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.
- 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.