How to Start BJJ: A Beginner's Guide

What BJJ actually is

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling art. There's no punching or kicking. The whole game happens standing in the clinch and on the ground, where you use position and leverage to control a resisting opponent and eventually finish with a choke or a joint lock.

The built-in safety valve is the tap. When a submission catches you, you tap your partner or the mat, everything stops, and you restart. Beginners tap constantly. That's just what learning submissions on real people looks like.

You'll also hear about gi and no-gi. Gi classes are trained in the traditional heavy cotton uniform, and gripping it is part of the game. No-gi is trained in a rash guard and shorts. Most gyms teach both, and as a beginner you don't need to pick a side.

Step 1: Find the right gym

The best gym for a beginner is usually the one you'll actually get to. A big-name academy can be worth a longer drive; just be honest about whether you'll still be making that drive a few months in, because what improves your BJJ at this stage is showing up, week after week.

A few things worth checking before you commit:

• A fundamentals or beginner program. Gyms that run dedicated beginner classes teach the basics in a structured order instead of dropping you into whatever the advanced class is drilling that day.
• A schedule that fits your life. If you can only train evenings, a gym with two evening classes a week will frustrate you.
• A trial class. Take it. The feel of the room matters more than the logo on the wall, and a typical class has people of all sizes, ages, and skill levels on the mat together.

Step 2: Your first class

A typical class runs warm-up, then technique, then some form of live training. The coach demonstrates a move step by step, you drill it with a partner at low speed, and more experienced students finish with timed sparring rounds. As a brand-new student you usually won't be thrown into full sparring; expect controlled positional work instead, starting from a set position and working through what you just learned.

Nobody expects you to remember any of it. Wear a fitted t-shirt and shorts, show up a little early, and introduce yourself to the coach. We wrote a separate guide on exactly what to expect at your first class, down to what to bring in your bag.

Step 3: Get the gear (you need less than you think)

For day one: a fitted t-shirt or rash guard, shorts without pockets, and a water bottle. You train barefoot, so no special shoes. Many gyms will lend you a gi for your first class; ask when you book the trial.

Once you decide to stick around:

• A gi, if your gym trains in one. A second gi is worth it once you train several times a week, because a gi needs washing after every single session. No exceptions. Your training partners will hold you to this.
• A rash guard to wear under the gi and for no-gi classes.
• A mouthguard. Most gyms don't require one, but it's a good idea once you start sparring. An inexpensive boil-and-bite model is fine for grappling.
• Athletic tape for toes and fingers, and a notepad. Strictly optional, both of them. The notepad pulls its weight, though: writing down the day's technique after class does more for your memory than you'd expect.

How the belt system works

Adult ranks go white, blue, purple, brown, black. Between belts, coaches award up to four stripes on each belt as intermediate progress markers.

When you get promoted is up to your coach, and every coach handles it differently. For reference, the IBJJF (the largest competition federation) sets minimum periods for competitors: no minimum at white belt, then at least two years at blue, 18 months at purple, and one year at brown before black. It also sets minimum ages: 16 for a blue belt and 19 for a black belt.

Past black belt there are coral and red belts, held by people who've been in the art for most of their lives. You can see how today's coaches connect back through their teachers on our lineage tree, which traces black belts all the way to Mitsuyo Maeda.

How often should you train?

Two to three classes a week is the widely recommended starting cadence, and it's enough to make real progress. More is fine if your body and calendar allow it, but the common beginner mistake runs the other way: training five days a week for three weeks, burning out, and disappearing. Pick a pace you can hold.

Soreness in muscles you didn't know you had is normal at the start. It fades. And if you're out of shape, the training will fix that faster than anything you'd do to prepare for it.

Your first open mat

An open mat is a scheduled session with no instruction: people show up and roll with whoever's there. It's where you'll eventually get most of your sparring time, and many gyms open theirs to visitors from other academies.

There's no rush. Ask your coach when you're ready; most beginners get a few months of classes in first so they have something to work with.