Martial Arts

What do you say to your blue belts? 

They've come to you, asking about promotions—they’re being coy about it, pretending that they're really asking about how to get better. 

“What am I missing, coach?” 

Sure, they want to get better, but that's not the real question here. You know what they're really asking. 

How long until you give me a purple belt? What do I have to do to get promoted? They're asking for a status boost. 

This seems innocent enough. 

In reality, it's an important question that needs careful consideration. Your higher belts (purple, brown, and black) set the tone for your gym. They're a showcase of your brightest and best students.

This is the question many gym owners dread. 

BJJ purple belt requirements for gym owners and students tend to be fuzzy—I’ll know it when I see it. This question is difficult for many gym owners because it exposes an uncomfortable truth. 

Their promotion standards are completely arbitrary.

How You Answer ‘What Am I Missing?’ Matters

The easiest way to answer this question is also the hardest. 

Wait, what? 

When you create objective standards for each belt rank, the upfront work is challenging. You’ll need to document the requirements, the knowledge, techniques, skills, experience, and performance criteria you have in mind. 

If you’re like most academy owners, this creates doubt and insecurity. You’ll start asking yourself hard questions:

• What if my standards are too low? What does that say about me? 
• If my standards are too high, I’ll lose students. No one will stay once they realize my standards are unrealistic
• What if some of my students (e.g., hobbyists) can’t meet these standards? What should I do? 
• How do I know these standards are worthwhile and worth pursuing? 

Then there are disagreements. You know as well as I do that no one in our industry agrees on anything. 

Teachers, students, and casuals argue endlessly about anything and everything—using Japanese or 10th Planet terminology, guard pulling vs takedowns, ecological vs drilling—the fights are never-ending. 

Any standard you choose will eventually be picked apart by someone else. All of this makes answering this question hard. 

Objective standards make answering this question easy

These objective standards exist independently. 

When students come to you with the “What am I missing?” question, you simply point them to the criteria you have set. This is crucial because it reframes the question in a way that’s grounded in reality. 

Each belt promotion comes with its own set of burdens and responsibilities. 

The biggest unspoken expectation? Your students must be able to carry their belts. This means that, at a minimum, they move as a purple belt should and have purple belt skills (if we’re being honest, what most coaches want is a purple belt superstar).  

The danger of objective standards

You don’t want to turn your promotions into a checklist factory. 

If you create a comprehensive list of criteria but there’s no room for you and your instructors to assess each student, you’re asking for trouble. 

So what’s the purpose of objective standards? 

It’s a helpful roadmap that: 

1. Gives your instructors a shared language to communicate standards. 
2. Makes your expectations and the promotion criteria transparent. 
3. Helps students orient themselves—they know where they are right now and what they need to do to reach their next belt promotion. 

When it’s done well, student questions fade, retention increases, and impostor syndrome fades away. Student belt promotions feel earned; it’s no longer a mysterious black box. 

Not sure how the BJJ belt system and ranks should work? Here’s a detailed breakdown of each rank. 

What Makes Purple Belt Different From Blue

Blue belt is the rank that builds technical proficiency. 

At high-level gyms, blue belts spend 50% of their time on pin and submission escapes.  They develop competency and technical proficiency with offensive systems that shape and define their progression. 

These blue belts spend their time defending themselves against ambitious and hungry white belts and higher belts (purple, brown, and black) who use blue belts to sharpen their already extensive skills. 

Students spend the most time at this rank. 

Purple belt is the belt of proficiency

There’s a saying that I learned as a white belt:

• White belts use simple words.
• Blue belts speak in sentences.
• Purple belts create paragraphs.
• Brown belts tell stories.
• Black belts create legends.

What does this mean exactly? This metaphor tells us what we’ve all come to learn over time—jiu-jitsu is a physical language. 

Purple belt marks a transition from intermediate to advanced practitioner.  

At blue belt, students learn techniques and how to apply them. At purple, students begin to apply their knowledge, skills, and techniques to express themselves. 

