Jiu Jitsu can’t be in the Olympics…or at least not the way it is currently set up. As long as Jiu Jitsu has a belt system it can’t be, nor do you want it to be an Olympic sport.

Having a belt system is the same as not allowing a well-rounded boxer to use an uppercut when fighting against a novice boxer; just because someone started the sport before you or learned it faster than you doesn’t mean he/she shouldn’t be allowed to fight against you.

This can’t be done at the Olympic level. If you weigh the same, you should fight in the same weight class, regardless of your belt color. But guess what that would do to the sport of Jiu Jitsu? IBJJF wouldn’t have the thousands of paying competitors attend their worldwide events.

Jiu Jitsu academies would not have white belts, blue belts, or purple belts paying for memberships either. No white or blue belt would want to fight against a brown or black belt; this would kill all the incentive for the novice Jiu Jitsu practitioner to start the sport in the first place.

Look at what happened with the sport of wrestling. If it wasn’t for high school and college wrestling programs, wrestling would be nothing like it is today. You don’t see someone joining wrestling or wanting to be a professional boxer in their twenties or thirties just because he/she wants to get in shape.

In Europe, if not all over the world, wresting has been in decline for over a decade. Fifteen years ago, from hundreds of athletes competing in a national championship in Romania, they are lucky today if they can scramble ten wrestlers per weight class. This will be the fate of Jiu Jitsu if you take away the belt system.

Let’s assume the IOC wasn’t corrupted and they had the common sense to acknowledge the fastest growing sport in the world. Let’s say they accepted Jiu Jitsu at the Olympics with only the black belts competing.

Soon you would see a lot of 18 years olds carrying around black-belts. You would start seeing more and more professors giving away black belts just because they want to increase the chances of their students competing in the Olympics. Slowly, over time, the politics, favoritism and athlete’s ruthless competition would kill the business of Jiu Jitsu.

Jiu Jitsu is a wonderful sport that brings together people of all ages who have the same positive goals in common, regardless of skill level and belt class. By rightfully giving promotions based on skills, accountability, respect and overall lifestyle (and not necessarily due to the number of gold medals), you motivate individuals to strive to improve regardless of age or physical ability.

This is important in order to attract people and, at the same time, to strive as a business. And that’s why you DON’T WANT to make Jiu Jitsu an Olympic sport. Because that would take the fun out of the sport. As one of my coaches used to say, “If you want to kill your passion, turn it into a business.”

Have a good roll.