柔 · yawara
Notes from the mat.
I started jiu-jitsu, and I am bad at it. This is where I write down what I am learning while it is still new enough to see clearly.
Begin here
Seven posts, in order, for your first weeks on the mat.
- Your first jiu-jitsu class: what actually happens A play-by-play of a first BJJ class from someone who just had one. What to expect, what nobody tells you, and the one thing to remember.
- What to wear to your first jiu-jitsu class No, you do not need a gi yet. What to actually wear to a trial BJJ class, what a gi is, and what to buy only after you commit.
- How to tie your jiu-jitsu belt (and why it keeps coming off) The standard way to tie a BJJ belt, step by step in plain words, why it unties itself mid-roll, and why nobody minds.
- The words you'll hear on the mat: a beginner's glossary Guard, mount, sweep, tap, oss. The small dictionary of jiu-jitsu words I needed in week one, in plain English.
- Tapping is the curriculum What tapping means in BJJ, when to tap, and why the people who tap most in their first year learn fastest.
- How often should a brand-new white belt train? Two to three classes a week is the honest answer for most adult beginners. The reasoning, the recovery math, and the trap of week-one enthusiasm.
- Too old, too unfit, too late? Starting jiu-jitsu as a regular adult You are not too old to start BJJ and you do not need to get in shape first. What the mat actually asks of a new adult beginner.
Where to train jiu-jitsu
Where to train, city by city — every academy verified, none ranked.
The name
柔, yawara, is the old Japanese word for the gentle art, older than judo. This site walks the small path of learning it from zero.
Latest
- The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin: what transfers to BJJ Josh Waitzkin's The Art of Learning maps cleanly onto a first year of BJJ. What a beginner can use, how to train it, and where the book needs doubting.
- The Danaher Diaries: what a beginner can actually use The Danaher Diaries compiles John Danaher's social-media essays into an unofficial book. What a beginner can take from it, and why provenance matters.
- Warrior Mindset by Roger Gracie: what a beginner can use Roger Gracie's Warrior Mindset distills ten world titles into lessons on calm and simplicity. What a nervous beginner can actually use, and where to doubt it.