Behavior When Visiting Other Academies

I spend a decent amount of time visiting other academies here in my area and I always try and drop in at places when I travel to get some mat time and experience with people I do not normally grapple with. Visiting other academies can be a very beneficial way to improve your grappling and point out areas where you may be deficient.

Every Jiu-jitsu school has their own unique style of grappling, this is largely influenced by the head instructor and their preferred style. That doesn’t mean that everyone at that school grapples the same way, but often people that came up in similar environments trend towards similar styles. In more recent years this has dissipated somewhat due to the availability of moves on the internet and various other mediums. However visiting another academy is a great way to get a different look at other styles. I have heard stories that some instructors are less likely to share good moves with people from other schools. In fact I was advised by an 8th degree black belt that if I attend a seminar by certain members of the Gracie family to “wear a plain white Gi with no patches. Otherwise this person won’t show any of their good moves.” However these thought processes tend to be outliers and most academies are very welcoming of visitors because it is beneficial for them as well.

I recently took a break from teaching at my primary academy here in my home area. Mainly due to burnout on my part. Since I am not teaching, I am using that time to train and improve my Jiu-jitsu and I have started a secondary project of building a more close knit Jiu-jitsu community in the area. When I originally moved here, it was very uncommon for people to visit other academies in the area, and in some cases outright discouraged. This was a stark difference to the other places I had trained where we had frequent visitors from other local academies probably on a weekly basis. I came to the realization recently that if I wanted to improve the relationships in the Jiu-jitsu community here that someone would have to take the first steps. And I decided that person would be me since I now have a little extra free time. I have been cross training at several academies in my local area and have plans to visit other places as well to help build up this community.

Because I have spent a decent amount of time visiting other academies I have a few suggestions of how to act before, during, and after the visit. Usually when I intend to visit another academy either in my home area or when I am on vacation, I try to reach out to the gym beforehand to let them know when I want to drop by and if there is anything I need to know about the gym before I arrive. Usually this is to connect with the coach to ensure that they want to have outsiders at their school, and to make sure I wasn’t rocking the boat showing up in a Gi that was not acceptable. Since some academies have restrictions on colors that they wear I don’t want to be the weird only person in a black Gi or something like that.

Once I arrive, I try to make a connection with the coach/owner first thing so they know who I am and refer back to the previous communication that we had. After getting ready, I try and introduce myself to as many people taking the same class as I can. This has helped smooth over some of the awkwardness when partnering up. I have found that sometimes people are less willing to partner with a stranger if that person hasn’t introduced themselves. While taking class or doing open mat I try to be the best partner that I can for whoever I am working with, because I am in their space, I want to make sure that I am leaving a good impression so when or if I come back, they are still willing to welcome visitors. When grappling, I almost always allow the people from the gym to set the tone of the roll. I do this because if I come out at high pace or submit people quickly, people will be less likely to want to grapple with me or they might try and send someone to be the “mat enforcer” and that is generally a recipe for someone to either get physically hurt or leave bad feelings between the parties and I want to avoid that.

When I am leaving, of course if they have a drop in fee, I always pay that. If they do not have a fee or if they choose not to charge me their fee, I try and buy a shirt or something to provide monetary support for their time and space that they let me use. I also try and leave a positive review on Google, etc. for the academy because I know that helps them bring in people and supports their academy in their local market.

Following these steps has led to me having overwhelmingly positive experiences when visiting other academies. It has helped me make connections with people not only in my local area but all over when I travel. It has also led to me being invited back to do a seminar or teach classes at a school when I visit again which has been a great experience as well. I highly recommend visiting other schools if you have the ability to do so. I believe that Jiu-jitsu is a great way to build connection with people and visiting other schools is a great way to build that connection.