after about 2 years of having my ass handed to me in both Gi and nogi BJJ, i have come to the conclusion that on average purple belts are the most dangerous and painful guys to sparr with. let me provide some reasoning as to why. 1.) as pointed out in a BJJ video i once saw. Purple belt is the level where you no longer just throw out techniques and see if they work, but are able to just string countless techniques together for multiple situations, and endlessly flow from technique to technique until you have submitted or beaten the opponent. this is not of course impossible to do for other ranks, especially the higher belt ranks of brown and black, but it isn't seen much which brings me to my next topic. 2.) age. as we all know with increase in age you get weaker as you get higher up in rank. meaning that you don't have to and no longer can afford to wrestle around for stringing technique after technique, instead you simply capitalize on one move or one simple mistake and end the match there. but see purple belts seeing as they aren't brown or black yet, still seem to run the move after move seeing which combination of maneuvars will work best, and seeing as how they have not gotten to the level where it requires next to know energy or effort like many black and brownbelts, many will still use up alot of force and power. which causes a whole lot of pain to those unfortunate enough to spar with them. i have sparred with every belt level. as a white almost at blue belt it seems that white belts don't know next to anything and will power though if they can hoping to land something that may hurt alot. Blue belts know many techniques but are still just throwing out whatever comes natural, just they have more expierence seeing what works better and what doesn't. Brown belts and black belts tend to know they don't need much power and as such, don't use it. they just use the most minimal move and power needed. which is why i believe that there matches last so long in tournaments. leaving the deadly purple belt to swim among the masses like a great white shark. well my rant is over. i just thought i'd share with map what was reinforced into my head after last nights sparring session.
Did you copy paste this from bullshido? I saw this same exact thread on their not to long ago, can't seem to find the link though.
wait a minute... how do you figure people are getting weaker by the time they get to purple belt... lol. It doesn't take that long to get there!!! Much of it will depend on how old they were when they started rolling. Any of the purples I've rolled with and been absolutely owned by sure as heck were weak. In fact they were ripped and supple and fluid. Weakness? Nothing of the sort.
I think what he's saying is at purple you have the skills but not necessary the control. Still have something to prove.
well my school goes by this type of ranking http://marciocruzbjj.com/belt-system/ and thats usually only if you are exceptional. to me most of the guys in the browns and blacks are 40's and up. least in my gym. so there not as quick or powerful as the were in there 20's at purple your like in your physical prime. I also hope every can realize that im not saying this as if its the gospel truth of BJJ. and to the poster who asked- No, i didn't get this from Bullshido.net. me and that site don't see eye to eye. If i wanted a troll site i'd go to /b/
My sons school takes about ten years to get to BB in BJJ. He's a purple belt and I asked him about what you said about purples...he tended to agree. He's kind of a scary kid though, 20 years old, 6'8" about 220, 3-4% body fat and a fireman so he comes with a built in attitude. Good kid who'll knock a door down to rescue you but has done very well in tournaments.
Purple belts ARE dangerous. They have a tendency to take the broke corpses of the blue belts they 'defeat' home with them as a convenient and tasty protein snack.
BJJ belts are awarded for performance often in competition. In the case of a younger purple belt who competes regularly vs a much older black belt who hardly competes. Obviously, the one with the purple belt has the advantage. However, let's say the purple belt and the black belt has the same age and weight class, then I would give the black belt the edge. Of course, anything can happen in a fight but in general I would put my money on the black belt.
i think black belt matches last so long cause the guys are real good at defending the tech........lots of experence allows for you to detect subtle shifts in bodyweight and postions many times when i go against a high level guy i cant "throw" alot of moves out there cause they just are not there look at high level anything from from chess to football more boring....chess guys take for ever just to get a few pieces up...many times it comes down to a pawn across the board game compare pro football to college.....much easyer to pass....higher completion rates...more open field running....more busted covrages...... watch a high school wrestling match....score is 15 to 10........and a guy gets pinned....watch the olympics one guy wins 3-2
I say a brand spanking new blue belt is the most dangerous. They feel like they have a target on their backs and have to prove they earned that belt. They become the noob spazz all over again, but this time they have a little Bit of knowledge.
