March 31, 2025 • 44 mins
The difference between being welcomed on the mats and finding yourself on someone's "no-roll list" often comes down to understanding the unwritten rules of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu etiquette. This episode tackles the essential guidelines that make someone a respected training partner, regardless of belt color.
Drawing from personal experience—including a humbling story of unknowingly violating these codes— I share practical wisdom on navigating the social dynamics of BJJ. From the non-negotiables of personal hygiene to matching rolling intensity with your partner's capabilities, these principles form the foundation of a positive training environment.
You'll discover why tapping early prevents career-ending injuries, how proper mat awareness keeps everyone safe, and why respecting class structure demonstrates your commitment to the art. The episode delves into situations every practitioner encounters: when to ask questions, how to respond when someone declines to roll, and what to do if you're running late to class.
Beyond technical skills, your reputation on the mats is built through these daily interactions and decisions. Whether you're a day-one white belt or a seasoned black belt, these etiquette guidelines create the framework for everyone to train safely, improve consistently, and build lasting relationships within the BJJ community.
Want to share your own etiquette fails or triumphs? Connect with us on Instagram @caffeinated_jujitsu and join the conversation. Subscribe, leave a review, and remember—train smart, roll safe, and keep your passion brewing strong.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:01):
Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white
belt enthusiasm, black beltwisdom and a dash of caffeine
for that extra kick.
Dive deep into the world ofBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we
explore the journey, techniques,challenges and the sheer joy of
the sport from a white belt'sperspective.
(00:23):
From intriguing interviews withrenowned coaches and professors
to playful fun episodes that'llhave you chuckling mid-roll.
We've got it all brewed andready.
Now stepping onto the mats andinto your ears, here's your host
, joe Motes.
Joe Motes (00:55):
And welcome back everyone to another episode of
Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu.
I am your Joe, ,Motes, Motz,and welcome back.
It's a solo episode.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout a topic that I get
questions about or that thosethat are very new to Jiu-Jitsu
(01:20):
may have questions about.
We'll get to that in just amoment, but right now I want to
share just some updates and somethings that have been going on
in kind of my life and where Iwould like to go over the next
you know, three to six monthstill the end of the year here on
(01:43):
the podcast at caffeinatedjujitsu.
This at the beginning of theyear, I shared that we were
going to be doing a lot of guestinterviews and and that's still
going to happen, um, and wouldhave a good mix of solo
interviews.
But one of the things and I gotasked this question a couple
(02:05):
times, actually a few timesaround the name of caffeinated
jiu-jitsu Like where did I comeup with it?
From?
You know how did I?
What were my initial thoughtswhen starting the podcast?
And I usually get thesequestions from people who are
wanting to start podcastingthemselves, which I always
(02:27):
encourage you to do If you arethinking about starting a
podcast.
I'm always a proponent of you,of someone doing that.
It's a great way to expressyourself and to help people just
gain knowledge and for yourselfto gain knowledge.
But before I go off on a tangent, yeah, people ask me about the
(02:51):
name, and when I initiallythought about starting a podcast
around jujitsu, I was alsothinking about really how can I
blend two passions of mine intoa podcast, and that's, you know,
my passion for jujitsu, andeveryone who knows me knows that
I'm very passionate about ofall things coffee and espressos
(03:17):
and just the whole kind of cafevibe scene.
So I got to ask, you know, areyou going to be doing any
content that kind of appeals tothat side of things?
The cafe, the coffee, thelove't thought about it.
(03:43):
But when I did take some timeto think about it and realized
that I can blend the twotogether, I've kind of come up
with some ideas moving forwardthat are going to do just that.
They're going to blend mypassion for all things jujitsu
and all things coffee cafe typerelated and all things coffee
(04:06):
cafe type related.
We have some amazing alreadyhave some amazing tours of some
local Georgia coffee houses andbrewers coming up.
I think that's going to startnext month and we're going to
blend you know these tours andwe're going to blend them with
jujitsu really well andhopefully it's going to be some
(04:26):
interesting content for everyone.
So, um, we're probably I'mprobably going to go through a
potential another logo brandchange Definitely going to be
updating, um, my intro and outromusic.
So some new tunes are comingand the jujitsu side is still
(04:47):
going to be focused on those whoare early in their jujitsu
career, like myself, but we'realso going to build out the
community and grow it throughanother avenue of interest.
So I hope that everyone youknow gets excited about you know
that share and what's to come.
(05:08):
I know I am, and, yeah, justwanted to start this episode by
talking a little bit about that.
So, today's topic let's jumpinto it.
This is something that whitebelt to black belt needs to
understand and that is the insand outs of jujitsu etiquette or
(05:35):
BJJ etiquette.
Every academy has it.
There are several that are thesame amongst all academies.
You know, jujitsu is more thanjust a martial art.
We all know it's a community,it's a culture and a place where
we really test ourselves whilewe are respecting our training
(05:59):
partners and, if we're beingreal.
Sometimes new students or evenexperienced ones can unknowingly
break some of these etiquetterules.
And maybe you've been thatperson unknowingly, maybe you
(06:22):
know, showing up late, rollingtoo rough or I don't know,
forgetting to wash your gi.
But hey, you know, we've allbeen there at some point.
I've had my professor probablya couple times now you know.
Hey, joe, you need to payattention to the length of your
fingernails, right?
I'm not saying I have FreddyKrueger nails, but there have
(06:45):
been times where I've went onthe mat and maybe it's been a
week or so since I trimmed themand it showed up, and maybe I
accidentally scratched atraining partner.
So today my plan is to lay downa few of the really unwritten
rules of the game.
You're probably not going tosee these posted in your gym you
(07:05):
may or you may not but reallysome do's and don'ts of BJJ
etiquette so you can be a greattraining partner and really
avoid any awkward moments and,most importantly, keep yourself
and others safe while you're onthe mat.
So first let's think about whyetiquette matters.
(07:30):
And you know, if we think aboutjiu-jitsu as a combat sport, it
is, but it's also a team sport.
And because, again, if we'rebeing real with ourselves.
If you injure all of yourtraining partners, who are you
(07:52):
going to train with?
And the best academies reallythrive on respect, on discipline
and on a sense of community.
Really, and when peopleunderstand the etiquette that
they're in, etiquette of theenvironment, that they're in,
training runs smoothly andeveryone gets better and has a
(08:16):
better experience, and that'simportant, especially for those
who it's their trial class ormaybe they've been out of the
week.
You know you don't want todemotivate anybody because of
etiquette issues, and I havebeen myself very fortunate to
have been in gyms whereetiquette's really dialed in.
It's not very laborious inmeaning that you know they don't
(08:42):
take it to extremes where ifyou, for whatever reason,
accidentally forget to bow, youhave to do pushups or run or do
something crazy or you're shamed.
But for the most part, it'salways been dialed in and it
really does make a differenceand the vibes are always
positive and people help eachother out and you actually you
(09:05):
know you're going to enjoy theprocess more.
And on the flip side, though, Ihave also heard about
situations where bad etiquetteruins the experience.
You know people rolling toohard, ignoring the instructor or
treating every round like it'sa UFC title fight and that is a
(09:27):
recipe for burnout and worseinjuries.
You know, this actually bringsto mind an incident that, or a
situation that took place when Iwas I think I was a three or
four strike white belt.
One day, at a lunch class, Iwas rolling with one of our
(09:47):
females, um, our, our femalestudents, and I didn't realize
it at the time but I was goingharder than I, than I should
have uh been going, and I justdidn't realize it.
There was no ego, I wasn'ttrying to harm this person, but
(10:09):
I, I just, I guess I just didn'trealize how hard I was going.
And you know, in the weeks tocome I started noticing that
that none of the female train ornone of the female students uh,
really wanted to to train uhwith me.
