FAQ

The same difference between the NFL and professional football, one is the premier organization of its sport, and the other is the sport itself

Someone who regularly fights in MMA events, either at an amateur or professional level. They are typically well-versed in all the major ranges that comprise the sport (Striking/Clinch/Ground) and may often be a specialist at one of the specific disciplines, i.e. Black Belt in BJJ, All-American Wrestler, Muay Thai champion, etc. ...

MMA or Mixed Martial Arts is a modern, combat sport that gained prominence in the mid-90’s and early 2000’s with the rise of limited rules fighting competitions like the UFC. At its inception, the UFC highlighted the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jiu-Jitsu in its early style versus style format. This would lead to an explosions of popularity for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (generic term for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) specifically, and grappling arts such as Wrestling, Judo, and Sambo, in general, which gave rise to what is touted as the most important martial arts evolution of the modern era. Today the UFC is a multi-million-dollar company and MMA is a mainstream sport akin to baseball and basketball, its regularly featured on outlets like ESPN and some may argue that it has long eclipsed Boxing as the world’s premier combat sport 

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, if introduced properly and safely to the novice student, is a martial art that can be practiced by people of all ages, young and old. Unlike the striking arts (like boxing and Muay Thai) BJJ does not include any ballistic striking or encourage the exchanging of blows and vastly limits head trauma and overall contusions. The majority of injuries for the beginner BJJ student can be vastly curtailed if the practice of takedowns is closely monitored and if “rolling” (sparring) is limited and delayed until the student is comfortable both in the full strategy and body movements and pressure required to play this aspect of the game.

While the ultimate frequency of training will vary amongst people based on personal scheduling, fitness, and enthusiasm … the average beginner will typically see good gains without feeling overwhelmed if they consistently train 2-3 times per week, with consistency being the real key to progress and retention

Jiu-Jitsu practice is typically comprised of warm up drills, technique drilling, and scenario or full sparring (wrestling) while these individual activities vary from mild to average to intense output, respectively,, even among these sub-sects of training the intensity may vary … for example, you can ramp up the intensity of a warm up drill (like sprawls, which resemble “burpees”) and make it a high intensity work out. Conversely, what is typically looked upon as the most intense iteration of training, “rolling”, can be done in a smoother, slower, more technical pace if both players are seasoned and mature enough to train at the same pace and often times put a competitive mindset on the side lines. That said, the actual numbers are a mean average of anywhere from 450 calories to 750 calories.

There are a number of factors that go into evaluating a student’s progress and assessing their prospective promotion. Among the most common are … technical mastery of a given set of assigned techniques (typical in curriculum based learning) technical performance while sparring with other White belts and Blue belts, frequency of training hours logged in. Every coach places a different emphasis on which criteria they value the most, but it’s not uncommon to take a combination of all these factors into consideration. This means that the average training time needed for promotion to blue belt can be anywhere from 1 ½ to 2 years. Some people may do it in a year or less, others, especially if there’s a layoff from training to factor in, may take longer than 2 years.

The path from Blue Belt to Purple Belt is often one of the most arduous and it can be stated that it boasts the highest drop-out rates from any belt progression. A blue belt is seen as the most attainable, often cited as a consequence of grit,” just keep coming and you’ll get there”, and indeed from White Belt, there’s no other direction to go. Purple Belt however, is seen as the first sign of true competence and expertise in the art, so some will argue that it encompasses the biggest jump in skill level between belt progressions. In Jiu-jitsu, this progress and technical enlightenment is usually the consequence of countless of hours on the mat, most of those on the receiving end of more technical and experienced players. For this reason, it may take a Blue Belt, 2 to 3 years (with consistent training) to be awarded their Purple Belt. When you factor in the time it may take this student to get their Blue Belt (each belt progression journey can be different even for the same practitioner) the average White Belt may expect to get their Purple Belt in and around the 5-6 year mark in their training

