Colored Up - On Getting a Purple Belt

Much to my surprise I was promoted to purple belt. Caveirinha Jiu-Jitsu Family (CJJF) held a promotion ceremony and technique seminar recently. There was a huge turnout and a lot of stripes and belts were given. I thought I'd get another stripe on my blue belt, if anything at all, and I was utterly shocked when Professor Caveirinha gave me a purple belt. My first thought: Ummm...why?



Receiving a purple belt with Professor Casey,
Professor Lorenzo, and Professor Caveirinha

I've been training for about 3 years now. Well, that's 3 years with a few breaks thrown in here and there. I don't compete much, in fact I've only won one match in competition. My training has been inconsistent at best for the past 2 months. So why did I get a belt promotion? I honestly don't get it.

After thinking about it for a week or so, I realized that I have a hard time grasping that I could actually be deserving of a purple belt because I still feel new to jiu-jitsu and I remember how I looked at purple belts when I first got started. When I first began training there weren't any purple belts. Maybe one or two would drop by now and then but there just weren't that many. When one would come by there'd be a silent admiration among all us newbie white belts. The skill they displayed was so smooth and seemingly effortless. Getting there seemed so far away.

When I got a blue belt there was a sense of validation. Sort of like, I've put in the time, paid the dues, endured the sores and bruises enough to be recognized as a legitimate part of jiu-jitsu. It didn't necessarily feel like I was a certain skill level, but more like I had reached a point where I was no longer starting out. I was part of the sport, part of the art.

The purple seems to carry a certain weight of expectation, the way I see it. I am still a part of the sport. But now I should be contributing to the art. I should be more than just a spectator. There might even be a white belt watching me the way I watched purple belts a few years ago. And to me, that's weird. I don't feel like I'm that good. There are so many others at CJJF that are much more skilled that I am. Like some of the same people I watched and admired when I was starting out. We still train together. And I still think I'm far away from being as skilled as they are. But I guess that's the point really. We all get better with time, work, and good teammates.

I guess the best way I can put it is that the purple belt feels sort of like being brought from the second-string into the starting lineup. There's a bit of a spotlight on you. An expectation to perform at a certain level. A certain level of responsibility to be a role model to those just starting out. And it's surprising that Professor Caveirinha feels I'm deserving of that. Nonetheless, I'm grateful and thankful to be part of jiu-jitsu and CJJF.

Congrats to everybody at CJJF