Do it right

Their are rules for every activity in the universe. Jiu-Jitsu is no exception. If you are not interested in that martial art, looking over my rules list might be useful for whatever physical activity you do.

Be clean

In Jiu-Jitsu you are going to experience close contact….very close…embarrassingly close…

Your crotch is going to be in somebody’s face, and theirs in yours.

I’ve had a couple of partners over the years that stank of shit. I bet they didn’t know, but everybody else did. Do you really want to be that guy? Mister Poo is such a lovely nickname.

If you are going to train, shower before, and again after. The first wash is so that you don’t stink all over your partners, and the second is to wash off all the awful things that you may have picked up. Every hear of a staff infection. I had a friend who came down with that big of joy after visiting another school that had dirty mats. Ringworm is a lovely fungal infection.

Washing after class reduces the chance that anything that got on your skin will make it into your body.

If you are going to a daytime class, and another in the evening, you should shower 4 times. I do this regularly.

When training in Los Angeles at Gracie University Headquarters, I experienced several days that had a 7am class, another at noon, and then one in the evening. I attended all three, making those days into 6 shower extravaganzas. The upside is that they have great shower facilities on site.

A subset of the rule about being clean is that you shouldn’t stink in other ways either.

By this I mean, do not wear any sort of fragrance at all. Use neutral soaps or wash or shampoo or whatever. Nobody wants your favourite smells applied on their unwilling body, which is exactly what would happen.

The good news about this is there seems to be good general awareness regarding this issue. I don’t think I’ve ever had a scented partner.

Do NOT wear makeup. If you do, it will dissolve in your sweat, and run all over the place. Even if it doesn’t, it will get ground into your partner’s gi and face. You will NOT be popular, and you’ll look really stupid.

So now that your body is all squeaky clean, how about checking it for things that put your partner at real risk. Check your toe and finger nails. If they are long, cut them short. I don’t care if you think you’re some kind of Hollywood diva, cut them. Nobody cares if their are painted, but if they are going to cut somebody.

Do not wear jewelry.

No bracelets, necklaces, or even rings. I suppose a plain metal wedding band with no stone wouldn’t bother me, but any of the rest would.

Imagine you have on a necklace, and somebody catches you in a collar choke. That metal decoration is going to be driven right into your neck. If you wear a diamond ring, just think about what will happen when somebody grabs your hand with gusto in what we call a 4-straw-crush. That stone will end up somewhere, and it won’t be welcome when it gets there.

Piercings are quite popular, but you better take them all out.

Imagine a nice nipple ring, properly hidden under your uniform, and somebody crushes down on your chest with every ounce of their weight, and then rapidly spins to your other side. That nipple ring will magically transform into a drill bit, attached to your nipple.

No navel studs, nose rings, eyebrow attachments, or ear rings. You will bleed, or I will bleed, or everybody will bleed.

The next category doesn’t really have a direct effect on me, so do what you want when you choose your hair style.

The length is what matters. Imagine somebody with hair clear down to their bum, with it all free and flowing, trying to train in Jiu-Jitsu. It will be almost constantly trapped, pinning the owner to the floor, and often getting ripped out.

Everybody with long hair seems to understand this, and so there is always great deal of braiding, and tying, to get it under control.

The problem with this is that hair often still gets trapped. It also seems to come undone regularly, needing frequent time-wasting attention.

Some formerly long-haired folk switch to styles that avoid this. Most gentlemen don’t consider it an issue, and almost all have cuts that avoid any possibility of interference.

Many women, however, don’t consider short hair to be an acceptable choice. That’s really a pity, as there are lots of very nice options that work perfectly on the mat.

If longer hair is the choice, please don’t use sharp or hard objects to contain it. Go with something that won’t injure either your partner or yourself.

How about what you will wear?

Most schools dictate what you are supposed to wear for any given class. 

Let’s say it’s gi day. That means you will be wearing a lovely uniform. I like schools that dictate the colour as well, as that usually means white-gi-only.

If other colours are tolerated, why would you pick anything other than white?

There is a nonsense myth out there that black makes big people look slender. New Flash; it doesn’t.

Black is a popular colour, as is blue. Those are the two semi-normal colours other than white. The only functional difference is that black and blue don’t show dirt and grunge as easily.

If I had a school, I would dictate white-only gis for that exact reason. I don’t want anybody being able to hide how disgusting their uniform is.

Uniforms need to be washed AFTER EVERY TRAINING SESSION. They pick up all the fungus and bacteria that show up just looking for a moist, sweaty pile of cloth to thrive in.

A good school washes the mats daily, and we’ve already established that you should shower after every class to get potential issues off your skin. Why would you want to get lazy now, and want to wear a sweaty gi that you had hidden away in a dirty gym bag.

Maybe you are even cleaner than me, and just want to wear a black gi. The only real difference for you then is do you want to wear a uniform that helps promote a clean environment, or one that suggests that you are trying to be dirty and to hide it. I know it’s awful when people make snap judgements, but that’s what they’ll think about you.

How about colours other than white, black, or blue? What are you; a circus clown?

And here’s a little suggestion for the comfort of all your partners; wear a rashguard top under your gi. Having a wet rashguard ground into your face when rolling is not very pleasant, but it’s a hundred times better than having a naked, sweaty, hairy man-chest crushing down in the exact same fashion.

Let’s say it’s not gi day, which means nogi.

On the bottom, you can wear gi pants, or shorts. You can choose to wear spats, which are really man-leggings. If you do, and you are male, be nice to everybody involved, and put shorts over top.

Instead of the gi jacket; some people wear t-shirts, but the normal attire is a rashguard. Needless to say, wash it after every use, and have a fresh one ready for next time.

Interestingly, the belt can be considered a separate item. Some wear them during nogi sessions, but usually not. The belt really goes with a gi.

Tradition says don’t wash them, and they don’t like washing machines and really hate dryers. As they can hold all the same cooties as skin, or gis, or floor mats, I wash mine occasionally. It gets sink washed with hand soap and cold water, and hung to dry.

The big belt issue is the knot. Watch any sparring session, and if there are 20 people rolling around, there will be about 5 belts undone on the floor. The ordinary martial arts knot just won’t do it.

Go on youtube and you can find videos of different methods of tying belts. Rener Gracie does a very good such video. My belt NEVER comes undone.

So it’s time for some instruction, and you don’t stink of sweat or poo, or of perfumed products. Your piercings are all stud-free, and your jewelry is safely put aside. Your hair is short, or under control, and you are wearing a clean gi with a securely-tied belt.

After class, you wash off any bacteria or fungus that made it onto your skin, just as the washing machine blasts it out of your sweaty gi.

All happy, healthy, and good.