The time it takes to progress through the rankings relies more on your training philosophy than anything else, and because of this, it varies greatly from person to person. Generally speaking it takes approximately 8-12 months to earn the Gracie Combatives® belt, another 6-12 months for blue belt, and then 3-4 years for each belt after blue. Altogether, it will take anywhere from 8-14 years for you to reach black belt. In future Gracie Philosophy sessions, the Gracie Brothers will discuss the exact philosophy/mindset that you must adopt in order to maximize your training sessions and minimize the time it takes to master the art.