What to expect in your first class at Coral Springs BJJ

What to wear:

You don’t need a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi for your first class if you don’t already own one (don’t worry, you will get one when you sign up with us!). Wear comfortable exercise clothing such as a T-shirt and board shorts. Do not wear anything with extra pockets, belt loops, baggy shorts, or short shorts. Please “NO ZIPPERS”. Do not wear any jewelry. Flip flops or sandals are recommended so that you can easily slip them off before getting on the mats.

Hygiene:

Make sure your finger and toenails are well-groomed. If you have long hair, you will want to tie it back during class.

Your first class:

You should show up a couple minutes early to introduce yourself to the professor/instructor and get oriented with the school (if you haven’t visited already). You will also need to sign a waiver.

Before class:

Before class starts, you’ll have a chance to get dressed and stretch out on the mats. Be sure to get everything ready before class starts so you won’t have to miss anything.

Warm-up:

Classes start with a group warm-up such as running laps and doing push-ups, followed by solo drills like forward and backward breakfalls and hip escapes. Those last three moves will probably be new to you, these are to help you learn how to fall safely and move your hips on the ground. Don’t worry if you don’t get the exercises correct at first; no one does on their first day, and they take a little practice. The instructor or a higher rank student will make sure you learn to do it right.

Technique Instruction:

After warm-ups, you’ll be to be taught your first lesson on a particular technique, and be partnered with someone to practice the technique.

Positional Drilling:

Usually resistance drills and sparring follow the instruction and repetition of techniques. Depending on your level of experience, the Professor may instruct you to simply watch this part of class until he feels you are ready to participate in live drilling.

Tapping:

The normal way you signal submission in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is to tap your opponent three times. When you tap, make sure you do it hard enough that your partner can feel it; or tap yourself or the mat where they can see and/or hear it; or verbally tap by saying ” Tap! “; or loudly tap the mat with your foot so they can hear it.

Likewise, be aware of your training partner tapping and stop whatever you are doing when he does so.

Tapping is just part of training and there is no shame in it. Don’t worry about winning or losing. Just try the techniques you’ve learned to the best of your ability and tap when you need to, ideally before it hurts.

After Class:

With class over, you might have more questions, now that you’ve trained for the first time. If you enjoyed the class and want to continue training, you can also discuss prices and setup a schedule.

Rules:

  • No striking, punching or kicking.
  • No eye gouging or hair pulling.
  • No twisting or grabbing fingers.
  • No slamming (picking someone up and dropping them).
  • No heel hooks (twisting the foot or knee).
  • No neck cranks.

This will be your first chance to try out what you just learned against a fully resisting partner in a live drill. It important that you understand some basic rules for all live drilling and sparring.