At the most recent BJJ Globetrotters camp, all of the black belt coaches were promoted to the newly adopted rainbow belt. The colorful rank follows black belt 1st degree and is reserved for coaches who have been actively teaching at BJJ Globetrotters camps for at least two years.
“Our martial art is built on traditions, but we have always been about breaking them and looking at things with fresh eyes”, says BJJ Globetrotters founder Christian Graugart, who recently chose to identify as a third-degree rainbow belt.
“I literally did all the camps. I deserve it”, he added with a shrug.
The promotion of all black belt coaches to the rainbow belt has sparked excitement and controversy within the BJJ community. Some practitioners have expressed interest in attending BJJ Globetrotters camps to learn from these newly promoted rainbow belt coaches, while others have criticized the move as a publicity stunt or a joke.
“This is absolutely, 100% not a joke”, assured Christian Graugart about his organization’s decision, which has also caused friction within the BJJ industry. While some tournament organizers have pledged to recognize the new belt, others have refused to do so. The Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Pro, for example, has refused to recognize the rainbow belt, citing concerns about basic rights for male black belts who prefer to stick with traditions. On the other side of the table, Swedish progressives from Smoothcomp have stated that their wildly popular competition software will support the new belt already next week.
“This could solve another problem our business has, which is that they [the coaches] never really win anything in the black belt divisions. We’re hoping that in this new smaller category, they will be able to collect some medals for their resumés, which, in turn, looks great in our marketing material for the camps”, a representative from the BJJ Globetrotters PR department stated.
We caught a well-known camp instructor on the way back from a Tallinn bar, an early morning just before sunrise.
“I honestly felt a bit weird about it in the beginning and perhaps would have preferred to keep the black belt I received from my actual professor, but this is bigger than me and Christian seemed so excited, so I decided to go along with it. I am ready to accept that BJJ evolves and times are changing, both on and off the mats. We need to have a progressive mindset about Jiu Jitsu”, said the short-statured, tattooed coach from Arizona who preferred to remain anonymous.
“I’m teaching in three hours, so I gotta get some sleep”, he slurred and demoed a handstand for us before rushing off towards his backpacker hostel.
Regardless of one’s opinion on the matter, it is clear that the introduction of the rainbow belt by the world’s biggest affiliation has caused a stir in the BJJ community. Only time will tell whether it will become a respected and widely recognized rank in the BJJ world or whether it will remain a controversial footnote in the history of the sport, but you should expect to start seeing visitors with rainbow belts on the mats of your local academy and competitions in the near future.
The Beltchecker platform managed to immediately implement the new rank in their system, whereas the IBJJF database—which is still running on paper forms—needs some more time and is expected to follow suit and start issuing certificates in one year from now, on April 1st, 2024.
