So great! You are thinking of trying out that grappling stuff you keep hearing about from a super enthusiastic friend (maybe too enthusiastic? Is it a cult?! Are there funny hats with the pajamas?), or maybe you have trained in other martial arts and what to give Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a roll. I will not bore you with the old codger tales of how “back in my day, we had to travel 40 miles two towns over in the snow to train anywhere”…but things were definitely different. With the surging popularity of the Art, one can now be faced with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choosing a place to train. Which is definitely, on the whole, a good thing. However, with so many possibilities comes the anxiety about making the right choice. And trust me, everyone in the Jiu Jitsu community wants you to make a dead-on selection, because that means that the sport will continue to grow! So without further ado, a few things to look out for when trying that introductory class:

• No waiver when you sign up: Hold on, the first point is a nit-picky administrative thing and not some deep Miyagi-like insight into the foundational elements of the self vis a vis the martial arts??! Yes, and bear with me…you are about to engage in a pretty intense physical activity; wouldn’t you want to know that you are entrusting yourself to folks that know what they are doing? Getting your signature on a piece of paper might not seem like much, but think back to the last time you signed up at a gym…you had to do likewise, no? This is the first sign that you are dealing with a professionally run outfit, and not some fly-by night BJJ school that could end up seeing you hurt. It’s a small move, and does not guarantee by any means you are getting onto the mat with a stand-up establishment, but it is a great start.

• Continuing on the administrative side of things for just one more bullet, run away from a place that tries to lock you into any kind of long-term, no refund contract. Jiu-Jitsu is the product here, and if any product is worth what it’s being sold for there should be no contrivances to rope you into paying ahead for something you might not wish to continue using going forward. You could end up loving BJJ, but something might happen and you might have to relocate, say. What type of taste in your mouth would be left by a school that is still charging your chosen form of payment two months after you left the county? Would you want to start up somewhere else? Simply put, the only time a long-term deal benefits you as the new practitioner is when it comes with a lower rate than the month-to-month plan.

And now, for on the mat tips:

• You might feel a bit nervous, you might feel a bit lost, you might even feel a bit uncomfortable…but you should never be in pain. One of the greatest things about the Art is the concept of tapping. At any point if you do not wish to continue the chain of events/positions you are in, tap and you reset. A good instructor will never put you in a spot to get hurt in the first place, but even if the unlikely should occur, you should never feel discouraged or looked-down upon for saying “No mas” and trying a sequence over again. Ever.

• A school is a reflection of its instructor. Hence, while in some cases there might be no one else on the mat during your first individual lesson, if there are (or anywhere else in the confines of the gym), everyone should make you feel welcome. This is a place they all come to voluntarily to pursue something they love that makes them more fit, better people, and a close-knit community. If you cannot feel at least some of this warmth through the nerves from trying something new, this may be a warning sign. Because let’s face it: If you are going to spend money and time and sweat in the place, shouldn’t it be a place that makes you happy?

There is nothing more imprecise, nor anything more nebulous as being told to try out different versions of something until you just find the right “fit.” But, ultimately, this is my best advice to you on the beginning of your jiu-jitsu journey. If you are lucky enough to have multiple schools to choose from, take an intro class at all of them, and reflect on which one feels the best. As Professor Santana told us at the beginning of this post, the best BJJ school provides a peaceful home for all prospective practitioners, never making anyone feel out of place pursuing this great Art.

Hope this helped, see you on the mat!