Day One of BJJ Training

"I wish I would have known that before I started!"          

Beginning any new sport or athletic endeavor can be pretty overwhelming. There's so much to learn and oftentimes people don't know where to look for answers. This is especially true in BJJ.

"I wish I would have known that before I started!"

I've heard new students to BJJ express sentiments just like this hundreds of times before. Well, I've heard enough. This resource is for every new BJJ student that wants to be prepared for their first day of training.

         This article is going to cover all the important stuff you should know about before your first day. We'll start with customs and courtesies. Then, we'll discuss BJJ mindset. Finally, we'll cover health and hygiene. This article is a work in progress; it will be updated regularly until it is complete and as the sport evolves. Leave a comment if you'd like to see anything added!

Customs and Courtesies

         Just like the military and most other martial arts, BJJ has customs and courtesies. These customs and courtesies promote a respectful and productive training environment. Some customs and courtesies are more or less universal, some are unique to an affiliation, and then there are house rules. I can't possibly tell you the rules for every BJJ academy, but I will do my best to cover the more universal customs and courtesies.

Uniform wear          

         Let's start with the absolute basics - what you wear to class. It's customary to wear a martial arts uniform known as a "gi" or "kimono". Different schools have rules about what color gis you can wear, but it's always a safe bet to wear a white gi. I've never been to a school anywhere in the world that didn't allow white gis. When you join an academy, you'll likely have the option to buy a gi from the school. This is usually a good option because these gis normally have all the required patches already sewn on. If you buy a gi elsewhere you'll need to buy school patches and get them sewn on (this cost can offset any savings you may have gleaned from buying an unpatched gi).

          Regardless of what color or brand of gi you wear, you will need to wear a belt. Regardless of your accomplishments or rank in any other martial art, you will start your training in BJJ as a white belt. If you've never had to wear a martial arts belt before it can be a puzzle trying to figure out how to do it. Lucky for you, I've produced an instructional. See below.

Respect

Even though BJJ is a less "rigid" martial art than many, respect is still paramount. You show your respect in many ways. It starts with your demeanor when you enter the academy - be nice to people. Smile. Introduce yourself. When people ask if you've trained before, do not go into your background in striking arts. They're not interested in any other martial arts training you may have done unless it was a grappling art. So, when they ask whether you've "trained" before or not, remember that. 

We also show our respect by showing up on time and ready to train. Get to the academy early enough to sign the waiver, get dressed, and introduce yourself to the instructor. It's not respectful to show up and interrupt a class. If you do show up late for whatever reason, wait at the edge of the mat for the instructor to acknowledge you and waive you onto the mat. 

Bowing is customary as you enter and exit the matted area. Another custom at many schools is to shake hands with your classmates when you enter the matted area. At a minimum, I would recommend shaking hands with every black belt on the mat. But, shake everyone else's hand if time permits - you want to show respect and make friends with everyone there.

The instructor will eventually tell everyone to "line up". This is in preparation for bowing in. There may be a line for every color of belt or it may be one line for all belts. Either way, rank determines where you stand. Senior belts stand up front and to the right. A new white belt will likely be in the back and all the way to the left. If you get confused, ask anyone with at least one stripe on their belt where you should stand. Finally, once you're lined up and in position, be silent and stand still.

During class you will be confused at times. You may not be sure what's expected of you. You may be confused how to perform a movement or technique. Don't worry about it or become visibly frustrated. This is all normal! Ask clarifying questions if necessary, give it an honest effort, and be comfortable being uncomfortable. These feelings will pass the more classes you get under your belt.

After technique, the class may engage in sparring (known as "rolling" in BJJ). Many schools don't have first-timers roll until they have a certain amount of training under their belt. There's a chance you may be asked if you want to roll your first day. If you are asked, and you want to, please keep a few things in mind. 1) You should remain calm and focus on survival. This means you should not move and react spastically. If you do "spaz" out, your partner may have to be less friendly in order to protect themselves. 2) Do not ask anyone higher ranking than you to "roll". This is interpreted by many as disrespect. Instead, let higher belts ask you to roll. They probably want to watch you roll to ensure you aren't a spaz before they roll with you. 

Sidenote: I've had spastic whitebelts headbutt, knee, and elbow me countless times. This has resulted in three lacerations, more black eyes than I can count, and thirty plus sutures in my face. I love white belts, but I want to make sure they're cool (in the right mindset) before I spend my time rolling with them.

Speaking of mindset, let's discuss the importance of BJJ mindset next.

BJJ Mindset

Having a proper mindset is really important not just on your first day, but throughout your BJJ career. If you walk around with the correct mindset, you’ll get better faster, and your instructors and classmates will be even more inclined to help you. But, walk around with a bad mindset and you’ll develop slowly, and no one is likely to lend you a helping hand.

What does a good BJJ mindset look like?

Someone with a good mindset has a positive attitude about his training. He understands that he has so much to learn. He sees failures as a sign that he has something to learn. He understands that getting submitted is inevitable. He understands and treats his training partners as valuable resources and not as opponents to be defeated.

Someone with a good mindset keeps his ego in check. He goes to the academy to improve and help his partners improve. Keep all of this in mind throughout your training.

Caring about your partners and caring about yourself are close related concepts. Let's talk about health and hygiene next to explain why.

Health and Hygiene

We need to take care of our own bodies to keep ourselves and our partners healthy. Let’s discuss training while sick, and the importance of personal hygiene. We’ll start with training while sick.

Training while sick

It’s important to never attend class when your ill. What kind of illness are we talking about here? Anything from a cold, to a fever, to a skin infection. If you are in doubt about your health, you should skip training and see a doctor. You extend this courtesy to your classmates to keep them healthy. They should do the same thing for your benefit.

If you see someone coughing on the mat, ask them about it.

If you see an unidentified rash on someone’s body, ask them about it.

We are in very close contact with each other and we will get each other sick if we train when we’re ill.

Hygiene

You must perform routine hygiene on yourself if you want to train. This means you need to shower before class, so you don’t show up already stinky. You also need to trim your finger and toe nails regularly! Long nails are a menace – they cut people up and they also store germs.

Just as important as keeping your body clean is keeping your uniform clean. You must wash your uniform after each training session – that includes your belt. Ignore any superstitions about not washing your belt.

Dirty gis spread germs and bacteria. They also smell terrible and make people not want to train with you. Don’t be that guy. Make sure to keep your body and your gi clean.