In class, the instructors tell students to stand up in base anytime they go from the ground to standing. I’ve been doing this for over a decade. I was told to do it as a white belt, so I did it, and then I told my own students to do it too.

I never thought much harder about it until I opened my own school. Running it made me pay attention to things I used to just repeat. “Get up in base.”

I usually just tell people that it’s a way to build a habit of being aware and safe any time you move from ground to standing. But over the years it turned into something else, more than just something I say a lot.

We’re talking to the whole class, but we’re talking to the same handful of people. I’ve noticed this: when they miss this instruction, they tend to miss other ones too.

And that’s fine. Not everyone comes to every class to get better at jiu-jitsu. Some just need to get out of the house for an hour. Some use it to reduce stress by moving their bodies and being around people they like. Some just need to be unreachable right now. Those are good reasons to be on the mat, and none of them require being locked in the whole time.

Generally, the ones that get up in base tend to get the details of a technique faster. We say it’s for improving awareness in a self-defense scenario, but I’ve come to see it as a way to practice awareness in class.

Back then it was just a rule I followed. I didn’t ask why.

It’s the smallest, most repeatable rep you can get. Twenty times per class. It’s practice without realizing you’re practicing.