Every stripe, earned the same way at every club.
One grading standard across eight Born To Roll clubs, white belt to black. See what each stripe needs, watch how it's done, and track every class you train.
What a student sees
Nobody has to ask the coach when their stripe is coming. The answer is on their phone, and it is the same answer at every club.
Classes count as they are trained. Techniques get signed off as the coach sees them. When the count is met and every box is ticked, the student shows as ready to be assessed. The coach still decides.
your third stripe
in the gi
Third stripe requirements, 14 of 20 signed off
After class
How a stripe is awarded
Four things have to be true. The app tracks the first three. The fourth is still the coach.
- Classes are trained.
Book in, turn up, roll. Every class counts toward the minimum for the next stripe, and the gi ratio is tracked at the same time.
- Techniques are signed off.
Each requirement has a video. The student learns it, shows it, and the coach ticks it. No box gets ticked without a coach watching it happen.
- The minimums are met.
Class count, gi ratio and, from blue up, time in grade. When all three are met and every box is ticked the student shows as ready to be assessed.
- The coach assesses and awards.
Ready to be assessed is not the same as awarded. The coach still watches them roll and still decides. Once awarded, the record locks.
The standard, in three numbers
-
1,040
Classes to black belt.
Eighty a stripe from white to purple, fifty a stripe from purple to black. Ten years for someone training twice a week. Same mat time for everyone, which is fairer than judging on the calendar.
-
1/3
Classes in the gi.
The belt is a gi rank. Clothing gives grips, friction and control, which is what self defence actually looks like. Train no gi as much as you want, but one class in three is in the gi.
-
6
Blocks in every stripe.
The same shape at every level so nothing gets skipped and no club drifts into sport only. Self defence is one of the six, every time.
- Takedown
- Positions and control
- Submissions
- Escapes
- Self defenceevery stripe, not optional
- Live trainingrolling, not just drilling
The road, white to black
Four stripes on every belt. The class minimum is heaviest where the work is heaviest, then time in grade carries brown.
-
White80 classes a stripe, 320 to blue. No time minimum.
-
Blue80 classes a stripe, 320 to purple. Two years at blue.
-
Purple50 classes a stripe, 200 to brown. Eighteen months at purple.
-
Brown50 classes a stripe, 200 to black. One year at brown.
-
Black1,040 classes. About ten years at twice a week.
A floor, not a mould
The minimums make sure every Born To Roll student can do everything. What they do best is theirs.
White to purple is the grind, on purpose. That is where the fundamentals get built and nothing gets skipped, because everything after it sits on top. Brown is refinement, so the class count drops and time in grade carries it.
From blue belt up, students nominate their own game. Preferred guard, preferred pass, go to submissions. The coach records it and reviews it at each stripe, not as a test but as a record, so a purple belt can look back and see how far their jiu jitsu has moved since blue.
The best grapplers are not the ones with the most techniques. They are the ones whose fundamentals are so good nobody can stop them doing the simple things. Twenty techniques you can hit on anyone beat a hundred you can hit on nobody.
Every requirement has a video
A student never has to guess what the coach means. Each item in the syllabus links to a clear demonstration they can watch before class and again after.
We launch with hand picked videos from coaches we respect, then film our own versions block by block so the library ends up entirely Born To Roll. Tap a card to open the video on YouTube.
What a coach sees
Students book in. The roll fills itself. The coach spends two minutes after class correcting exceptions, and that is the whole job.
Once a roll is confirmed it locks. Once a stripe or belt is awarded it locks. Nothing gets backdated and nothing gets moved, at any club, so the numbers a student is standing on are the numbers everyone can see.
- JordanWhite, 2 stripes
- PriyaBlue, 1 stripe
- MarcusWhite, 3 stripes
- TahliaPurple
- 10 more
Questions students ask
Do I have to pay for this?
No. Your club puts you on the platform as part of your membership. There is nothing extra to buy.
I only train no gi. Can I still grade?
You can train no gi as much as you like, but a belt is a gi rank, so at least one class in three needs to be in the gi to be considered for grading. If you never wear a gi, you never need the belt, and that is fine.
I have hit the class count. Where is my stripe?
The class count makes you eligible to be assessed. It does not mean a stripe is owed. Your coach still needs to see every requirement and still watches you roll before awarding it. The app will never tell you that you have earned something. It tells you that you are ready to be looked at.
What happens to the classes I have already done?
Counting starts on the day your club goes live. Nobody loses their rank and nobody gets back credited, so everyone starts from the same line.
What if I forgot to book and just turned up?
Scan the QR code at the club and you are on the roll. Booking ahead is easier for everyone, so make it the habit, but a missed booking never costs you a class.
Can I see my own record?
All of it. Every class, every gi class, every sign off, every stripe and the date it was awarded. It is your record and it goes with you if you ever move between Born To Roll clubs.
Mick Moloney's standard
Born To Roll started as one club and one coach's idea of what a belt should mean. It is eight clubs now, and this is how that idea stays the same at all of them.
Every stripe awarded under Born To Roll is backed by every club under Born To Roll. That only works if the floor is the same everywhere. The standard is written down so it outlasts any one of us.
Eight clubs, one belt
Your club puts you on the platform. Members do not pay anything extra.