How long does it take to get a blue belt

Introduction

Before we get into the details, please understand that every person is different. Don’t compare yourself to others, but focus on the journey and getting better.

The blue belt is often seen as a goal by white belts. It is the first belt and when you start out, blue belts can easily handle you and their jiu jitsu can seem like magic to a beginner.

After training for a while and getting closer to the blue belt yourself, then the magic often fades. You might even start catching blue belts with some submissions every so often.

You continue to get better and then one day you get promoted yourself. For many people this can be a wake up call where they realize that the belt does not make you better. It can often feel the opposite.

With a blue belt you have a target on your back and all the whitebelts can smell the blood in the water. Suddenly people go much harder on you during the rolls and that can be frustrating. But this too fades over time as you grow into your new belt and become comfortable wearing it.

So how long does it take?

Keep in mind that not everyone trains the same amount. You can’t compare someone that trains twice per day with someone that trains 2-3 times per week.

For the average person, training 3-4 times per week. It takes on average about two years to earn a blue belt, provided that they are consistent with their training.

If you learn very fast, which is often the case with people who did other sports seriously before, then you might even get it in a year if you train a lot.

Jiu Jitsu is just a hobby for you and you train whenever you can between all your other obligations? Getting to the blue belt might take you a few years.

Again, remember to not compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own journey.

What does a blue belt represent at the BJJ Lab?

A blue belt does not only represent skill, but also knowledge.

Before becoming a blue belt, a white belt should do very well against their peers in sparring and competition. What is a peer? Someone you would compete against. Same gender, age, weight class and skill level.

But skill is not everything. If someone is very athletic or did some form of grappling before, they can often beat other people in training without knowing much BJJ.

The second thing that is required is knowledge of the fundamentals. You have to be comfortable with all the techniques and positions from our curriculum before you will get your blue belt.

This is a high bar to pass, but there is a good reason for it. We are proud of all our blue belts and are proud to have them representing us.

Can you find gyms where getting a blue belt is much easier? Of course. If the color of the belt is all that matters to you, then this might seem like a lot. But if you want to represent the art well, a hard earned belt means so much more.

How can you get the blue belt faster?

The number one thing is of course putting in the hours. The more hours you can put into the sport, the faster you will get better (as long as you don’t overtrain).

Of course there are diminishing returns, training twelve times per week is six times as good as training two times. But the more time you spend on the mats, the faster you will get better.

The number two thing is to study. Your body can only recover from so much training, but often your mind can still learn. Use our online learning website BJJ Lab Online. Study matches. Review your own training.

Jiu Jitsu is not a race, but it can still pay off to put in some time early into the sport. BJJ gets a lot more fun the better you get, so the faster you can get past the early days, the more fun your training will be.

Conclusion

I hope I did not make the whole thing too daunting. As you probably heard many times by now, it’s all about the journey and not the destination.

The blue belt is just one milestone in hopefully a lifelong journey. Training BJJ is a lot of fun, no matter what belt you wear. Train consistently, try to get better and everything else, including your blue belt, will follow.

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