How to Be an Okay Training Partner Look, you can’t do Jiu-Jitsu alone. Sure, there are solo drills—shrimping up and down your living room, shadow grappling in front of your confused dog—but at the end of the day, you need training partners. The people who make or break your rolling experience. The ones who help you level up, or, at the very least, don’t make you regret stepping onto the mats. There are three types of training partners: The ones who know less than you. (Great for ego boosts, terrible for your actual improvement.) The ones on your level. (Your measuring stick, your battlefield rival, your ride-or-die.) The ones who could fold you up like a cheap beach chair. (Humbling, necessary, and occasionally soul-crushing.) You need all three. But what makes an okay training partner? The Vibe Check It’s simple—if you don’t mind being around them, they’re okay. If they give you that weird, stomach-tightening "something’s off" feeling, they’re not okay. We all have that one guy in the gym who sets off internal alarms. Maybe it’s his questionable hygiene, maybe it’s the way he cranks submissions like he’s trying to snap a wishbone, or maybe it’s just his vibe. Either way, trust the gut. It knows. How to Be Okay (or at Least Not Suck) 1. Pick Your Training Days & Actually Show Up Life’s busy. Kids, work, existential dread—you’ve got things going on. But if you want to get better, you have to put in mat time. Be realistic. Pick days that don’t wreck the rest of your life and stick to them. 2. Be (Mostly) On Time If you’re not five minutes early, you’re already late. Time is sacred, and nobody wants to wait around because you were too busy doom-scrolling in the parking lot. Get there, say hi, change, maybe hit the bathroom. And yeah, flush. 3. Don’t Be Gross Jiu-Jitsu is close contact. That means showering, brushing your teeth, and not showing up smelling like a locker room soaked in regret. Wear clean gear. Chew some gum. And for the love of all things holy, don’t marinate in last night’s dinner. 4. Cut Your Damn Nails Long, dagger-like fingernails? A no-go. Those stylishly creepy Mandarin-style claws? Also a no-go. Your teammates signed up for Jiu-Jitsu, not an impromptu acupuncture session. Trim those talons. 5. Try (But Not Too Hard) Jiu-Jitsu is not a weightlifting competition. If you’re muscling through everything, you’re either (A) missing the point or (B) one bad movement away from wrecking your training partner’s joints—and possibly your own. Relax. Flow. Breathe. But just an okay deep breath. No need to hyperventilate. Final Thoughts Being an okay training partner isn’t rocket science—it’s just common sense. Show up, don’t stink, don’t be late, don’t rip people’s limbs off like a rabid honey badger, and most of all, don’t be the guy people secretly hope skips class. Now go train. And be okay.
