Mat Rules

What it is

Mat rules are the habits that keep everyone training next week: a clean gi and short nails, shoes off before you step on the mat and shoes on when you leave it, tap early and release at once, no slamming or cranking, no grabbing fingers, and looking after the people you roll with. Most are common sense; the rest you learn in the first week.

Where it shows up

• Before class: clean gi or no-gi kit, short nails, no jewellery, no shoes on the mat and no bare feet in the toilet or anywhere off the mat.
• During a roll: tap early, let go at once, no slams, no cranks, no fingers, and protect your partner's body as if it were your own.
• When two pairs collide: the pair that was there first has right of way. When in doubt, stop.
• When someone is hurt: everyone near them stops. An injured person is never rolled over.

Key details

• Tap means stop for both people. Nobody restarts until both are ready.
• Do not coach your partner in the middle of a roll. Roll, then talk.
• The coach runs the room. Follow the calls to start, stop and reset, not your own plan.
• Illness, an open cut or a skin infection such as ringworm means stay off the mat until it is sorted.
• Ask before you roll with someone, and say thank you after.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: slamming your way out of a triangle or an armbar. It is illegal, it injures the person, and it gets you thrown out of most gyms.
• Mistake: grabbing fingers to break a grip. Fingers break; hold the wrist or the whole hand instead.
• Mistake: finishing a move after your partner taps or when another pair rolls into you. That is how necks and knees get hurt.
• Mistake: long nails or an unwashed gi. Scratches and skin infections spread through the whole room.