Questions from new students

The adult classes are for ages 16 and up, and the Saturday class is for ages 7 to 12. If your teenager is between those, ask us which class fits.

Yes. Come to the front desk and we will find you a spot on the bench by the mat. For the kids' class, parents are welcome to stay for the whole hour.

A plain t-shirt and shorts or leggings with no zippers. Shoes come off at the edge of the mat, hair is tied back and nails are short. If you don't own a gi yet, ask at the desk and we will find you one to borrow.

A bow in, a warm-up, one technique shown slowly and drilled with a partner. Most classes end with a few short rounds of live practice, which you can sit out, and a bow out.

No. Training builds both, and every drill can be done at half speed. Tell your coach about any sore spots before class, in person.

Women's fundamentals, women's all levels, women's No-Gi and the Saturday women's open mat. Everyone is welcome in the other classes, and you can mix both whenever you like.

Gi classes are in a jacket, trousers and belt, and you grip the cloth. No-Gi classes are in a fitted shirt and shorts. The positions are the same family, and the grips are different.

Tapping is how you tell a partner to stop: tap their body or the mat with your hand, or say "tap". They let go at once. Rolling is live practice, and in your first weeks it starts slowly with a partner your coach picks.

Your coach promotes you when they see the skills, at a promotion day. A belt is never attached to a date, and every student moves at their own pace.

What you pay depends on how often you train and who the membership is for, and we go through the current figures with you when you try a class. A membership runs for the term on your agreement and then month to month. You cancel in writing with 30 days' notice.