I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2007 in Los Angeles with my good friend Professor Ricardo “Rey” Diogo.  We went to the same gym and lifted weights during the lunch hour. One day we started chatting and he invited me to his BJJ academy for a “workout”. After my 1st class I was hooked, signed up immediately, and quit my other gym. That said, if anyone knows Rey, he teaches you the mat rules on day one.

1. Bow before stepping onto the mats – it’s a show of respect to the tatme and you are checking your mind into practice, think of it as a handshake
2. If Professor is on the mats teaching, wait for Professor to wave you onto the tatame – its respectful but also lets Professor know who is in class
3. If you are late to class, after bowing to Professor you pay 20 push ups – life has consequences
4. Begin class lined up according to rank and bow to Professor – this provides a clear and unambiguous ranking system and you are face to face with your instructor, ready to begin class. Professor can make announcements during this time, can address issues, make sure everyone’s uniform is up to par, make sure belts are tied correctly, etc..
5. Say hello to everyone – do I need to explain this?
6. Wear a clean gi – no one wants to smell your stinky gi
7. Trim your nails – weapons of mass destruction are not allowed
8. Oss as an affirmation – tells Professor (or teammates) that you are listening. Tells teammates “I give you permission to practice on me.”
9. Respect everyone, fear no one – everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time

*This is my personal view and does not reflect the views of anyone else other than myself*

There are various ideologies in regards to embracing the traditional ways, and it is solely your Coach/Professor’s prerogative to decide how they want to conduct their Academy. Some people don’t care about the tradition as long as you show up to train, some people care but don’t enforce the rules either way, some people loathe the old ways and overtly shun the tradition, and some people respect and enforce the old “rules”.

I personally follow and respect these old rules that have been in place because that’s how Rey learned from Carlson Gracie, who learned from his father Carlos Gracie Sr, who learned from Maeda etc etc..

Regardless of what you “believe” in, as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students, we practice martial arts which were originally developed by monks in India/China thousands of years ago. Dr. Kano was the person in Japan who structured Judo/Jiu Jitsu into a teachable format 100 years ago. The martial art we practice is Asian in origins, has been practiced for millenia and will continue to be practiced for millenia to come. The structure and rules the founders put in place was accepted as part of the discipline of the art, and in my opinion hold great value in my training as not only a Jiu Jitsu student but as a person.

I feel that if I cannot be disciplined with these basic rules, how can I be disciplined in my Jiu Jitsu practice?

*side note* {Another small thing I always try to do is fold my gi and pants neatly and keep them tidy in my bag.  It’s these small things, the details, that will reflect upon a person’s Jiu Jitsu game. Once you learn the fundamentals, Jiu Jitsu becomes a game of nuances.  I don’t force anyone to do this, it’s just something I believe personally.}

I teach my kids class this way because it’s important they differentiate the playground from martial arts school.  It’s important that younger students understand there are rules in life. It’s important kids learn respect and discipline.  Additionally, these “rules” seem to be calming to students, especially kids, to know where their boundaries are and what lines they cannot cross.

Why is discipline and structure important? An individual may not feel motivated everyday – its discipline that will push a person forward regardless of motivation.  Structure removes ambiguity and an individual has a clear path ahead of them and a defined boundary of expectations.

I’m also going to teach my adult students these rules because I respect tradition and I will teach my own child manners, so my students will have mat manners.  If they travel around and visit other BJJ academies in the world who do not enforce these rules then fine. BUT. If they visit a school that DOES practice these rules, they will be prepared, they will be respectful, and neither they nor our school will look like disrespectful, knuckle dragging mongrels who probably track mud into the house.  It’s the equivalent of teaching your children to say “please” and “thank you” and to clean up after themselves before you send them out into the world.

Lastly, when people choose to dedicate themselves to learning BJJ, they want to feel like they are in a martial arts school.  I’ve found that Jiu Jitsu typically attracts the deeper thinkers and the people who ask bigger questions. (there is the occasional meathead but they don’t last very long) Students want to learn the art but also want to become better people THROUGH the art.  I think it’s important to embrace the martial arts spirit in order to cultivate a person who can not only dismantle a human being, but who can also become a role model to the next wave of new students.

As an instructor, my students look to me for learn the art from and I feel responsible to conduct myself as someone I would like to learn from. As a father I feel no different when I talk to my daughter. I try to be someone they can look up to and learn from, someone they respect and can model themselves after, just as my teachers and mentors have done for me.

Keep it simple, keep it respectful.

Oss.