Jiu-Jitsu

      Generally, it is a good idea to show up around 10 minuets early, so you can introduce yourself to the instructor and familiarize yourself with the gym. It is not a bad idea to stretch a little bit before the class, but it is not a necessity as classes will have an official warm up/ stretching routine.

     Feel free to introduce yourself to people who are already there, most will be welcoming to new people. Don’t be intimidated by the upper belts or upset if you cannot get the technique down flawlessly. It will be easy to think that the upper belts were always better than you are now, this is NOT TRUE. Everyone remembers their first day of grappling and no one was good day one. 

     The most important thing is to make sure all of your nails are trimmed ahead of time. This is important because they can get caught on things and break, also don’t be the person who scratches training partners on accident. Another thing to be aware of is that gis and rash guards must be washed after each use. Your belt should also be washed or sanitized regularly because it can pick up filth and bacteria from the mats. Beyond that, make sure to use common sense (if you need to do a smell check, you should probably shower first)

     The uniform worn in a Jiu-Jitsu class is called a gi (Pronounced “ghee”, with a hard “g”), but you will not need to wear one to your first class. Standard workout clothes, sweat pants, or compression gear will be just fine. Make sure to avoid clothing with extra pockets, zippers, or other things that would cut someone or catch fingers.

     There are loaner gis available to borrow upon request if you need one for class and have not yet gotten one.

     To attend the no gi class, you should also wear standard workout clothes, but compression gear such as spandex will be a lot more comfortable. 

     To ensure that you can have a long, injury free grappling journey it is recommended that you invest in some protective gear such as a mouth guard, athletic cup, and finger compression selves. however, this stuff is not necessary to train, but it is nice to have.

     Every practice will start with a warm up. Some will be a mild and slow warm up, followed by stretching, others will be a physical conditioning and movement drills. Generally the warm up will consist of basic exercises and some grappling focused drills such as front/back rolls, leg triangles, shrimping, etc. Don’t be discouraged if you feel less graceful than the people who have been doing these movements for a long time. It feels unnatural and clunky to everyone on their first time.

     A common mistake people make is trying to keep pace with upper belts that have lots of practice and therefore are able to do impressive movements that seem exhausting, but are actually efficient. As long as you try your best at each of the warm up motions without burning yourself out, you should be okay. The warm up is for you to get ready to train, there is no competition.

     The techniques are the meat and potatoes of Jiu-Jitsu, the reason everyone shows up to class. Most days, there will be 1-3 techniques per class and then you will break off into partners or groups and practice the steps that the instructor showed. Try to partner with someone more experienced if you are unsure of what to do, an upper belt will be happy to help you get all the motions down.

     Get as many good/ technically sound repetitions in as you can because the only way to get better is to in grain (often unnatural or counter-intuitive) the motions into muscle memory. In an actual sparing match or real fight not having to think about techniques allows you to worry about lager strategic goals instead of where to put your hands to pass guard. 

     After the technical portion of the class you will most likely be given a chance to test your techniques against a resisting partner. This can be focused on a particular position or just be a general sparring match. If you want the moves you learn to work against resisting partners, you will probably have to get at least 150-250 repetitions  (this can be done over multiple says), but there will never be enough practice.

General Rules: No punching, striking, kicking. No eye gouging or hair pulling. No twisting or grabbing fingers (less than 3/4 at a time). No slamming (picking someone up and dropping them). No neck cranks. No heelhooks (twisting the foot or knee), but this rule is gym dependent.

Tapping: The standard way to signal your opponent has a submission is to tap three (or more) times on any surface that you can. somewhere on your opponent is preferable so they can feel it, but verbally and on the mat is fine too.

Positional Hierarchy: This is the most important battle of grappling these are the basic positions ranked in order of (roughly) best to worst

     — Back Mount > Mount > Side control > Guard > Bottom of Side Control > Bottom of Mount > Having Your Back Mounted. 

Mindset Conducive to Success: The way to get better is to show up as often as you can while still having fun. Come in on the days you feel lazy and you will thank yourself after. Consistency is the only thing that separates the good from the bad players. If you show up as often as you can and try to put yourself in positions that will allow you to learn, one day you will look around and wonder when you got so good.

     Because there are no punches or strikes involved, you are able to try as hard as you can to submit the other person and provided no one makes any careless mistakes it will be fun and no one will get hurt. This is also what makes grappling martial arts so effective. Because you get used to going full tilt against training partners who are doing the same, you become desensitized and you will be a lot more conformable responding to high pressure situations.

     There are a few things to know before you start sparring. First of all, you will get submitted by everyone, many times over. Tap (on the mat, on them, on you, or verbally) if you ever feel helpless or your partner is choking you/pulling on a joint and they will let go. Its a part of the learning process and the largest ongoing battle you will have on your martial arts journey is to keep your ego in check and allowing people to “win” against you so that you will be better in the long run. Another thing to know is that trying to be a good partner means that even if it is “legal,” maybe try not to put your elbow in everyone face as soon as you get a good position. Lastly, a good rule of thumb is that, if you are getting frustrated and no longer having fun, take a break.

     Depending the class schedule there may be an open mat after class. If you have even the smallest desire to train more, DON’T WASTE this time. Most people will be sparring and trying to work on moves they learned in classes prior. Feel free to ask anyone to spar/ roll or you can simply drill a technique if you don’t feel ready for sparring just yet.

     Make sure to choose partners wisely as some people have not read this page and will attempt to put an elbow in your neck. While there are things you can do to counter this, its not fun either way. If you are not used to such a situation, this can be unpleasant. However, most all colored belts (even advanced white belts) will be able to  have a fun and controlled roll with you without a need to win at all costs.

     Note: it is never a bad thing to ask someone to spar light or take it easy. You have EVERY RIGHT to stop sparring if things start getting carried away. Simply tap in any position and explain that you would rather not spar at that pace (especially effective if you asked them to go light before you started).