(10:31):
And I won't say none of them,there were maybe one or two, but
but for the most part, uh, uh,I could feel like I was getting
avoided when it came time toroll.
And, sure enough, a few daysafter that or after I kind of
started realizing that, myprofessor, yeah, he said you've
(10:51):
made some, some no train listsand some no roll list, and that
floored me and I was so takenback and I did not realize that
I had kind of really violatedthis etiquette, not just that we
have in our gym, but just Ithink that's a pretty well-known
(11:13):
etiquette Don't go super hardon people throughout jujitsu and
yeah, yeah, and I remember Iwent and kind of made things
right.
Now I'm back on everybody'sroll list.
I remember I went and kind ofmade things right.
Now I'm back on everybody'sroll list, but I share that,
just because sometimes you canbreak etiquette and not really
realize it.
(11:36):
So, whether you're a day onewhite belt or a seasoned
practitioner, I hope some ofthese guidelines will make you
someone that people will alwayswant to train with.
So let's get into it.
So the very first one thatcomes to mind, and probably
comes to mind to you as alistener right now, is hygiene,
and this is a non-negotiable.
(11:56):
I mean, look, we're on top ofeach other, right?
Your training partner smellseverything and taking a shower
before class, if needed, andalways after class.
(12:16):
Nobody wants to train with theperson with the smelly or stinky
ghee, and I've heard storieswhere people have maybe went to
a noon class or a morning classand they left their ghee in
their trunk and they went to anevening class and it set in 100
(12:37):
degree heat with sweat and itwas just a horrible experience
for that other training partnerand I've started taking showers
before classes, if I know.
So I typically train Monday,wednesdays and Fridays.
If I have a time, I'll run overto the office gym here at my,
where I work, and and I'll takea quick shower and the benefits
(13:02):
that I'm experienced more thanjust smelling really, really
good for my training partners is, yeah, it's relaxing my muscles
, it's kind of I'm going througha little bit of a de-stressing
time and it kind of helps mefocus.
So that's another benefit ofshowering before you know.
The other thing you want to dois keep your gi, your rash guard
(13:25):
, your shorts, all of yourtraining gear clean, and you
also don't forget your belt.
A lot of us forget to wash ourbelt and I don't wash my belt
every time I wash a gi.
I have, you know, I think, fourgis that I rotate through in a
week and I think maybe I'mwashing my belt once every
(13:48):
couple of weeks.
But don't be that person whereyour belt starts disintegrating
because it's so dirty and fullof sweat.
Uh, if you're good, keep itsimple.
If your gear smells uh like amix of of regret and piles of
dirty socks, wash it.
And for those new, new people,pay attention to how you wash
(14:10):
your gi.
This has nothing really to dowith hygiene.
But if you put your gi in thedryer at all, in my opinion,
regardless of the level of heatyou put it on, you're going to
experience some shrinkage.
I hang dry all my geese.
If you hang it up on yourcurtain rod, it takes about
(14:31):
maybe a day or half a day foryour rash guard and your gee
pants top and bottom to dry.
So just make sure you'refollowing those steps.
Trimming your nails this is abig one.
This is easy to forget, veryeasy to forget, and I don't say
that just because I shared thatI had forgotten mine a time or
(14:51):
two.
But you know we, a lot of us,aren't in the habit of
especially as guys, you know,doing a lot of of of manicures
and stuff like that to ourselvesand uh, giving ourselves, uh,
self pedicures, things like that.
We don't go to the nail salonregularly.
Maybe some of you do, I don't,but keep a check on that.
(15:13):
Now, every Friday night, I takea look at both hands, both feet
to see kind of where I'm at inthis nail growth process and if
I feel like I need to trim, trim, I make sure I trim for the
next week.
If you have a cut or an injuryor a scrape, make sure you tape
it up or bandage it up.
It is very easy to.
(15:35):
It's very, very easy duringtraining, if you have a scab
overcut, for that scab to getpulled off.
And if you're anything like me,when your scab gets pulled off
it seems like you bleed way morethan when the injury actually
happened.
But, yeah, just tape it up.
(15:56):
Uh, the other day duringtraining I got a mat burn on my
big toe.
Still there, it hurts like hell, but yeah, I just taped it up.
I made it to make sure that youknow, none of the gory stuff
got on my training partner onthe mat and I continued to train
.
(16:16):
And if you have a skin infectionwhether it's staff, it's
ringworm, it's any kind of of ofstat or any kind of infection
uh, on the skin, stay home.
A rash that you're not sureabout.
You think it may be a heat rash, but you're not sure.
Just stay home.
Um, you don't want to be that.
Be that person who spreads arash around the gym and causes
(16:39):
it to close and the professorand the owner have to spend
thousands of dollars to get itdesanitized.
You don't want to be that guy.
The next thing to cover andshare is be on time and respect
the class structure.
If class starts at 6 pm, don'tstroll in at 6.15 like you own
(17:04):
the place.
I do have a caveat for this andI think my master's level will
appreciate this and understandwhere I'm coming from.
So there are times where I canI can most of the time only
(17:26):
train one time a day now becauseof work commitments, life
commitments, family commitments,things like that.
But there'll be times whereI'll finish a meeting at 1145
and I will go as fast as I canfrom work to a lunch class
because I know I can't get to anevening class that day and
maybe I get in there like 603 orlatest 610.
(17:48):
Well, if I know that's going tohappen, I make sure to send my
professor a message.
We have and this is something Irecommend if you are a school or
academy and you don't have thisis we have a WhatsApp chat
group where anybody who joinsofficially, joins the academy
(18:08):
and becomes a paying member,they get access to it.
So in that chat I'll you know,hey, stuck in traffic or I'm
just running a little bit late.
Uh, professor, I'll be there atX amount of time and and that
is um, that is within etiquette,you know, if you have to,
sometimes you have to show uplate and and showing up a few
(18:30):
minutes late is better than nottraining at all.
Um, I know our professor saysthat at our school.
Also, there are a lot of greatapps.
We have an app at Alliance thatyou can go in and check in, so
your professor knows that you'regoing to be at a class.
So make sure you're leveragingany of that type of technology
(18:53):
and you're staying within youracademy standards.
Look, some people may get behindthis next comment, but if you
are late, wait for yourprofessor's permission to get on
the mat.
Don't just go get changed.
(19:13):
And when you come in, don'tcome in like you don't have a
sense of urgency and be boppingaround and you know, start
talking to the people on theside.
Go get changed, go to the endof your mat and wait for your
professor to call you on.
I think it's a sign of respect.
I think it's a sign ofacknowledgement that, yeah, I'm
running a little late.
I don't think it's there.
I don't think that etiquette isthere to inflate or over
(19:35):
inflinflate your professor'shead.
I just think it's about beingrespectful and you know your
coach is not going to tell you,no, that's not what that
etiquette's for, for him to denyor accept you, but it's just a
show of respect.
And the other thing is aroundthe class structure.
This is something I'membarrassed to say because I've
(19:58):
gotten corrected doing this.
When your instructor isteaching, shut up and listen.
Don't be having sidebars andconversations of your own off to
the side or talking aboutanother technique that you're
not doing that day.
(20:18):
And you know this is, this isan open mat.
There's, there's, it should bea time for that kind of kind of
um behavior, if you will, butduring regular class is not that
time.
So, uh, listen, ask questions,but ask questions to your
instructor, to your professor.
(20:40):
I, since I've become a blue belt, I've gotten in a bad habit now
and I've caught myself on thisof when I'm drilling with a
white belt, kind of doing what Ifeel is coaching and talking
through what I feel is coachingand talking through.
But then I realized that, hey,sometimes if we're working a
(21:01):
position that I just know I messup still and I don't do it well
, and they ask me a question,I'm not rude, I don't blow them
off.
I say, hey, you know, hold on,let me, let's call professor
over here and let him talk youthrough it.
