WELCOME TO VIRTUE BJJ, Southport

Everyone is very welcoming and willing to help beginners. Even if you have previous martial arts experience, please treat this as a humble new venture.

Just come with an open mind and be willing to learn and remember that getting started will feel difficult but hugely rewarding once you commit and embrace the BJJ lifestyle, not only form a practical self-defence perspective but also for your physical and mental health.

These benefits come with added  benefit of joining a great community of people striving to be 1% better everyday.

First check the timetable to see if the class that you are coming to is Gi or No-Gi. 

For Gi class you can borrow a Gi for your 2x free lessons to try things out. 

If No-Gi wear board-shorts and a rash vest but make sure your shorts do not have zips as this can damage the mats.

Besides the clothing, you will need a big bottle of water, thongs/sandals and optionally a sweat towel and mouth-guard.

Here is some important etiquette to abide by when joining a class, and also some tips to help your BJJ journey:

1. Never wear your shoes or thongs/sandals on the mat. Always take these off before stepping on the mat.
2. Always bow your head when entering or exiting the mat to show respect.
3. Address the person leading your class as “Professor” if they are a black belt and “Coach” if they are any other belt.
4. At the start and end of class line up on the edge of the mat in the order or your belt. So getting started as a white belt you will be at the end of the line at the far left facing the mat.
5. Go for a drink break when the coach/professor announces a drink break.
6. No profanity on the mat.
7. When getting started, do not use all your strength without any technique, try to go lighter and learn from your more experienced partner. This advances your BJJ faster and prevents injury for yourself and your training partner. 
8. If you are rolling and get in the way of a higher belt rolling, stop fighting and get up and out of the way.
9. Always respect the tap. If you hold a submission and your partner taps physically with their hand, foot or verbally, then let go of the submission immediately.
10. Breathe. Try to breathe through your nose and control your heartbeat and stay calm. This will let you think about your movements and stop you from gassing out too quickly.

Training BJJ is intense and it will make you fitter and stronger. If you are not already active when starting BJJ, we recommend also doing other types of training to enhance your strength and cardio fitness for BJJ. Many of our coaches are also personal trainers, and they can help you with parallel training for BJJ.

Yes! We have 12 parking spots available but these often fill up quickly before class. There is plenty of metered parking available on the street, which becomes free after 5pm.