Academy Rules & Etiquette

  1. Shower before class if possible.
  2. Please arrive 10 minutes early and bring your attendance card to every class.
    If you are late for class, wait for acknowledgment from the instructor to enter onto the mat.
  3. Wear sandals or flip-flops when off the mats.
  4. You must waer a clean, odor-free ALPHA Self-Defense Academy uniform (GJJ = Alpha Gi or Rickson Gracie Academy Gi or Gracie University Gi with jacket, pants and rashguard) to participate in our classes. The uniform must be in peak condition for every class. It is mandatory to have underwear underneath the Gi Pants.
    You also must have open finger sparring gloves and a mouth guard to participate.
  5. Always keep fingernails and toenails clean and trimmed, without any sharp edges.
    Groomed-feed and feet-hygiene is important!
  6. Don’t wear any hair product (hair-gel) or make up. Keep long hair tied back and out oft he face.
  7. Watches and jewelry are prohibited in the training area.
  8. Wash and desinfect your hands before and after class
  9. Keep cell phones on silent mode or on low ringtone.
  10. No food, soft-drinks, or phones inside the training area.
  11. No shoes on the mat.
  12. Greet everyone when on the mat. That can be a simple handshake or fist bump. Obviously, if you’re running late you don’t want to stop class to say hi to everyone. But greeting everyone as you step on the mats helps cultivate the familiarity that makes rolling a training exercise.
  13. Class begins and ends with a formal bow to the instructor with students lining up in descending rank order. Refer to non Black Belt instructors as “Coach”. Refer to Black Belt instructors as “Coach“ or “Professor”.
  14. Remain quiet and attentive in class and not engage in idle, unnecessary chatter. This is of particular importance when an instructor is speaking or demonstrating a technique.
  15. Select training partners that make you feel safe and comfortable.
  16. Treat everyone with courtesy. Keep a respectful posture inside the training area and communicate with respectful language.
  17. Talking should be kept to a minimum and relate to the class subject.
  18. Train with sanity! Never feel obligated to spar with anyone. Listen to your body.
  19. Tap early, tap often, and make your partner’s safety a top priority.
  20. Be careful with fingerlocks, wristlocks and leglocks: Always don’t grab less than three fingers. Wristlocks and leglocks become regular features while sparring (rolling) for higher belts. Wristlocks become available only at blue belt, and all leglocks outside of the straight footlock are reserved for brown belts up.
  21. Use technique, not brute strength. Never risk your training partner’s health.
  22. In our common interest: Please report any inappropriate, unclean or unsafe students to the instructor. Please report all injuries, abrasions or skin infections to the instructor. If anyone is caught training with infections, they will be banned from the academy.
  23. Chase the knowledge, not the belt.