The White Belt's Mind

Buddha, white belts, and how to never stop improving.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

As adults, we typically don’t get “excited” at the idea of being a beginner.

Most people try to do everything they can to avoid seeming clueless. Most people bullshit their way through job interviews, on resumes, and in their personal lives because they’re terrified that someone might find out how lost they really are.

Most people spend their lives trying to convince other people of their skills — in business, work, relationships, and more. Most people care more about perception than execution.

However, there’s one group of people that shamelessly doesn’t hide the fact that they don’t know that much. They don’t hide it because they can’t. Their lack of expertise is signified by the color of the belt that they wear every time they step on the mat.

That’s the Jiu-Jitsu white belt.

In this article, we’re going to look at what makes someone “a good white belt”, and more importantly, how a few key ideas can help you maintain that “white belt curiosity” throughout your entire BJJ career.

It turns out, white belt might be the most important belt after all.