A respected coral belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is challenging conventional wisdom about how practitioners should conduct themselves when visiting unfamiliar training facilities, and his perspective is raising eyebrows across the martial arts community.
Pedro Sauer recently shared his philosophy on gym etiquette that runs counter to what many competitive grapplers might expect. Rather than advocating for visitors to demonstrate their skills immediately, Sauer suggests an approach centered on humility and restraint.
“If you visit other people’s school, you walk there humble.”
Sauer explained in his guidance to practitioners. His recommendation? Spend the majority of your initial visit allowing training partners to succeed against you.
The specific timeline he proposes is surprisingly precise.
“If you’re going to spend a week there, you spend four days tapping. You tap to everybody.”
Only after establishing relationships and demonstrating respect does Sauer suggest changing gears.
“On the fifth day that everybody’s off-body, you tap them.”
he said, describing the moment when a visitor might finally showcase their full technical abilities.
Sauer contrasts this measured approach with what he sees as the problematic alternative. He describes a scenario where someone enters a new academy with an aggressive mindset, dominating training partners from day one.
“Now you go there the first day. Jiu-Jitsu, Pedro Sauer Jiu-Jitsu, bang, bang, bang. You kill the guy there.”
The consequences of this aggressive approach, according to Sauer, extend beyond the first training session.
“Now you come back the next day. Let me see how it goes the next day. Now you come back the next day again. People’s going to push you off.”
he warned, suggesting that hostility breeds hostility on the mats.
Instead, he champions a gentler method that prioritizes connection over competition. When practitioners adopt this mindset, the reception changes dramatically.
“Now if you’re friendly, technical. Man, I love this guy. He came here, man. He’s so smooth, man. I caught him like this. I caught him like that. He looked at me and he asked me questions. He told me, he congratulated my moves. He told me I was doing great.”
Sauer concluded his guidance with a simple declaration about proper conduct.
“That’s how Jiu-Jitsu should be done, guys.”
