Coach's Public Service Announcement - Wash your pits, balls, and ass before coming to BJJ class.
MMA Etiquette - Wash your pits, balls, and ass before coming to BJJ class.

Gym date 10.01.09 (Hot Dogs and Onions) – Our mission is to understand the hot dog and onion phenomenon.  Nothing is worse than training with someone who stinks.  I hate it when you shake someone’s hand to start rolling with them and you get a strong whiff of boiled hot dogs and onions.  Come on guys, use deodorant, take a shower, and wash your gear.

I have known guys that have told me that they don’t wash their fight shorts because it’s their lucky pair.  Or that they have never washed their jock strap because it’s their secret weapon.  When did grappling become chemical warfare?

I don’t want staph or ringworm so wash your gear.  I go through a lot of effort to make sure my mats are mopped and clean so you do your part and wash your gear and your body.  If I see that your gear is dirty or you stink, don’t get mad at me for telling you to get off my mats.  I owe it to my students and fighters to weed out rude, inconsiderate dirty douche bags from my gym.

I never want to smell hot dogs and onions, cat urine ammonia, or straight ass when I roll with someone.  Wash your BJJ gi, rash guard, fight shorts, jock, and hand wraps after each training session.

Don’t be that guy, the stinky ass guy no one wants to train with.  This is a sport that requires us to get a little too close for comfort at times – for example, triangle chokes and north / south position.

It’s bad enough to be in those positions but to be in that position and have to smell balls or straight ass is not cool… Shower.  Don’t be the guy that comes into class and goes straight to the crapper (Matt) before rolling.

We are grown ass men; I shouldn’t have to tell you this.  You should know this already.  I don’t want to be your mom, I am your coach.  I will do anything I can to help you become the best fighter that you are capable of becoming but I will not be your nanny.  MMA is a man’s sport so let’s act like grown men and not little kids with a full diaper.

When I was asked to write a weekly or something in the area of weekly blog for ProMMA.info , I thought, ‘What the heck can I write about that often?’   As you can see, this blog isn’t going to have any kind of form or function other than me venting about what I have to deal with every day as a coach and gym owner.

Nothing is better than watching my guys win with what I have taught them and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but there are things I could really do without.

I have taught at and trained at some major gyms over the years and every gym has the issues I will be writing about over the coming weeks.  It’s not just one location or group of guys.  Some of these stories may be about you.

By: Ron Dayley

Ron Dayley is a trainer, manager, promoter, and owner of SSF Submission Academy.

5 thoughts on “Coach’s blog – hot dogs and onions”
  1. Thanks for the laughs. Poor “Matt” LOL. I feel like this should be laminated and posted in gyms for the “mat rules.”

  2. As funny of a story as this is, it happens all too often. Coach did leave out one important thing…..THIS INCLUDES THE LADIES TOO! I have a few females in the bjj class and everyone rolls against everyone, that’s just the way it is. So, ladies please read this and take it to heart as well.

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