Feeling yourself progress at something, anything is a great feeling. This is especially true if the ‘something’ you are progressing at is as impressive as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
When you are first starting out your BJJ journey you are eager to get your first belt. You may well wonder how long it will take you to get to the top of your game and will be eager to get to the black belt (the highest level in BJJ) as soon as you possibly can. Hey, we don’t blame you!
However, this isn’t something that comes overnight. You can’t start BJJ with the hopes of being a black belt in a year or two. It simply doesn’t happen. In fact, it can take many years to reach anywhere near that.
Keep on reading to the next section where you will find out just how long that may be.
Take Your Time
The average timespan between white belt and black belt is around ten years. However, for many people, it can take even longer, especially if they do not or cannot dedicate themselves to consistent, regular practicing.
Ten years sounds like a long time, we know, but don’t let that put you off. Reaching Black Belt in BJJ is an immense achievement for sure, but there are also other belt colors to reach as you progress in your journey.
Think of it as levels in a video game. Before you win that big boss battle at the end, you have to get through all the other levels first, right? It’s the same with BJJ. You need to get a number of other color belts under your belt first of all! This will enable you to progress to the next level.
A chart demonstrating the length of time spent at each belt level. (Source: https://maxbjj.blogspot.com)
As you can see from the chart above, you can be at certain levels or belts for a number of years. There could be up to five years at each belt and this should not be looked at as a negative.
It is needed to ensure that you are good enough to progress to the next level. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has one of the strictest systems in the world of martial arts, and you may find that you are stuck at a ‘plateau’ for months or years, feeling like you cannot move on.
However, these plateaus are a good thing, as they can help you to gain mental strength too. Mental strength is an overlooked aspect of BJJ, but one that is needed to progress, especially in the higher levels. Look at it as a challenge to overcome to improve.
Put in the Work
In order to get to the black belt, you need to put in the work. By this we mean you should practice regularly each week, for at least 2 or 3 days. The more time you put into practice, the less time it will take you to reach each next level.
As well as this, each belt often requires you to be there for some time. For example, as soon as you reach one color belt, you cannot immediately move on to the next. You need to work your way up that belt level first.
This means you can spend months, even years, at one color belt working your way through the grades.
Train with the Best
It is also important that you get a good quality instructor who has years of experience and will lead you to become the best BJJ fighter and the competitor you can be.
A good instructor will be able to point out anywhere you are going wrong and instruct you on how you can improve on this to reach the next level. If you feel that you are not making any progress at all you should chat with your instructor to see if they have any tips.
If they do not help you, it may be worth considering training elsewhere with a different instructor who will motivate you to progress and help fix your downfalls.
Progress is progress, no matter how long it takes
This is an important point to remember. Ten years feels like forever when you are super keen to gain your black belt. It can feel even more disheartening if ten years have passed and you haven’t achieved it, or if other people in your class have achieved a black belt in less than ten years.
What you need to remember though is that everyone is different. We all have different levels of fitness, all of our bodies require different rest times, we even learn at different rates.
This last point, learning at different rates, is an important factor to keep in mind. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as with any martial art, is a way of life. It is a discipline that must be learned. This learning can take a long time.
In fact, you are constantly learning, even after you have reached the black belt. This learning never ends and is a constant journey. Don’t let that journey be one that you don’t enjoy just because you are in a rush.
Let yourself go at your pace and you will find it a much nicer experience, even if it does take you longer.
Final Verdict
To answer the original question, it can take around 10 years to gain a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but it may take slightly less time or much more time depending on what you put into your practice.
As we discussed through the article, there are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration when it comes to making progress in BJJ, and in order to move up to the black belt, you must ensure that you are considering all of them and pushing yourself to be the very best you can be.
All we can say is trust the process, and above all, enjoy it. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a journey. A black belt should not be your final destination by any means, you should keep progressing and learning even when you have achieved that.
We hope that our article has been of use to you and you now feel more confident in your abilities to work at achieving your black belt.
