Originally Posted by Jeremy Lobdell

As far as I know in bjj, nothing is honorary. Belt ranks and lineage is guarded and protected very closely with things like www.bjj.org. If bjj has a GM, Helio is definitely it, and the only one. I don't know of anyone else claiming it as all lower level black belts were once students of his, or students of his student, ect. Everything I've seen as far as promotion is based entirely on skill and technique, with a lot longer time requirements between belt ranks, for kyu and dan.