How hard do you go when visiting a new gym?
Curious to hear from others especially women. I do a lot of open mats and drop ins, in my area a lot of people know me but when I go somewhere new, I’m always trying to strike a balance of intensity.
I feel like my first priority when going somewhere new is to show that I’m friendly and not spazzy. So maybe I go lighter than I should, I’m not bringing my A game, I’m mostly staying defensive and flowy and complimenting people and tapping.
But, I’m also a very small woman and I wonder if that affects this, if the way I roll makes people think they need to go easier on me. The flip side would be I go in trying to do my best jiujitsu and not letting people have anything if it’s not really there. Which maybe would mean they turn it up and have a higher impression of my level idk. I’ve definitely been to places where it felt like I had to prove myself, and only after I turned it up a bit I got the “oh okay” response and it felt like I gained some respect.
When you visit somewhere new, how do you determine your intensity level? Do you feel these type of dynamics? Curious to hear other people’s experiences.