Why It Matters and Why Some Want – BJJ Fanatics

There is tension on the mats these days. Some say they do not want to hear about politics in the academy. Others say everything is political. Both sides have a point, but one gets closer to the root of what is really going on.

For many students, the academy is a refuge. A place to train, sweat, and disconnect from the chaos outside. They do not want debates, they want peace. So when they hear talk about power structures, toxic cultures, or exclusion in other gyms, it can sound like unnecessary drama or moral superiority disguised as critique. Sometimes that is true. Not all criticism is honest. And not everyone who wants to “just roll” is shallow or unteachable. Some people genuinely learn better through doing, and not everyone wants or needs to intellectualise the art.

But here is where the deeper issue sits. As Žižek argues, the most dangerous ideology is the one you cannot see, the one that feels natural, neutral, beyond question. That is what makes the “I do not want politics here” stance risky. It assumes there is such a thing as a neutral academy, a clean space free from influence. But everything – who runs the gym, who speaks, how classes are structured, what is rewarded, who gets attention – is shaped by values, beliefs, and power.

Refusing to acknowledge politics does not make it disappear. It just protects the existing setup. When someone shuts down criticism of another academy by calling it politics, they are often defending something without being willing to name it. It is not about staying out of conflict, it is about refusing to face the structures that shape your training environment.

It is not only the academy that carries ideology. Every new member brings their own. No one walks in as a blank slate. Their bodies, minds, and expectations have already been shaped by the systems they live in: schools, screens, advertising, and culture. How they respond to pressure, how they learn, how they deal with hierarchy or discomfort – all of it is wired by ideologies, often invisible to them. What many unconsciously seek in an academy is a reflection of those patterns: validation, familiarity, ease. But real training rarely gives them that. Instead, it demands a confrontation. The mats do not mirror you, they reveal you. This cannot happen without discomfort. What is required is a kind of unlearning, a reorientation, a slow coming to terms with who you are – not in the sense of staying true to yourself, but of changing. And that is political too.

The same goes for the trend of “I just want to roll.” It seems harmless, even practical. But when it becomes a refusal to listen, to learn, to submit to structure, it mirrors something larger. A cultural ideology built on speed, consumption, and distraction. Everything now, no effort, no delay. That mindset is not neutral. It comes from somewhere. And when it takes over, depth disappears. The mat becomes just another dopamine loop.

It is easy to point to bad management as a personal flaw: laziness, arrogance, lack of care. But most of the time, what looks like poor leadership is actually the expression of an ideology. Not necessarily a belief someone openly holds, but a logic that guides their choices without them needing to think about it.

Take the “survival of the fittest” attitude. Some clubs treat students as disposable. Injuries are brushed off. Beginners are fed to the sharks. If you cannot keep up, you are not meant to be here. It sounds tough, but what it really reflects is an ideology that rewards productivity over care, and competition over community. The mat becomes a mirror of a workplace that chews people up and spits them out. It is not resilience. It is extraction.

Or look at gyms where the mats are never cleaned, where hygiene is treated as an afterthought. That is not just bad habits, it is a worldview. It says the environment does not matter. The body is tough. Deal with it. That comes from a broader denial of interdependence – the same thinking that trashes ecosystems and undervalues maintenance work, usually done by those with the least power. It is ideology in sweat and grime.

Then there is the culture of looking down on others – white belts, smaller bodies, people who do not compete. This is not just ego. It is hierarchy as ideology. A belief that only certain types of success matter, and that worth can be ranked. That culture always replicates the broader systems of exclusion in society: race, class, gender, and ability. You do not have to say it out loud for it to structure the room.

One of the clearest examples of failed ethics is when instructors engage in romantic or sexual relationships with students. It is not just a “personal matter.” It reveals a failure to understand power. The mat is not a level playing field, and pretending it is shows how blind someone is to the structure they are operating inside. This is tied to a cultural ideology that denies or downplays asymmetry – the same one that keeps toxic work environments going, where bosses “date” employees and call it mutual.

Gender also surfaces constantly, even when ignored. A club that does not actively think about how women experience training is still making a choice. Women often walk into male-dominated rooms where size, aggression, and silence are the norm. If the space does not adapt, it is telling them to adapt instead. That is ideology again – the idea that masculinity is neutral and everything else is an exception.

These are not isolated problems. They are all connected by the same logic: invisibility, denial, and power being passed off as normal. That is why calling it “just bad management” misses the point. It is a culture. An ideology. And if you do not name it, you will repeat it.

An academy is not just a place to train. It is a culture. A system. A community. And whether we admit it or not, it is shaped by politics – not party politics, but the politics of power, value, and attention. Ignoring that does not make the space neutral. It just leaves the hidden structures untouched.

So yes, not every moment on the mat needs to be a political discussion. But pretending politics has no place here is not clarity. It is ideology. The invisible kind. And it is exactly what needs to be seen. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a fundamentally transformative art. It offers us something far deeper – but only if we are willing to be honest about who we are, what we have inherited, and what we are shaping every time we step on the mat.

Reference Žižek, S. (1989). The Sublime Object of Ideology. Verso.

This has been a special blog shared with us by Blue Mountains Jiu Jitsu Academy.