When Is It My Turn?
Your belt cannot show everything you are learning.
A stripe can help mark your progress, but plenty of that progress happens between the days when stripes are awarded. That work still counts when you leave class wearing the same belt you arrived in.
Someone in class gets a stripe. Maybe a few people do. You clap for them, but you are also watching your coach. You are hoping your name will be next. Then class ends, and your belt looks exactly the same.
You have been coming to class. You have been practicing. You thought you were getting better. So why didn’t you get one too?
It Is Okay to Care
It also makes sense to feel disappointed when you were hoping for a stripe and did not receive one. You can be happy for your teammate and wish it had been your turn too. Both feelings can happen at the same time. But before you decide that you must not be getting better, think about what has actually changed in your jiu jitsu.
Your Belt Cannot Show Everything
Those are changes you can notice. They happened because you have been learning and practicing. Your belt might look the same through all of them.
In our adult classes, I only give stripes to white belts. Once someone earns their blue belt, their next promotion is a new belt. There is a lot of learning and practicing between those promotions. They might figure out an escape that has been giving them trouble or get better at a position they used to avoid. Their belt looks the same, but their jiu jitsu has changed. That happens for you between stripes too.
A stripe can help mark your progress, but plenty of that progress happens between the days when stripes are awarded. You are building the skills that your next stripe or belt will recognize. That work still counts when you leave class wearing the same belt you arrived in.
What Should I Work On?
But two students can start together, practice together, and earn their next stripes at different times. You may be working through different problems or still learning different parts of a technique.
If you are wondering about your progress, talk to your coach. “What have I gotten better at?” “What should I work on next?”
Those questions give you something useful to take into your next class. You might learn that your coach has noticed an improvement you had not noticed yourself. You might also find out that there is something you need to spend more time practicing.
You can still look forward to your next stripe. In the meantime, there is jiu jitsu to learn, and you can leave your next class a little better at it.
See you on the mats.
Parent’s Note
Joshua is the owner and head coach at 608 Jiu Jitsu in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. He writes about learning, problem solving, and becoming a better training partner through jiu jitsu.