柔の道
Beginner
Everything under this tag was written close to the ground, by someone whose main qualification is being recently and thoroughly new. These are the questions I actually had in my first months: what to wear, what happens in a first class, which unwritten rules the room expects you to know, what the words mean, how often a new body can train. None of it is instruction. It is the part around the technique, the part nobody explains because everyone who knows it has forgotten that it ever needed explaining.
The posts at the top are in the order I would hand them to a friend who texted me "I signed up, class is Tuesday, help." The rest run newest first. If you read only one, read the etiquette post; it prevents the most embarrassment per minute. And if you are standing outside the door deciding whether any of this is for you, the too-old post was written for exactly that doubt.
- 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.
- 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.
- The unwritten rules of a jiu-jitsu gym Shoes off the mat, clean gi, short nails, ask before you roll, and let the higher belt set the pace. The etiquette nobody posts on the wall.
- 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.
- 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.
- Skin infections in jiu-jitsu, and how to avoid them The mat moves skin infections by the same contact that makes grappling work. The common ones, why grappling spreads them, and the hygiene that stops it.
- What lives in the bag: gear after the gi The standing jiu-jitsu kit: mouthguard, sandals, tape, a spare rashguard, small cash. What earns a place in the bag and what stays home.
- How to choose a jiu-jitsu gym: the open-mat test Choose a BJJ gym by its room, not its website: watch an open mat, take the trial class, and check five quiet things. The test that picked mine.
- The first-month soreness: what is normal and what is not Normal BJJ soreness is dull, symmetrical, and gone in two days. Sharp, one-sided, or joint pain is a different animal. How I learned to tell them apart.
- Your first no-gi class: what changes and what does not No-gi strips away the handles and doubles the pace. What actually changes in your first no-gi class, what stays the same, and what to wear into it.
- More words you'll hear: the submission edition Kimura, americana, triangle, guillotine: the submission names you will hear before you learn any of them. What each one is, in plain words, no instructions.
- Dropping in: training at a gym that is not yours Most BJJ gyms welcome traveling visitors who email first, bring a clean white gi, and roll politely. The drop-in ritual, learned by doing it wrong once.
- Open mat: what it is and what to do with it Open mat is unstructured training time. No instruction, just rounds and whoever showed up. What it is for, and how a beginner uses one without wasting it.
- Why beginners start rolling from the knees BJJ rounds start from the knees to fit more pairs on the mat safely, because takedowns are the riskiest thing in the room. What that choice costs and buys.
- Gi or no-gi first? The beginner version of the answer Start with whichever one your gym actually teaches at times you can attend. The honest version of the gi versus no-gi answer, tribalism removed.
- The boring habits that keep you training Most beginner BJJ injuries follow patterns you can see coming. The boring habits I copied from people with decades on the mat. None involve toughness.
- How to wash a gi, and how often (every time) Wash the gi after every single session, cold, and skip the dryer unless shrinking it is the goal. The full routine, plus what happens if you do not.
- 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 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.
- Starting at zero Why I am writing this down, and why the site is named for an old word.