At Silva BJJ we teach a high standard of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu everyday and believe in the importance of every student fully experiencing our curriculum so that their belt rank reflects our high standards.
Our curriculum is designed in a linear and progressive nature and belt promotions are considered a natural progression of our curriculum. Students are expected to complete all tests up to the existing belt level and not just the test associated with the current rank. We do not charge for belt tests or promotions as we believe that it is a part of the training and represents students’ growth in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Belt promotion in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu system should be a rewarding experience that represents a journey of physical and mental challenges overcome. The standards for grading and belt promotions vary between schools, but it is widely accepted that the measure of a student’s skills and rank are the amount of technical knowledge and competition/sparring performance a student can demonstrate. Students are expected to demonstrate a high level of accuracy, efficiency and reflexes in the execution of techniques.
Technical knowledge is assessed based on the number of techniques that a student can perform and the degree of expertise in which they are performed in competition or sparring.
Competition or sparring performance is assessed by how well a student compares to other students of the same rank from other schools or if they are consistently submitting most of their own peers in class sparring.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a unique, individual sport in which practitioners are encouraged to adapt the techniques to their body, strategic preferences and athleticism to make it the most efficient. For belt rank technical knowledge requirements click here.
There are additional components to belt promotion such as character of the student on and off the mat that can account for a student being promoted or not. It is the above criteria that an instructor of Silva Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will consider when promoting students. Each instructor has the responsibility to live up to the standards of Silva BJJ by acting with integrity and implementing the correct teaching and testing methodology to ensure the legitimacy of Silva BJJ.
Practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wanting to become part of the Silva BJJ Association may be subject to an entry exam to ensure the belt rank is reflective of our standards.
Only instructors that are part of the Silva BJJ Association are authorized to promote a student and all promotions are required to adhere to our Belt Rank Technical Knowledge Requirements.
Purple Belts who are active instructors are permitted to promote a student up to the rank of Blue Belt with direct authorization from Aloisio Silva.
Brown Belts who are active instructors are permitted to promote a student up to the rank of Purple Belt with direct authorization from Aloisio Silva.
Black Belts who are active instructors and have not yet received their third stripe are permitted to promote up to the rank of Brown Belt.
A Black Belt, upon being awarded a third stripe, is considered a Professor and is able to promote a student to the rank of Black Belt together with a five degree or higher Black Belt.
A Black Belt, upon being awarded a fifth stripe, is considered a Master and is able to promote a student to the rank of Black Belt independently.