That's the mindset you shouldhave.
If it's something simple thatyou know and it's a move that
you drill all the time and youknow for a fact, you have it
(21:22):
down.
I don't think there's anythingwrong with talking your training
partner through and helpingthem out.
But just understand, you're notthe coach, you're not the
instructor.
There's only one, maybe two ofthose in the class at a time.
Leave it to the experts.
And and sometimes for me that'shard to do, um, because I do
(21:44):
want, you know, I'm not going tobe a world champion, I'm not
going to be, you know, have thissuper profitable jujitsu
competitive career.
But I do envision myself, um,you know, training and coaching
one day, if it's kids, if it'sintermediate or if it's a
(22:04):
fundamentals.
I think that would be a lot offun.
You know, jujitsu has made ahuge impact in my life and I
would love to to share that.
But I also realized that I'veonly been doing jujitsu for two
years.
I'm a blue belt, and that's notdiscrediting or discounting the
stuff that I have done, theachievements and milestones I've
(22:25):
reached.
It's just that I know thatthere's a threshold of what I
can teach and show someone andthat's I should always remain
below that threshold.
Another small thing payattention to your gym that
you're training at.
If there's etiquette around theway you should sit when
(22:48):
listening to a technique.
Some sit on their knees andheels and then some stand, some,
some, some don't care, but forthe most part, all that I've
seen is, when it's time to lineup at the end or at the
beginning of class, make sureyou do so in in rank order, and
this is, um, it's not a mosh pit, right, it's martial arts.
(23:11):
There should be someorganization, uh, in it, and I
don't think jujitsu should besuper, super strict, but I don't
think there's anything wrongwith there being some etiquette,
uh, when it comes to tostructure.
And there was one question II've.
I got on this at our academy andit was from one of our newer,
(23:32):
newer people and it was okay.
So what if I'm a one stripewhite belt and this other person
is a one stripe white belt andwe started on the same day, it
doesn't matter, right?
But if somebody is a one stripewhite belt and you know they've
(23:52):
been training four monthslonger than you, uh, I would say
that they would go, you know,in front of you in the pecking
order.
Some believe it's a skill set,right, skill-based, which I
actually do believe.
And there is, you know, there'sa blue belt in our academy and
(24:19):
he and I are two stripes andlook, he's better than I am.
He is, he submits me.
I have very little chanceagainst him now and probably
will have a hard time everbeating him.
So his skill set level is wayabove mine.
And when I, you know, he and Ikind of laugh and go back and
(24:42):
forth when we're lining up.
But if he were to stand infront of me in the pecking order
, it would make you know, senseto me.
I wouldn't complain.
And at the end of the day, itreally doesn't matter.
As long as the blues are withblues, with white belts, are
with white belts, purple, purpleand so on and so forth.
I do believe in lining up in thecolor belt rank structure.
(25:03):
But just, you know, fill outthe room, see what um, see what
the etiquette is?
Ask, ask your professor hey,where do I stand?
So about rolling etiquette, andI shared the story about me
getting put on the no training,no rolling with Joe, etiquette
(25:24):
or not etiquette, but list um,don't be that person, don't get
put on that.
I think that was knowing thatthere were people in my academy
that didn't want to train withme because they felt unsafe.
It bothered me way more than Iprobably let on and I, I, I did.
(25:50):
I felt bad about that for along time and I will never, ever
get put on somebody's notraining list.
I may put some people on mine,but my goal is to never be on on
someone else.
And if you only really rememberone thing out of all of these is
(26:12):
this um, don't, don't go ashard as you can against somebody
that you know is somebody thatyou outmatch technically and
strength-wise, because you'regoing to injure them.
You're going to injure yourself.
Something bad's going to happen.
(26:33):
Another thing is we hear thisphrase about tap gosh, tap early
, tap often, and no one careshow tough you think you are and
so just tap and live to rollanother round.
I've only really rolled withone person and they were a blue
(26:57):
belt that I know.
I had a submission in that theyweren't going to tap no matter
what and I let the submission goand, even knowing that they
were going to get out of it, goto a dominant position and maybe
I'll lose a round.
I'm not breaking someone's armin training.
I don't want to break someone'sarm in training.
(27:18):
I don't want to break someone'sarm in competition.
It's a little bit different.
They've got a higher chance ofgetting it broken by me if I am
in competition.
But look, this is trainingright.
I mean, there's single moms inthere who are their sole kids
providers and they rely on theirhands and arms and feet to work
(27:39):
, and the same thing with thedads.
And there's you.
You can't injure people for anhour training class that they
pay a monthly fee for right,what?
What is the?
You know what is the sense inthat and then you know if you're
the one getting submitted andyour ego comes into play, all I
(27:59):
can say is you probably neverhad an exploded shoulder,
exploded knee.
I know I haven't, but I cantell you from those that I've
talked to that have it's not funat all and you know why would
you do that to yourself just soyou can say well, I didn't tap.
It doesn't make any sensewhatsoever.
(28:21):
So do tap early, tap often.
Be aware when you're in asubmission my professor and your
professor may say the samething or something around the
same lines.
Is the only way out of a goodlocked in technical submission
is to tap.
So keep that in mind.
(28:43):
Be aware of your space.
If you're about to roll intoanother group, another pair of
you know grapplers on the mat,um, it's, it's your
responsibility to to move,especially if you know that
they're not.
You know and this is somethingminor, I mean this, I almost
(29:06):
didn't want you know.
I wrote this down to call outbut pay attention to your
surroundings.
Don't roll in you and allow youand your training partner
partner to roll into anothergroup of training partners and
hurt them or yourself.
So just pay attention to whereyou're at and don't roll around
(29:29):
like a wild animal on an energy.
Drink or caffeine a fullycaffeinated animal grappler
don't be that.
Control your strength, controlyour movements.
Drink or caffeine a fullycaffeinated animal grappler
Don't, don't be that.
Control your strength, controlyour movements.
I tell people all the time whenI'm rolling with them,
especially someone if they'rejust starting to roll.
You know, move with a purposeto move.
(29:51):
There's no reason that twopeople should take up the entire
mat and trying to take eachother down.
Okay, we, we all know techniques, even from you know day one or
day two or three, uh, we knowhow to pull guard.
We know how to do a single leg.
We know how to not run all overthe place.
So you know, pay attention toyour area, your surroundings.
(30:13):
I call it.
You know, from my military daysin the army there was this book
that all of the ncos read.
It was called the five meterson and you know the.
The term was around.
You know convoy security.
When you get out of yourvehicle, take a look, uh, within
five meters around you.
Make sure there's no ieds thatyou're stepping on.
(30:34):
I don't want to say booby traps, but pay attention to
everything that's within fivemeters of you People, cars,
anything.
It's the same way in thisaspect of jiu-jitsu or in your
training Just pay attention toyour surroundings because you
don't want to hurt yourself orothers.
And let's see death matches.
(30:59):
Look, rolling isn't a deathmatch.
I've said it at least threetimes previously here in this
episode Don't go 100% with thepeople who aren't expecting it.
You know, I've been withtraining partners where I'm
thinking, hey, and it's usuallytraining partners that are
around.
My've been with trainingpartners where I'm thinking, hey
, and it's usually trainingpartners that are around my same
age or older, and I'm thinking,okay, let's just, uh, let's go,
(31:22):
we're going to train, we'regoing to work some moves, and
then the buzzer sounds are thetimer goes off and the round
starts and they go bad, shit,crazy.
I mean it takes all I have justto keep just to slow them down,
get them in the half guard andbe like dude, what the hell.
(31:43):
You know, um, I don't thinkI've ever been that that guy,
except for you know, um, whereI'm going crazy to just try to
hurt someone, um, outside ofbeing put on some iso train list
, which I definitely didn't meanto.
