Community Tips and Guidelines

These tips and guidelines are here to help everybody stay safe & healthy, and are typical for for all BJJ & grappling gyms.

💜 COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

  • Protect yourself, your emotional well-being, your bodily autonomy and do not impede other’s attempts at doing the same for themselves

  • Reflect on your own behavior and decisions as critically as you would the decisions and behavior of others

  • If you have a conflict, attempt to resolve it with honesty, communication & reflection. It’s good to communicate your feelings & needs in times of conflict, just make sure you are allowing others to communicate theirs in turn. Attempt to compromise, adjust, forgive, and/or let it be.

  • Providence BJJ has a zero tolerance policy regarding harassment (sexual or otherwise), assault, racism, homophobia, transphobia, hate speech, abuse and discrimination. Our gym is for everyone who wants to train here, and we want to make sure everyone who wants to train here feels good being here.

  • Ask questions!  Our teachers and students are always excited to engage and discuss anything that you might be curious or concerned about.

🥋TRAINING TIPS AND ETIQUETTE

  • Bring water to drink

  • TAP EARLY, TAP OFTEN - a TAP is a request to stop, when someone taps, make sure you stop what you’re doing. If you’re tapping, make sure to firmly tap the other person’s BODY, say TAP loudly, or tap the mat. 

  • Go slow if you’re new! You’ll learn faster, and you’re less likely to hurt yourself or others

  • WATCH YOUR & OTHER PEOPLE’S HEADS! Pay attention to your surroundings when training! We have a fair amount of mat space, but if you find yourself close to another group of people training, stop & move to minimize the chances of knocking heads or getting someone else’s foot in your face. If you’re resting between rounds, watch the mat for potential collisions. Keep each other safe!

  • TAKE CARE OF YOUR TRAINING PARTNERS! You can’t train jiu jitsu without them! Everyone is trying to learn and not get hurt. It’s okay to train at a very high intensity, just make sure both you and your partner are on the same page about it beforehand. If you are hesitant to roll with someone who trains intensely, but want to give it a try, it’s okay to talk with them and set some guidelines.

  • Don’t do anything weird with someone you’re not friends with! This includes: tickling their feet, jokingly shit talking, using them to show off your BJJ to someone else, etc… your intentions might be harmless & playful, but you have no idea how the other person might feel about it (since, well…you don’t know them!). Save this kind of thing for your close pals, or those you’ve had a longstanding training relationship with. Keep it professional with everyone else.

  • Let your partners know if you are training with an injury

  • BJJ can be for the “little guy”, sure, but size differences are real – if you are rolling with someone much smaller or less strong than you, please be aware & considerate, unless agreed upon previously. Try to use mainly technique while minimizing your use of strength and weight-based attributes .

  • That said, NO SLAMMING ! You could hurt your partner, and slamming is illegal in most rulesets anyway.

  • It’s okay to refuse a roll! If you don’t feel comfortable rolling with someone, you can say no. Just make sure you aren't saying “no” for the wrong reasons. 

  • If someone has refused a roll with you, try not to take it personally! More often than not they are just trying to minimize the chance of injury. There are plenty of people who would love to roll with you!

  • If you are having an off day, it’s okay to just come to class, drill the technique and leave or just watch — no need to push yourself to roll if you’re not in the right headspace or have an injury.


💅 HYGIENE AND CLEANLINESS

  • Clean up after yourself! Put trash where trash goes, remove your hair from the showers, etc.

  • Keep fingernails and toenails trimmed short (so you don’t slice up your partners).

  • Please bring slides or sandals to wear to the bathrooms and no-shoe areas

  • Please keep shoes off the mat (except clean wrestling shoes), barefoot is preferred

  • No food or gum while training (messy & a choking hazard).

  • Remove all jewelry before training (if you are unable to remove it, tape it down with athletic tape)

  • Please only train in a clean gi / clean athletic clothes.

  • KEEP YOUR GI CLEAN, wash it after every training session (this prevents the growth and spread of bacteria), “airing it out” will not prevent the growth or spread of bacteria.

  • Shower with soap after every class (this prevents the growth and spread of bacteria). The sooner you shower, the better!

  • It is recommended you don’t use antibacterial soap when washing, as this can kill your body’s good bacteria which helps protect your skin from infection.

  • Do not train if you have an open, weeping or bleeding wound.

  • If you have a cut, sanitize and bandage it.

  • If you have ANY cold or flu like symptoms, or are still testing positive for COVID (even if you feel fine) please STAY HOME. 

  • If you have a skin infection such as MRSA, staph, ringworm, monkeypox, athlete’s foot or any suspicious looking skin rash/discoloration that you cannot identify, GO TO A DOCTOR and DO NOT TRAIN until it is fully cleared up.

  • If you bleed or see blood on the mats, let us know so we can clean it.