r/judo • u/Tafsky • Jul 20 '25
Other Wear my black belt or "restart"
Hi all,
A few years ago I (22f) got my black belt, after that I mostly taught the basics to new beginners at my small club (like 70 students 80% of which are -13). Last year I fully quit because of work/school/internship and losing interest tbh.
I've been thinking of starting up again next year when I move for my minor, it will just be for a few months but I have really missed the sport and the culture. However the fact that I've done nothing, only a little bjj where I wore a white belt (bc its a different sport, but I do wear the same gi) I'm not sure if I should just sort of "start anew" white belt and all. Or wear my black belt.
On the one hand I trained like a dog to get my black belt and I deserved it at the time, my kata's are still perfect and I still know all the basics, on the other hand I haven't properly trained judo in 3+ years. And at that point I really mostly trained techniques and barely did any actual competitive training anymore. For context: my last proper competition was 7 years ago.
Any advice?
Edit: thank you all for the answers! I think I'll ask the (head)sensei what they'd recommend. And no matter what he says I'll at least remember that I earned my black belt and there's no such thing as demotion.
85
u/KataGuruma- Sandan Jul 20 '25
7 or 70 years, doesn't matter. Wear your black belt. You earned it when you were promoted
50
u/alolanbeansnbrews nidan Jul 20 '25
You earned your belt
Whether it's been 3 months or 30 years, you deserve your rank, just brush off the dust a bit and get back into form, it'll come back quick
Also, if 70 students is a "small club", I hate to think how ours would be classified š
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u/Tafsky Jul 20 '25
Haha you're right. It's just two clubs in my city. The big one with ~200 students all variying in age and belts, last I checked. And my club with 5 black belts, me included.
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u/FancyBritish_guy77 shodan Jul 24 '25
70? We have 5 people normally. 10 at most. I wish I could train at a gym that big, and the biigest problem is, im the only teen there.
26
u/blackjustin Jul 20 '25
Wear the black belt. Think about how crazy it would be to show up as a white belt and smoke everyone.
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u/cbraun11 nikyu Jul 21 '25
Overheard my opponent at a novice tournament say "It's fun to be a white belt again!"
He was a BJJ brown belt. Technically a Judo white belt, but we weren't playing the same game as that guy. I could tell the moment he touched my gi that trying to break that grip was an exercise in futility lol
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u/blackjustin Jul 21 '25
I had a friend who was a judo black belt, but on team USA. Just started BJJ and wanted to compete. He went back and forth with the people putting on the tournament about what level he should compete at. They told him to compete at white belt.
The best thing that happened to everyone at that tournament was him deciding to no show.
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u/obrown bjj 28d ago
Most BJJ tournaments have a rule that judo brown/black belts and collegiate and above experienced wrestlers must enter at blue belt regardless of their BJJ white belt. It would be completely insane for your friend to compete at white belt.
1
u/blackjustin 28d ago
I donāt disagree with you. I donāt think most people would disagree with you. This tournament? Didnāt give AF. He explain he was a very accomplished judoka several times over several phone calls and the collective response was š¤·š½āāļøš¤·š½āāļøš¤·š½āāļø
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u/Boblaire Jul 21 '25
Yeah. Ya can't have some white belt smoking green and brown belts (or I think Judo has blue in there, maybe some others).
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u/Dangerous-Sink6574 Jul 20 '25
Not another one of these posts. Once a shodan always a shodan. Just wear it.
5
u/Few_Advisor3536 judoka Jul 21 '25
You earned it so wear it. Even if you arent at the level you were it cones back quick. Plus your knowledge and experience exeeds the beginners.
5
u/nitrous604 shodan Jul 21 '25
I had a brown belt and stopped for ~17 years. I came back and wore my brown belt. I did my first tournament 5 months after starting back and it was an international tournament that had no requirements to register. My first match was against a guy on the US National team (Iām from Canada). I lost in about 30 seconds to a perfect uchi mata. I then went on to win a couple of matches and then lost in a bronze metal match but felt like I deserved to be there. It comes back quicker than you think. 4 years after starting back I got my black belt.
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u/neonica nidan Jul 21 '25
I had a very similar experience, off for about 15 years at 1st Kyu, and got my first dan about a year after starting back up, then second dan a year after that. It never fully leaves you!
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u/Judotimo Nidan, M6-81kg, BJJ blue III Jul 21 '25
You can not demote yourself as you also cannot promote yourself.
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u/Ok-Reception-7132 Jul 20 '25
See Iām in the same boat but I havenāt done judo in 10 years and Iām kinda lost. I donāt wanna restart fully because my previous sensei passed who gave me my rank and I feel like itās disrespectful to him.
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u/Tafsky Jul 20 '25
That makes sense, i'm sorry for your loss. One of my former senseis also passed right after I got my brown belt. It's very painfull knowing they had such an impact on my development as a judoka and person, but they're not here to see it anymoreš
4
u/michachu Jul 21 '25
I'd go so far as to say that if you didn't wear your black belt, it makes whoever gave it to you look bad, e.g. that they're ok with you sandbagging and misrepresenting their rank at another club.
