A few years ago, MMA was really popular. This was great, because it meant that our gym was really busy with people who had seen MMA on the TV, and seen that Jiu Jitsu was a part of it. Actually,we used to use MMA as a gateway drug for Jiu Jitsu training. We'd capture them with the allure of cage fighting, and lead them to the shining path of Grappling!

But, in case you hadn't guessed this yet, there was a downside. MMA culture is not Jiu Jitsu culture. For a lot of the people coming in the door, the sport they were watching on TV was what they wanted- thrash talk, deliberate disrespect, all that stuff. When we introduced them to more martial arts related stuff, they would do it, they'd just do it with a shrug, or only do it while you were watching.

Small things like wearing flip flops to the toilet instead of being in your bare feet. That sounds so obvious, but that was a constant battle. They were the sort of people who would just leave their sweaty gear around after training and expect others to step around it. I can't explain why that was a thing. Why would the rules not work on them in the same way they worked on Jiu Jitsu guys? It got in on the culture, and before long, there was a sort of "whatever" attitude on some sections of the mat.

This manifested itself in other ways- people openly talking during coaching, people showing up late, people disrespecting other people, or acting superior if they were doing well. We had never had this before, and I didn't like it.

So we went about getting rid of it deliberately. We adopted a simple phrase-

No A*seholes!

Not being an A*sehole comes naturally to most people. Just being sound. Being decent to other. Polite. Inclusive. Hard working. Disciplined. It's the norm, you'd think. Right? Well, you're wrong. Here's my experience.

Take 99 people. In that 99 there are 33 of the above. Decent, hard working, Sound. And there are 33 A*seholes. I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you, but there are. 33 people who want to do the least possible, want to do what they want, and hate the rules imposed on them, even when they make sense.

And in the group of 99, the Sound and the A*seholes compete for the hearts and minds of the Middle 33. Those people just don't think much either way, and will go with the prevailing wind. It's not that they're gullable or soft, they're just there to get on with things and don't pay much attention to the culture. They're like the swing voters.

So it follows that if your A*seholes run the culture in your 99, then there are 66 potential A*seholes! That's a lot!

I got thinking, "Do I really want to be in a constant battle between Aseholes and Sound people? Why not just get rid of all the A*seholes?" So I did. I either told them to leave, or I made it so that they had to change to stay. I have to emphasise here that we didn't have 33 of them. Less than that. But you get my point.

So now we deliberately set the norms. You don't have to be an amazing athete, or be fit, or strong. You just need to be Sound. polite, willing to work hard(ish), willing to learn, and generally decent. The rest takes care of itself once that's in place. That makes Kyuzo a good place to train.

Now don't get me wrong, it also helps a LOT that we don't train MMA here anymore! That sport attracts more A*seholes per capita than a lot of others!

Anyway, I am looking forward tonight to putting our new beginners through their first session in Jiu Jitsu. My favourite class to teach is a first class!

See you on the mat,

Barry