congratulations on the wedding!!!

great video, always looking out for us newbies :)

The only super power your belt has is MRSA. Wash your dang belt!

You are awesome. Thanks for all the content ! ❤️

I love my school - we all sometimes train at our affiliate school where my professor earned his black belt 😁 it's awesome and I've met so many cool people at that larger school! When I got my blue belt, I was told our initiation is having to roll with every other upper belt in the room!

My promotions have been kind of different, I had to roll with everyone present for my blue belt, and I did the gauntlet for my purple. The gauntlet doesn’t bother me personally, but I disagree with the practice, I have seen it done on women but the participants hold back based on my observation. I also cross train Judo and would highly recommend people cross train across different schools and grappling sports. Thank you for the video! I think it’s important to discuss issues that may not be so easy to approach.

At our gym they do the gauntlet, everyone seems to enjoy it and the vibe is always so celebratory and for the ladies they let them choose weather they want to do it or not :)

Your content is so awesome 😎

At my school, your belt promotion is accompanied by a gauntlet. We’ve had men and women do it, and anyone can choose to opt out. If someone seems nervous or a bit uncomfortable, no one whips them hard when they go through, but I have seen some of the high school students (both genders) really get each other.

Very good video, thank you for your input for others to learn. Oss!!!

I am a white belt with 2 stripes and whenever i see my belt “dirty” i wash it. There are multiple white belts that arent white but grey and it kinda bothers me tbh

The belt thing is fine for white belts but I once washed my karate blue belt and the colour bleeds out like crazy so I just dont wash them not because any spiritual thing but just because I want it to keep its colour.

I’m SO glad you said to wash your belt! I wouldn’t have been sure if I should wash it because of the stripe tape - but it has washed up fine. I just hang it to dry. Our school doesn’t do the gauntlet - but at our most recent promotion ceremony we had two people promote to black belt and it’s tradition in our school for all of the other black belts to throw the new black belts lol I didn’t look fun lol

I am a woman and yes my school did Gauntlet belt promotions I didn’t know that their was a name for it so thank you Kim. When I got my Blue Belt in BJJ we did that.

My school does the gauntlet promotion on women, but typically we’ll have our gis on and they only hit the back (and you can tell the men hold back way more than if it’s a male getting promoted)

Congratulations 🎊 on your wedding. (I hope I can get as lucky in my old age)

My gym professor highly discourages dating in the gym (his son is now getting married to someone from the gym 🤣) but that's mostly due to some incidents that has happened in the pass. My boyfriend ( a purple belt) and I (a newly blue belt) started dating around a 2 months ago and before it became public I texted my professor to let him know out of respect for the space he created in the gym and he was very happy for us and has no issues with it he also knows neither of us were using the gym as a dating pool. I couldn't be happier being with my Jiu-jitsu boyfriend 💕

I had the "glaunted" promotion when I was training in Brazil, so they do it with women as well

Not washing your belt as I know it in other martial arts is mostly a black belt thing where the wear on your belt is due to the hours/years you put in, not the washes. If your blackbelt looks gray, you're pretty serious. Also, if it goes back to white, there is symbolism in that - it's not just stupid.

I've never washed any of my belts! Of course, I do purely no-gi so my last two belts don't even have the wraps off them... I've seen 2 dating relationships at the gym, one is going strong, one ended up involving restraining orders and one person being asked to leave the gym. I think you're advice is spot on, do it with eyes open about the risks. I've seen the videos of the belt gauntlet but never experienced. It's likely always guys in the videos because women do fewer dumb things than men, though if I were at a gym that did it then it 100% should be gender neutral. Open mats are a great middle ground between competition and regular classes. Exposure to different styles and a chance to pressure test your stuff against people who don't instantly know what's coming because you've rolled 1000 times. At my previous gym we had a guy who only showed up to open mats periodically but never regular class. First time I rolled with him we were extremely well matched. Several months of classes later I ran into him at open mat again (me training and him only doing open mats) and I wiped the floor easily, was a nice way to measure my progress. Sexual assault problems I have thankfully seen none of, not at all saying they aren't a thing, simply that they've never happened in my vicinity. I will say tangentially though that I think there is some mystique with black belts that needs to go away. A black belt simply means that you are better at Jiu Jitsu than me. It doesn't mean you know anything more than I do about any other aspect of life. That whole idea that they aren't supposed to be just your teacher in Jiu Jitsu (or whatever martial art) but also teaching you life lessons at the same time is bunk. I'm older than my current teacher and was older than my previous one and frankly a guy who lives in the gym 24/7 frequently has LESS life experience to draw upon than a normal person who's out living a regular life. Teachers should stick to teaching their art and leave the life lessons to others.

