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BJJ Purple Belt: What You Need to Know for This Belt

Purple Belt BJJ

What is a purple belt in bjj?

Like any other martial art, BJJ has its own ranking system. Hence, if you are a purple belt, it means that you were able to succeed being a white belt and also overcame the blue belt blues. 

So what is a purple belt in bjj? It is the third rank in the BJJ belt system. It accumulates to roughly 3-5 years of brazilina jiu jitsu training. A purple belt should be able to control and submit any blue belt in bjj as well as any untrained opponent regardless of their size.

You can consider this phase as the halfway point of the belt rankings between white and black belt.

Do know that, purple belts have shown dedication to the sport already and are continuously improving as they go along. 

Therefore, purple belts have spent hundreds of hours in the mats learning more about the sport and application of techniques. Moreover, they are capable of defending themselves, controlling and submitting their opponents without having to overthink the situation.

This is due to all the hours on the BJJ mat they are very accustom to controlling and submitting a fully resisting opponent. Well, think of it this way, their mind and body are now capable of reacting to their opponents motion since they have seen and dealt with numerous reactions when grappling.

In addition, another thing about being a purple belt is that they are very knowledgeable about the fundamentals of BJJ already.

Lastly, they understand the principles and techniques and are allowed or expected to assist in guiding and teaching belts of the lower rank. 

Belts in BJJ

There are 5 major belt ranks in the BJJ belt system. Namely, these are: 

  • White– knowledgeable of the fundamentals of BJJ 
  • Blue – equipped with a wide range of techniques to overcome offenses and submissions 
  • Purple– capable of stringing movements naturally without having to overthink 
  • Brown – able to think 2-3 moves ahead of their opponent 
  • Black– living representation of what BJJ is all about, on and off the mats 

Related: Check out our full guide on all of the jiu jitsu belts in order here

Purple Belt BJJ Requirements

What are the requirements to be a purple belt in BJJ?

Well, of course there are a lot of things that your coach or professor will be looking for you to be able to achieve this milestone. 

Hence, one must be proficient to achieve this rank.

Therefore, it means that you are able to understand what BJJ is. Moreover, you understand the basic principles and the foundations of the sport. Moreover, you have a bunch of techniques and defenses that you have already familiarized and mastered.

In addition, you are now capable of stringing along different techniques to counter your opponent’s movements and take control of the situation. 

Also, you must keep in mind though that if you do get stuck at blue belt for quite some time, it just simply means that your coach or professor is still looking for something for you to improve at.

One thing you can do is reach out to them and ask. Ask what you can improve in your game play. Try to see the things that you always get caught up with during rolling sessions with your teammates and try to find a solution to avoid those scenarios. 

Just be open to coaching and continuously learn.

Related: What is the blue belt blues and how to get over it


How long does it take to get a purple belt in bjj

On avergage, it will take most poeple 3-5 years to achive a purple belt in bjj.


How tough is a BJJ purple belt?

How tough is a bjj purple belt?

Well, if you are a lower rank and have seen a purple belt roll, you might notice that their moves are very smooth.

Moreover, a purple belt is considered an advanced rank and they have mastered the foundations of BJJ.

This is because they have spent countless hours drilling, learning and rolling to achieve their current rank in the sport.

Therefore, trust me when I say that purple belts are tough because they have the skills and tactics of an advanced BJJ practitioner.

But do not worry about rolling with them during training, they are more than capable of guiding you along the way and generally, prefer to provide help and assistance to lower belts as opposed to being overly agressive.

Check out this video talking about the gap between blue and purple belts.

Is purple belt an expert?

Is a purple belt an expert in bjj already?

Well, what I can say about this 3rd out of the 5 total belt ranks in BJJ is that it is the transitional phase.

Moreover, they have surpassed the novice phase and are ready to work on their skills to be able to advance through to a brown and then black belt. 

Purple belts, though, have a vast knowledge about the sport. Furthermore, they have spent hundreds of hours learning the gentle art.

For some competitions like NAGA, purple belts are part of the expert division along with brown and black belts.

What should be goals of a bjj purple belt

What should be goals of a bjj purple belt?

So, each and everyone started BJJ with a different goal in mind. Hence, the more you train and the more you learn about the sport, the higher the chance that your goals are slowly being achieved and changing. But here are some: 

  • Work on weakness
  • Guide the lower ranks 
  • Learn to chain attacks together*
  • Test your skills through competitions 
  • Always be open to learning new things
  • Gain a generally knowledge of all major positions and submissions

Hopefully, this post has giving you some info on the requirements of a purple belt in bjj and what to expect on your joureny through the jiu jitsu belts to purple.

Thanks for reading and keep grinding!

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