The BJJ blue belt is often considered to be the most desirable belt in jiu-jitsu. Know fact is that the most people who train BJJ are white belts and what they want is to get rid of that white belt. A White belt is a mark of a newbie or beginner, so people want to move to the next level as fast they can.
BJJ Blue Belt Requirements
They are certain basic BJJ techniques you should know before getting your blue belt. You probably won’t master those techniques, but at least knowing what are you against will help you a lot. In jiu-jitsu mastering often considered basic techniques like Armbar, takes a lot of time and drilling.
Submissions
Submissions are bjj moves, people tend to focus too much, but there are certain submissions you should know before getting your blue belt:
- Armbar – Mastering this technique will take some time, but knowing basic armbar from the closed guard is a must.
- Triangle choke- Although this move can be used for various positions, you should focus on most basic variation from the guard. In the beginning success rate of this submission can depend a lot on your constitution – shape, form, and strength of your legs
- Kimura – Is one of the most basic arm locks that and it can be done from various positions. Knowing variation from guard is must know for a BJJ blue belt
- Americana- One of the most utilized submissions by the white and blue belts. It can be done from side control and mount.
Positions
Knowing basic jiu jitsu positions is a must for a BJJ Blue belt. Control, position change, and transitions are things that you must know. For example, getting from your side control to north-south position or mount. Basic jiu jitsu positions are the full guard, the half-guard, the side control, the mount, and the back control. Also escaping from certain positions is also thing you have to learn. Getting stuck in positions like a side control is not fun at all and the best thing you can do is not to stay there for long.
Basic Positions you need to learn to escape from:
- side control
- back control
- bottom half guard ( when both shoulder blades are on the mat)
Guard Passes
Guards that you should know how to pass are closed guard, open guard, and half guard. Read more about these guard passes here.
How long does it take to get a BJJ blue belt
Time to get your BJJ blue belt depends on multiple factors amongst them, some are not under your control. These factors are:
- How often and how hard you train
- Your Talent and background (some people who train before other sports have better mobility and reflexes that can help at the beginning)
- You school promotion policies
According to IBJJF the time it takes for the athlete graduate from white belt to black belt is up to the athlete’s professor. However, the IBJJF requires a mandatory minimum amount of time the athlete must spend at each belt level. For blue belt minimum time athlete has to spend in the blue belt is 2 years. Also to be able to get blue belt you need to be minimum 16 years old.
COMMON BLUE BELT PROBLEMS
Losing Motivation
Most people quit in the white or blue belt and very few people get the purple belt. It is often considered that only 1-3% BJJ practitioners get to the black belt. A blue belt can be a hard belt to survive. When you get a new belt, you get more motivation to train and keep progressing or you start losing your motivation and eventually quit jiu jitsu. Lack of motivation mostly happens after getting your blue belt and realizing that it is going to take you a lot of time to get your purple belt. This fact and combination of life and injuries are why people quit Jiu Jitsu.
Ego Problem
A lot of new BJJ blue belt assume that after promotion they cant and/or musnt be submitted by white belts. People tend to stress too much over this and some people even stop sparring: IF you ever start thinking like that just remember this Fact: Everyone taps, everyone guard gets passed, no one gets every submission they want.
