Fighter Code of Conduct
As an aspiring athlete, you are placing yourself at a higher standard than the recreational student. This doesn’t make you better than your classmates; it means you are expected to be a leader not just in technique, but also in character.
Similar to the terms and expectations in the Student Code of Conduct, fighters must also read, understand, and adhere to the additional expectations below. Failure to do so can result in loss of opportunities to compete and/or expulsion from the program without refund.
I. In the Gym
Be a model student:
Pay your gym membership, fight camp fees and complete all necessary competition registrations and medicals.
Arrive early, not just on time. Being early means you have the opportunity to stretch, practice and ask questions. These extra minutes can be consequential: stretching before class minimizes the risk of injury, practicing before class gives you extra reps to improve technique, and asking questions before class can help you reframe or set a goal while training.
Communicate if you will be late or unable to train before the session starts. If you are unable to attend, arrangements can be made to reschedule and/or provide you with the training regimen to do on your own time. If you arrive late, move with urgency: don’t walk slowly and take more than five minutes to get ready.
Show up prepared: Other than practicing good hygiene, having all your gear with you, being prepared includes showing up to class well-rested (e.g. 8 hours of sleep the night before), hydrated, and fed. A nourished and alert athlete can train at their best, and more importantly, decreases the risk of injury to themselves or others.
Listen intently the first time. Seriously, don’t turn your Kru/PC into parrots.
Move with intention and focus. The moment the instructor has finished explaining the drill, do not waste time chatting; start immediately. If you (and your partner) finish before the timer ends, do sets until the instructor calls the end of the drill.
Do more. You have extra time after class? Do finishers and/or practice on the bags.
No attitude (e.g. frowning, eye rolling, arguing, complaining) when you are given feedback.
Make the conscious effort to adjust/fix your mistakes. A fighter who nods in agreement but doesn’t put in the work will not improve.
Help clean. Whether it’s the bags, pads, mirrors, hallway, or putting things in lost and found or the garbage, do your part.
Don’t ask when your next fight will be. You will be informed only after you have demonstrated the right attitude, work ethic and necessary skill to compete.
Be a model classmate:
Be friendly, patient and focused. Work well with all types of training partners from those with little to some or more experience than you. If you connect well, great but save the non-training chitchat for after class, not during instructor’s explanations, workouts, handwrapping or low-intensity drills.
Apologize when you make a mistake and move on when someone else does.
Compliment sincerely and correct kindly.
Practice at the appropriate speed and power according to the modality, drill and partner. Full speed and power is for padwork, bagwork, and shadowboxing. In full-gear sparring, your intensity must match your partner’s experience and present state: when with a partner who is smaller in size and build, less experienced, or injured you should focus on sharpening the nuances of your technique (e.g. form, balance, defense, precision) instead of trying to overpower them. For contact drills with minimal gear such as playspar and clinch, reduce only your power, while maintaining precision.
During freestyle sparring rounds, avoid techniques that could harm classmates if they are inexperienced in defending them, or if you are instructed not to use them (e.g. no hard sweeps, spinning attacks, kicks or knees to the head)
Communicate to your Kru/PC of any inappropriate, unsafe or unkind behavior within the gym. To ensure our school is a safe place, you are obligated to not only avoid such behaviors, but to report them.
II. Outside the Gym
Your behavior (online and offline) outside the gym matters. As a Brampton Muay Thai student, you are representing the values of our school to the rest of the community. If you are found to have violated the trust, safety and integrity of others while being a student at our school, this will result in the immediate termination of your membership without refund.
Cross-Training
Training at different gyms is not unheard of, and can be beneficial when you have a more open schedule for additional practice. However, cross-training still requires etiquette between the student and the school they are representing.
Speak with your Kru first about opportunities to train outside the scheduled fight camp and classes
Once you are given the green light for additional training outside the gym, represent our school well with the same standards and work ethic expected here
Cross-training without the consent of the gym is considered a breach of trust and can lead to termination of membership
Requirements for fighters in high school (13-18 years old)*:
Maintain a minimum average of 70% in all your classes. Fight experience will not get you a job outside the martial art industry; protect your future as early as now and take your studies as seriously as your training.
Must not be suspended or expelled from school.
Make an effort to help around the house and respect the efforts of parents for providing you with the means to train and recover.
*Every month, parents/guardians will be contacted to provide a copy of the student-athlete’s grades, which includes a report on their behavior at home and in school, to determine their eligibility to compete. During the summer months, parents/guardians need only submit a report on their behavior at home.
III. At Competition
Arrive early at weigh-ins with all your gear and mandatory documents (see “Fight Week Checklist”).
Acknowledge officials, judges, and competition staff.
Be humble regardless of outcome. If you win, don’t showboat or trash talk. If you lose, don’t throw tantrums (e.g. sulking, ignoring your corner/s and supporters, throwing/breaking things.)
Before leaving, help clean the warm-up area and thank everyone who attended to support you.
“Manners maketh man.”
