I hope not. I've witnessed an overall negative correlation between the amount a person talks about humility and the amount they display it. Probably because if you have to keep telling people how humble you are, it's because you ain't.

It depends on the gym. If you trained at places like Gracie Barra, Gracie Humaita, Valente Brothers etc, you might get that kind of traditional martial arts formality. In general, I don't think it is characteristic of most BJJ schools. I dislike formality, I'm also not a fan of instructors trying to be 'life coaches.' I do have a code of conduct at my gym, but it is stuff like 'maintain good personal hygiene,' 'don't train when you're ill,' ' no sexist/racist/homophobic/transphobic etc language,' that kind of thing. http://ArtemisBJJ.com/Code

I am from Gracie Humaita Team and we don't do any of this stuff at our academy. Seems cultish in my opinion. We are not guru's. Also I'm not there as a psychologist, counselor, fitness coach or dietician either. Need any of those, go and seek it out. Go to the gym to workout and come to class ready to train jiu jitsu.

Hello, since my beginnings in BJJ, my teachers have always referred to Bushido as a moral and ethical code even though it is for Japanese martial arts. The latter emphasizes the values of honour, loyalty, sincerity and integrity. BJJ is a derivative of judo, which presupposes a continuity of this principle or is there a universal code of its own?

The 7-5-3 Code - BJJ Mat Rat

The 7-5-3 Code is a philosophy developed by the Valente Brothers in the tradition of providing warriors with values by which to live their lives. It is largely inspired by the samurai principles of Bushido, the code of moral principles observed by ancient Japanese warriors. Bushido (literally: “the way of the warrior”) was originated to  temper … Continue reading "The 7-5-3 Code"

Sometimes I feel like I am the only one that likes formality and ritual. I prefer to bow onto the mat, the picture of a arts founder, and to the professors. These things in my opinion help build cohesion for the group and promotes a focused mindset which is perfect for learning. If that also includes positive ethical reinforcement such as respect, hard work, and team work I am all for that as well. Is it necessary? No, but lets be honest there are many people in this world that could use it. Besides you do not teach a person how to shoot without also reminding them on the proper use of the weapon. (Or you shouldn't) I think the same applies to martial arts. My son trains with me and I want him to have it ingrained that while he knows how to choke a person to death that he should not do so. But to the topic of Bushido , the code and ideas were developed to control and focus the bloodthirsty warriors of their time. No one wanted hordes of Bow and Katana wielding maniacs roaming the countryside butchering anyone they wanted and then challenging the emperor. I dont know if that really applies too todays sport focused martial arts experience but as someone that lives in the countryside I appreciate the forethought.

Bushido: Way of Total Bullshit

(ノ｀m´)ノ ~┻━┻ Everything you've been told about bushido and samurai honor is a lie. Find out what 20th century writer created the bushido mythos and why.

I think the 'samurai code' is heavily romanticized these days, and isn't an accurate depiction of the code they actually lived by. That differed from clan to clan, generation to generation. There were samurai that killed for money, after all. You can teach ethical use of skills and avoidance of conflict where possible without having some specific, fancy code of ethics to memorize or ritual to recite, IMO. Incase you doubt this, here are some sources: https://www.tofugu.com/ja[...]n/bushido/ https://open.library.ubc.[...]/1.0071589

Thank you. As someone who has lived in Japan for the last 2 years, westerners ridiculously romanticize Japanese culture and history. Don’t get me wrong, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE living in Japan, but for NONE of the made up romanticized reasons westerners think of. Too many people in western culture project their perceived fantasy values into Japanese culture

I feel like I am the only one that likes formality and ritual

Sometimes I feel like I am the only one that likes formality and ritual. I prefer to bow onto the mat, the picture of a arts founder, and to the professors. These things in my opinion help build cohesion for the group and promotes a focused mindset which is perfect for learning.

I think all that honesty, loyalty and respect stuff is silly especially for adults. What most people need is Peace and Calm. They then slowly develop more Patience and Confidence. This will by default also motivate people to be more Discipline and Decisive to better their lives in general. These are the traits that make jiu-jitsu great. Not some Karate sales pitch. Morale over Morals. You can try to teach children Morals. Most adults need Morale.

The problem is that the world is full of non adults no matter how old they are. An asshole that feels good about their self is just going to be a bigger asshole. Many will say that an asshole, by definition, doesn't feel good about themselves. It's more likely they've just never known any other way to behave and in modern culture there is no penalty for that.

I find that emphasising safety has the same net effect as preaching morality.

I think I have an obligation to give my students some guidance so that they will use their fighting skills only when it is morally and legally appropriate. The last thing I want to do is teach someone how to be a more effective criminal. I think this is particularly important for those of us who teach self-defense, since the legal consequences of using one's skills can be quite serious.

So the Penal Code in your country should serve as the BJJ Code in your Academy?

Wouldn't this hold true for any activity that could potentially cause harm or run afoul of the law and not just specific to martial arts (eg. archery, sword fighting, javelin throwing, shot putting, etc.)?