We all start somewhere. When you decide to try jiu-jitsu, you decide to start a journey that can be rewarding, fun, powerful — and yes, challenging. In the spirit of assisting you down this long road, we’re putting together the White Belt Starter Kit, advice for newer students. This series will answer some of the most common questions you might have, explain what you really need to know in order to maximize your training benefits, and highlight some of the practices that will make you a helpful and valuable training partner. Welcome!
Today we’re talking about what your first day of jiu-jitsu will be like: or, in other words, what should you expect from a typical BJJ class?
For any physical activity, you’ll want your body to be fully prepared. (And no, we don’t mean “you need to be in shape before you start training.” Just show up and train! Andrew Smith of Revolution BJJ explodes the myth that you need to be in shape first here.) What we mean is that almost every BJJ class starts with some kind of a warm-up.
Schools differ on what style of warm-up they prefer. Some do a very intense warm-up with calisthenics, or with running around the gym, or even a yoga-themed workout. Most — like our gym — start with some variations on the basic movements of jiu-jitsu. These movements, like shrimping, bridging and breaking the fall, can’t be practiced too much. Plus, they get your body ready for more training and reduce the risk of injury.
If you want a one-minute video summary of a typical class, here is an example from the Dirty White Belt BJJ YouTube channel:
After the warmup, the instructor usually teaches jiu-jitsu techniques. Again, every gym is a little different, but usually the teacher will show a series of moves that fit together. For example, it’s very important to know how to survive and escape from bad positions, so the instructor may choose to teach three ways to stay safe if your opponent is sitting on top of you (“the mount” in jiu-jitsu), or is has taken your back (as every younger sibling who’s ever been put in a full Nelson knows, being controlled from the back is not fun). After each move the instructor shows, you’ll grab a partner and “drill” those moves — repeating the steps and details at far less than full speed, exactly as the teacher showed them. During drilling, there should be little to no resistance — that is, you shouldn’t try to stop your partner for escaping, and your partner shouldn’t try to stop you from escaping either. You’re trying to build pattern recognition and muscle memory that will allow you to do the move right later. Don’t worry, you’ll get to try to apply the move in real situations later.
You might have noticed that I use different terms for the instructor (teacher, professor, sensei). I should mention that jiu-jitsu gyms vary widely in terms of how formal they are. Some schools insist you call the instructor “professor,” and do traditional line-ups against the wall (where people stand according to belt rank — just stand at the end behind the lightest belt on your first day). They might require bowing before you step on and off the mat. Other gyms observe none of these practices. There is no right or wrong here, really — and we’ll cover etiquette issues in a future post, as well as how to find a gym that fits you best, which is a related issue — but just know that you might find yourself in a gym that only allows white uniforms with certain patches where you have to call the instructor “professor,” or you might find yourself in a gym with no gi requirement at all and an instructor that prefers to go by her or his first name. Many places land in the middle.
As with entering any new space, just try your best to respect the practices in the place where you find yourself and you should be fine. I’m an informal type, personally, but it’s important to respect the environment you’re training in. No one ever hates it if you ask how to be polite — it’s that simple.
After the teacher shows each move, you’ll break off into a drilling group. Then you’ll go back and learn another move, and another, drilling each one until the technique part of the class is over. You’ll probably have a sweat going — one of the great things about Brazilian jiu-jitsu is that it’s both mentally and physically challenging, which keeps things interesting.
Most schools finish a jiu-jitsu class with sparring, which is called “rolling.” Because Brazilian jiu-jitsu focuses on ground grappling, we do a lot of rolling around on the mats. This can look strange at first, but after you understand what’s happening, it’s a fascinating thing to watch (and even more fun to do). This is the part of class where we go more or less full speed, trying to apply moves in real time against a fully resisting opponent. This is one of the traits that makes jiu-jitsu so effective — you know your escape from a bad position works if you can do it to someone who is trying their best to stop you.
If it’s your first time, you probably won’t “roll” or spar, so don’t worry about that. No one is going to make you do anything you’re not ready for or comfortable with (and if they try to, maybe that school is not the spot for you). Instructors differ on the question of when students should start rolling. If you do roll at all early in your career, you’ll probably be paired with an experienced partner who will exercise control and take good care of you. The baddest person in the room is often the safest one to train with, and a good instructor will be mindful of peoples’ experience levels. (Some schools even have the instructor match up the sparring rounds).
Class usually ends after rolling. Again, some schools bow in and out, while other schools just give each other exhausted hugs and thanks. Most of the time, people from the class stay behind to clean the mats. This is very important (proper hygiene practices will be the topic of a future post). Often, schools expect the lowest belt ranks to mop. No one will expect this on your first day, but feel free to offer. (Mopping mats is actually pretty meditative, and a lot of people at the academy pitch in. I kind of enjoy it.)
At the end of your first class, you should be tired, but also a little invigorated. Jiu-jitsu movements aren’t typical movements, and learning new skills is exciting. If you liked your first day, don’t worry: It just gets better from here.
This is the first post in a series called the White Belt Starter Kit, advice for newer students. This series will answer some of the most common questions you might have, like how to get the most out of drilling, how to roll safely and well, how to maximize your training benefits, and how to be a helpful and valuable training partner. There will be a dozen or so posts in the series, which will be available here and updated consistently.