Hygiene

• Stay home if you are sick
  No one wants unnecessary time spent off the mats. If you feel any signs of sickness, stay home to avoid spreading it to your training partners.

• Do not wear shoes on the mats
  To ensure that we do not carry dirt and bacteria from outside onto the mats, please remove your shoes before getting on them. 

• Do not walk barefoot off the mats
  Especially not to the bathroom! Please use the loaner slippers provided (or carry over your own). 

• Wash your gear every day
  To avoid bacteria and odour, please wash all of your gear (including your belt!) after every training session.

• Keep your nails trimmed
  Long nails (fingers and toes) can be hazardous for your training partners—please make sure they are trimmed before class.

• Remove jewellery and piercings
  They might get stuck somewhere, or injure your training partners.

• Put on some deodorant
  No one likes a smelly training partner. Please put on some deoderant or antiperspirant before class. 

• No training with wounds and rashes.
  To avoid spreading (or receiving) any unwanted bacteria, immediately stop training if you notice a wound or rash on your body. 

Safety

• Do not injure your training partners.
  No one wants to take an unwanted break, so please put the safety of yourself and your training partners above all.

• Some moves are not allowed
  To minimise injuries, we don’t allow certain moves: for example slamming, standing jumping guard, scissor takedowns, neck cranks, and heel hooks in the gi.

• Communicate with your partner.
  Do you want a flow roll or a competition round? Are leg locks off limits or do you want to practice them exclusively? Talk to your partner so you are on the same page.

• When crowded, start seated.
  To avoid stepping on each other, please leave the wrestling practice for when the mats are less full.

• Watch your surroundings.
  When the mats are particularly crowded, keep an eye out for each other to avoid bumping into and potentially injuring your peers.

• Be conscious of size difference.
  Size makes a big difference in jiujitsu. When rolling with someone smaller than you, make sure to use technique rather than strength, and control your weight.

• Do not rush submissions
  Training is not competition—if you catch a submission, slow down and give your partner time to tap (it’s better to control submissions than yanking them anyway).

• Tap early and at any time
  If someone catches you in a submission, tap and move along. Your health and safety is more important than your ego.

• If you want, sit out a round.
  Need to catch your breath? No shame in taking a break if you need to.

• If someone gets injured, let us know
  Our students' safety is of utmost importance for us: if someone gets injured, please let us know so we can help you.

TRAINING 

• Match your partner’s intensity
  Not every round is a competition round (but some most certainly are!)—please adjust your intensity to the skill, size, age, and energy levels of your training partners.

• Turn down anyone, for any reason
  If you do not want to roll with someone, you are allowed to say no for whatever reason you want without being questioned. 

• Ask questions before, during, and after class
  We are all here to learn and there are no stupid questions (seriously!).

• Cross-train as much as you want
  We believe in openness and exploration and encourage all of our members to visit other gyms (and we love to have visitors as well!).

• Please don’t call your coaches sensei
  Stop it, it’s creepy!

• Have fun!
  For most of us, jiu-jitsu is a hobby. Strive to improve, but always have fun in the process.

GEAR

• Wear whatever patches that you want
  We don’t care where you trained before—we are happy that you are here. 

• Wear shorts in nogi
  We don’t have a uniform requirement but even for us, men in only spats can feel a little daunting. Please wear shorts above your spats (men). 

MISCELLANEOUS

• Pet the dog
  But (to avoid unwanted bacteria on the mat) please wash your hands afterwards!

• Let us know how to improve
  At Stark, our members are our most important assets and we are always happy to hear your feedback about anything.