Purple-ising the Blue …

So .. you are a BJJ Blue Belt and you want to know what it takes make the jump to purple? It’s a worthy goal … but as I have long said ‘you never really ‘get’ a new rank – you ‘become it’. Nevertheless, the question still stands … how do we make our way from Blue toward Purple; or from any rank, to any other rank, for that matter?

I like this idea: as a Blue Belt, I think the better idea is to purple-ise the blue belt that you’re already wearing. Learn better variations of all the things you already know. Develop a more technical understanding of those things you already know. Learn how to make the things you know, more work-able, more dependable, more effective. Instead of being content with the Elbow Escape (when opponent mounts you) – learn the Top Knee Elbow Escape; you know the Back-sweep – then learn the closed Guard back-sweep; you know how to apply your weight well; then learn how to take even more of it off the floor and focus it and do so, on the right parts of your opponent’s body; you have a favorite sweep or two – then learn how to capitalize on your opponent’s natural and learned reactions to these sweeps, etc.

I think it’s way easier to focus on (and achieve) a purple-ising of your current blue belt than to look too far down the track and try to figure out what a purple is made of. I general, we get way more bang for our buck when we improve and modify things we are already okay at – than we do by learning completely new and novel things.

So instead of trying to reach a completely new place – just improve the place you already occupy. On and off the mat …

JBW