whitebeltproblems.com was created to give white belts and people thinking of trying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (or similar a martial art) a place to get answers to common questions.

When Asking Questions

  1. Search before asking. Most common questions have already been answered. You can ask again if you aren’t satisfied with what you find.
  2. No trolling. You can ask “stupid” questions but you’ll get in trouble if you just try to start arguments or waste everyone’s time.
  3. No spamming. See rules below. This includes trying to drive traffic to other sites without contributing here too.

You are allowed to ask almost any question here, as long as it has to do with BJJ, grappling or martial arts. You are encouraged to ask even if you’re worried it’s a stupid or embarrassing question. We do ask that you try searching for existing answers to your question before posting yours, since that helps other members not going crazy answering the same questions over and over again.


When Answering Questions

  1. No flaming. A lot of boring questions will be asked over and over again. Please be patient and help out if you feel up to it.
  2. No trolling. Try not to screw with people too much. Humor and sarcasm are okay, but don’t be a jerk.
  3. No spamming. See rules below. Self-promotion of your site or blog is OK if you’re also contributing.

While we ask that people search before asking, if you’re at all familiar with BJJ forums or sites like Yahoo! Answers, you know that people skip this and ask the same questions again and again. That’s OK here. You can answer it again, or you can link to where the question was already answered, or you can just ignore it. A friendly reminder to search first next time is OK, but we want to avoid a “Search function noob!” culture.


Good Marketing is OK

Helpful contributors are welcome to promote their own blogs, websites, or products. Follow these guidelines to stay out of trouble:

  • You are allowed to ask about specific products if they are related to BJJ (such as books, DVDs, apps, website subscriptions, etc.).
  • You are allowed to recommend and link to relevant products when answering questions. You can even use affiliate/referral links.
  • You can link to blog posts when answering questions. Please quote the relevant portion of the blog post if you do.
  • You can link to forum posts on other sites if they are relevant. You can’t just try to drive sign-ups at new forums though.

As long as your answers are useful and appreciated, people won’t mind if you’re also plugging yourself, your blog, or a product.

Spammers, trolls, and flamers will be banned.