150,000 BJJ black belts Globally?

[TheMaster]

Article claims an estimated 150,000 BJJ blackbelts globally.

How Many BJJ Black Belts Are There Worldwide? - Grappler HQ

If you’re a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) enthusiast, you may have wondered how many black belts there...

www.grapplerhq.com

This seems large number, but the art has gained popularity in recent decades outside of Brazil.

 

[Fox by the Sea]

So like 500 that are worth a damn

 

[OldTimer]

Seems like a lot, but I guess it could be.

 

[Forceof1]

I think this article is full of shit. No way it's even close. My guess is about 20 % of that number.

I know there are about 170 Black belts in Wisconsin (we keep a list).
Wisconsin Population is 5.9 million

Therefore, 1 in 34,705 people in Wisconsin is a black belt (Assuming Wisconsin is an average BJJ density). (or .000028 percent)

In the United States, using the .000028 figure would result in approximately 9,300 black belts in the country. Assuming a higher density in some states, let's go with an even 10,000 in the US. Maybe squint and get to 11,500.

The US has to have the second highest number of BJJ Black belts, behind Brazil. If Brazil has twice the occurrence rate of black belts as the US (.000056), they have approximately 12,500.

After that, you are talking countries that didn't even start getting black belts until the mid or late 2000's. I found an article from 2015 that put the total number of blackbelts in Europe at about 1,000. Let's say that's gone up 7X in the last 10 years. You are still talking about only 7,000 blackbelts in Europe.

The only other real hotbed internationally would be Japan. Maybe we add another 500 - 1000 there. Add another 1000 for Australia, New Zealand, and really anywhere else in the world.

Now, we are looking at -
Brazil - 12,500
US - 11,500
Europe - 7,000
Japan - 1,000
Everywhere else - 1,000

Total = 33,000 BJJ black belts

I'd love to see their methodology to get to a number 5 times higher than that.

 

[TheMaster]

I think this article is full of shit. No way it's even close. My guess is about 20 % of that number.

I know there are about 170 Black belts in Wisconsin (we keep a list).
Wisconsin Population is 5.9 million

Therefore, 1 in 34,705 people in Wisconsin is a black belt (Assuming Wisconsin is an average BJJ density). (or .000028 percent)

In the United States, using the .000028 figure would result in approximately 9,300 black belts in the country. Assuming a higher density in some states, let's go with an even 10,000 in the US. Maybe squint and get to 11,500.

The US has to have the second highest number of BJJ Black belts, behind Brazil. If Brazil has twice the occurrence rate of black belts as the US (.000056), they have approximately 12,500.

After that, you are talking countries that didn't even start getting black belts until the mid or late 2000's. I found an article from 2015 that put the total number of blackbelts in Europe at about 1,000. Let's say that's gone up 7X in the last 10 years. You are still talking about only 7,000 blackbelts in Europe.

The only other real hotbed internationally would be Japan. Maybe we add another 500 - 1000 there. Add another 1000 for Australia, New Zealand, and really anywhere else in the world.

Now, we are looking at -
Brazil - 12,500
US - 11,500
Europe - 7,000
Japan - 1,000
Everywhere else - 1,000

Total = 33,000 BJJ black belts

I'd love to see their methodology to get to a number 5 times higher than that.

This article claims about 186,000 blackbelts globally and 50,000 in the US alone, based on extrapolating numbers from registered blackbelts.

How Many Black Belts Are There in BJJ? (Full Statistics Breakdown) – HeavyBJJ

heavybjj.com

 

[Forceof1]

This article claims about 186,000 blackbelts globally and 50,000 in the US alone, based on extrapolating numbers from registered blackbelts.

How Many Black Belts Are There in BJJ? (Full Statistics Breakdown) – HeavyBJJ

heavybjj.com

Highly doubt one in every 6,500 people is a black belt

 

[ChickenBrother]

I think this article is full of shit. No way it's even close. My guess is about 20 % of that number.

