Notes from the mat.

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Seven posts, in order, for your first weeks on the mat.

1. What is Brazilian jiu-jitsu? A plain guide for beginners A grappling art of control and submission, trained by rolling. What a class is, how it differs from judo and jūjutsu, and what a beginner does next.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Too old, too unfit, too late? Starting jiu-jitsu as an 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.