Jiu-Jitsu is an exciting and unique sport in many different ways. The action, technique, and self-discipline Jiu-Jitsu requires is what gravitates us to come back as much as we can. You constantly hear mat time is the only way you get better faster, so we try to train every day. Some of us two or three times a day. Through this rigorous training, we have to practice another discipline that can sneak under our very own noses… hygiene.
As exciting and unique as this sport can be, we as a community have to recognize the importance of good hygiene in the grappling world. With the many different sweaty training partners we come across bacteria can be easily spread throughout the gym. The harmful bacteria found can lead to many different skin infections that will require time off from the mat either for you or your training partners. This is why good hygiene habits should be practiced and ingrained into us as grapplers or parents of grapplers.
Through this blog, you will be given FIVE tips that will help you cover some of the basics of good Jiu-Jitsu hygiene. Although some are obvious, it is still important to go over every single one of the key factors to good Jiu-Jitsu hygiene for you and your gym.
- Showering
Well duh. You are supposed to shower every day anyway… right? That is an easy one. However, showering is probably one of the most neglected parts of Jiu-Jitsu, especially for beginners. Some of us shower every morning and every night just like the rest of the world. Some of us just at night… no judgment. Either way, when you enter the hobby of grappling your showering habits have to change. Once in the morning and once at night will no longer cut it for the ringer worm that lies ahead.
If you had a hard sweaty day at work, shower before coming in. If you were rolling around in the dirt, shower before coming. If you were running outside barefoot, at the very least bathe your feet before coming in. Showering an hour before class is always best. We as a community just have to recognize that we might be bringing in harmful bacteria no matter how inconvenient it is. I also recognize the challenges of life, and we cannot always shower before class. Some of us get off of work or school right when our classes are starting, so this is not to say you cannot attend Jiu-Jitsu classes. Instead, bring some cleaning wipes. Your best effort to look out for yourself and also your training partners will go a long way.
Another aspect easily overlooked is the post-training shower. By no means should the post-training shower be put off to when it is most convenient. Whether it is running to the store, cooking, or doing homework. The post-training shower should take precedence. The longer you allow the bacteria to stay on your skin the more time you give it to fester into something you will have to deal with longer than a fifteen-minute shower.
Dial Gold Anti-Bacterial soap is often recommended by us, which would be the cheapest option when it comes to soaps to use for post Jiu-Jitsu training. Arm Bar soap, Defense soap, or Submission Soap by Gold BJJ are other great soaps to look into.
- Footwear in the Bathroom
Now we are not going to tell you what to do in your own home, however at any gym it is usually required to wear footwear in the bathroom. Even at tournaments, you could easily be disqualified if you are seen walking around on your bare feet especially if those bare feet make their way to the bathroom. For the same reason we went over washing your feet before class is the same reason we do not want those feet wandering into the public bathroom unprotected.
Everyone can agree public bathrooms are gross no matter how clean they are. Things get tracked in, targets are missed, and we have no idea who is bringing in what. So, it is a common courtesy to at the very least protect the feet that might be in somebody’s hands or face later on.
- Do Not Train While Sick
Maybe common sense to most, but definitely one of the most abused rules on the list. We understand you have been on a training streak. We understand you just started and you have become a human sponge for Jiu-Jitsu. We most certainly understand wanting to rank up to the next belt. Jiu-Jitsu will be there tomorrow or even next week. You do yourself and most importantly your training partners no favors coming in sick. For one, you will probably be a horrible training partner because you feel awful. Two, you are exposing everyone else to your sickness, causing many others to accept the same fate as you.
Just because you cannot come in to train does not mean you have to go without Jiu-Jitsu. YouTube, FloGrappling, BJJFanatics, and many other websites offer so much content you can study while recovering. Mat time is how you get better and unfortunately for the time being you have to miss that. Nevertheless, watching and learning from the best grapplers will never hurt your growth in this sport. Watching matches or technique breakdowns is just like studying anything else. It offers you a way to see different styles, to see different techniques, and brings in questions you can come to class with.
- Trimming Your Nails
We went over showering before class, but another self-care requirement is trimming your nails. Again, Jiu-Jitsu is very much a unique sport. In most sports, you could get away without trimming your nails or even letting them grow out a bit. In a grappling sport, however, you must watch your nail length. A lot of our grips are almost second nature. We just reach, grab, and pull without ever thinking. Especially in the beginning when it feels like we are trying to survive this suffocating wet blanket, we turn ourselves into cats. Our grips become sharp and we are just trying to latch on to what helps us survive.
Long nails can not only leave scratches but sometimes small gashes. Especially if our nails are dirty while long, we go back into the topic of harmful bacteria and infections. Another dangerous aspect of long nails is the potential to poke out some eyes. Repeating what I said before, beginners whether we like it or not can resemble a cat in water. Accidents are bound to happen in Jiu-Jitsu. We all know what we sign up for. It is still a combat sport. That being said, when your training partners go back to take a shower that night and they feel the burning sensation of your post wolverine claws do not be surprised if they look the other way when the coach says to find a partner.
- Clean Mats & Equipment
If at the end of every night, your mats are not being cleaned then RUN. Run to the nearest shower and never go back. Cleaning the mats is essential to prevent harmful bacteria from having a home at your gym. Your gym should take care of this for you; nevertheless, the brownie points you will earn by helping your coach or teammates clean the mats will go a long way.
Your training gear or equipment is up to you. Your Gi, your Gi belt, and your No-Gi gear should be cleaned after every training session. To neglect this is like neglecting your showers.
What I usually do after an exceptionally sweaty training session is air dry my gear while I shower then immediately throw the filth in the washer. Although there are specific detergents for grappling, in reality any detergent will work. I have never purchased a grappling or sport-specific detergent unless I am trying to get rid of “the funk.” “The Funk” is very much how it sounds. Just smelly gym clothes that never seem to stop smelling. This comes from piling your dirty equipment on top of each other allowing each individual piece of gear to fester into “the funk.” This is exactly why I air my gear out and then immediately wash it. Lucky for you I have not always been this way and I too have conjured “the funk.” What worked best for me to exercise this unworldly smell was to soak my clothes in OxiClean powder for about 6 hours. In those six hours, your funk will be expelled and your training partners will thank you for it.
Jiu-Jitsu is a fantastic sport and community to be a part of. It is up to us individually to help keep the sport, our teammates, and ourselves healthy. Getting on the mat each time is a priviledge and rolling with other people is a responsibility. Make sure you follow these tips and any other rules your gym follows. For, these tip and rules are to insure everybody stays safe. They make sure everyone stays healthy and that is the biggest thing when it comes to helping your gym thrive.
