Would You Keep the Belts

I think the belt system in BJJ is the best I’ve experienced so far since I started training in martial arts back in 1994 (although there are of course many martial arts I’ve haven’t tried for long enough to experience their grading system.) What attracts me to it most is that the belt system is meritocratic, so your ability is tied directly to your rank.

Having said that, I really, really dislike formal tests for belts, which unfortunately (for me) is becoming more common in BJJ. But as I now run my own school, I can avoid that problem (unless my instructor suddenly brings it in, but I can’t see that happening).

As to why I think the belt system is useful: the two main things for me are that it provides a quick indicator of ability, which helps me as an instructor when pairing people up for sparring (this is even more true if you're at a huge school with loads of students, or teaching a seminar), and secondly it is an easy way to divide up levels in competition. Doing away with belts would remove all the angst and political nonsense that can come with rank, but on balance I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

I babble at greater length on the BJJ belt system here, in case anyone wants to hear me get long-winded.