I know there are about 170 Black belts in Wisconsin (we keep a list).
Wisconsin Population is 5.9 million

Therefore, 1 in 34,705 people in Wisconsin is a black belt (Assuming Wisconsin is an average BJJ density). (or .000028 percent)

In the United States, using the .000028 figure would result in approximately 9,300 black belts in the country. Assuming a higher density in some states, let's go with an even 10,000 in the US. Maybe squint and get to 11,500.

The US has to have the second highest number of BJJ Black belts, behind Brazil. If Brazil has twice the occurrence rate of black belts as the US (.000056), they have approximately 12,500.

After that, you are talking countries that didn't even start getting black belts until the mid or late 2000's. I found an article from 2015 that put the total number of blackbelts in Europe at about 1,000. Let's say that's gone up 7X in the last 10 years. You are still talking about only 7,000 blackbelts in Europe.

The only other real hotbed internationally would be Japan. Maybe we add another 500 - 1000 there. Add another 1000 for Australia, New Zealand, and really anywhere else in the world.

Now, we are looking at -
Brazil - 12,500
US - 11,500
Europe - 7,000
Japan - 1,000
Everywhere else - 1,000

Total = 33,000 BJJ black belts

I'd love to see their methodology to get to a number 5 times higher than that.

Pretty much this - I think the real number is no more than 35K. The article is full of shit. It's written by someone named "Richard" with no last name or bio cited and he pulled the number out of his ass:

"If we use IBJJF’s registered black belts as a guide and from estimates taken at my previous two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gyms, 1 out of 25 black belts were registered with IBJJF so we can estimate there are approximately ~186,175 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts in the world."

He just took the 7447 registered IBJJF black belts worldwide (of all grades) and multiplied by 25. So he's trained at the Derek Zoolander school for kids who suck at jiujitsu but wanna wear black belts anyway and/or the BJ Penn/Caio Terra school of elite brown belts who can tap 99% of BBs but have only been brown belch for 11.5 months and haven't met the 1-year time in grade requirement.

No f'ing way are 24/25 "black belts" unregistered with IBJJF. I'd estimate MAYBE 4 out of 5 unregistered, if that. IBJJF isn't the be all end all but it is the biggest game in town and you have to register if you want to compete in any IBJJF tournament or be recognized with advanced degrees. Our gym has 6 BBs and AFAIK 3 are registered because they teach/compete full time, and the other 3 are being encouraged to register and compete but I don't know if they will.

 

[Einheri]

Doubt it. No idea where he got that number from.

 

[maximus__]

Pretty much this - I think the real number is no more than 35K. The article is full of shit. It's written by someone named "Richard" with no last name or bio cited and he pulled the number out of his ass:

"If we use IBJJF’s registered black belts as a guide and from estimates taken at my previous two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gyms, 1 out of 25 black belts were registered with IBJJF so we can estimate there are approximately ~186,175 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts in the world."

He just took the 7447 registered IBJJF black belts worldwide (of all grades) and multiplied by 25. So he's trained at the Derek Zoolander school for kids who suck at jiujitsu but wanna wear black belts anyway and/or the BJ Penn/Caio Terra school of elite brown belts who can tap 99% of BBs but have only been brown belch for 11.5 months and haven't met the 1-year time in grade requirement.

No f'ing way are 24/25 "black belts" unregistered with IBJJF. I'd estimate MAYBE 4 out of 5 unregistered, if that. IBJJF isn't the be all end all but it is the biggest game in town and you have to register if you want to compete in any IBJJF tournament or be recognized with advanced degrees. Our gym has 6 BBs and AFAIK 3 are registered because they teach/compete full time, and the other 3 are being encouraged to register and compete but I don't know if they will.

This makes the most sense here. Most are registered because it's bitch if you aren't to do anything with it.
You can't continue to get degrees, you can't really prmote and your team will have issues competing.

 

[ChickenBrother]

This makes the most sense here. Most are registered because it's bitch if you aren't to do anything with it.
You can't continue to get degrees, you can't really prmote and your team will have issues competing.

