For beginners, stepping into a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy can feel intimidating – but according to coach and safety advocate Milton Campis, paying attention early may protect you from serious problems later.

Campis, a black belt with more than a decade of experience and founder of Academy Safe, recently outlined warning signs new students should recognize before committing to a gym.

The first, he says, is simple but revealing:

If you’re a woman especially and you go to a gym and there are no women, should be a little bit of a red flag for you.

He explains that the absence of female students at an established academy often reflects deeper cultural issues rather than coincidence.

Because Jiu-Jitsu involves constant physical contact, women tend to leave environments where they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Their absence, he argues, is frequently a sign that something inside the gym is wrong.

Another indicator involves accountability.

Campis notes that gyms often benefit from having law enforcement, military personnel, or similar professionals training regularly.

These individuals are typically less tolerant of misconduct and can act as an informal safeguard for gym culture.
When none are present, he suggests it may be worth asking why.

The clearest warning sign, however, may be visible directly on the mats:

If your gym has been around for more than a decade or even more than five years and you don’t have higher belts on you, don’t see a lot of color on that mat, it’s always new white belts coming in, there’s a reason.

Over time, experienced practitioners learn things beginners cannot yet see:

Once you’re around and you start to hear the gossip and maybe even you start traveling and hearing gossip from other gyms and people that know what’s has been going on, we start sharing those stories and then the higher belts are like: “Oh I’m out, I don’t want to be around this.”

But a white belt doesn’t know.

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