Call Us: San Ramon | Castro Valley
Academy Rules & FAQ
Academy Rules
- Always be respectful.
- Absolutely NO coaching your children or other students during class.
- During class, when the instructor is demonstrating the techniques, every student must sit or stand in good posture.
- Talking should be kept to a minimum level and should relate to the class subject.
- No foul language inside the school.
- Keep feet clean. No dirty feet on the mat.
- You must wear shoes or flip flops when you are not on the mat.
- Shower immediately after class and wash your gi after every practice!
- The uniform must be clean at all times. A dirty uniform is a sign of disrespect.
- All jewelry, piercings, necklaces, and other items should be removed during training.
- Keep fingernails and toenails neatly trimmed.
- No shoes, food, or drinks on the mat.
- Please do NOT come in if you are sick. Jiu Jitsu is an extremely close contact sport and you want to be respectful of your training partners and coaches, do not get them sick.
FAQ
Q: How often should I train?
A: As often as you can and as your body will allow. The more often you train the faster you will progress. Some people pick it up more quickly than others but there is no short cut to mat time. For those who want to compete we recommend training 4-5 days a week.
Q: What should I do when I'm injured?
A: It depends on the injury, but you don’t want to do anything that will make it worse. If it’s a minor injury and you can still do activities without further injuring yourself, we recommend at least coming in still doing the warm up and technique. If it’s a major injury but you don’t want to sit at home on the couch, you are welcome to observe the class!
Q: How do the belt ranks work?
A: For kids between 4 – 15 years old the belt rank goes: White, Grey/White, Grey, Grey/Black, Yellow/White, Yellow, Yellow/Black, Orange/White, Orange, Orange/Black, Green/White, Green, Green/Black. For anyone over 16 years old the ranks are White, Blue, Purple, Brown, and Black. Kids are not allowed to be given a blue belt until they turn 16 years old.
Q: When will I be promoted to the next belt?
A: No one likes this answer…but it depends. Everyone starts and progresses at a different pace so it’s hard to say definitively when you will get promoted. To put things into perspective, it usually takes 10-12 years for an adult to earn their black belt. Jiu Jitsu is different from any other martial art in that we do not simply hand out belts every 3 months. It can take you anywhere from 9 months to 2 years to get to the next belt. What we can tell you is that people who spend more time on the mats progress faster, and people who compete in tournaments improve even faster.
Q: Do you have promotion/belt fees?
A: Yes for kids it is $50 and for adults it is $80, regardless of the belt rank you are being promoted to.