For these reasons, anecdotally I think a lot of BBs let their memberships lapse but eventually pay up to be able to compete/get stripes/promote their own BBs. Two of our BBs including my coach competed regularly up to purple, then spent 10+ years in pro MMA before returning to BJJ competition as BBs and got registered again.

Basically the only way to NOT register is if you're a straight hobbyist BB who DGAF about stripes or ever running your own gym. For sure there are BBs like that but I don't see it being more than 80% at the very highest. Our gym has 3 unregistered hobbyist BBs and from what I've seen, our coach is "encouraging" them to register and compete both to "legitimize" their BBs and because it brings more credibility to the gym.

 

[Quebec Nick]

Personnaly, I don't really care how many people has it, it's still the toughest black belt to get in popular martial arts and it's impossible to get it as a teen

I don't really care, how many people end up to get it but I know that if I manage to get it, it will be through a very long road in which I put a lot of effort and dedication.

The level of dedication can surely vary from place to place, but I rarely heard of people getting BJJ black belts without consistency over long years of training.

Maybe some don't have the skill level some people wish every BJJ Black belt should have, maybe they don't have the tools to manage some high level 20 yo blue belts

Most of the black belts are guys in their 30s who have managed to stay consistent in their training for 7-10 years, managing life, kids, wife, work, businesses. They became pillars for their gym and the BJJ community, by teaching, mentoring, setting the example, reffing in competitions, managing the kids classes.




No need to become a world champion to get it, no need to be sure that he can beat up everybody with a lower belt than him, the guy earned it



My ex wife got her Taekwondo black belt at 18 years old, training as kid for 10 years, 2 times a week, one hour, summer off... With a little boost in the training for the last 2 years...

 

[Marko Atanasovik]

Many of them are given as gifts.

 

[The Thrill]

i think theres probably a lot more not signed up for ibjjf than you realize...ive competed thru all the belts and never signed up, nor will i especially at black belt-i teach but im not in charge of the school, and for the general area im in, whether i travel 3 hours north or 3 hours south ill be competing against the same group of guys depending on the city-you dont magically get special competitors when the ibjjf comes to town

its similar to judo, in our area no matter the name or brand of the tourney all the competitors will be the same guys-theres no benefit to me signing up for ibjjf and theres actually a financial penalty, and while im here ranting im getting sick of being nickel and dimed everywhere i turn in society so thats another reason where i dont need the ibjjf

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

i think theres probably a lot more not signed up for ibjjf than you realize...ive competed thru all the belts and never signed up, nor will i especially at black belt-i teach but im not in charge of the school, and for the general area im in, whether i travel 3 hours north or 3 hours south ill be competing against the same group of guys depending on the city-you dont magically get special competitors when the ibjjf comes to town

its similar to judo, in our area no matter the name or brand of the tourney all the competitors will be the same guys-theres no benefit to me signing up for ibjjf and theres actually a financial penalty, and while im here ranting im getting sick of being nickel and dimed everywhere i turn in society so thats another reason where i dont need the ibjjf

Not everyone has to or should compete. It's just extra. The only reason to sign up for ibjjf as a black belt is if you're the prompting professor and you student compete. Ibjjfs membership fees are ridiculous for sure.

I will say, I personally get better rolls at IBJJF and see different faces more than old ones, even when I'm competing fairly locally. If the membership fees were revised I think ibjjf would have much more unified support by other black belts

 

[Ivaylo Ivanov]

Pretty much this - I think the real number is no more than 35K. The article is full of shit. It's written by someone named "Richard" with no last name or bio cited and he pulled the number out of his ass:

"If we use IBJJF’s registered black belts as a guide and from estimates taken at my previous two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gyms, 1 out of 25 black belts were registered with IBJJF so we can estimate there are approximately ~186,175 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts in the world."

He just took the 7447 registered IBJJF black belts worldwide (of all grades) and multiplied by 25. So he's trained at the Derek Zoolander school for kids who suck at jiujitsu but wanna wear black belts anyway and/or the BJ Penn/Caio Terra school of elite brown belts who can tap 99% of BBs but have only been brown belch for 11.5 months and haven't met the 1-year time in grade requirement.

