Manchester & Hebron, CT · Est. 1999

Academy Etiquette Handbook

The standards our instructors, employees, and students are held to — making Bushido BJJ a safe, welcoming, clean, and professional home for everyone who walks through our doors.

Our Academy has been a place where people from all different walks of life can come together with a common goal in mind, and achieve that goal as a TEAM. — Rob Magao, Founder

Welcome to Bushido BJJ

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34+ Years Training
1999 Est.
2 CT Locations

Hello, and thank you for choosing Bushido BJJ!

My Name is Rob Magao. I am the founder, owner, and head instructor of Bushido BJJ. I have been training in the martial arts for over 34 years and I began Bushido BJJ in 1999 as a club for fellow police officers to learn martial arts. Through the early 2000's the club continued to grow and began allowing the public to attend. By 2008 it had evolved into a full service martial arts academy.

Presently, we have two locations (Manchester and Hebron BJJ) and we run one of the most comprehensive police use of force/defensive tactics programs in existence — "The Officer Survival Series".

Between both BJJ academies and the OSS Program we teach thousands of students per year. In order to keep everything organized we have some basic rules in place which are listed in this student handbook.

Our Academy has been a place where people from all different walks of life can come together with a common goal in mind, and achieve that goal as a TEAM. We place the utmost importance on our instructors, employees, students, and visitors carrying themselves with respect, dignity, humility, safety, cleanliness, and care for all of our members and our facility.

In this handbook, we will lay out the standards of which our instructors, employees, and students will be held to, in order to make Bushido BJJ a safe, welcoming, clean, and professional atmosphere for everyone who comes through our doors.

Your First Class

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What First Class / Trial Students Should Expect When They Arrive

Upon arriving at either our Manchester CT or Hebron CT location, first class students will be greeted by a Bushido BJJ employee. New students will be inputted into our system, with a profile picture, and signed waiver. Anyone under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian to sign the waiver on their behalf. This must be completed before attending class.

Upon getting inputted into the system, a Bushido BJJ employee will give a formal tour of our facility, and explain how the class will be run.

New Students will be introduced to their instructor for the night, and will get an overview of the rules that will be discussed in this handbook.

Once class starts, the instructors will line up in the front mat area, and students will line up facing the instructors. Students will line up according to rank, with the highest rank at the front of the line. The class will bow to the flags on the wall, and the instructors in order to signify the start of class. This process is meant to signify respect to our training partners before training commences, and also as homage to the creators of the art for passing down their knowledge throughout history.

The class will begin with a warm up period consisting of various drills intended to loosen ourselves up before training. Once the warm up has concluded, the class will split with beginner/white belt students joining their own instructor for fundamental basic Jiu-Jitsu class, and advanced/colored belt students joining their own instructor for advanced class. (Please note classes may not be split at the discretion of the instructor.) For the last thirty minutes of class, the two separate classes will join back together for live competitive training, or sparring.

First class students are not expected to spar their first night, but are highly encouraged to watch and ask any questions they may have. Should new students want to spar, they will be assigned a partner by the instructor.

Staying Connected

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Facebook Member Page

In order to keep members up to date with events and other things going on at the academy we have a Facebook Private Group for members. The Manchester/Hebron BJJ Members Page can be found at this link:

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/yVrYywsuLz3mEQny/

We will make academy announcements such as upcoming seminars, competitions, promotions, merchandise sales and cancellations etc. on this page. There is no advertising to the group or posting anything unrelated to the academy, anything political, crude or unnecessary posts or comments. We will immediately remove anyone that violates the standards of the page.

Be advised, when you go to join it will ask you membership questions. If you don't answer the questions you will not be allowed into the group. We also have to verify you are a member with us so make sure you leave your real name and the academy you train at or your child trains at so we know it is you — otherwise you will not be allowed in the group.

Website Student Page

The student page on our website is available at www.bushidobjj.com. You can access it by logging in under the "student" tab. The username is bushidostudent and the password is Bushido1999!

This page will have the current white to blue belt curriculum video playlist on a secure and unpublished YouTube link. These videos are not designed to replace class — they are in place to assist you in your journey from white to blue belt. The videos are great aides to learning but do not include all the detail you will get in class. The student page will also have the current schedule for each academy and the membership/cancellation policy.

Further FREE video content can be found on our YouTube Channel: YouTube Channel

📱 Bushido BJJ App Coming Soon! The app will feature professionally filmed video content including GI, NOGI, Solo and Partner Training Drills, Striking, MMA, Wrestling, Judo, Self-Defense, Combatives, Officer Survival Series, Physical Fitness, Basic Firearms and much more. Subscription based — members receive a special rate!

Academy Rules — 1 through 10

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The following standards apply to all instructors, employees, and students at Bushido BJJ.

