Purple Purpose Path

I was recently wondering what the future holds for a new Purple Belt in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu universe.

Luckily, they make a lot of information available online to make it possible to make some inferences.

There are currently 106 people world-wide who hold the base rank of Purple Belt. In the level above that, or Purple-Belt-Stripe-One, there are only 23.

As the difference between the two only requires that a student train for 8 months or so, and to maintain regular attendance, that would tend to imply that a great many people stop training soon after getting their shiny new belt.

Above that, there are only 4 people who hold Purple-Belt-Stripe-Two, 3 with Purple-Belt-Stripe-Three, and 3 with Purple-Belt-Stripe-Four.

So only 22% survive their first 8 months after getting Purple, and of those only 18% make it though the 8 months after that. Taken together, that means that less than 4% continue for more than a year and a half.

Once that bloodbath period is over, the three ranks above hold 4, 3, and 3 individuals repectively. That seems remarkably stable. Very remarkable, considering the dropout rate that preceeds it.

Two of those 106 Blue-Belts-with-no-stripes live and train here. They are both got their belts 3 months ago. They are still in the danger zone.

Our instructor, Shawn Phillips, is a Purple-Belt-Stripe-One. He is also in the danger zone, but much farther along. He's about due for promotion, which would put him into a statistically safer rank.

Should I pass my upcoming test, I'll be at the absolute beginning of the danger zone.

Doesn't really matter, though. There is similar danger zone for new Black Belts in most other martial arts, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt represents the same kind of accomplishment. I sailed though my post-Black Belt period in Karate unscathed as others fell by the wayside. I had no understanding at all as to why others lost focus and faded away.

My Jiu-Jitsu long-term goals have already been chosen and set in stone. The only way I will stop training anywhere in the near future is if I suffer a really, really nasty injury. Best keep my defensive shields up.

It looks as if Helen and I have set a bit of a winter holiday trend. Two years ago we did a once-in-a-lifetime two month training trip to Los Angeles. Last year, we spent a month in Arizona with good friends hiding from the depths of winter. On our way there, we did two weeks in LA for me to train. This year, we're again doing two weeks for me in LA, and another month in Arizona.

There is a good chance we'll continue the Arizona thing for a few more years. If so, I can reasonably expect to train for a few weeks each time in Los Angeles.

Several weeks every year training with the elite teachers, at the elite academy.

Of course, most of my training at home will be with my own teacher, Shawn Phillips. He too, is a fabulous instructor. I've trained with over a dozen Jiu-Jitsu instructors, and a hundred Karate Sensei, and he is truly top drawer.

For about a year he'll be living mostly in Mexico and our school is in the hands of our other two Purple Belts. There is nothing at all wrong with them as teachers, and they are holding down the fort valiantly. I have no reason to quit with them in charge, and certainly even less when Shawn gets back.

So my future looks like a first-rate school at home, with a couple of weeks with the style's heads in Los Angeles every year.

When in LA, I'll be learning all sorts of material, from basic to fancy-pants stuff.

At home, we are on the Gracie University curriculum. So far we have BBS1, BBS2, and about half of BBS3. We cycle through the lot in a bit under a year and a half, and add in new stuff as it is released. They release the new stuff slower than we cycle through, which all means that there will be long stretches where I am learning nothing “new” during our regular training.

Sounds great to me. I live for strong basics and tons of review. Anytime I run out of new stuff, I like to revisit things. For me, the curriculum pacing looks just about perfect.

The right school, and teachers, and curriculum. Got it all.