The Responsibility of Higher Belts in Creating a Safe Training Environment

The Mat Enforcer we have all heard of it and some of us have probably been it at some point in our lives. A grappler, usually an upper belt that comes in to “regulate” anyone (usually an outsider or drop in) not treating the lower belts correctly. However, the Mat Enforcer is really not a good way to handle that and is not a responsible way to create a training environment that is safe, beneficial, and welcoming to everyone.

Instead of regulating after the fact and punishing people for behaviors they might not be familiar with or might not be considered taboo at their place of training. The upper belts should be working to interact with people as they start grappling to engage with them and demonstrate and explain what your gym's training environment should look like. While it is ultimately the head instructor’s job to set the tone and foster the environment that they want in the gym, it is a responsibility of all upper belts to uphold those standards and ensure that everyone is kept safe.

Of course it is incumbent on the head instructor/Owner/Black Belt to establish what they want in a safe environment. To me a safe training environment is one where everyone feels welcome to not only train but to be themselves free from fear of ridicule or attack. An environment where people feel comfortable sharing their personal lives with others without apprehension of repercussions. I think many gyms assume that they have this environment, with the old saying of “leave everything else outside, and only worry about Jiu-jitsu on the mats.” This is of course a pipe dream that is not possible to uphold because people’s lives outside of Jiu-jitsu come into play when they step on the mats. A safe environment should be one where people are respected and welcomed. It should also be a physically safe environment where people are not needlessly injured. That doesn’t mean that training is less intense or we are even restricting moves to stop people from getting hurt. It means that we are taking the time to care for our partner’s well being and utilizing control when applying moves.

How should upper belts be the protectors of a safe training environment? The first step is to model that behavior and act accordingly to the environment that encompasses all people. That means that upper belts should be the ones re-enforcing the safe environment. First and foremost is physical safety, an upper belt should not be grappling in a way that sets up people for injury. Does that mean that people do not get injured rolling with upper belts, no of course not, accidents happen and sometimes that's uncontrollable. However upper belts should not be rolling in a manner that exceeds someone’s skill level or speed they are comfortable with. If a brown belt is grappling with a smaller white belt they should be grappling at a speed and pace that the white belt can handle. When you don’t do this a lower belt is more likely to react with panic and increase the risk of injury. They should also be modeling the behavior of control. An upper belt should not be ripping submission regardless of the level they are grappling with because even if they are grappling with someone of the same rank, and rips a kimura or something that injures the other grappler, that makes an impression on everyone at that school. If someone sees that behavior and determines that is okay, then it has made the training environment much less physically safe.

In general I consider anyone that is a purple belt or higher an upper belt, because it takes significant effort to get to a purple belt and only a small cross-section of students will eventually get to that level. I think that considering purple belts as upper belts for purposes of having influence on culture is important. A purple belt can have a tremendous impact on white and blue belts since they are often seen by lower belts as the bridge between themselves and brown or black belts. Oftentimes purple belts have been students for years and are starting to establish themselves and their style of Jiu-jitsu. They also probably have strong connections with people they were blue belts with that have not advanced yet. This creates a strong point where the

purple belts can influence the culture in the gym and help lower belts advance swiftly. As black belts and instructors it's our job to leverage this to help create a safe training environment.

Far more important than physical safety is psychological safety and security. If you have people that are not promoting an environment that is open and accepting of all people, then the people in the in group are going to be less safe in your gym. As upper belts it is important that you lead as an example and create an environment where people are welcomed and accepted. I am always very cautious of any grapplers that disparage people or groups of people when those people aren’t around. That is generally an indication that they would not be a safe person for those people and could potentially not be a safe person for me to roll with. That is why it is incredibly important for upper belts to maintain and re-enforce the culture of the gym to ensure that everyone is welcome and safe at your gym.