Academy Etiquette/Rules

1. Bow every time before you enter and leave the mat. (facing the front of the mat). This is a sign of respect for everyone who came before you, your instructor and teammates, and the mats. It also is the moment you clear your mind from all the problems and stresses of life, and focus entirely on Jiu Jitsu.

2. Every class begins and ends with formal bowing in. Students line up in descending order from right to left (7 in a row). For bowing in at the beginning of the class, the instructor will initiate going into attention stance by brining feet together and hands against the legs. This will serve as a signal for students to go into attention stance. Then the instructor will initiate the bow by stating “Oss.” The students will follow by stating “Oss” and bowing.

Bowing out at the end of the class will be done in a similar manner as bowing in at the beginning of the class, but afterwards we will shake hands in the following manner. After bowing out, the senior student walks towards the instructor and shakes his hand. Then the student turns around and lines up behind the instructor. The second to most senior student will shake the hand of the instructor and the senior student before lining up behind them (the rest of the students will follow in a similar manner). When this is done, everyone will shake everyone’s hand. Jiu Jitsu is a physical sport. Sometimes tensions and egos rise to the surface. The moment you shake your teammates hand is when you let go of anything you might have against them. 

3. Take Care of you Training Partners. They are a big part of your success. This means never intentionally hurting your training partners. While it is okay to be physical, don’t be cheap during training. In general, treat your training partners the way you want to be treated. However, you should not be unrealistically easy on your training partners because their opponents (whether in competition or on the street) will not be easy on them.

4. Maintain proper hygiene. Wear clean Gi and No Gi attire. Attire must be washed after each training session. If you only drill, you still have to wash your uniform before using it again. Also, make sure your finger and toe nails are properly trimmed.

5. Flip flops are part of your uniform. Bring them to every class and wear them everywhere when not on the mat. Specifically, flip flops must be worn anytime you go to the bathroom or the locker room. Get a separate pair for Jiu Jitsu, do not come in the dojo in the same flip flops you wear on the street.

6. No shoes, flip flops, or water bottles on the mat.

7. Wear white Gis (except for open mat where you are welcome to wear any color Gi). 

8. No talking while the instructor is demonstrating techniques. 

9. Never ask the instructor when you are getting promoted. This is a universal unspoken rule in Jiu Jitsu (perhaps the strongest one). You want your instructor to assess you without pressure. Also, as a general rule you have to hold a higher rank than the rank you are qualified to assess. For instance, you have to be a second-degree black belt to give out a black belt. You do not have the ability to assess someone’s rank just after (and definitely not before) you acquire that rank. If you are concerned about your progress and feel eager to get to your next promotion (very natural to feel that way at least at some point during you Jiu Jitsu journey), you can ask your instructor what you should work on.

10. If out of space, move for upper belts. In rolling, if you bump into, or get dangerously close to another pair of fighters, lower belts should move for upper belts. For instance, two purple belts are rolling and get really close to a brown belt rolling with a blue belt. In this instance, the two purple belts should move.   

11. In general, treat everyone with respect. That is, treat everyone the way you want to be treated.