Frequently Asked Questions

Wear clothes that are easy to move around in, such as boardshorts and a t-shirt. For hygeine reasons, we want to minimize the amount of skin exposed to the mats and training partners, so avoid wearing singlets and crop tops. Along the same lines, it's good practice to wear compression tights underneath your shorts, especially if you wear rugby shorts or similar shorts that are cut above the mid thigh.

Light footwear such as jandals or crocs are ideal, as they're easy to put on and take off when walking on and off the mats. Again, for hygeine reasons we require everyone to come to class in footwear as you will need to be wearing them to enter the bathrooms or when walking around off the mats. Just think about it, would you want your face on the mat after someone had just walked into the bathroom or outside on the street barefoot and then walked all over where your face was about to go?

Yes. Remove all jewellery before training to protect yourself and your training partners. This includes rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, watches and face piercings. Not only can you break these things during training, but you can also injure yourself or your training partners, so just take them off and put them back on after class.

You can get them from any martial arts store. A good one is Zenjo which is based in Auckland so the prices are in NZD and they ship fast.

After every training session, no exceptions. Wash your training gear with detergent after every training to keep it smelling clean. BJJ is a close contact martial art, so do your training partners a favour and smell and be clean. Also, make sure to wash your gis on cold and hang-dry to prevent shrinkage. When hang-drying, try to do it away from where you cook food too as you don't want to smell like last nights dinner at training.

You can wash your belt too, you won't lose any skill or knowledge by keeping it clean. If your stripes fall off during the wash, just replace them yourself, you don't need to get permission from the coaches to put the stripes back on your belt if they fall off.

Nope, any colour is perfectly fine. Just make sure it's a BJJ or Judo gi and you're good to go.

Kids membership (training in the kids classes): $23 per week. Adults membership: $40.25 per week. Women's class membership (training only in the women's class and attending open mats): $23 per week.

Payments are processed through BJJLink which uses Stripe. When you sign up an automatic payment is setup through Stripe which will charge your card every week on the day you signed up e.g. you signed up on Wednesday, so the following week you'll be charged on Wednesday. This works just like a Spotify or Netflix subscription which charges your card on a regular schedule so you don't have to worry about remembering to do it every week.

Just let us know by email or a message on social media and we'll sort it right away. There is no notice period required for stopping payments.

Yes. Again, just let us know by email or a message on social media and we'll sort it right away. You must provide us with a date you'd like this to be unpaused and remember that date. Once the date arrives your payments will resume. You can contact us again closer to that date if you need to pause it for longer, or stop it all together.

Look after your training partners and try not to hurt them and they will do the same for you in return. Make sure to tap early and tap often. When applying submissions do it slow and controlled rather than cranking it on fast. Give your partner plenty of time to tap and when they do, let go immediately.

Yes, you're welcome to start from the feet and take your partner down during rolling. Be mindful of the space though, if it's a packed training session avoid spilling your wrestle over the whole mat and avoid trampling people. If you start from standing on a packed mat, it's your responsibillity as the standing grappler to watch where you step/throw/land. Also when taking your partner down, be mindful of how you do it. Don't recklessly slam your partner on their head/neck or back, if you lift them up, make sure you place them to the mat with control.
No jumping guard for white belts. No scissor takedowns/Kani Basami, ever.

Yes, please make sure to shower before and after every class. This is important as your training partners don't want to smell you after a hard day at work and we want to keep the mat space clean.

Stop training and let the coach know. Depending on the scale of the injury, you may just need to sit out the rest of the class or get medical attention. Either way, just let the coach know what has happned and they'll work with you on what to do next.

Depending on the stage of recovery that you're in with the injury, you may be able to train. It is important to have discussed this with a health care professional/physio first though. Your physio or whoever you're seeing will have a better idea of what stage of recovery you're at than your BJJ coach. Once you've sorted that out and you're training, feel free to modify any movements we're doing to better suit your recovery. You're also welcome to just sit out anything that aggravates/doesn't feel right with the injury.

Absolutely not. Nobody is allowed to train if you have a skin infection that could spread to others. This includes staph, ringworm, impetigo or any other contagious skin infection. Be proactive in preventing these by showering before and after every single class and washing your training gear after every single class. We are also proactive in preventing skin infections by sweeping, vaccuming and disinfecting the mats after every training session.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling-based martial art that focuses on ground fighting and submissions. It emphasizes technique, leverage, and strategy over brute strength, making it effective for people of all sizes. The goal is to control an opponent, gain dominant positions, and apply joint locks or chokes to force a submission.

100%. The Monday and Thursday classes at 6:30pm are tailored to absolute beginners and will be focused on learning and drilling the fundamental movements of Jiu Jitsu at a beginner friendly pace. There is no experience needed to jump into these classes.

Yes, when practiced with control and respect for training partners, BJJ is a safe martial art. While bumps and bruises can happen and will happen, serious injuries are rare. We emphasize proper technique, tapping early, and avoiding reckless movements to minimize the risks.

Not at all! BJJ is for everyone, regardless of fitness level. Training consistently will naturally improve your endurance, strength, and flexibility over time.

Absolutely! BJJ is a lifelong martial art, and many people start training in their 30s, 40s, 50s, or even later. The coaches can help tailor your training to your age and fitness level.

Your first class will typically include: A warm-up of light stretching and basic movements, basic technical drilling of moves demonstrated by the coach, and light positional sparring. Through your first class the coaches and others on the mat will make you feel welcome and help you out instead of just leave you off to the side to figure it out on your own, so don't worry.

Unlike some martial arts, BJJ has a rigorous belt system that typically takes years to progress through. On average, it takes 8–12 years to earn a black belt, depending on dedication, consistency, and competition experience. However, the focus should be on learning and improving rather than just chasing belts.