in my previous academy you were not supposed to wash your belt, the teory that white belt getting black over time 🙈

"It's really stupid." AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA ...aaaaaand subbed :)

I’ve been wanting to get my nose pierced but don’t want to stop training. I’ve read that people tape up their piercings but I highly doubt tape would stay on my nose while rolling. Any tips/advice on wanting to get piercings while actively training?

One of my favorite coaches named Michael. He's a 230-lb bearded purple belt, and is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. We all wash our belts because Michael had scolded us all about ringworm enough times that the fear of dirty belts is permanently etched into our minds. 😁 Michael's girl Jessica (Miss Montana) is a bjj blue belt, as well as a judo black belt. They're gettin' married in July 🥰

We do the gauntlet woman & men 😊

I think a lot of people don’t wash their belt because it often won’t be dried by the next day. I wash mine at the end of the week

creonte top team!

I didn't wash my belt for like four months after I started training. At that time, we had gi and no gi days. then, in winter, the gym only opens gi sessions. One day in the middle of training every weekday, I suddenly felt so disgusting towards my belt. From that time, I like to wash my belt like every week. It's also because I have only one gi (I'm two-stripe white belt, btw). I didn't know the stuff you said about washing belt. Maybe I'm very forgetful about techniques because I'm washing my belt lol. For the whipping thing, I see it's not a problem. I even want to have that kind of experience (just for fun).

My boyfriend (purple belt) got me into bjj training, he has his own school and I attend another school in another city. So he taught me the basics of bjj culture. I once put our gi's on the washer and i was about to put my belt and he told me you should NEVER wash them (I had never washed it but i wanted to impress him with my fake bjj knowledge and wash his too) so it' been almost a year of me as a white belt without washing it....BUT i discovered that most people have an "everyday belt" and a "competition belt" so I guess it's kind of...a choice?

Great video!! Agree with all your points basically. We do the gauntlet at our gym, and women go through it too but you don't have to take off your gi top or anything 😆. You also can't really feel it unless someone really wants to make you feel it (always a few ofc)! I wash my belt after every training session with it.. like you said it's another piece of cloth rubbing the dirty mats lol, it only makes sense!

Also someone explain to me guys painting nails in toes within the culture?

1. One of our profesors says not to wash the belt. He hasn't said why he feels that way. I personally wash our belts (me, hubs and the kids) occasionally... I want to stitch the stripes on so they don't fall off, but I have procrastinated on it. 😶 2. Dating.... there has only been 2 "known" relationships at our school, and one wasn't really at our school, it was at the offshoot next door. That one ended weirdly and had a weird dynamic. But both students still attend and everyone is accepting of both parties. They just don't work together anymore (hopefully they will be okay with it later, but there are plenty of people to not HAVE to be paired together).The other is brand new relationship and I'm eager to see where it leads. I'm currently one of the ONLY couples that train (me and hubs). So I'm excited about another couple that both train. 3. Cross training... I have gone to a few seminars and ladies open mats since joining my gym. I always feel like I should make sure I represent my gym appropriately. I shoot my professor a message that I am going to xyz gym beforehand (just in case there is maybe unknown rivalry or something... I can be alert about it I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️) Pay a drop in fee and/or buy some merch from the gym you're visiting. 4. Our gym does the gauntlet. Men, women and kids. Anybody can opt out. Some guys take off their gi top to be macho. Some people run with their gi top bundled up on their back. Its fun to be a part of and I'm nervous and excited for when its my turn. 5. I left a gym that the coach "dated" (I'm using that term loosely) an underage girl. I wasn't aware of the situation until I had already been there for a few months, and left (because I was going to sign up my daughter's for their kids classes) and joined my current gym. *everything I heard was hearsay... I never heard anything from either party about it, because it happened before I joined, but I did get a weird vibe from the coach before I heard, so I listened to my gut and left.

