A rank, not an accessory
In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, belt colour is awarded by an instructor at the end of a progression counted in years. Nobody moves themselves up to the next colour, and nobody gives one to somebody else. That is what sets this item apart from everything else in the shop.
You buy the belt for the rank you hold, on the day you earn it, and it is often one of the purchases people look forward to most. If you are shopping for someone who trains, a gift card lets them pick their own moment.
The colours and what they say
For adults the progression runs white, blue, purple, brown, black. Children follow a different scale with more intermediate colours, so that progress stays readable over years of training.
A contrasting bar sits at the end of the belt, black up to brown, red on the black belt. That is where degrees are marked, which is what separates a freshly awarded black belt from twenty years on the mats.
Choosing a length
A BJJ belt is chosen on length, not on a high street waist size. It has to wrap twice and leave two ends of equal length once the knot is pulled tight. Too short and the knot works loose; too long and the ends drag and get grabbed.
Length depends on your height and build, and also on how thick the gi is underneath. Each product page lists the lengths available.
In competition
The belt is part of the uniform inspection just like the gi. Referees check its width and the length of the ends after the knot. Our models are made to those measurements. The IBJJF rules guide covers what gets inspected, and the IBJJF gis complete the uniform.
Should you wash your belt
A stubborn superstition says you never wash your belt, on the grounds that the sweat and mat dust hold the knowledge you have gathered. It is a nice story and a bad idea. A belt spends hours against your skin, the floor, and other people's skin.
Wash it cold, on its own the first time so the dye does not run onto anything else, and dry it flat. It will hold its colour longer, and your training partners will thank you.
And the gi
The belt does not come alone. If you are kitting out a beginner, or your gi has done its time, the range is in BJJ gis.