Some things are repeated over and over again in BJJ. You probably often hear about remembering to take care of proper hygiene, watching out for yourself not to get injured, etc. But there are also things you don’t talk about so often. Below are things that the BJJ coach probably won’t tell you. Simply because he expects you to know and use them already. Because we’re all mature adults and we know how to behave during training, right? Check below if by any chance you have not forgotten any lesson in BJJs Savoir Vivre and sometimes you don’t accidentally show disrespect to your BJJ coach.
Things that your BJJ coach won’t tell you
Don’t talk while the instructor is explaining a technique
This is no longer a school where the teacher will yell at you and give you punishment for talking in class. No one forces you to go to jiu-jitsu training. You go to BJJ practices because you like it, you want to learn, etc. Listening to what the instructor says is therefore simply an expression of respect. Speaking while the trainer explains the technique only shows that you don’t care. It is an expression of disrespect for other students and the trainer himself. Usually, however, an instructor point-blank will not tell you to shut up. As I mentioned above, it’s not school anymore, nobody will do it. We are mostly adults on training, respecting others should be therefore something we already knew and do. That’s why you should remember to keep your mouth shut while the instructor is explaining a technique. Don’t expect the trainer to do it for you and remind you about it.
Practice what is shown
If you come to BJJ training, you want to learn new jiu-jitsu techniques, right? The easiest way to do this is to repeat the technique that the coach just showed. Don’t practice what isn’t being taught. For training your own stuff you can stay after class etc. Do not do this during regular training, ignoring what the trainer says. It is again a sign of disrespect for your instructor. The reason the trainer won’t tell you not to do it is often simply because he may not notice it. On this day there can be a lot of people in training, etc. His attention is finally limited, he has no eyes around his head. This does not mean, however, that you can do whatever you want. if you care about the people you train with, you want to grow and respect your trainer, just practice what is shown.
Do not undermine your trainer’s skills/knowledge
If you are not training is some shady club and you don’t suspect that your trainer bought his black belt online, but instead, you know his achievements, lineage, etc. you should usually trust him. It’s not about not asking anything. Good if you want to know how the technique works, why you need to use this grip instead of another one etc. Actually, BJJ coaches most of the time loves questions. So don’t ever feel afraid to approach your trainer after class or in between techniques to ask questions. It’s a clear sign that you’re really paying attention in class. It shows that you are making an effort to become better at BJJ.
Here more the point is that, if the trainer tells you that the technique is done in this way, do not tell him that it is different because you saw one strange video on YouTube. Your BJJ coach got his black belt for a reason. It’s a symbol of hard work, determination, and a whole lot of warrior spirit that has helped him get to where he is today. Your trainer got a lot of experience, both in the classroom and in competition. So when he says he knows what he’s talking about – you better believe it and show him some respect.
Don’t run away from the mat surreptitiously
Compared to other martial arts, BJJ is not very strict. You have more slack in what you can wear for training etc. Again, this does not mean that you can do whatever you like. The fact that you don’t have to raise your hand and ask for permission to pee, like at school, does not mean that you can simply disappear from the mat before the end of the training. Sure, you can have a bad day, you don’t have energy, you have to leave earlier, etc. Just tell it to your BJJ coach and say goodbye. Sometimes a trainer can have the number of people counted to do specific things, some fanny sparrings, etc. When you disappear without a word, his calculations collapse. The instructor will not tell you about it because you are simply not there anymore.
Don’t cheat on the warm-up
You will probably hear from your BJJ coach to warm-up. You will probably even hear to do it right to avoid injury etc. However, when the instructor himself lead a warm-up and/or there are a lot of people in training, he may not pay attention to how carefully you do each exercise. He can’t yell at everyone that he saw that someone missed one lap of running or did not do forward flips. By not warming up properly you only harm yourself and risk injury. If you can’t do an exercise just tell the trainer. He will definitely come up with something and you will warm up properly.
Be on time with everything
Being late, no matter where is disrespectful and shows you don’t care. Just try to be on time for BJJ practices, so as not to disturb the training of others. Paying attention to this by instructors, however, is often the case. So let this be just a reminder not to be late, so your BJJ coach doesn’t have to remind you about it again. This point, however, is not just about this. Remember to be on time also with other things, such as payments, etc. It is never nice to remind for money. So don’t force the trainer to have to ask for his money.
P .S.
Of course, some trainers will probably say these things to their students openly, straight to the face. Others will be too nice to do so. Regardless, through our bad behavior, we should never force them to wonder whether they should reprehend us or not. We are no longer learning how to behave well, we should know that already. The trainer is not from that and jiu jitsu classes should be about BJJ and not about Savoir Vivre.