But I try very hard to keep mymovements controlled.
(32:07):
I am definitely one of thosenow who I don't want to move
unless I have to, um, and youknow, I want to get in a good
position where I don't have tomove as much.
I'm not athletic is another isanother reason.
So, um, be sure you know whoyou're training with.
If, if you and, uh, your buddyare both going to you know pans
(32:31):
or worlds next month and y'allare on this, you know high
competitive training, it's theof you paired up, then by all
means, after discussing witheach other and making sure
you're both okay with it, goballs to the wall, man.
I mean, have at it.
But if you come up to me andI'm 45 year old, dad of five,
recruiter who's just likesjujitsu and wants to come get a
(32:54):
sweat on, and you come at melike you're trying to win you
know master worlds or worlds inthe adult division, I I'm going
to ask you what are you doing?
Hey, man, you know, let's,let's calm down.
I'm going to call you out on it.
And if you were rolling withsomeone and they are going like
(33:16):
that, you have theresponsibility to be like hey,
you know, I realize we're in amartial art and things like that
, but let's bring it down just alittle bit.
And I can tell you, for themost part, your professors will
typically pair you up withpeople that they know you can
kind of handle.
Your speeds go together well inyour mentality, um, but
(33:39):
sometimes you know you, you justlook up and get that, get that
wild person.
So just pay attention to that.
If you're the one experiencingor if you are the offender, uh,
what's another one?
What's another one?
Those are some of the majorones, or some of the ones I had
written down.
Another one that comes to mindis well, we just talked about
(34:03):
choosing training partners, howprofessors typically at least
ours, typically pair us up whenasking someone to roll.
Be polite, you know, say well,hey, you want to train, want
want to go around, goes a longway.
And if someone says no, thanks,don't, don't take it personally
.
Some people are injured, somepeople just don't feel good at
(34:26):
the time and some gym again haverules um, where lower belts
shouldn't, where lower beltsshouldn't or don't train with
higher belts.
So check, whatever thatetiquette is for the gym.
Don't be that second-week whitebelt who goes up to the coral
(34:51):
belt in your academy and saylet's roll and then, if they say
no, get all butthurt andoffended.
They have absolutely earned theright to say yes and no to any
roles that they want, and it'snothing personal.
Again, sometimes they couldjust not feel like rolling we
have.
Sometimes people will train.
Well, I've been in academieswhere they'll train two out of
(35:12):
ten rounds and the rest they'llsit there and maybe they'll have
one of their buddies working ontechnique off to the site or
they'll just, you know, set itout because they don't want to
injure the self, they're justnot feeling it.
And then, of course, there'sothers that go 10 for 10 and
want more.
So just understand where you'reat.
Check the etiquette, askquestions if you need to check
(35:41):
the etiquette.
Ask questions if you need to.
Um, really, if, if, if we'resumming things up and um, it's
really about just be a goodteammate and encourage,
encourage each other, especiallybeginners, and remember that if
you are training with a whitebelt that we were.
(36:04):
We were pretty clueless too whenwe first started.
I'm, I'm, I'm.
I can't even imagine the stuffI did now in my first 30 days at
like Iron Wolf.
Uh, you know, professor Hollandwas probably scratching his
head Like, oh my God, what'sthis, what's this kid doing
(36:26):
versus what I, what I do now, asyou know, a few years in our
couple of years in blue belt.
So just just keep things inperspective.
And if you're a black belt andyou're listening to this, if
you're a purple belt, a brownbelt, you know, please realize
that as well.
Yes, you've probably been ablack belt for 20 years, you
(36:47):
know.
Maybe you got your black beltin the nineties, I don't know.
But just just know where thatinexperience is coming from and
just you know, put it intoperspective that even at one
time you were like that and justjust encourage each other.
I think we've all felt thedifference in training with, say
(37:09):
, purple or brown belt.
And when we first get to anacademy, a new academy, let's
say we're a blue belt or purplebelt or something like that, and
then we have a trial class guycome in and they start drilling.
They're really stiff and rigidand they're drilling, but
they're drilling hard and theybreak it out into almost a
dehydrated sweat.
(37:30):
Right, they're sweating so much.
And you know, don't we see that?
And we see that all the time.
You know, we approach it, ourprofessor approaches it as, hey,
you know, just slow down yourmovements, go through step by
step.
You're not, this isn't a realsparring match.
It'll be a while before you getinto into sparring, but that,
(37:59):
yeah it.
Just again keeping it inperspective.
And, um, you know we talkedearlier about, uh, coaching,
when to coach, when not to coach, stuff like that.
Really, the the rule of thumb Iwould go by, and I try to go by
, is don't coach people whilerolling unless they ask for it.
(38:19):
Let the instructors do theirjob and what they're, you know,
paid to do and what theirexperience level has given them
the privilege to do.
All right, let's talk reallyquick about some mistakes to
avoid.
These aren't violations ofetiquette, more than they are
just just mistakes, and that's,you know, training while you're
(38:39):
sick, especially after COVID,it's very hard to tell if
something's allergies or if it'sa cold, but if, regardless, if
you have the sniffles, if youhave a cough, if you have,
definitely if you have a feverstay at home.
Don't be the know-it-all inyour academy.
If you have two months oftraining, don't act like John
(39:01):
Donaher.
If you have 20 years oftraining, don't act like John
Donaher.
And you know, be humble andrealize and you know what.
Here's another thing, and thisis if you're an instructor as
well.
If you're an instructor and youmake an obvious mistake in your
(39:22):
teaching or something like that, self-correct yourself and be
open about it.
We know you're not perfect, Imean.
And then if you're, maybeyou're training a kid's class
and if you need help with atechnique.
Maybe you're training a kid'sclass and if you need help with
a technique, I know at ours alot of the blue belts and purple
belts help teach with the kidsand we don't know everything and
(39:48):
we don't position ourselves toknow everything.
There's been plenty of timeswhere I'm sure our purple belt
and some of our blue belts thatsolely instruct have to look up
to Professor Maciel and ask him,hey, is this right?
Is this right?
And then sometimes ProfessorMaciel will pull us to the side
and say, hey, no, it's this way,so make sure you're showing it
right.
And then, when something likethat happens, don't be a
(40:08):
know-it-all and accept thecriticism, accept the
instruction and the feedback andgo about your day, instruction
and the feedback and and goabout your your day.
And the other thing I would sayis uh, just, ultimately, do not
ignore any gym rules that youknow are gym rules.
Every academy does havedifferent customs, um, so pay
attention to that.
(40:29):
And you know as far as.
As far as any final thoughts ortakeaways around BJJ etiquette.
Etiquette isn't about a bunchof rules.
It's about being a goodteammate, it's about staying
safe and making trainingenjoyable for everyone, and I
(40:51):
believe, if you follow some ofthese guidelines that I've
shared, you not only get better,faster, but you'll also build a
strong relationship, a stronggym community, and you'll be
someone that people want totrain with.
So, you know, train hard, trainsmart, respect the mat, respect
your partners, respect yourself.
(41:12):
And you know, wash your gi,wash your equipment.
Um, so you know, I hope, I hopethis has been helpful.
Uh, love to hear from you, uh,the listener, and you know, have
you ever experienced anyhilarious or frustrating BJJ
(41:34):
etiquette fails Like the one I Iexperienced?
You know, reach out to me,message me on Instagram and the
community at caffeinatedunderscore, jujitsu and uh, or
tag me in any stories that we'regoing to that I'm going to post
on this episode.
And, uh, definitely, if youfound this episode helpful, or
maybe you found it, uh to benon-helpful, go ahead and
(41:55):
subscribe anyway and leave areview.
And remember to share this withyour teammates and with some of
your maybe newer teammates, andit'll help them.
And, lastly, remember thatevery day on the mat is progress
.