1 Please do not wear shoes on the matted area.
2 Please no food or drinks (coffee, tea, juice, etc.) inside the training room. Water and other hydration drinks such as Gatorade are acceptable.
3 Sandals/slides should always be worn when exiting the mat area to use the bathroom, front desk, water jug, etc.Instructors or employees have the right to decline entry back onto the mat if walking barefoot off the mats.
4 During the winter/storm seasons, please leave outside footwear in the lobby and put flip flops or slides on before entering the training room to avoid transferring rocksalt, snow, debris, etc. into the training space.
5 BJJ is a close contact sport. Please keep personal hygiene upstanding, including fingernails/toenails trimmed, clothing, Gis and gear clean, etc.
6 Please have a proper academy Gi, with front and rear academy patches. Offensive patches, rash guards, and training attire are prohibited.
7 For safety, all jewelry should be removed before entering the matted area, including necklaces, chains, rings, earrings, etc.
8 The weight area at Manchester BJJ, and the weight room at Hebron BJJ are strictly for participating students with an active membership at either school. Parents who are watching their kids train, children, and anyone who is not an active student of our academies are not permitted in the weight area. The weight area in Manchester should only be utilized during open mat, and before or after class, not during.
9 Students must turn in their attendance card before the start of scheduled class.
10 Please keep membership status up-to-date with payment.

Academy Rules — 11 through 17

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11 Membership cancellations operate on a 30 day notice to cancel. An email must be sent to our academy email requesting a cancellation. Failure to do so will result in being charged the current month. This applies to month-to-month memberships, or to six month/one year memberships that have been fulfilled.
12 Please arrive to the scheduled class on time and ready to go when the instructor starts class.Instructors or employees have the right to decline participation if students are consistently late to class.
13 Please stay for the entire class until the final bow out. If a student has to leave early, they must notify an instructor and employee so they are aware of the class attendance, and ensure nobody was injured.
14 Intensity of sparring should always be monitored by both instructors, and active training partners. As an academy, we have a vast variety of age groups, genders, size, and rank, who all train for different reasons such as hobbyists, self defense practitioners, or high level competitors. When sparring, know who your training partner is and adjust your intensity/volume accordingly. Medals are not handed out during class.
15 New students, lower belts, and smaller opponents are not bodies to beat up — they are our training partners who are trying to get better just like everyone else.
16 Students at Bushido BJJ are encouraged and free to ask belts of higher rank to roll, without being punished or chastised. Please be respectful of this, and understand upper belts may allow you room to work during rolls. Do not abuse this.
17 You do not have to spar with everyone — instructors and students have the right to decline sparring with people they feel uncomfortable rolling with due to a lingering injury, upcoming competitions, etc.

Academy Rules — 18 through 22

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18 Music is played during training/rolling. The music is PG when kids are present. The music can contain adult language during adult classes, MMA camp, and adult Open Mat sessions. We do our best to keep it as clean as possible.
19 When competing in BJJ competitions students should represent our academy by having a school patch on the front and back of their gi, rash guard, or shorts. You should register under the school name "Bushido BJJ" unless it is an IBJJF competition which you will need prior approval by us and IBJJF to attend. MMA Competition is very different. If you wish to compete under our school name as an MMA fighter you must get approval from Rob Magao. We only allow students to fight MMA under our name when we are confident they have the tools to defend themselves in that type of competition. Safety is our primary concern and we want to be sure the student is ready and is entering a legitimate MMA organization and the promoter is treating you fairly. The MMA world can be a dark world. We know many of the promoters and can help you find a fight that is fair.
20 We encourage students to attend seminars, open mats, and visit other schools throughout your training but know where your home is. The majority of your training should be at your home base.
21 Do not ask for rank. Rank is awarded based on several factors to include: knowledge of curriculum, time in grade, attitude, consistent attendance, and actual skill during live training sessions and/or competitions. If you are a student with our academy and are working towards belt ranking with us you are not to accept rank from another school in BJJ. Rank should only come from one academy. If you would prefer to obtain rank somewhere else you should train at that school.
22 Please do not use the academy as a dating service. Members should be free to train without being approached by people for romantic involvement. This should occur outside our doors, not within.

Academy Rules — 23 through 25

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23 Legal/illegal drugs, alcohol, or tobacco products should never be used prior to class, or anywhere on academy premises. For safety reasons, Instructors and employees have the right to ask you to leave class if it is determined you are under the influence of any of these substances.
24 Pictures and videos of class are regularly posted on our social media accounts. This is listed in the liability waiver students sign. Students may see themselves in pictures or videos on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms.
25 Be a good person. Actively practice humility, accountability, control, discipline, respect, patience, and care for everyone. These attributes are a part of the martial arts and should always be of the utmost importance. If practiced correctly, this is not only a sport, but a lifestyle. The Bushido lifestyle.

Closing

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In closing, we thank you for choosing Bushido BJJ! Our school is not a gym — it is a place for higher learning. We are a Martial Arts Academy and we believe in living the lifestyle of a martial artist with discipline, respect, honor, integrity, duty/loyalty and compassion. We pride ourselves on combining the valued traditions and ethos of the martial arts with modern training and curriculum in all aspects of the arts to give each student the very best experience possible.

Thank you and see you on the mat!

Rob Magao
Founder & Head Instructor
Bushido Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Manchester & Hebron, CT

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Bushido BJJ — Academy Etiquette Handbook Manchester & Hebron, CT · Est. 1999
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