My coach is taking our academy every week for an open mat to different schools so we can roll with new people 😁

Us women get the gauntlet too at our gym. None of us have an issue with it, but nobody is actually trying to seriously hurt anyone.

Have you ever thought of going to Jiu- Jitsu pans?

I'm a girl, and I was whipped today after i got my blue belt. It qas really cool🎉 Generally, they don't go hard on the girls.

for the whipping, my school does it and i really hate it. most of the men get really macho about it, and now its a thing where they take off their shirts and get some horrific bruises. when i got my blue, i felt pressured to do it. i hated it, even though I could tell they didn't hit me as hard being a women. the people that hit me the hardest weren't even people I knew, they were new white belts that I didn't even know the names of/never rolled with. I now refuse to partake in hitting other people when they get promoted, and when I eventually get my purple I will refuse to be hit. this sport is supposed to be fun, I didn't feel initiated I felt honestly a bit shocked and in pain.

Ok so I went to this Class for women on friday and I am pretty new to jiu jitsu I train for over a month now, overall I had good experience with People who have more experience but I was rolling once with a girl Where her brother was sitting on a bench and was screaming to finish me etc 😅 and telling her what move She needs to do Where I was Super new to jiu jitsu and just tried to survive. I didn’t even knew what was going on 😅. That was very weird and left me with bad taste. During the same Class I was rolling with 13 year old kid and She was going crazy She hit me in my nose with her elbow is that normal in jiu jitsu?

My daughters started training first, almost 2 years ago now. But the head instructor was recommended by a woman I trust, whom also has daughters. I also watched him like a hawk and stalked him online, all social media, his family etc (yea creap I know but its my 2 beautiful girls I am protective of) after maybe 4 months I was confident he was ok and now I trust him and the environment he has created in the school completely. I've encouraged my 4 yo granddaughter to start training and I've been there myself 8 months now. Sure my alertful eyes are always open. But I feel I can relax some around him. The gauntlet YES It happens here. Not at every promotion. Big events yes. For me its a HELL NO. Friends boyfriend went black belt and he had welts and skin cut on his back, stomach and sides after his run. They slap HARD, everyone. I almost quit when I first saw it. I have no desire to promote if that is a requirement.

Belt whipping on promotion to me (Not Military) sounds like what some of my military friends would do when getting a Pin promotion. It can get kind of barbaric but it seem to be an endearing act!!

I have never washed my belts. Honestly, I know its gross, but I like the idea of having all the blood sweat and tears of everyone I have ever rolled with in my belt. Like it's my little history. I keep debating weather I should was it or not🤷🏻‍♀️

The no belt washing is not a superstition it's a tradition from old Japanese jujutsu and aikijutsu schools

Have you ever washed your belt? Has it ever been washed by others? This is the Way.

Belts can discolour

Cross training is essential. In 20 years, it won't be a taboo anymore, it will be an accepted norm.

BJJ on the hub is pretty taboo!

Aye the weird dude who left a sexist comment like that sucks.I’m a dude and I think you’re funny. I chuckled Out loud when you said that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard.

Literally DO NOT date within your academy! It’s been the worst

The opinion of my instructor for why he doesn’t recommend cross-training is based on safety. He explained it like this: if someone who is a blue belt based on his standards and he pairs them up with another blue belt based on his standards, he expects them to be evenly matched. He knows generally where each student should be in their training, what they can and can’t do, and what skills he’s looking for. But if one of them is going to another gym without telling him, he then could pair someone with another person who he thinks is evenly matched, but then they try something that he hasn’t taught them and one of them gets hurt. I don’t really have an opinion on it right now, but I thought that was an interesting perspective. My coach is definitely not afraid that they’ll like another gym better. He lets people do what they want. If they want to stay, he welcomes all. But if they don’t want to stay, he’s okay too.