So, train smart, roll safe andkeep your passion brewing strong
(42:19):
.
See you next time.
Outro (42:22):
And that's the final tap on today's episode of
Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu.
A big thanks to all of ourlisteners, especially today's
insightful guest, for sharingtheir BJJ knowledge and tales.
If you felt that adrenalinerush and are hungry for more,
hit, subscribe, drop a reviewand spread the jujitsu buzz.
(42:45):
For show notes and to contactthe host, reach out to the email
provided in the podcastdescription and to join our
grappling community, head overto Instagram.
Get those geese, crisp yourcoffee strong and always be
prepared for the next roll Oss.
Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white
belt enthusiasm, black beltwisdom and a dash of caffeine
for that extra kick.
Dive deep into the world ofBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we
explore the journey, techniques,challenges and the sheer joy of
the sport from a white belt'sperspective.
(00:23):
From intriguing interviews withrenowned coaches and professors
to playful fun episodes that'llhave you chuckling mid-roll.
We've got it all brewed andready.
Now stepping onto the mats andinto your ears, here's your host
, joe Motes.
Joe Motes (00:55):
And welcome back everyone to another episode of
Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu.
I am your Joe, ,Motes, Motz,and welcome back.
It's a solo episode.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout a topic that I get
questions about or that thosethat are very new to Jiu-Jitsu
(01:20):
may have questions about.
We'll get to that in just amoment, but right now I want to
share just some updates and somethings that have been going on
in kind of my life and where Iwould like to go over the next
you know, three to six monthstill the end of the year here on
(01:43):
the podcast at caffeinatedjujitsu.
This at the beginning of theyear, I shared that we were
going to be doing a lot of guestinterviews and and that's still
going to happen, um, and wouldhave a good mix of solo
interviews.
But one of the things and I gotasked this question a couple
(02:05):
times, actually a few timesaround the name of caffeinated
jiu-jitsu Like where did I comeup with it?
From?
You know how did I?
What were my initial thoughtswhen starting the podcast?
And I usually get thesequestions from people who are
wanting to start podcastingthemselves, which I always
(02:27):
encourage you to do If you arethinking about starting a
podcast.
I'm always a proponent of you,of someone doing that.
It's a great way to expressyourself and to help people just
gain knowledge and for yourselfto gain knowledge.
But before I go off on a tangent, yeah, people ask me about the
(02:51):
name, and when I initiallythought about starting a podcast
around jujitsu, I was alsothinking about really how can I
blend two passions of mine intoa podcast, and that's, you know,
my passion for jujitsu, andeveryone who knows me knows that
I'm very passionate about ofall things coffee and espressos
(03:17):
and just the whole kind of cafevibe scene.
So I got to ask, you know, areyou going to be doing any
content that kind of appeals tothat side of things?
The cafe, the coffee, thelove't thought about it.
(03:43):
But when I did take some timeto think about it and realized
that I can blend the twotogether, I've kind of come up
with some ideas moving forwardthat are going to do just that.
They're going to blend mypassion for all things jujitsu
and all things coffee cafe typerelated and all things coffee
(04:06):
cafe type related.
We have some amazing alreadyhave some amazing tours of some
local Georgia coffee houses andbrewers coming up.
I think that's going to startnext month and we're going to
blend you know these tours andwe're going to blend them with
jujitsu really well andhopefully it's going to be some
(04:26):
interesting content for everyone.
So, um, we're probably I'mprobably going to go through a
potential another logo brandchange Definitely going to be
updating, um, my intro and outromusic.
So some new tunes are comingand the jujitsu side is still
(04:47):
going to be focused on those whoare early in their jujitsu
career, like myself, but we'realso going to build out the
community and grow it throughanother avenue of interest.
So I hope that everyone youknow gets excited about you know
that share and what's to come.
(05:08):
I know I am, and, yeah, justwanted to start this episode by
talking a little bit about that.
So, today's topic let's jumpinto it.
This is something that whitebelt to black belt needs to
understand and that is the insand outs of jujitsu etiquette or
(05:35):
BJJ etiquette.
Every academy has it.
There are several that are thesame amongst all academies.
You know, jujitsu is more thanjust a martial art.
We all know it's a community,it's a culture and a place where
we really test ourselves whilewe are respecting our training
(05:59):
partners and, if we're beingreal.
Sometimes new students or evenexperienced ones can unknowingly
break some of these etiquetterules.
And maybe you've been thatperson unknowingly, maybe you
(06:22):
know, showing up late, rollingtoo rough or I don't know,
forgetting to wash your gi.
But hey, you know, we've allbeen there at some point.
I've had my professor probablya couple times now you know.
Hey, joe, you need to payattention to the length of your
fingernails, right?
I'm not saying I have FreddyKrueger nails, but there have
(06:45):
been times where I've went onthe mat and maybe it's been a
week or so since I trimmed themand it showed up, and maybe I
accidentally scratched atraining partner.
So today my plan is to lay downa few of the really unwritten
rules of the game.
You're probably not going tosee these posted in your gym you
(07:05):
may or you may not but reallysome do's and don'ts of BJJ
etiquette so you can be a greattraining partner and really
avoid any awkward moments and,most importantly, keep yourself
and others safe while you're onthe mat.
So first let's think about whyetiquette matters.
(07:30):
And you know, if we think aboutjiu-jitsu as a combat sport, it
is, but it's also a team sport.
And because, again, if we'rebeing real with ourselves.
If you injure all of yourtraining partners, who are you
(07:52):
going to train with?
And the best academies reallythrive on respect, on discipline
and on a sense of community.
Really, and when peopleunderstand the etiquette that
they're in, etiquette of theenvironment, that they're in,
training runs smoothly andeveryone gets better and has a
(08:16):
better experience, and that'simportant, especially for those
who it's their trial class ormaybe they've been out of the
week.
You know you don't want todemotivate anybody because of
etiquette issues, and I havebeen myself very fortunate to
have been in gyms whereetiquette's really dialed in.
It's not very laborious inmeaning that you know they don't
(08:42):
take it to extremes where ifyou, for whatever reason,
accidentally forget to bow, youhave to do pushups or run or do
something crazy or you're shamed.
But for the most part, it'salways been dialed in and it
really does make a differenceand the vibes are always
positive and people help eachother out and you actually you
(09:05):
know you're going to enjoy theprocess more.
And on the flip side, though, Ihave also heard about
situations where bad etiquetteruins the experience.
You know people rolling toohard, ignoring the instructor or
treating every round like it'sa UFC title fight and that is a
(09:27):
recipe for burnout and worseinjuries.
You know, this actually bringsto mind an incident that, or a
situation that took place when Iwas I think I was a three or
four strike white belt.
One day, at a lunch class, Iwas rolling with one of our
(09:47):
females, um, our, our femalestudents, and I didn't realize
it at the time but I was goingharder than I, than I should
have uh been going, and I justdidn't realize it.
There was no ego, I wasn'ttrying to harm this person, but
(10:09):
I, I just, I guess I just didn'trealize how hard I was going.
And you know, in the weeks tocome I started noticing that
that none of the female train ornone of the female students uh,
really wanted to to train uhwith me.
(10:31):
And I won't say none of them,there were maybe one or two, but
but for the most part, uh, uh,I could feel like I was getting
avoided when it came time toroll.
And, sure enough, a few daysafter that or after I kind of
started realizing that, myprofessor, yeah, he said you've
(10:51):
made some, some no train listsand some no roll list, and that
floored me and I was so takenback and I did not realize that
I had kind of really violatedthis etiquette, not just that we
have in our gym, but just Ithink that's a pretty well-known
(11:13):
etiquette Don't go super hardon people throughout jujitsu and
yeah, yeah, and I remember Iwent and kind of made things
right.
Now I'm back on everybody'sroll list.
