making any progress. You feel kind of stuck.
What’s actually happening is that your appreciation of the complexity of jiu-jitsu is undergoing a shift. You’re realizing that the one-dimensional game that characterizes your journey from white belt to blue belt can only take you so far, and that you need to reorient yourself to the more advanced game played by the more advanced belts.
You realize that you’ve amassed all the techniques you need. What you lack is depth. In other words, you don’t understand all of the nuances associated with the foundational techniques of jiu-jitsu but suddenly recognize that exploring these nuances are crucial to mastery. Once this realization hits you, you begin to think like a purple belt.
Adding Dimensions
As you move from beginner blue belt to intermediate blue belt, you’ll also start to realize that your strategy is changing. White belts and new blue belts tend to play a one-dimensional game. When they see an opportunity, they instinctively go for it. If their opponent defends against that attack, they reset and go for something new.
There is nothing wrong with this type of game when you’re competing against other white belts or newer blue belts. There’s also nothing wrong with this approach when you’re in a real-world altercation. However, it’s not going to cut it against more sophisticated players. You need to start thinking more strategically and adding dimensions to your game.
To become a purple belt, you need to be able to move more fluidly and to think a few steps ahead. Purple belts recognize that the failure of one attack can be an opportunity for another. If your opponent shuts down the armbar, for example, you’re already going for the triangle choke. This kind of strategic thinking is central to advanced jiu-jitsu.
Purple belts will not be masters at this kind of approach to jiu-jitsu, but they need to have a clear strategy that defines their movements through combinations. What they will develop through their time as purple belts, and then brown belts, is their execution and their timing.
Understanding Momentum
Purple belts also start to use momentum to their advantage far more often. In particular, they learn to anticipate how their opponent will move, and then use that momentum in a way to advance their own attack. On the one hand, this throws your opponent off balance. It’s known by the Japanese term Kuzushi, which means “unbalancing”, and is key to judo throws and sweeps. On the other hand, it allows you to be more efficient because you’re leveraging your opponent’s energy against them. That is less of your own energy you have to use.
To summarize, the transition from blue belt to purple belt is about refinement and depth. It’s about learning how to use the fundamentals of jiu-jitsu to be more effective, how to strategize at a more sophisticated level, and how to be more efficient.