Safe BJJ

If you witnessed something unsafe or concerning

I saw something

You do not need to decide whether what you saw was abuse before responding to a safety concern.

You may see something during training, at a competition, at a camp, in a changing room, at a social event or online that concerns you.

Sometimes it is obvious that someone is in danger. Sometimes it is less clear: a roll suddenly looks wrong, someone ignores a boundary, a coach behaves inappropriately, or someone seems uncomfortable or distressed.

If someone may be in immediate danger

Prioritise safety. If you feel unsafe, avoid confronting the person yourself and use another way of raising it where possible.

If it is safe to do so, interrupt what is happening. During training, that may be as simple as:

You can also turn your attention to the person who may be at risk: "Come with me." or "Are you okay? Let's step over here."

You do not need to know exactly what happened before stopping something that appears unsafe. If you cannot intervene safely, get someone who can: a coach, organiser, safeguarding contact, venue staff, security, emergency services, or another appropriate person nearby.

Check in afterwards

If possible, speak to the person away from the person whose behaviour concerned you. Keep it simple:

They may be shocked, overwhelmed, confused or still trying to understand what just happened. They may not know yet whether they want to report it, talk about it, leave, keep training, or do anything at all. That is okay.

Focus first on what they need right now: safety, space, medical attention, someone they trust, a way to leave, or simply some time.

Let them make decisions at their own pace. Do not pressure them to report, confront someone, explain themselves, keep training, or decide anything immediately. You can tell them they do not have to decide everything straight away, and can come back to what to do next when they feel ready.

You may not know exactly what you saw

That is okay. A hard roll is not automatically abuse. Accidents happen in combat sports. People can read situations differently. But uncertainty is not a reason to ignore something that appears unsafe.

If you are unsure, focus on what you can actually observe:

If something appears unsafe, interrupt first and work out what happened afterwards.

If there is no immediate danger but something felt wrong, check in privately with the person afterwards. You can keep it neutral: "I wasn't sure what was going on, so I wanted to check in." or "Did you feel okay with what happened?"

Do not tell them how they should interpret it. They may see it differently from you, and may need time before they know how they feel about it.

Things that may need intervention or a closer look

Not everything on this list is necessarily abuse. Unsafe or concerning behaviour still deserves attention. Sometimes the pattern matters more than one incident.

Ways to respond

There is no single correct way to intervene. Choose an option that is safe and fits the situation.

If you write something down

Record observations, not conclusions. Include, where relevant: the date, time and place; who was present; what you personally saw or heard; the exact words used, if you remember them; what happened immediately before and afterwards; and what you did in response.

Less useful

"A was sexually harassing B at the seminar."

More useful

"During a BJJ seminar, I saw A repeatedly place their hand on B's lower back while talking to them off the mats. B stepped away and said, 'Please don't touch me.' A laughed and touched B's lower back again a few minutes later."

If someone tells you something afterwards, make clear that this is what they told you, not something you saw yourself.

Do not interview witnesses, collect evidence on your own, confront someone for an explanation, or try to build a case. Your role is to report what you observed — not to investigate or decide guilt. Share it only with people who need it in order to respond.

If the person does not want anything done

For an adult, their wishes should normally be respected, and they should be involved in decisions about what happens next. Ask what they want and explain the options available to them.

There are situations where information may still have to be shared — for example if:

If information has to be shared, tell the person what you are going to do and why, whenever it is safe and possible. Do not promise complete confidentiality — explain that you will only share it with people who need to know.

If you are worried about a pattern

Sometimes no one has complained, but several things begin to add up. The same person repeatedly injures training partners. Several people avoid rolling with them. People joke that "everyone knows" not to train with them. Someone keeps ignoring requests to slow down.

Or the pattern is social rather than physical: the same coach or senior practitioner repeatedly seeks out newer or less experienced people, pursues personal or sexual attention across events, pushes boundaries after someone seems uncomfortable, or uses their status and access to create situations others begin to recognise.

No single interaction may look serious on its own. The repetition, power imbalance and context can still matter. A gym or organisation should not rely on each new person discovering a known concern for themselves.

You can raise a concern even if you were not the person harmed, and even if no single incident seems serious enough on its own. Describe what you have actually observed and any pattern you have noticed. Do not diagnose the person, speculate about their motives, or try to decide whether they are an "abuser".

If you are unsure whether to say something

You can ask for advice without making an accusation. Describe what you saw as plainly as possible and ask what the appropriate next step is. You do not need proof that abuse happened before raising a concern.

Seeing something does not make you responsible for investigating it or fixing everything that follows. But noticing something is wrong, helping stop immediate harm, and making sure the person is not left alone with it can make a real difference.

If you are worried about consequences for speaking up

That is understandable — especially if the person involved is a coach, gym owner, senior belt, organiser or someone influential in your community.

Retaliation can be more than direct threats: intimidation, harassment, pressure to stay quiet, being treated differently, losing training or coaching opportunities, being left out of a team or social group, damage to your reputation, or pressure from others to take back what you said.

You do not have to put yourself at unnecessary risk in order to help. If speaking up directly does not feel safe, you can:

Before you share more than is necessary, ask how your information and identity will be handled. Full anonymity cannot always be guaranteed: in a small gym, or where only a few people saw what happened, others may work out who spoke up even if your name is never given.

If you are threatened, intimidated, excluded, pressured to change your account, lose opportunities, or are treated badly because you raised a concern or acted as a witness, that is a separate concern and should be reported too.

Pressure to stay quiet is itself something to take seriously

Someone may ask you not to tell anyone, say that speaking up will "cause drama", tell you that you got it wrong, ask you to change your account, or suggest other people will suffer if you report it. That pressure may come from the person whose behaviour concerned you — or from their friends, teammates, coaches, organisers, or anyone who wants it to go away.

You do not need to argue with them or convince them of anything. If someone pressures you to stay silent:

If you feel unsafe, avoid confronting the person yourself and use another way of raising it.

A safe organisation protects people who raise concerns in good faith, act as witnesses, or support someone who has reported harm. Speaking up should not become another source of harm.