I remember I went and kind ofmade things right.
Now I'm back on everybody'sroll list, but I share that,
just because sometimes you canbreak etiquette and not really
realize it.
(11:36):
So, whether you're a day onewhite belt or a seasoned
practitioner, I hope some ofthese guidelines will make you
someone that people will alwayswant to train with.
So let's get into it.
So the very first one thatcomes to mind, and probably
comes to mind to you as alistener right now, is hygiene,
and this is a non-negotiable.
(11:56):
I mean, look, we're on top ofeach other, right?
Your training partner smellseverything and taking a shower
before class, if needed, andalways after class.
(12:16):
Nobody wants to train with theperson with the smelly or stinky
ghee, and I've heard storieswhere people have maybe went to
a noon class or a morning classand they left their ghee in
their trunk and they went to anevening class and it set in 100
(12:37):
degree heat with sweat and itwas just a horrible experience
for that other training partnerand I've started taking showers
before classes, if I know.
So I typically train Monday,wednesdays and Fridays.
If I have a time, I'll run overto the office gym here at my,
where I work, and and I'll takea quick shower and the benefits
(13:02):
that I'm experienced more thanjust smelling really, really
good for my training partners is, yeah, it's relaxing my muscles
, it's kind of I'm going througha little bit of a de-stressing
time and it kind of helps mefocus.
So that's another benefit ofshowering before you know.
The other thing you want to dois keep your gi, your rash guard
(13:25):
, your shorts, all of yourtraining gear clean, and you
also don't forget your belt.
A lot of us forget to wash ourbelt and I don't wash my belt
every time I wash a gi.
I have, you know, I think, fourgis that I rotate through in a
week and I think maybe I'mwashing my belt once every
(13:48):
couple of weeks.
But don't be that person whereyour belt starts disintegrating
because it's so dirty and fullof sweat.
Uh, if you're good, keep itsimple.
If your gear smells uh like amix of of regret and piles of
dirty socks, wash it.
And for those new, new people,pay attention to how you wash
(14:10):
your gi.
This has nothing really to dowith hygiene.
But if you put your gi in thedryer at all, in my opinion,
regardless of the level of heatyou put it on, you're going to
experience some shrinkage.
I hang dry all my geese.
If you hang it up on yourcurtain rod, it takes about
(14:31):
maybe a day or half a day foryour rash guard and your gee
pants top and bottom to dry.
So just make sure you'refollowing those steps.
Trimming your nails this is abig one.
This is easy to forget, veryeasy to forget, and I don't say
that just because I shared thatI had forgotten mine a time or
(14:51):
two.
But you know we, a lot of us,aren't in the habit of
especially as guys, you know,doing a lot of of of manicures
and stuff like that to ourselvesand uh, giving ourselves, uh,
self pedicures, things like that.
We don't go to the nail salonregularly.
Maybe some of you do, I don't,but keep a check on that.
(15:13):
Now, every Friday night, I takea look at both hands, both feet
to see kind of where I'm at inthis nail growth process and if
I feel like I need to trim, trim, I make sure I trim for the
next week.
If you have a cut or an injuryor a scrape, make sure you tape
it up or bandage it up.
It is very easy to.
(15:35):
It's very, very easy duringtraining, if you have a scab
overcut, for that scab to getpulled off.
And if you're anything like me,when your scab gets pulled off
it seems like you bleed way morethan when the injury actually
happened.
But, yeah, just tape it up.
(15:56):
Uh, the other day duringtraining I got a mat burn on my
big toe.
Still there, it hurts like hell, but yeah, I just taped it up.
I made it to make sure that youknow, none of the gory stuff
got on my training partner onthe mat and I continued to train
.
(16:16):
And if you have a skin infectionwhether it's staff, it's
ringworm, it's any kind of of ofstat or any kind of infection
uh, on the skin, stay home.
A rash that you're not sureabout.
You think it may be a heat rash, but you're not sure.
Just stay home.
Um, you don't want to be that.
Be that person who spreads arash around the gym and causes
(16:39):
it to close and the professorand the owner have to spend
thousands of dollars to get itdesanitized.
You don't want to be that guy.
The next thing to cover andshare is be on time and respect
the class structure.
If class starts at 6 pm, don'tstroll in at 6.15 like you own
(17:04):
the place.
I do have a caveat for this andI think my master's level will
appreciate this and understandwhere I'm coming from.
So there are times where I canI can most of the time only
(17:26):
train one time a day now becauseof work commitments, life
commitments, family commitments,things like that.
But there'll be times whereI'll finish a meeting at 1145
and I will go as fast as I canfrom work to a lunch class
because I know I can't get to anevening class that day and
maybe I get in there like 603 orlatest 610.
(17:48):
Well, if I know that's going tohappen, I make sure to send my
professor a message.
We have and this is something Irecommend if you are a school or
academy and you don't have thisis we have a WhatsApp chat
group where anybody who joinsofficially, joins the academy
(18:08):
and becomes a paying member,they get access to it.
So in that chat I'll you know,hey, stuck in traffic or I'm
just running a little bit late.
Uh, professor, I'll be there atX amount of time and and that
is um, that is within etiquette,you know, if you have to,
sometimes you have to show uplate and and showing up a few
(18:30):
minutes late is better than nottraining at all.
Um, I know our professor saysthat at our school.
Also, there are a lot of greatapps.
We have an app at Alliance thatyou can go in and check in, so
your professor knows that you'regoing to be at a class.
So make sure you're leveragingany of that type of technology
(18:53):
and you're staying within youracademy standards.
Look, some people may get behindthis next comment, but if you
are late, wait for yourprofessor's permission to get on
the mat.
Don't just go get changed.
(19:13):
And when you come in, don'tcome in like you don't have a
sense of urgency and be boppingaround and you know, start
talking to the people on theside.
Go get changed, go to the endof your mat and wait for your
professor to call you on.
I think it's a sign of respect.
I think it's a sign ofacknowledgement that, yeah, I'm
running a little late.
I don't think it's there.
I don't think that etiquette isthere to inflate or over
(19:35):
inflinflate your professor'shead.
I just think it's about beingrespectful and you know your
coach is not going to tell you,no, that's not what that
etiquette's for, for him to denyor accept you, but it's just a
show of respect.
And the other thing is aroundthe class structure.
This is something I'membarrassed to say because I've
(19:58):
gotten corrected doing this.
When your instructor isteaching, shut up and listen.
Don't be having sidebars andconversations of your own off to
the side or talking aboutanother technique that you're
not doing that day.
(20:18):
And you know this is, this isan open mat.
There's, there's, it should bea time for that kind of kind of
um behavior, if you will, butduring regular class is not that
time.
So, uh, listen, ask questions,but ask questions to your
instructor, to your professor.
(20:40):
I, since I've become a blue belt, I've gotten in a bad habit now
and I've caught myself on thisof when I'm drilling with a
white belt, kind of doing what Ifeel is coaching and talking
through what I feel is coachingand talking through.
But then I realized that, hey,sometimes if we're working a
(21:01):
position that I just know I messup still and I don't do it well
, and they ask me a question,I'm not rude, I don't blow them
off.
I say, hey, you know, hold on,let me, let's call professor
over here and let him talk youthrough it.
That's the mindset you shouldhave.
If it's something simple thatyou know and it's a move that
you drill all the time and youknow for a fact, you have it
(21:22):
down.
I don't think there's anythingwrong with talking your training
partner through and helpingthem out.
But just understand, you're notthe coach, you're not the
instructor.
There's only one, maybe two ofthose in the class at a time.
Leave it to the experts.
And and sometimes for me that'shard to do, um, because I do
(21:44):
want, you know, I'm not going tobe a world champion, I'm not
going to be, you know, have thissuper profitable jujitsu
competitive career.
