You have signed up. In a few days you will be standing barefoot in a room full of people who can do things you cannot. Every one of them once stood exactly where you are standing. Here is what nobody says out loud.
- Clean gi, short nails, shower. Every time.
- Tap early. Tapping is not losing.
- Sick, or a rash on your skin? Stay home. That is respect, not weakness.
1. Hygiene is plain good manners
You are about to spend an hour pressed up against other people. Clean gi every session, a shower first if you came straight from work, nails cut (fingers and toes), and rings and earrings off. Train three times a week and a second gi quickly pays for itself.
2. Tap early, tap often
Tapping is not losing. It is the mechanism that lets you train again on Wednesday. Tap to anything, from anyone, at any time — and you owe nobody an explanation afterwards. Two taps on your partner or on the mat will do. If your arms are trapped, say "tap" out loud.
The other half of the rule: let go the instant your partner taps. Not one second longer.
3. Shoes on off the mat, shoes off on the mat
Always. Going to the toilet? Put the sandals on. This is not about tradition, it is about what otherwise ends up on your face next session.
4. How to ask for a roll
"Want to roll?" That is the whole sentence. And it is completely fine to say no thanks — people are protecting an injury, are tired, or already promised the round to someone else. Nobody takes it personally.
5. Mention injuries before, not after
Bad shoulder, dodgy knee, fresh tattoo? Say it before you start. Your partner wants to know, and it takes two seconds.
6. Do not coach unless you are asked
Even if you watched a video about this exact position yesterday. The coach coaches. You train.
7. The important one: come back
You are going to be held down by people smaller than you, and you are going to tap a lot in the first few months. That is not a sign you do not belong — it is the syllabus. The club is measuring one thing: that you came back on Thursday.
Rios was started for one reason: to give something back to local athletes. A good share of the profit has gone exactly there — to the people training and competing here at home. Designed in Norway, run out of Bergen by people who are on the mats themselves. And if you need to swap a size there's no customs, no three-week wait, and you can write to us in English or Norwegian.
What you need for your first classFind your first gi
Questions about gear, sizing or anything else? Send us a message — there are real people here, and we answer in English.