Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Practitioner Levels

We compare and contrast the differences between casual hobbyists, recreational rollers, amateurs, and professionals.

This site is primarily targeted to support casual fitness, martial arts, or combat sports practitioners, focusing on supplementing and accelerating Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) practice.  We will provide training guides, tools, news, and other content to help you on your journey.  By “casual practitioner”, we mean we are supporting those who are not doing these activities professionally, nor at an amateur level with potential aspirations of becoming a professional.

While our content will certainly benefit people across all levels of dedication, our focus is to help those who may not have a coach or team supporting them or who are looking to get additional insights to optimize performance as best they can within the time they can dedicate to their efforts.

This isn’t to say our content will not benefit professionals or amateurs, but such people will generally have coaches and trainers they interact with multiple times a week, if not daily.  Some may have an entire team working with them.  We tend to focus on providing knowledge to individuals who do not benefit from a readily available extended support system.

Since we will regularly use the below practitioner-type terms across the content on this site, here we define them for clarification.  While we will cover many aspects and styles of fitness, martial arts, and combat sports, for this post, we will use Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) to provide examples at each level.

First, let’s look at what we mean when we say a “casual” practitioner.  “Casual” participants often cite themselves as “recreational” or “hobbyists”.  While both fall into the casual category, there are some slight differences.  To add to the confusion, sometimes people flip the definitions of these two from how we are defining them.  That’s fine, and if your training location uses different definitions, use those while you are there, and be aware that on this site, they may be reversed.    

Luckily, most of the time, we will not need to differentiate between the two, and across this site, “casual”, “recreational”, and “hobbyist” can be used interchangeably.  In some cases, we will go into a level of detail where we may suggest differences, and that is when the below will come into play.

When we say “hobbyist”, we generally mean someone who participates in the activity as an occasional form of leisure.  They do not take winning or losing very seriously, and perhaps they only participate to be social with others who attend.  In this way, a hobbyist generally engages in an activity primarily for enjoyment or relaxation.

In the context of jiu jitsu, a hobbyist may be someone who trains once a week or a few times a month and is not necessarily seeking to move up through the ranks or to compete at a high level.  They may be excited to see improvements and receive rank promotions, but their presence is less about getting good at BJJ and more about having fun and getting some social time and additional benefits while participating in the activity.

Recreational practitioners are the next level up regarding the time they dedicate to the activity.   While still in the casual category, people in this group usually participate as a form of exercise or to learn new skills. However, they still aren’t looking to compete at the highest levels nor profit from the sport.

While a hobbyist may not be motivated to go regularly, a recreational jiu-jitsu participant will often train at least two to three times a week and try to stick to a pre-planned schedule to ensure they go.  Training five days a week isn’t uncommon for some people at this level.  They may also participate in occasional local tournaments or demonstrations.  Recreational rollers often measure success based on their rank improvement, weight loss, fitness level gains, and performance against those they consider their peers. They won’t get (too) frustrated when tapping to higher belts or younger, more athletic peers, but they will have ups and downs in terms of taking their performance seriously.

Both recreational practitioners and hobbyists can benefit from the physical and mental benefits of Jiu-jitsu training, but recreational practitioners have a higher level of dedication to their training and will have more opportunities to improve their skills through regular practice and competition. Hobbyists often have other priorities or commitments, limiting their Jiu-jitsu training time.

In contrast, a professional jiu-jitsu practitioner is someone who is paid to compete in or teach Jiu jitsu. They usually train full-time, including multiple sessions 5-6 days a week, and may compete at a high level, often at the national or international level. They most likely also coach or teach Jiu jitsu, and may earn a living from their Jiu jitsu-related activities, such as through endorsements, selling instructionals, or teaching seminars.  They may also have more access to high-level coaching and training resources. However, professional practitioners generally face more pressure and have more demanding schedules, as they rely on their Jiu jitsu skills and reputation to make a living.

Amateurs sit between dedicated recreational participants and professionals.  They often aspire to be a full-time professional but perhaps don’t yet have all the skills required or do not earn enough through BJJ to make it their primary focus.  There are also many amateurs who aren’t looking to live off of their BJJ, but they are in love with the sport, and their dedication rises them above even the highest in the recreational crowd.  Most amateurs attend at least four sessions a week, and they often coach or teach depending on their skills and rank.

People in all of these categories can benefit from the physical and mental benefits of Jiu jitsu training, but with higher levels of dedication comes increased opportunities to improve, compete, and earn money, as well as increased stress and potential injury from the volume of training and need to achieve and maintain stronger performance.

It is generally recommended to start slowly and gradually increase the frequency and intensity of training as you become more comfortable and proficient in the techniques. This can help prevent injury and allow you to progress better in your training. 

Many Jiu Jitsu instructors consider twice a week a good starting point and the minimum for recreational participants.  Growth is generally slower at this volume, and once someone has been exposed to the basics, increasing training to three times a week, while still at a recreational level, will lead to much faster progress. As you find what training frequency works best for you, it is important to listen to your body and not push yourself too hard, especially if you are just starting out or have any health conditions. Age, commitments outside of training, and how you respond and recover to physical activities also play a big part.

Once you have a stripe or two on your white belt, you will probably have a good sense of what practitioner category you fall into.  Your placement in one of these categories may also change as your BJJ journey progresses.  Many start as hobbyists and soon fall in love with the activity and benefits and become recreational practitioners.  Then the blue belt blues may hit, dropping from training 3-5x a week to 1-2x a week, eventually finding new motivation and increasing training frequency again. 

Purple belt is usually when you see people jump to the amateur level if they aspire to get more serious or are considering moving to be a professional.  This isn’t to say you won’t find amateurs and professionals at all skill levels. However, discipline, reputation, and confidence are important factors for these more dedicated levels, and it is uncommon to find many people with them at lower belt ranks.

It is also important to remember that Jiu jitsu training is just one aspect of maintaining overall physical fitness. It is recommended to engage in a well-rounded fitness program that includes a combination of cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises to support your Jiu jitsu training and maintain good overall health.  Here at Perpetually Sore, these are the areas we will often focus on.  The best way to improve your jiu-jitsu will be on the mats with an instructor and live training with a partner.  We hope to be a resource you can use to understand, accelerate, optimize and improve your fitness and BJJ effectiveness.

If you think we’ve missed anything or have any questions on this topic, please reach out.  We are always happy to engage with the community here!