But I do envision myself, um,you know, training and coaching
one day, if it's kids, if it'sintermediate or if it's a
(22:04):
fundamentals.
I think that would be a lot offun.
You know, jujitsu has made ahuge impact in my life and I
would love to to share that.
But I also realized that I'veonly been doing jujitsu for two
years.
I'm a blue belt, and that's notdiscrediting or discounting the
stuff that I have done, theachievements and milestones I've
(22:25):
reached.
It's just that I know thatthere's a threshold of what I
can teach and show someone andthat's I should always remain
below that threshold.
Another small thing payattention to your gym that
you're training at.
If there's etiquette around theway you should sit when
(22:48):
listening to a technique.
Some sit on their knees andheels and then some stand, some,
some, some don't care, but forthe most part, all that I've
seen is, when it's time to lineup at the end or at the
beginning of class, make sureyou do so in in rank order, and
this is, um, it's not a mosh pit, right, it's martial arts.
(23:11):
There should be someorganization, uh, in it, and I
don't think jujitsu should besuper, super strict, but I don't
think there's anything wrongwith there being some etiquette,
uh, when it comes to tostructure.
And there was one question II've.
I got on this at our academy andit was from one of our newer,
(23:32):
newer people and it was okay.
So what if I'm a one stripewhite belt and this other person
is a one stripe white belt andwe started on the same day, it
doesn't matter, right?
But if somebody is a one stripewhite belt and you know they've
(23:52):
been training four monthslonger than you, uh, I would say
that they would go, you know,in front of you in the pecking
order.
Some believe it's a skill set,right, skill-based, which I
actually do believe.
And there is, you know, there'sa blue belt in our academy and
(24:19):
he and I are two stripes andlook, he's better than I am.
He is, he submits me.
I have very little chanceagainst him now and probably
will have a hard time everbeating him.
So his skill set level is wayabove mine.
And when I, you know, he and Ikind of laugh and go back and
(24:42):
forth when we're lining up.
But if he were to stand infront of me in the pecking order
, it would make you know, senseto me.
I wouldn't complain.
And at the end of the day, itreally doesn't matter.
As long as the blues are withblues, with white belts, are
with white belts, purple, purpleand so on and so forth.
I do believe in lining up in thecolor belt rank structure.
(25:03):
But just, you know, fill outthe room, see what um, see what
the etiquette is?
Ask, ask your professor hey,where do I stand?
So about rolling etiquette, andI shared the story about me
getting put on the no training,no rolling with Joe, etiquette
(25:24):
or not etiquette, but list um,don't be that person, don't get
put on that.
I think that was knowing thatthere were people in my academy
that didn't want to train withme because they felt unsafe.
It bothered me way more than Iprobably let on and I, I, I did.
(25:50):
I felt bad about that for along time and I will never, ever
get put on somebody's notraining list.
I may put some people on mine,but my goal is to never be on on
someone else.
And if you only really rememberone thing out of all of these is
(26:12):
this um, don't, don't go ashard as you can against somebody
that you know is somebody thatyou outmatch technically and
strength-wise, because you'regoing to injure them.
You're going to injure yourself.
Something bad's going to happen.
(26:33):
Another thing is we hear thisphrase about tap gosh, tap early
, tap often, and no one careshow tough you think you are and
so just tap and live to rollanother round.
I've only really rolled withone person and they were a blue
(26:57):
belt that I know.
I had a submission in that theyweren't going to tap no matter
what and I let the submission goand, even knowing that they
were going to get out of it, goto a dominant position and maybe
I'll lose a round.
I'm not breaking someone's armin training.
I don't want to break someone'sarm in training.
(27:18):
I don't want to break someone'sarm in competition.
It's a little bit different.
They've got a higher chance ofgetting it broken by me if I am
in competition.
But look, this is trainingright.
I mean, there's single moms inthere who are their sole kids
providers and they rely on theirhands and arms and feet to work
(27:39):
, and the same thing with thedads.
And there's you.
You can't injure people for anhour training class that they
pay a monthly fee for right,what?
What is the?
You know what is the sense inthat and then you know if you're
the one getting submitted andyour ego comes into play, all I
(27:59):
can say is you probably neverhad an exploded shoulder,
exploded knee.
I know I haven't, but I cantell you from those that I've
talked to that have it's not funat all and you know why would
you do that to yourself just soyou can say well, I didn't tap.
It doesn't make any sensewhatsoever.
(28:21):
So do tap early, tap often.
Be aware when you're in asubmission my professor and your
professor may say the samething or something around the
same lines.
Is the only way out of a goodlocked in technical submission
is to tap.
So keep that in mind.
(28:43):
Be aware of your space.
If you're about to roll intoanother group, another pair of
you know grapplers on the mat,um, it's, it's your
responsibility to to move,especially if you know that
they're not.
You know and this is somethingminor, I mean this, I almost
(29:06):
didn't want you know.
I wrote this down to call outbut pay attention to your
surroundings.
Don't roll in you and allow youand your training partner
partner to roll into anothergroup of training partners and
hurt them or yourself.
So just pay attention to whereyou're at and don't roll around
(29:29):
like a wild animal on an energy.
Drink or caffeine a fullycaffeinated animal grappler
don't be that.
Control your strength, controlyour movements.
Drink or caffeine a fullycaffeinated animal grappler
Don't, don't be that.
Control your strength, controlyour movements.
I tell people all the time whenI'm rolling with them,
especially someone if they'rejust starting to roll.
You know, move with a purposeto move.
(29:51):
There's no reason that twopeople should take up the entire
mat and trying to take eachother down.
Okay, we, we all know techniques, even from you know day one or
day two or three, uh, we knowhow to pull guard.
We know how to do a single leg.
We know how to not run all overthe place.
So you know, pay attention toyour area, your surroundings.
(30:13):
I call it.
You know, from my military daysin the army there was this book
that all of the ncos read.
It was called the five meterson and you know the.
The term was around.
You know convoy security.
When you get out of yourvehicle, take a look, uh, within
five meters around you.
Make sure there's no ieds thatyou're stepping on.
(30:34):
I don't want to say booby traps, but pay attention to
everything that's within fivemeters of you People, cars,
anything.
It's the same way in thisaspect of jiu-jitsu or in your
training Just pay attention toyour surroundings because you
don't want to hurt yourself orothers.
And let's see death matches.
(30:59):
Look, rolling isn't a deathmatch.
I've said it at least threetimes previously here in this
episode Don't go 100% with thepeople who aren't expecting it.
You know, I've been withtraining partners where I'm
thinking, hey, and it's usuallytraining partners that are
around.
My've been with trainingpartners where I'm thinking, hey
, and it's usually trainingpartners that are around my same
age or older, and I'm thinking,okay, let's just, uh, let's go,
(31:22):
we're going to train, we'regoing to work some moves, and
then the buzzer sounds are thetimer goes off and the round
starts and they go bad, shit,crazy.
I mean it takes all I have justto keep just to slow them down,
get them in the half guard andbe like dude, what the hell.
(31:43):
You know, um, I don't thinkI've ever been that that guy,
except for you know, um, whereI'm going crazy to just try to
hurt someone, um, outside ofbeing put on some iso train list
, which I definitely didn't meanto.
But I try very hard to keep mymovements controlled.
(32:07):
I am definitely one of thosenow who I don't want to move
unless I have to, um, and youknow, I want to get in a good
position where I don't have tomove as much.
I'm not athletic is another isanother reason.
So, um, be sure you know whoyou're training with.
If, if you and, uh, your buddyare both going to you know pans
(32:31):
or worlds next month and y'allare on this, you know high
competitive training, it's theof you paired up, then by all
means, after discussing witheach other and making sure
you're both okay with it, goballs to the wall, man.
I mean, have at it.