3
u/small_pint_of_lazy Jul 21 '25
I've had someone come from a break of 20 years asking if they should start over. No matter how long the break was, the answer is always the same. You wear the belt you've earned, no matter the time or colour. It's disrespectful to the others to lead them on. Having a white belt with vastly different knowledge than everyone else makes tve others feel like they should know more and will just result in them feeling less about themselves. Don't do that to them.
3
u/Alarming_Abrocoma274 Jul 21 '25
Still have your paperwork? Great.
Be kind to yourself when you get back on the mat. You will try to push yourself like you used to train, and your body is not there any more. Youāll get back there in a few months but that first day on the mat try to take it like you were 80 years old.
3
u/Newbe2019a Jul 21 '25
And Yamashita should give back his Olympic medal because he hasn't competed decades and clearly can't beat Riner now. Maybe he should go back to shodan.
Of course not.
You earned your rank. Just start slow until you get back into the groove.
3
u/DragonspeedTheB nidan Jul 21 '25
Go back, wearing your black belt. Explain to your new sensei about your gap and what you are hoping to achieve. S/he should be happy to find a way to help you get to where you want to go.
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u/S1mba93 Jul 21 '25
I'm from Germany and whenever I promote to the next rank, I receive a certificate that says I'm not only allowed but required to wear the new belt. I thought this was the case everywhere, but apparently not.
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u/zealous_sophophile Jul 21 '25
You earned your belt, you aren't trying to transfer it to a different art. Your confidence sounds like it's taken a hit, IMHO the best way to get back into things is coaching and volunteering.
If you have kids/friends with tatami at home doing some drilling solo or with a partner can also go a long way to giving you the kind of flow to return to other clubs. A first division basketball player with a huge gap would totally go to the hoop in their yard or park to work on footwork, flow, moves etc.
More BJJ, Aikido, wrestling etc. would also go a long way towards your confidence because you wouldn't be pressuring yourself to excel at one thing. Just learn and take reasonable time whilst having fun getting the muscle memory/coordination back.
You said you've done kata, that could also be another positive way to get back into the flow of things. How many clubs and other opportunities can you find?
3
u/EnglishTony Jul 21 '25
I got my orange belt aged 12. I started again aged 47. I was told to keep my belt. After 5 months at my new club, I just got my green belt.
So if I keep my orange belt after 35 years, you keep your black belt after a few.
2
u/LetFreedomRing1777 Jul 21 '25
Yeah wear it. Last thing you need is to be going to gym with a lower belt and blasting black belts having to explain yourself *I stupidly did this at jujitsu *
2
u/Alarmed_Raccoon_3119 Jul 21 '25
Just curious how long did it take you to earn your black belt before you took a break?
1
u/Tafsky Jul 21 '25
All my teen years. Literally from 9-19 with a covid break and a few months break after I broke my arm.
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u/I_AM_BOBI_B shodan Jul 21 '25
I understand the anxiety of returning to a sport you haven't trained in a while and feeling under pressure to perform. Intermittently training BJJ probably hasn't helped with this either, as I've found a black belt in Judo doesn't help as much in BJJ as a lot of people like to claim given how different the ground work game of the two sports are.
However, you will be surprised how quickly you pick it back up. Also you will have a lot of muscle memory to re-aquire. There are some grades I understand restarting from, but black is not one of them. You're break hasn't been that long you'll get back into the swing of thing quickly.
2
u/JapaneseNotweed Jul 21 '25
It will come back really quick. I had close to 2 years off during covid and I would say I was back to full technical sharpness withing a couple of months at most.
My one piece of advice would be manage your volume carefully for a month or so when you come back. You're body will have deconditioned and if you jumo straight back into 3x a week and full intensity randori there is good chance you will get injured.
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u/Active_Unit_9498 Jul 21 '25
Wear your belt. It signifies the highest level you have achieved, not your current level. Old senseis around the world understand this; they are not physically what they once were but their achievement in the arts is real and symbolized by the rank and belt.
2
u/Affectionate_Serve_5 Jul 21 '25
I stopped for 10 years and when I got back, I still wore my blackbelt. Granted, I got rusty and my timing is very off, but it's only a matter of spending time on the mats again to regain the skill you have lost. It's not like you are starting from the very beginning.
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u/IpNilpsen1000 Jul 22 '25
I think because judo has a lot of injuries it's widely accepted that if you've been absent for a while you retain your belt upon your return. I think you'd only start at white belt if you'd graded highly as a kid but returned as an adult.
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u/1bn_Ahm3d786 Jul 20 '25
Talk to the sensei who's running the club they'll tell you what's appropriate for their dojo
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u/Repulsive-Square-766 Jul 21 '25
Best answer I think. But a judo black belt that hasn't trained for 3 years is definitely not a white belt, minimum a green belt
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u/zaccbruce Shodan + BJJ Blue Jul 21 '25
A black belt is a minimum of black belt. Itās the same for all belts. Once youāre promoted thatās it. Demotion is not a thing.
