Playtime
As adults, why do we play scrabble, monopoly or video games? Apart from the entertainment value and the social aspect of getting together, we do it because we want to see how good can we get when we are up for challenge and even compare ourselves to others. If we seriously want to get better, we observe others who are good at them. In a martial arts school the student develops largely with the instructor's guidance. However, the more keen and forward thniking students always look at the persons who are good at something they might want to learn. It is just a matter of asking that person which is a compliment to those who have something to offer.
The martial arts school is like a challenging playground of obstacles to develop skill. 
I like the idea of students getting in early and working on something. Socialising before class just drains energy and enthusiasm. We can learn something from kids who waste no time when they drop in at McDonalds and go straight to the playground. They see it as a challenge, game and fun. The dojo should be no different.
Don't waste precious time when you're at the school.
GA
up the new school. They were excited about the place about what it had to offer and were even more excited the fact they were living across the road. Needless to say, we did not hear from them. That resembles some of the people who have been living, all their lives, below the famous historical landmark of Greece (Parthenon) and have never visited it! I feel sorry for these people. 
How true is this phrase (although edited)! I have talked, in many different ways, about how we all need to be reminded after learning a technique not to assume we know it all. Thus, when instructors, go back to the beginning, people can often go into auto pilot mode and just seem to go through the motions, whereas, they should be looking for more detail and improving on it. 
Team ball sports (with no disrespect) are always competing with the martial arts because organisers and coaches are always pushing youngsters with their own personal interests and agenda. As some parents have told me they would rather have their children doing the martial arts because of the many life skills being taught. One classic example is the ‘bullying’ aspect. Martial arts instructors are best equipped in this area so I cannot see anybody trying to grass cut us in this area because it would be foolish if they tried.
Each martial art has its own culture and there are also cultural differences within each school. There is one distinct feature in BJJ which separates it to other martial arts and that is the grading system. Grades within BJJ are slow and cannot be asked for nor can they be predicted when anyone may get one. However, this seems to be acceptable amongst the students which would not work in most other martial arts. The only exception is the Black Belt, which in most systems, shares the same philosophy as any of the BJJ grades. 
is real and it is not just confined to schools; we actually have an 'Anti-bullying' policy in the Police Force which indicates this sort of thing can happen in any environment. Most parents will not be aware if their child is a bully or is being bullied. Children are far less likely to report it because they don't know whether they should or shouldn't so the problem can go undetected for many years and accumulate irrepairable psychological damage. I can relate to a couple of incidents in my younger days as a bully victim.