No f'ing way are 24/25 "black belts" unregistered with IBJJF. I'd estimate MAYBE 4 out of 5 unregistered, if that. IBJJF isn't the be all end all but it is the biggest game in town and you have to register if you want to compete in any IBJJF tournament or be recognized with advanced degrees. Our gym has 6 BBs and AFAIK 3 are registered because they teach/compete full time, and the other 3 are being encouraged to register and compete but I don't know if they will.

I was promoted together with another 5 guys, in GB Jardim America, GO, Brazil.

Ive trained there for 2 years, and witnessed promotion of at least 30 people.

None of us is registered with IBJJF.

In Bulgaria, we have most probably >50 black belts, and Im not aware of anyone been registered with IBJJF.

Personal opinion:
There should be only white and black belts (coral and red for federation functioners).
No stripes.
Same as Kodokan Judo.

You start as a white belt, win your first comp and get promoted to black belt 1st degree.

 

[ChickenBrother]

I was promoted together with another 5 guys, in GB Jardim America, GO, Brazil.

Ive trained there for 2 years, and witnessed promotion of at least 30 people.

None of us is registered with IBJJF.

In Bulgaria, we have most probably >50 black belts, and Im not aware of anyone been registered with IBJJF.

Personal opinion:
There should be only white and black belts (coral and red for federation functioners).
No stripes.
Same as Kodokan Judo.

You start as a white belt, win your first comp and get promoted to black belt 1st degree.

Very interesting context, thanks. Just curious, how many of the unregistered BBs you're in touch with compete or coach regularly in BJJ comps in any organization? Are most of them hobbyists who do not compete and/or athletes who only crosstrain BJJ while focusing primarily on Judo/wrestling/Sambo?

I agree streamlining the belt structure would have a lot of positives. Frankly the main point of a BB is to signify someone qualified to run his own gym and to promote other instructors. I don't see colored belts ever going away due to tradition, fees and marketing benefits, but all of that does unfortunately lead to a fair amount of one-upmanship and dick-measuring behavior.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Yeah... But for every Rickson , you have a thousand Ninja Morris

 

[Ivaylo Ivanov]

Very interesting context, thanks. Just curious, how many of the unregistered BBs you're in touch with compete or coach regularly in BJJ comps in any organization? Are most of them hobbyists who do not compete and/or athletes who only crosstrain BJJ while focusing primarily on Judo/wrestling/Sambo?

I agree streamlining the belt structure would have a lot of positives. Frankly the main point of a BB is to signify someone qualified to run his own gym and to promote other instructors. I don't see colored belts ever going away due to tradition, fees and marketing benefits, but all of that does unfortunately lead to a fair amount of one-upmanship and dick-measuring behavior.

Ive met, know and trained with over 200 BBs, over the span of 20 years, in Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, USA and EU.
Those are the rough numbers:

- only about %5 are IBJJF registered
- also %5 dont do Jiujitsu anymore, at all
- %20 regularly competing (age plays role too)
- half of them are team coaches
- %10 pure hobbyist (those are the main bulk of IBJJF registered BBs)
- %1 trains Jiujitsu to supplement their Judo/Wrestling/ Sambo
- %10 trains Jiujitsu to supplement their MMA

 

[Ivaylo Ivanov]

So like 500 that are worth a damn

Id say 300.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Ive met, know and trained with over 200 BBs, over the span of 20 years, in Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, USA and EU.
Those are the rough numbers:

- only about %5 are IBJJF registered
- also %5 dont do Jiujitsu anymore, at all
- %20 regularly competing (age plays role too)
- half of them are team coaches
- %10 pure hobbyist (those are the main bulk of IBJJF registered BBs)
- %1 trains Jiujitsu to supplement their Judo/Wrestling/ Sambo
- %10 trains Jiujitsu to supplement their MMA

Very interesting, thank you. Of the ~20% that compete regularly, if most aren't registered with IBJJF, are they doing alternative rulesets like ADCC, sub only, etc. or primarily BJJ in orgs other than IBJJF?