Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Etiquette 12/17/14

  1. Work hard. They came to learn. Work hard on rounds of drills. Keep it moving.
  2. Don’t settle scores. This is another way of saying “check your ego”. Leave your bad day at work, or your bad previous round at the door. Don’t go after people because they tapped you last time.
  3. Don’t duck people. Don’t refuse to train with anyone. If you have a real issue with someone as a training partner, you should be discussing that with the instructor.
  4. Be there to learn, not to win. No one is handing out medals today. Learning is endless and endlessly gratifying, and leads to superiority. Winning is limiting and may or may not lead to improvement. In common practice, this looks like not smashing people. People who win a lot keep winning against the same people, until people who focus on learning blow by them.
  5. Work the technique of the day. Don’t just do whatever comes to mind. Stay focused, so both you and your partner can see both sides of the technique, the offense and the defense.
  6. Be ready for your opponent to tap. Be waiting for it, not smashing right through the point of tapping. They may not even know they are at the point of tapping until it’s too late. If that’s the case, AWESOME, you had really good Jiu Jitsu in that moment. Slow down, let them feel the trap, and wait for them to tap.
  7. Neither be a noodle nor a bulldozer. If you’re training with someone tiny, brand new, or injured, adjust the level of muscle you use.  In positional sparring, like up-down-out, use the level of resistance right for the drill. Ask the instructor if you aren’t sure. In live training, turn it up, but keep in mind that muscle in BJJ is like afterburner on an f16 fighter jet. Is it useful? Hell yes. But only at the right time, and you can’t use it all the time. Remember that you are there to learn, not to win.
  8. Ask questions correctly. A good question is “does my collar grip feel tight? A bad question is “Am I doing this right?” That’s a question for the instructor, not your partner. An incessant amount of questions is just annoying. Off topic questions are also annoying. Ask them later, and PLEASE ask the instructor, not the googles. The googles has no rank in Jiu Jitsu.
  9. Cheer your partner on, but don’t coach. Let them know when it feels like they are doing it right. And let them keep doing it. Keep feedback brief and clear.
  10. Know what you’re allowed to do before you do it. If you’re not sure if something is kosher, ask. For example the can-opener. Not kosher, not legal, not polite. Can-opener me once, I’ll tell you to stop. Twice, and you’re asking for a lesson on how bad  Jiu Jitsu can feel.
  11. If it’s time to train, train. You want to show something? Do it after class. Never stop a live roll to coach someone. Ever.This also means don’t stop to talk.
  12. Don’t coach a belt that is higher than you. That would be like me walking into Julia Child’s kitchen and telling her how to make an omelette. If you’re a white belt, no coaching. Just be there to absorb.
  13. Ask for the intensity that you’re ok with.It’s always ok to ask your partner to turn it down, provided you are also turning it down. Asking to “roll light” and then going full-blast is one of the classic asshole moves in jiujitsu. It’s asking for a lesson on what it feels like to get crushed. By the same coin, it is also OK to ask your partner to turn it up, if you feel they are flopping for you. Just make sure it fits with the drill you are doing, and with the experience level of your partner.
  14. Slap-bump-go. In BJJ, this is the traditional “lets begin” gesture. In Judo, you bow. Same thing. At the beginning of every round of positional sparring, live rolling, etc, slap-bump-go. After every tap, slap-bump-go. After a pause in action for a water break, or something, slap-bump-go. In short, never engage without it.
  15. Thank each partner each time. Thank them for training with you, in whatever kind of training you’re doing.
  16. Thank everyone at the end of class. Even if you didn’t get to train with them personally, they came and created the environment for you to train in.

Please help us take care of this most precious asset, our community of training partners. Take care of them and they will take care of you. Up next – Respect the Instructor.

 

-Senpai Josh