They begin to choose their style. 

As we mentioned previously: 

“The technical knowledge expected of purple belts often surpasses what would be considered black belt level in many other martial arts. 

Purple belts understand complex submission chains, advanced guard concepts, and sophisticated positional strategies.

They teach beginners effectively and frequently assist instructors.”

Purple belt is the transition from advanced beginner to true intermediate–advanced practitioner.

Blue belts know techniques, purple belts understand jiu-jitsu intuitively. 

Purple belt is a significant achievement. 

Students who achieve this milestone are closer to black belt than they are to white belt. A rough estimate puts the jump from blue to purple belt at 500–2,000 hours. 

This obviously varies by academy, but the idea is the same: the transition from blue to purple belt requires a significant amount of time. 

IBJJF Purple Belt Requirements (The Official Standards)

The IBJJF has minimum eligibility standards for purple belt. Love them or hate them, the IBJJF is a gateway to high-level competition. Let’s take a look at their purple belt requirements. 

A blue belt is eligible for their purple belt if: 

• They’re 16+ years old.
• They’ve spent at least two years as a registered blue belt.
• An IBJJF-qualified black-belt instructor awards their promotion.

Age/rank exceptions: 

• If your student was registered as a Juvenile Blue Belt, the time required is one year.
• No minimum period if your student was previously registered as an Orange or Green Belt and as a Juvenile Blue Belt.
• No minimum period if your student was previously registered as a Juvenile Purple Belt.
• No minimum period if your student is the Adult Purple Belt World Champion.

Another important thing to keep in mind: This is the minimum time-in-rank to receive your purple belt; it’s not a guarantee or right. 

The timeline for individual students should be determined by your judgment, based on your student’s knowledge, technical skill, experience, and competitive success. 

The minimum time-in-rank is your baseline. 

What does this mean? The tools you use to track your attendance and rank assignments are incredibly important for your students. 

Your discipline in tracking and recording their performance data directly affects their promotion schedule and careers. 

If you’re tracking things manually, this is no good. 

The Four Pillars of Purple Belt Readiness

Every academy is different. 

Instructors have their own set of rules, requirements, and responsibilities for students who are on deck for promotion. I’m going to give you a framework—a system you can use to build objective standards for your students. 

Pillar 1: Time and attendance requirements

Most students reach purple belt after spending 2–4 years at blue belt. These are students who: 

• Train consistently during this two-year period (no long absences or gaps in their training)
• Attend a minimum of three sessions per week
• Prioritize mat time over calendar time  

Attendance reports are important because they help instructors identify students eligible for promotion. The attendance tracking method you use is obviously up to you; what’s more important is that it’s applied consistently. 

Pillar 2: Technical and performance expectations

Purple belts are T-shaped. That means:

1. They have strong, high-level defense across a broad number of techniques. They’re familiar with a large number of takedowns, passes, pins, and submissions. 
2. Offensively, purple belts should also have a significant depth of knowledge. They have a deep, technical, and intuitive understanding of their offense. 

Purple belts should focus on depth, not volume; consistency over perfection; and mastery over competency.  

Remember, purple belts are more proficient at the techniques blue belts use. This stems from a deep understanding driven by experience—tens of thousands of repetitions via positional rounds.  

Pillar 3: Competition and pressure testing

Competition is optional at most academies, but purple belts should still be able to perform well under pressure. 

They should be able to consistently handle resistance in live rounds. Their performance in the training room should be consistent. 

As a purple belt, your students should be able to: 

• Escape pins and submissions from white and blue belts in live/competition rounds
• Consistently manage blue belts in live rounds
• Display advanced problem-solving skills when they’re under pressure
• Remain composed in the face of resistance 

While competition boosts skill development, live sparring is a precise way to evaluate skill. You’ll want to verify that students can reproduce their techniques and skills against live resistance. 

