Typical BJJ Class Etiquette

Different schools and instructors vary, but here are some common practices. Except where otherwise indicated, TNBJJ follows the practices below.

For Sparring Etiquette, click here.

Personal Hygiene

    • Cuts or open abrasions must be fully taped, any blood on gi must be treated with alcohol or other antiseptic.
    • Please do not train if you have staph or ringworm.
    • Clean Gi, and Clean Body at EVERY Class
    • Trim Fingernails and Toenails
    • Long Hair Should be Secured
    • No Jewelry or piercings. If it cannot be removed, it must be very securely taped.

Mutual Benefit and Welfare

We put our physical health in each others hands in every class. That is why we need to build a team or family mentality. Our goal must be to help our club and team become better, and to support our teammates in their learning and competition. There is for the good of everyone because the better our team is, and the more cooperatively we train, the better everyone will become.

Miscellaneous Stuff

  • Addressing the instructor is almost always casual in BJJ, everyone in the class, including the instructor is typically on a first name basis.
  • Most classes begin and end with a formal line up, with the blackbelts in the front line, facing all other students in the student line. Students line up from lowest rank to highest rank. In cases where two have the same rank, the line goes by seniority. Typically, students bow to each other at the beginning and ending of class.
  • BJJ schools typically do NOT require you to bow when going on and off the mat.
  • When belts come untied during sparring, they are typically just moved aside for the sparring to continue uninterrupted.
  • Talking and joking are typically permitted, except when the main instructor is instructing the class on a particular technique. Questions or requests to repeat a technique are not only always allowed, but encouraged.
  • When switching partners between sparring matches, it is considered polite for the lower ranks to move to the higher ranks, allowing the higher ranks to remain in the same location.
  • In some schools, it is considered impolite for a lower belt to ask a higher belt to spar. (This is NOT that case at TNBJJ)
  • We greatly respect everyone's achievements in all martial arts, but this is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, so please wear your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rank.