Purple Belt to Brown belt, like the previous climb in belt rank can also be quite the arduous journey. The difference being that Purple Belt is the halfway point, and at this point there has been a great deal of time invested in practicing the art/sport. An analogy that can be helpful would be the difference in skill level between a High School Basketball player, that same player’s skill level once they are a seasoned College level player, and how their skills may mature if they become a seasoned NBA pro … it wouldn’t be inaccurate to equate HS, College, and Pro to Purple, Brown, and Black, respectively. With all this in consideration, it may take the average Purple belt 3-5 years to be awarded their Brown Belt

Obtaining a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a long and arduous task. It is perhaps one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) martial art to obtain a Black Belt in. This is due largely to the meritocratic nature of skill evaluation and progression that is inherent to the art. While there are differences between the competitive nature and physicality and fitness of Black Belts, there is always a testable baseline of technical performance and strategic understanding of how to play the game and use their skill set which can yield tangible results. This varies with the individual like it would for any other sport, even among the spectrum of professional NBA players, there are “average professionals” and there is Lebron James, or amongst musicians, there are wonderfully talented musicians and there are those that play New York Philharmonic. The average time a new White Belt may expect to reach Black Belt, barring any layoffs and keeping their training consistently is 10-12 years. There are always people who can obtain it in less time, prodigies and professionals like BJ Penn and Demian Maia have received their Black Belt in a 4 year time frame, and it’s not uncommon to see someone (due to life circumstances) need over 12 years to be awarded their Black Belt.

It is often thought that more is better. However in BJJ there may (for most of us) come a point of diminishing returns, especially in regards to the durability of our physical body. While there are people who train nearly every day, or multiple times a day, make great gains in skill and knowledge, they are also often plagued with injuries that may halt their ability to train. Striking the balance between maximum saturation and making your body holds up is imperative, and consistency will always remain key. However, the most important factor particularly as you advance through the ranks seems to be whether or not the practitioner takes ownership and responsibility for their own progress and uses and active and critical mind to make the most of analyzing all their hours on the mat. Someone who trains 3-4 times week can be assured to see great results

If trained with the proper mindset and physical context, BJJ, particularly the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu approach lends itself perfectly to dealing with the most common attacks and worst-case scenarios that one may encounter in street fight or self defense scenario. These typically revolve around the clinch and/or ground grappling range, which Jiu-Jitsu in general specializes in. The peril of total immersion in the sport aspect of tournament jiu-jitsu is that it minimizes or completely eliminates the context of what you are most likely to face in street scenario and fails to take into account the likelihood of a larger and stronger opponent. The complete approach of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu addresses all these factors and more obvious ones, such as tailoring your grappling strategy against a striking opponent. But since the average person who has no idea how to grapple or conduct themselves on the ground, even the bare minimum of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training goes a long way in the range of fighting that tends to be the most common in street encounters.

Jiu-Jitsu can be practiced safely if all participants agree to make their partners safety the most important element of their training modalities, this should also trump any competitive goals – especially when it comes to live grappling with certain dangerous submission holds. Also, if the practice of takedowns is closely monitored with the appropriate safety guidelines in place, then the risk of preventable injuries can be massively curtailed.

Jiu-Jitsu practice is typically comprised of warm up drills, technique drilling, and scenario or full sparring (wrestling) while these individual activities vary from mild to average to intense output, respectively,, even among these sub-sects of training the intensity may vary … for example, you can ramp up the intensity of a warm up drill (like sprawls, which resemble “burpees”) and make it a high intensity work out. Conversely, what is typically looked upon as the most intense iteration of training, “rolling”, can be done in a smoother, slower, more technical pace if both players are seasoned and mature enough to train at the same pace and often times put a competitive mindset on the side lines. That said, the actual numbers are a mean average of anywhere from 450 calories to 750 calories.

This will depend on your goals but mostly personal preference – Muay Thai is a very well rounded striking art incorporating not only boxing hands and trademark low line kicks, but also elbows, knees, and immersive clinch work. BJJ sits at the other side of the spectrum emphasizing more of the grappling aspect, both standing and on the ground, with minimal emphasis on striking for offensive measures. Muay Thai would also generally be a considered a more intense and high impact practice.