I get this question quite a bit! There are a few things to consider that you may not have thought of. I have been the hosting coach as well as the drop in athlete many times. Here is what I have learned.
Pick the Right Gym
What type of training experience are you looking for? Do you want a casual training, or are you hoping to get competition practice? It is usually easy to tell what type of environment you are getting into by social media these days. Larger family gyms include women’s classes, children’s classes, beginner classes, and competition team practices. The photos of people at their academy will represent a cross section of the local community. It is possible to get a variety of training paces at these schools. Just be sure that you are showing up to the right class. No one is interested in you coming to their academy to win open mat.
If the social media photos are all large twenty-something year old men, it is going to be a tough room. In my experience as a visitor, the locals will roll much harder with men. They are trying to protect themselves but also want to measure their own Jiu Jitsu. I don’t recommend dropping into a school like this as a white belt. It is important to be able to protect yourself. I have had some awesome matches and met great people at these smaller more “garage” style gyms. It is just important to realize what you are getting into.
Come Correct
Call or message the gym ahead. Ask if they take drop ins, not all gyms do. You will need to find out what the mat fees are. Larger gyms are subject to a parade of drop ins. You must realize that as a drop in you are often taking more than you are giving. You don’t pay dues or coach there. Hence, some mat fees are as high as sixty to eighty dollars. Some schools will let a black belt drop in for free, I never assume this.
Ask about the uniform requirements. The academy may require that you rent one of their uniforms or wear a certain color gi that has no patches. I will typically wear a blank uniform when travelling. It is also important to bring indoor flip flops to move around the facility. Walking barefoot from the bathroom right back onto the mat is a demonstration of poor etiquette, it is also unsanitary.
Be sure to show up on time. I would suggest at least a half hour early. You will have to sign a waiver and figure out where everything is located. Being late to practice as a newcomer to the school is disruptive to the class.
Respect gets Respect
Be sure that you are observing the general rules of mat etiquette. In general, higher ranked pairs have the right of way. Not all schools allow you to ask a black belt to roll. When in doubt, you can always ask if it is all right. I wrote a more in-depth description of those rules here:
I would suggest that if you are a coach yourself, refrain from coaching the students at another school. It can be hard for some people to turn it off. It is not your place to coach at another academy. It interrupts the roll and may not be welcome. I will help if asked. Otherwise, I enjoy the rare feeling of just being able to relax and be a student.
Consider your rolling pace carefully. It is important to protect yourself. I don’t recommend giving up positions or submissions to unknown partners regardless of what you are working on. Get a feel for them in the roll. You will definitely train with people who will use you as a measuring stick. They may not compete as a measure or may feel like their instructor is watching to see how they do. They will come at you harder than you expect. Roll conservatively and control your position. Protect yourself. This is truer when men drop in. I find as a female people tend to be a bit more careful when they roll with me as a visitor.
However, as I am also a black belt, there will always be a percentage of people that feel like if they submit a black belt they will also get their black belt that day. When one of those people sinks in a submission, I am more likely to tap than I would be at my own gym. I’m not interested in getting hurt if I’m very late defending something. My own training partners might take a bit more care in applying something slowly. I can’t expect that same courtesy somewhere else. I’ll tap and then if they want to blog about it, post on Reddit, or write it in their Jiu Jitsu diary that night, I’ll be okay. I have been submitted plenty of times.
I have only had great experiences while traveling and training. I have had some truly epic matches with tough ladies that I may never have encountered otherwise. I always come back having learned a few things in terms of technique or coaching. I would recommend it if you can sneak in some training around a vacation or work trip.
Next Blog I will “unpack” my typical packing list if I know that I am going to train while traveling. There are a few items that really make things smoother. Here is the list below!
Rolling Under The Big Sky 