But if you come up to me andI'm 45 year old, dad of five,
recruiter who's just likesjujitsu and wants to come get a
(32:54):
sweat on, and you come at melike you're trying to win you
know master worlds or worlds inthe adult division, I I'm going
to ask you what are you doing?
Hey, man, you know, let's,let's calm down.
I'm going to call you out on it.
And if you were rolling withsomeone and they are going like
(33:16):
that, you have theresponsibility to be like hey,
you know, I realize we're in amartial art and things like that
, but let's bring it down just alittle bit.
And I can tell you, for themost part, your professors will
typically pair you up withpeople that they know you can
kind of handle.
Your speeds go together well inyour mentality, um, but
(33:39):
sometimes you know you, you justlook up and get that, get that
wild person.
So just pay attention to that.
If you're the one experiencingor if you are the offender, uh,
what's another one?
What's another one?
Those are some of the majorones, or some of the ones I had
written down.
Another one that comes to mindis well, we just talked about
(34:03):
choosing training partners, howprofessors typically at least
ours, typically pair us up whenasking someone to roll.
Be polite, you know, say well,hey, you want to train, want
want to go around, goes a longway.
And if someone says no, thanks,don't, don't take it personally
.
Some people are injured, somepeople just don't feel good at
(34:26):
the time and some gym again haverules um, where lower belts
shouldn't, where lower beltsshouldn't or don't train with
higher belts.
So check, whatever thatetiquette is for the gym.
Don't be that second-week whitebelt who goes up to the coral
(34:51):
belt in your academy and saylet's roll and then, if they say
no, get all butthurt andoffended.
They have absolutely earned theright to say yes and no to any
roles that they want, and it'snothing personal.
Again, sometimes they couldjust not feel like rolling we
have.
Sometimes people will train.
Well, I've been in academieswhere they'll train two out of
(35:12):
ten rounds and the rest they'llsit there and maybe they'll have
one of their buddies working ontechnique off to the site or
they'll just, you know, set itout because they don't want to
injure the self, they're justnot feeling it.
And then, of course, there'sothers that go 10 for 10 and
want more.
So just understand where you'reat.
Check the etiquette, askquestions if you need to check
(35:41):
the etiquette.
Ask questions if you need to.
Um, really, if, if, if we'resumming things up and um, it's
really about just be a goodteammate and encourage,
encourage each other, especiallybeginners, and remember that if
you are training with a whitebelt that we were.
(36:04):
We were pretty clueless too whenwe first started.
I'm, I'm, I'm.
I can't even imagine the stuffI did now in my first 30 days at
like Iron Wolf.
Uh, you know, professor Hollandwas probably scratching his
head Like, oh my God, what'sthis, what's this kid doing
(36:26):
versus what I, what I do now, asyou know, a few years in our
couple of years in blue belt.
So just just keep things inperspective.
And if you're a black belt andyou're listening to this, if
you're a purple belt, a brownbelt, you know, please realize
that as well.
Yes, you've probably been ablack belt for 20 years, you
(36:47):
know.
Maybe you got your black beltin the nineties, I don't know.
But just just know where thatinexperience is coming from and
just you know, put it intoperspective that even at one
time you were like that and justjust encourage each other.
I think we've all felt thedifference in training with, say
(37:09):
, purple or brown belt.
And when we first get to anacademy, a new academy, let's
say we're a blue belt or purplebelt or something like that, and
then we have a trial class guycome in and they start drilling.
They're really stiff and rigidand they're drilling, but
they're drilling hard and theybreak it out into almost a
dehydrated sweat.
(37:30):
Right, they're sweating so much.
And you know, don't we see that?
And we see that all the time.
You know, we approach it, ourprofessor approaches it as, hey,
you know, just slow down yourmovements, go through step by
step.
You're not, this isn't a realsparring match.
It'll be a while before you getinto into sparring, but that,
(37:59):
yeah it.
Just again keeping it inperspective.
And, um, you know we talkedearlier about, uh, coaching,
when to coach, when not to coach, stuff like that.
Really, the the rule of thumb Iwould go by, and I try to go by
, is don't coach people whilerolling unless they ask for it.
(38:19):
Let the instructors do theirjob and what they're, you know,
paid to do and what theirexperience level has given them
the privilege to do.
All right, let's talk reallyquick about some mistakes to
avoid.
These aren't violations ofetiquette, more than they are
just just mistakes, and that's,you know, training while you're
(38:39):
sick, especially after COVID,it's very hard to tell if
something's allergies or if it'sa cold, but if, regardless, if
you have the sniffles, if youhave a cough, if you have,
definitely if you have a feverstay at home.
Don't be the know-it-all inyour academy.
If you have two months oftraining, don't act like John
(39:01):
Donaher.
If you have 20 years oftraining, don't act like John
Donaher.
And you know, be humble andrealize and you know what.
Here's another thing, and thisis if you're an instructor as
well.
If you're an instructor and youmake an obvious mistake in your
(39:22):
teaching or something like that, self-correct yourself and be
open about it.
We know you're not perfect, Imean.
And then if you're, maybeyou're training a kid's class
and if you need help with atechnique.
Maybe you're training a kid'sclass and if you need help with
a technique, I know at ours alot of the blue belts and purple
belts help teach with the kidsand we don't know everything and
(39:48):
we don't position ourselves toknow everything.
There's been plenty of timeswhere I'm sure our purple belt
and some of our blue belts thatsolely instruct have to look up
to Professor Maciel and ask him,hey, is this right?
Is this right?
And then sometimes ProfessorMaciel will pull us to the side
and say, hey, no, it's this way,so make sure you're showing it
right.
And then, when something likethat happens, don't be a
(40:08):
know-it-all and accept thecriticism, accept the
instruction and the feedback andgo about your day, instruction
and the feedback and and goabout your your day.
And the other thing I would sayis uh, just, ultimately, do not
ignore any gym rules that youknow are gym rules.
Every academy does havedifferent customs, um, so pay
attention to that.
(40:29):
And you know as far as.
As far as any final thoughts ortakeaways around BJJ etiquette.
Etiquette isn't about a bunchof rules.
It's about being a goodteammate, it's about staying
safe and making trainingenjoyable for everyone, and I
(40:51):
believe, if you follow some ofthese guidelines that I've
shared, you not only get better,faster, but you'll also build a
strong relationship, a stronggym community, and you'll be
someone that people want totrain with.
So, you know, train hard, trainsmart, respect the mat, respect
your partners, respect yourself.
(41:12):
And you know, wash your gi,wash your equipment.
Um, so you know, I hope, I hopethis has been helpful.
Uh, love to hear from you, uh,the listener, and you know, have
you ever experienced anyhilarious or frustrating BJJ
(41:34):
etiquette fails Like the one I Iexperienced?
You know, reach out to me,message me on Instagram and the
community at caffeinatedunderscore, jujitsu and uh, or
tag me in any stories that we'regoing to that I'm going to post
on this episode.
And, uh, definitely, if youfound this episode helpful, or
maybe you found it, uh to benon-helpful, go ahead and
(41:55):
subscribe anyway and leave areview.
And remember to share this withyour teammates and with some of
your maybe newer teammates, andit'll help them.
And, lastly, remember thatevery day on the mat is progress
.
So, train smart, roll safe andkeep your passion brewing strong
(42:19):
.
See you next time.
Outro (42:22):
And that's the final tap on today's episode of
Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu.
A big thanks to all of ourlisteners, especially today's
insightful guest, for sharingtheir BJJ knowledge and tales.
If you felt that adrenalinerush and are hungry for more,
hit, subscribe, drop a reviewand spread the jujitsu buzz.
(42:45):
For show notes and to contactthe host, reach out to the email
provided in the podcastdescription and to join our
grappling community, head overto Instagram.
Get those geese, crisp yourcoffee strong and always be
prepared for the next roll Oss.
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