Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Promotions for Children

Your child just started training at Gracie Barra Northridge and they notice that their class mates are getting promotions and they aren’t, here what you can tell them. Our school follows Gracie Barra and the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation belt system. There are 5 basic colors to children belts-white, grey, yellow, orange, and green. Each of those basic colors has two variations (white or black). Children also receive stripes on each belt to mark degrees. These strips go on solid black bar at the end of the belt. At our academy we give 4 white stripes and 4 red stripes before promoting to the next belt. We decided to add more rankings to the white belt to avoid keeping a child stuck at the same belt for too long. While you’d hope kids would train because they love it and not because they want a new belt, kids do get very excited by promotions. Promotions are based on the following criteria: attendance, attitude in class, behavior outside of Jiu-Jitsu, and performance. While the coaches do want to see that the children understand and can execute the technique they are being taught, their attitude is a bigger factor taken into consideration for stripes. Stripes are given each month taking into consideration the criteria. If the child does not meet the criteria to receive a stripe the promotion might be pushed back. At our academy we do not have formal belt testing for belt promotions, kids are being tested by the criteria on a daily basis. Belt promotions do take longer than stripes (2-3 months). We do our best with timing. When a kid turns 16, the instructor promotes them to an adult rank. White belts remain white belts, but colored belts usually become blue belts. Aside from our kids program Gracie Barra Northridge also offers a variety of programs such as adult’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu, women’s self defense, no-gi training, advanced gi, and Muay Thai. Our programs focus on Anti-Bullying/Self-Defense techniques for both adults and children. We offer classes 6x a week and are one of the few schools in the San Fernando Valley that offers 6AM adults Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes. Come in to our location to try a FREE introductory lesson. We are currently offering 30 days for free*, you do not want to miss out!

*Must purchase Gracie Barra Uniform for free trial.