Eligibility not Entitlement
We decided to write this article to explain the belt systems and stripes acquisition at Sampa jiu jitsu so everyone is at the same page
The first couple of belts in our school are not too hard to conquer, in fact they are more about showing up. Actually, there is a saying: “99% of success is about showing up”.
Later of course when kids and adults evolve to their 3rd belt level we as coaches require more responsibility from the athlete, to ensure more performance and legitimacy for subsequent belts.
To make it clear every time a student receives a stripe he or she must spend some time in that stripe until receive the next one.
Only four stripes are rewarded in each belt so after the fourth stripe a student must again respect the grace period in that stripe and them wait for the instructor say that he or she is eligible to the next belt.
But it is appropriate now to say, that even when the grace period is up, it is still up to the coach and the school board to decide if the student is legit and ready to the next belt.
Meaning, after the grace period in the fourth stripe the student is eligible to receive the next belt but not yet entitled.
Our concern is not only to water down our program but also not beat up our kid’s confidence. We want our kids to work hard for what they want and instil hard work ethics on everything they put their time into.
That is why in BJJ – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu we do not allow kids to have a black belt, because it requires a huge maturity process and sense of responsibilities that kids many times do not have.
Prof. Renato call 626-335-4971
@sampabjj
