Your First Class at Lineage BJJ

 

We’re so glad you’re planning your first class at Lineage BJJ!

First things first: you might be experiencing some level of anxiety or trepidation, especially if you’ve never practiced BJJ before. Most beginning practitioners experience this; it’s temporary.

Once you’ve mentally committed to dropping by, there are a few things you can do to make your first experience on the mats the best it can be.

For everyone:

1. Please get in touch and let us know you’re coming. We’re currently taking extra precautions and capping classes to ensure we comply with county and state guidelines and can maintain the cleanest martial arts facility in the area.
2. Expect a few extra safety measures. For example, we’ll ask you to sanitize your hands before class and allow us to screen your temperature. Once you let us know when you’d like to start, we’ll send you an email with additional safety information.
3. Please come to class clean. Contact sports depend on good personal hygiene. Clean clothing, bodies, and hair are required. You can read our full list of rules and etiquette regarding illness, injury, bloodborne pathogens, skin infections, and rashes here.
4. You do not need to wear a gi during your trial, but you’ll be most comfortable in athletic wear. Please avoid extra pockets, belt loops, or anything too baggy, as you’ll run the risk of catching fingers and toes. Also, we do not allow shoes on the mat. Tie back your long hair, bring a water bottle, and let us know about any injuries before we get started.
5. Let the coaches coach. If you leave your ego at the door and show up with an open attitude, you’ll be 90 percent ready to soak in the best martial arts experience in Southern Maryland. We offer a 2-week trial, which is a great way to decide if BJJ will be a good fit for you or your family.

For Kids: Kids’ classes are divided into two age groups. Little Sharks is for ages 4-6 and Junior Grapplers is for ages 7-12.

 

In both classes, we talk a lot about self-defense, real-world scenarios, and place a heavy focus on safety. Your kids will primarily learn leverage-based control holds to neutralize threats without violence.

Little sharks is hands-on, educational, and immediately relevant to real-life self-defense. More importantly, it’s really fun. Through years of teaching children, our coaches figured out the best ways to seamlessly blend technique with games and fun. Your Little Shark will warm-up through play, and then we rotate between 10-15 minute sessions of technique and our favorite games. Our students learn fast, don’t get bored, and they’ll beg to come back.

 

Junior Grapplers caters to the diverse needs of our big kids. Children of all personalities and athletic ability have something to gain from this class. Like our Little Sharks, we blend fun with technique, but older kids’ instruction includes more detail and opportunities. Five to ten minutes of warm-up time is followed by technique and teaching. Then, we pair students up by size and encourage them to (safely) practice on one another. We love to end class with a game of dodge ball!

For Adult Beginners:

Check-in with the front desk to be sure we have you checked in and ready to go. Most of our students take the first ten minutes of class to warm up, drill, or lightly roll with one another. You can feel free to grab some mat space and stretch until we start instruction.

Our 6:30-7:30 evening classes and 11-12:30 daytime classes are a great place to learn BJJ fundamentals. In these classes, you’ll find people of all experience levels. It’s appropriate for our more experienced students who want to brush up on their fundamental skills and our beginners will feel at home as well. Our instructors are professionals at catering to a diverse group of students.

After the instructor displays techniques, you’ll have an opportunity to practice with a partner. Feel free to grab another student, or ask the instructor to pair you with someone with more experience.

You’ll learn most efficiently if you go slow and do your best to replicate the demonstration. Do not attempt to counter your partner’s move; this helps to keep you safe and helps your partner learn. Countering is best saved for designated rolling time at the end of our evening classes.

Drill the move as it was shown, and if you have questions, please ask.

For experienced BJJ athletes

Please give us a call and tell us about yourself. We’re also happy to answer questions about our lineage, techniques, facility, and more. Our daytime and evening classes always end with open mat time, and we’ll look forward to meeting you.

You’re about to take your first step towards a lifetime of self-defense training, friendship, and fitness at the best martial arts gym in Southern Maryland. We can’t wait to meet you. Get in touch today.

©Lineage BJJ, LLC & Kristin Beauchamp – 2020, all rights reserved.