BJJ is a contact sport! You are in close proximity to the people you train with, so being clean is supremely important. Dirty gis and dirtier people spread bacteria and other nasty infections, so it really is a health issue. We don’t really have this problem at Crossroads bjj but it’s still important to go over some of the pitfalls of being gross.
First of all, make sure you don’t stink! I personally take a shower before and after class, because I sweat throughout the day and I don’t want to make my partners smell my armpits. If you have stinky body odor, don’t get to class unless you can clean yourself first. Nobody will roll with you if you smell like a dumpster on a hot July day. IF it happens once, people might cut you some slack but do it enough times and people will label you as the stinky dude. If you get the stinky dude label nobody is gonna want to roll with you and your training will suffer.
To go along with being clean, you should also make sure to trim your finger and toe nails. If you have the talons of a bald eagle or the claws of a wolverine, your gonna scratch and cut your partner. Do that enough times, and you’ll probably have to roll with captain smelly from the previous paragraph because nobody else is gonna wanna roll with you. Keep your nails trim!
Now that we’ve got our bodies ready to train, let’s look at what we are wearing. A good rule of thumb is that a gi is a one-time use item. You wash it immediately after class and never bring a dirty gi to class. There’s two reasons for this: 1) dirty gis might not smell when they are dry, but once they get a little sweat in them they become disgusting. Its like setting off a dirty bomb in the middle of the mats and 2) dirty gis store bacteria and other mat cooties. Nothing spreads ringworm faster than a stanky gi. Don’t be the guy that made a bunch of dudes have to miss classes while they healed up because you couldn’t be bothered to wash your gi after class. Also, never reuse a rashguard for the same reason. And if you’re the type of human filth that would wear sweaty underwear again without washing them then you should probably be exiled to live in the wilderness instead of going to jiu jitsu classes.
Finally, lets talk about the belt. A common superstition is that if you wash your belt then you’ll lose your knowledge. Something like that. It’s absurd. If it was true, how would people get good at nogi? The truth is people might tap to you more easily if you don’t wash your belt but it’s only because your belt is practically radioactive. Wash your belt so you don’t spread germs!
Ok lets sum it up! Don’t be gross! Come to class with a clean body and clean gear, and you show everyone at the school the same amount of respect you’d want for yourself. Remember to come train at Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Waterford CT. We all smell good and we offer the best training around!