Guys today I want to talk about something that I see a lot.  I want to talk about how we should treat the lower belts and why.  Many times and I would never mention any names, not to say that any are coming to mind, but at bjj academies, higher belts look down on lower belts and treat them like nothing. I don’t want to say people are bullying lower belts, but they make them feel like they mean nothing to the academy.
Guys this is the type of attitude that I HATE in Jiu Jitsu and in life.  Many times you see a very rich guy that doesn’t care at all for the poor guy, or you see the executive of a company that does not care at all for the guys that clean their companies and this is a similar mentality a lot of higher belts have towards lower belts.  I truly believe that in Jiu Jitsu, everybody is the same and we are equal.
When we see a higher belt to a lower belt, this just means one person has trained longer than the other, this doesn’t mean they mean more or are more important than the other, it also doesn’t mean one person is better than the other.  Of course we expect that lower belts will respect the higher belts, but the higher belts should lead by the example and show the lower belts respect.
The higher belts should be the ones to set the example.  We are all equal on the mat and it does not matter where you come from, what you do off the mat, how long you have been training, or how many competitions you have done. This is the attitude that we should all carry off the mat too.  People should always have respect for one another.
At the end of the day we all have problems in life and we should go on the mat happy and try to help each other, doesn’t matter what belt.  Be the guy that helps people and is nice, don’t be the guy that is a jerk and wants to show everyone you are a higher belt and are better than people.  If you are good in Jiu Jitsu, people will see it. Check out this video below where I discuss this topic more in depth.
How To Treat Lower Belts:

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