Doesnāt matter if you donāt train for years, get old, lose a leg in an accident. Youāre still a black belt.
Iām almost 40, and 75kg. If a 21 year old 100kg green belt throws me, Iām still a black belt.
It represents more than just current ability to throw people against their will. Anyone not training for years will be a bit rusty, but for the most part the knowledge is still there, and the ability returns. Itās especially true for anyone who has trained long and seriously enough to get their shodan. Maybe a yellow belt that trained for a year and then leaves for years itās not so true, because they had less knowledge and ability in the first place. But they would still be a yellow belt.
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u/No_Entertainment1931 Jul 20 '25
When in doubt ask the instructor. If you can demonstrate the skills thereās no reason to have you start over
2
u/Tafsky Jul 20 '25
That's the thing lol. I fear I won't have much to show š¬
2
u/zaccbruce Shodan + BJJ Blue Jul 21 '25
Even if you canāt demonstrate the skills, you donāt need to start over. Ranks are for life. No one should ever ask you to wear anything other than the black belt. If they did, thatās a massive red flag and I would immediately leave.
1
u/No_Entertainment1931 Jul 21 '25
Meh, itās one year off. Iām sure everything will come back to you quickly
2
u/JudoJitsu2 ikkyu Jul 21 '25
You can find belt rust at any level. At the school where I used to train, we had a brown belt that had stopped training in 1986. He had just started back up In 2016. He got his black belt in 2019. People take a few years off for all sorts of reasons. Iāve done the same thing in both BJJ and Jiu Jitsu. The worst it does is slows progression from one belt rank to the next, if thatās even anything that matters to you.
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u/chupacabra5150 Jul 21 '25
Ask the sensei. Have the talk. Have an honest conversation with yourself, do you think you're still at that place?
A lot of these guys get their black and go "I earned it" and treat it like a framed eirloom. Like that pretty rifle that stays in the case never to be fired vs that down and dirty piece of work and discipline that it is.
You'd be surprised how much you've retained and how fast you come back after just a year. Especially of you've been BJJing it. You're the guy who they start from sitting with š
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u/drinkbeerbeatdebra Jul 22 '25
Can I ask whether people take the same view if you held a belt (not black)as a junior and came back many years later as an adult, or whether in those circumstances it would be āback to whiteā?
1
u/alfonsosoldi Jul 24 '25
a judo black belt is not a jiu jitsu black belt, it is a different sport
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u/Tafsky Jul 24 '25
Yeah I know... that's why I wear a white belt at bjj
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u/alfonsosoldi Jul 24 '25
ahh I read it as it was because you were starring bjj
apologies
some gyms will give the blue to black belt judo or d1 wrestlers or all americans
as for judo wear your black belt, for bjj what they give you
we had guys swapping belts between judo/bjj classes all the time
1
u/FancyMigrant Jul 21 '25
Ask. When I visit a different club (but still in my style - Wado Ryu) I take a white belt in case. Usually I bet told to wear my black belt.Ā
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u/Iron-Viking Jul 21 '25
I did this for karate and I "restarted". I spoke to my sensei's and they were happy for me to come back with my black belt but I personally didnt feel like I was at their level, so I started back at Brown belt and graded every couple of months up until black belt again. That way I felt like I was back to where I was before I quit.
I did this because I personally dont believe that "once a black belt, always a black belt", I was a black belt, but I didnt feel like it after taking a break for a couple years.
3
u/zaccbruce Shodan + BJJ Blue Jul 21 '25
I think this is misunderstanding what the belt represents. You can personally believe that ranks arenāt for life, but in judo they are.
Achievements arenāt taken away from you just because you canāt replicate them. If I climb a mountain, Iāve climbed that mountain. It doesnāt matter if I get old, injured, sick and canāt do it again.
1
u/Iron-Viking Jul 21 '25
I understand that and by no means am I trying to take peoples achievements away from them, but for me personally if I dont maintain that physical skill and standard then I dont see myself at that point as a black belt. Kind of like work, I spent 10 years a chef before changing jobs and industries entirely, now I say I was a chef. I didnt lose all of that knowledge, skill and ability, but Im also nowhere near where I was when I stopped.
Just so Im clear, Im not saying this is true for anyone else other than myself, this is my own personal feelings regarding me.
0
u/CrprtMpstr Jul 22 '25
If you really had a judo black belt you would know the answers to these questions. This is a bullshit post.
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u/Haunting-Beginning-2 Jul 21 '25
Most people will wear a white belt till they feel up to speed, refreshing their knowledge etc, or sensei insists they put old grade belt on.
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u/Willlumm 1st kyu Jul 20 '25
Wear your black belt. You don't lose the belt even if you hadn't done judo for 50 years.