Pillar 4: Teaching and leadership expectations

Blue belt gives students the chance to display their trustworthiness before they reach purple belt. Once they’ve hit purple, they should definitely be: 

1. A safe, consistent, and trustworthy training partner. They roll with control (not ego), match their partner’s intensity, and consistently protect their partners even when they’re in a dominant position. They avoid using dangerous techniques on inexperienced or unprepared training partners. 
2. A model for A-player behavior. These students are respectful; they follow academy etiquette and social norms without being reminded. They treat others with the appropriate level of care, guidance, and protection. You’ll know they have good leadership qualities when other students begin copying their behavior without realizing it. 
3. They’re learning to teach well. They explain techniques simply, outline options from various positions, identify common mistakes, and explain why certain techniques matter more than others. They don’t undercut the coach, nitpick every error at once, or overwhelm beginners with complex techniques. Beginners leave purple belts feeling empowered and more knowledgeable. 
4. Helping new students feel welcome. They understand their role in the gym, taking new students under their wing, and pairing up with them when needed. They work to protect new students and help integrate them into the academy's culture. They help new students to establish roots in the gym. 

Treat these pillars as general guidelines. Do what you can to set these expectations in advance. 

Don’t assume that all blue belts will automatically display these qualities. If you want these behaviors to be prevalent in your gym, set the tone and communicate what you’re looking for. 

Reward good behavior and remove students who aren’t a fit for your gym.  

How to Communicate Purple Belt Requirements to Students

If you have objective standards, it’s much easier to communicate these requirements to students. For best results, here are some best practices you can follow:

1. Introduce blue to purple belt standards at blue belt promotions
2. Publish your objective standards, focus on milestones, not comprehensive checklists
3. Schedule 1:1s with blue belts who are candidates for promotion
4. Use attendance and performance tracking tools like Gymdesk that enable students to self-assess

Transparency feels like you’re walking yourself into a corner. In reality, it’s actually the opposite. 

You can make changes to the standards you publish at any time—if you want students to be on board, if you want students to buy in, give them a chance to weigh in on any changes you’ve made. 

Common Purple Belt Progression Challenges (And How to Handle Them)

“Rick just got his purple belt. Why didn’t I get promoted?” 

If you have objective standards, you’re in a great position. You can reference the four pillars above and go over any gaps in their performance. 

Work to avoid comparisons. 

It’s not about their teammates, it’s about their competency and whether they meet the criteria you’ve established (or not). You can use the requirements we’ve covered in this guide to steer them in the right direction. 

Here’s why this matters: It’s common for blue belts to hit a plateau and quit before they hit purple.

When you set objective standards and a clear progression system, you give students clarity about where they are in the process and what they have to do to level up. 

It’s an easy way to improve student retention—especially during the blue belt blues. 

Building a Purple Belt Curriculum at Your Academy

Are you seeing the theme here? 

Purple belt readiness begins at blue belt. The traditional approach doesn’t work for most gyms—your students need you to prepare them in advance. 

If you want your purple belts to carry their belts, train them before it’s time to promote them. 

Work to build these ideas into your curriculum, promotions, and communications. 

Not sure where to start with your curriculum? Here’s a comprehensive post on curriculum structure options for your BJJ academy. 

Clear, Objective Standards Create Outstanding Purple Belts

In BJJ, purple belt requirements are the exception, not the rule. Many instructors feel belt requirements cheapen the art; nothing could be further from the truth—these requirements don’t cheapen the art—they protect it.

When your students are engaged, they train longer. They have a clear roadmap to follow.

It’s easy for instructors to maintain their credibility when their decisions are consistent and aligned with predetermined, objective standards.

With consistent tracking on a trusted platform and transparent communication, your response to student requests will shift from “you’ll get promoted when you’re ready” to a commitment students can see, verify, understand, and trust.

Handle this decision carefully, you'll find your purples are a draw, bringing new students to your gym.

To easily track these promotions, use Gymdesk. Try it free for 30 days and find out for yourself.