Before you train

The waiver

Everyone signs one before their first session — members, people training their free first week, and guests. Here is what is in it, so you can read it now rather than at the door.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a full-contact martial art. Two people grapple, and the risk of injury is real and cannot be designed out of it. The waiver is how we say that plainly, and how you tell us what we need to know to keep you safe.

You will be given the full agreement to read and sign when you register. Nothing below replaces it — this page is here so nothing in it is a surprise, and so you can take your time over it somewhere other than our doorway.

What the waiver covers

The risks you are accepting

Grappling, throws, takedowns, joint locks, chokes and ground fighting carry a risk of sprains, strains and tears; joint injuries; fractures and dislocations; neck and spinal injuries; head injuries and concussion; cuts, bruising and dental injury; and, in extreme cases, serious injury or death. Those risks exist even when a class is coached well and supervised properly. Training within our code of conduct and the safety culture we build around it is how we make them as small as they can honestly be made — not how we remove them.

Your medical declaration

You confirm that you are not aware of a condition, injury or disability that makes training unsafe for you, that no doctor has told you to avoid this kind of activity, and that you have told us about anything relevant. You agree to tell us if that changes. We act on what you tell us, so leaving something out works against you, not against us.

Emergency contact and consent

You give us a name and number to call, and you tell us about allergies or conditions an ambulance officer would need to know. If you are hurt and cannot speak for yourself, you authorise us to call 000, give first aid to the level our coaches are trained to, and pass that information to the paramedics. Ambulance and hospital costs are yours, which is why we recommend everyone carries personal accident and health cover.

Liability

You agree that BJJ is a dangerous recreational activity in the legal sense, and that the injuries listed above are obvious risks of it. On that basis you release the club, its directors and its coaches from claims arising out of your training, as far as the law allows.

The law does not allow all of it, and the agreement says so plainly. Nothing in it removes rights you hold under the Australian Consumer Law or the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002 (ACT) that cannot lawfully be excluded, and the release does not cover wilful misconduct or gross negligence on our part.

How you train

You agree to tap immediately when you want to concede, to look after your training partners, not to train under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to keep yourself and your gear clean, not to apply techniques beyond a partner's level without their agreement, and to follow the coaches on anything to do with safe training. The agreement also takes in our code of conduct by reference, so the two cannot drift apart.

Under 18s

A parent or guardian signs for anyone under 18, and in doing so consents to them training on these terms. Our Kids and Youth classes are built for that age group and coached accordingly.

Photography — not part of this

Signing the waiver gives us no permission to photograph or film you. The agreement says so in terms. Photography is a separate consent, kept separate on purpose, because a permission bundled into a form you sign in order to train is not a real choice.

Adults consent, or do not, on their own form, and can withdraw it at any time — that stops future use, though it cannot recall something already published.

Children have their own form, one per child, because siblings and their parents often want different things. You choose one of three:

Full consent — images may be used, including where your child’s face is clearly visible.
No clear face — images may be used only where your child cannot be readily identified: from behind, at a distance, cropped, or turned away.
No consent — no images of your child are used anywhere, and we take reasonable steps to keep them out of group shots.

Until a parent chooses, the answer is no consent. A blank form is never treated as permission. You can change your answer at any time by telling a coach or emailing us, no reason needed, and new posts stop immediately.

Whatever you choose, we never publish a child’s full name with their image — first name or nothing — and never their school, their suburb or their class time.

Where to ask

If any of this needs explaining before you commit to anything, ask us. We would rather answer the question than have you sign around it. You are also free to take the agreement away and get your own advice on it before signing — that is your right and we will not rush you out of it.

This page is a summary written for readability. The signed agreement is the document that governs your training. Rogue Jujitsu Pty Ltd ACN 672 149 316.