{"id":454,"date":"2026-09-13T22:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T02:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graciebarra.com\/northville-mi\/?post_type=news&p=454"},"modified":"2026-09-13T22:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T02:17:42","slug":"9-14-that-piece-of-tape","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/graciebarra.com\/northville-mi\/news\/9-14-that-piece-of-tape\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/14: THAT PIECE OF TAPE"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IYKYK what that belt stripe really means….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"article":"Newsletter 9_14_2026<\/a>\r\n\r\nThis week we are running our quarterly belt tests for all our BJJ students.\u00a0 Belt test day is always the most eagerly awaited day of the quarter.\u00a0 It always makes me chuckle when, a month after a belt test, kids will come up to me already asking when the next one is.\u00a0 There is no industry standard format when it comes to belt tests.\u00a0 While Gracie Barra has a method they recommend for schools, we have gone our own way because I believe the process we use develops better retention of techniques, and maybe even more importantly, it develops a better sense of reward and accomplishment.\r\n\r\nThe belt promotion formats I have seen in my time in the industry have included promotion based on number of classes attended, promotion based on the head instructor simply deciding it was time, promotion based on winning a competition, promotions requiring a test fee, promotions granted at seminars with no test required, and promotions based on an actual test where specific knowledge must be shown to the instructors like we conduct.\r\n\r\nFor us GenX\u2019ers, we saw the start of the \u201ctrophies for everyone\u201d generation.\u00a0 I remember my first ever trophy.\u00a0 I actually still have it.\u00a0 Way back in 1979 my little league soccer team won our league championship.\u00a0 It was a great feeling, and those years that we didn\u2019t win, it personally drove me harder to want that success even more.\u00a0 For my generation, and I\u2019m guessing most everyone reading this post, this explanation isn\u2019t even really needed.\r\n\r\nI have always been, and probably always will be, a believer in reward based on performance.\u00a0 Honestly, I don\u2019t even know how it ever got to be NOT a thing.\u00a0 To those that have never stepped on the mat, I tire of hearing about how all you get from your promotion is a piece of tape around your belt.\u00a0 Maybe the \u201ctrophies for everyone\u201d generation would want a banquet, a plaque, speeches, and maybe a parade.\u00a0 But what the uninitiated simply cannot understand is what that piece of tape represents\u2026..and THAT is what is important.\r\n\r\nThat piece of tape represents doing something that about\u00a0 0.1% of the population will ever do.\u00a0 That piece of tape requires you to get into the gym when you are tired, sore, or possibly injured.\u00a0 It requires you to have your ego put in check every single day.\u00a0 It requires you to do something on a consistent basis for years that is ALWAYS hard, ALWAYS challenging, and ALWAYS humbling.\u00a0 In Gracie Barra Northville, it requires you to learn, own, and then demonstrate physical techniques that will take you years or decades to not even master, but to just get decently good at.\u00a0 That piece of tape represents the shared journey of everyone that\u2019s ever trained, trying to better themselves in so many ways beyond simply martial arts.\r\n\r\nOn February 26, 2022, I received what might be the last belt of my BJJ journey, my black belt.\u00a0 Over the past year and a half I have had to work hard to generate a relationship with Carlos Lemos Jr to become my new black belt instructor so I can get that little piece of tape as well.\u00a0 I can tell you that after the 20 promotions that it takes to earn that belt, I am going to be just as excited to receive that first piece of tape on my black belt because of the effort that it took to get there.\u00a0 Enjoy the struggle.\u00a0 Enjoy the ride.\u00a0 Enjoy the promotions.\u00a0 Enjoy knowing you are achieving something great that most people will never experience.\u00a0 And finally, enjoy looking down at that next piece of tape on your belt.","featured_image":"","featured_image_id":"","featured_article":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-454","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n9\/14: THAT PIECE OF TAPE - 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