Gym rules

For your safety

Safety & Hygiene Rules

To help you stay healthy and make consistent progress we have a few rules in place to ensure the safety and hygiene of our members. Please read through these before taking part in any of our brazilian jiu-jitsu classes.

Be kind and respectful

Dojo code of conduct

We are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for everyone at Koba Jiujitsu. The following code of conduct applies to all students and instructors.

Treat everyone with respect and consideration at all times.
Bullying, teasing, unwanted physical contact, or disrespectful language will not be tolerated.
Train with control and awareness. Ensure the safety and comfort of your training partners.
If a partner asks you to stop, stop immediately.
If you experience or witness behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, speak to an instructor. You will be listened to and taken seriously.

Keep each other healthy

Personal hygiene

When practicing martial arts, or any other contact sports, good hygiene is essential to avoid the preventable spread of illness, infections and skin conditions.

Cut your finger and toe nails short.
Wear indoor footwear around the gym, especially when using the restrooms.
Your body & gear must be clean before training.
Remove all jewelry (or tape it) before training.
Clean & bandage any open wounds.

A safe training environment

Mat care

We keep the mats clean and hygienic for your safety, please help us to keep the mats clean.

Clean the mats with the leaf blower before each class
Mop the mats with disinfectant at the end of each class
If there is blood on the mats, stop, tell an instructor clean up before resuming training.
Dispose of any rubbish in the bins provided, don't leave it on the mats.
No food on the mats.
You must be bare foot on the mats, shoes are not allowed.

Practice safely

Sparring safety

Martial arts can be dangerous if not practiced with care and attention. To help keep you and your training partners safe, we have a few rules in place for sparring.

Be aware of your surroundings at all times.
Wear appropriate protective gear (gum shield, groin guard, etc.) when sparring.
If you get close to another pair, move to open space. First to notice moves.
If at any point you're unsure if it is safe, stop.
Respect every tap immediately.
If you pick someone up, put them down safely.

Avoid preventable injuries

Banned moves

The following moves are not allowed at Koba Jiujitsu. If you don't know what any of these moves are, ask an instructor and they will explain them to you.

Scissors takedown (Kani basami)
Tani Otoshi
Jumping closed guard
Trapped arm mat returns
Outside leg hook (Kosoto gake)
Jumping or flying submissions
Slamming, or spiking your opponent

In addition to this, if you are unsure if a move is safe or not, ask an instructor before trying it.

Keep that to yourself

Stay home if...

To help keep everyone healthy and training BJJ consistently, please stay home if:

You have or suspect a skin infection (ringworm, staph, etc.)
You are feeling unwell or have symptoms of illness (fever, cough, etc.)
You have an open wound that cannot be properly covered

If in doubt, get in touch before coming to class, we can help you decide if it's safe to train or not.

If you do get injured

First aid & emergencies

While we do our best to prevent injuries, accidents can still happen when training martial arts. If you do get injured, please follow these guidelines to ensure your safety and the safety of others:

Call 999 in an emergency. Our address is: Koba Jiujitsu dojo 26-28 Hampstead Road Dorking Surrey RH4 3AF UK.
The first-aid kit is located in the reception area, please ask an instructor if you need it.
Inform an instructor immediately if there's blood on the mats, stop training and clean it up before resuming.

Ask if your not sure

Make sure that you know the rules

You are expected to know and follow all of the above safety rules, if you are unsure about any of them, please ask an instructor before taking part in any training. We want you to have a safe and enjoyable training experience, and following these rules will help us to achieve that.

Get answers

Frequently asked questions

Here are some of the questions which we get asked most often about our safety rules, more FAQs can be found on other pages where they're most relevant.

Not seeing what you're looking for?

Get in touch

Some of these banned moves are allowed in competitions, so why dont you allow them?

Yes, depending on which martial arts competition you enter, some or all of these moves may be allowed. But you can’t practice them here.

These moves carry an unneeded risk of serious injury, and it is quite common for one or more of them to be banned when training BJJ.

Our banned moves list is about protecting everyone on the mats. Giving everyone the chance to train safely and consistently, not about what’s legal in a competition.
What constitutes a slam in BJJ?

In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a slam is when you forcefully drive or spike your opponent onto the mat from an elevated position, whether you lifted them or they elevated themselves, usually to escape a submission or guard position.

Although this is an effective way to make someone let go of you, it also carries a high risk of serious injury. Therefore, slamming is banned at almost all BJJ and grappling competitions.

A common misconception is that slamming just means throwing someone to the ground. This is not the case. Legal throws and wrestling takedowns are allowed, provided they are executed with control and do not involve driving an opponent into the mat in a dangerous manner.

Slams are permitted in mixed martial arts (MMA), where fighters such as Rampage Jackson have famously used them effectively in competition.
What is spiking in BJJ?