Jiu Jitsu Etiquette, Unspoken Rules, and Things That Probably Annoy Your Teammates
Although it’s not fair to expect you to just know these things, the fact of the matter is that at some point people DO expect you to know these unspoken rules. Let’s continue the list of some of the most important things that you may not have heard yet.
Here at Aces, we PRIDE ourselves on teaching and giving people the knowledge to live an empowered life. A part of this means understanding respect so that you can train with your teammates in harmony.
5. Taking up needed mat space to talk with your friends and/or not being aware of your surroundings…you need to try to be more aware of who’s around. If you’re kicking, kneeing, elbowing, bumping heads with, or landing on people you’re not even rolling with; you really need to work on that. You can seriously hurt your teammates by being oblivious, so please work on being aware and moving BEFORE you bump into people. It’s also ok to stop and ask your partner to move with you to avoid bumping into someone your partner might not be aware of. It’s all about common courtesy and taking care of your teammates. The last thing you want is to be the person everyone avoids. Your training will suffer. Remember we just updated our lounge area to be more inviting and comforting. If you really want to talk and hangout, hit our Wifi lounge, have some coffee, and enjoy the vending machine. Let’s leave the mat for training.
6. Saying let’s go light (for whatever reason) when you’re incapable of going light for more than a minute, if that…
Do some self-evaluation. Ask your buddies “Am I capable of going light?” If the they all say no, watch some videos on flow rolling/“playing chess in BJJ” or ask your coach to teach you how. Flow rolling or “going light” is a skill that has to be learned and trained just like everything else in BJJ.
Do yourself a favor and make sure you’re not seen as “that guy/girl” who asks everyone to go light then tries to smash when in a dominant position or hulk out when being dominated. It’s not cool, and people will either avoid you or try to smash you every time no matter what you say. Simply put, no one will believe you if you keep going crazy on them. Think about it, do you want to fight the Incredible Hulk?
7. Treating drilling like a live roll or competition.
If you’re hurting your partner during drills or giving so much resistance that your partner can’t even practice the technique, you’re doing it wrong…Let your partner do the technique. It’s a drill. Don’t provide so much resistance that the person can’t even train the move. There’s more than just 0% or 100%. If you do this ALL THE TIME, expect people to avoid you. Try 15% or 20% during drilling and 60% to 70% for a nice, spirited roll. If you’re out of breath as soon as you start rolling, it’s a sign to chill out and go slower.
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8. Snapping on submissions during rolling or drilling.
These are your friends, your family, your TEAM. Without them, you can’t train. Please, ease into submissions. Do them step-by-step. Don’t just lock it in with one quick movement. That’s not cool. You can hurt yourself or your partner. Always keep in your mind that this is training, NOT competition day. If you snap on submissions in training, people will avoid you. Not because you’re too tough or too good at Jiu Jitsu, but because you’re a jerk and no one wants to work with a jerk. Who wants to be injured while training?
9. Gloating about whom you tapped in training.
It’s training. Not a competition. So, who cares? If you’re a white belt, upper belts might let you tap them from time to time. They might be working on last ditch escapes. They might be helping you out. Or you might get lucky. That’s part of BJJ. Just don’t go around thinking that you’re better than the person because that’s probably not true. If word gets back that you’re talking trash, your training might suffer and you might lose friends or respect.
We hope that these tips have helped you become a BETTER teammate and a better Ace. Always try to remember that when you become and Ace, you become a member of a family that prides itself on respect.
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Professor Mikal Abdullah is a 2nd Degree BJJ Black Belt, veteran, father, philanthropist, and founder of Aces Jiu Jitsu Club. You can find her personal Instagram account with the handle @cerebralbjj or just stop by one of our locations and get a session in!