cool guy handshake (dap)

When women begin to study jiu jitsu, there are some things that take getting used to. Our hygiene standards diminish. Good hair days after rolling become few and far between. And we are expected to practice new social greetings.

 

No, don't be ridiculous. We may roll around on the ground for fun, but we are not animals. 

 Bingo!

In the BJJ community, dap is the greeting of choice. If you are unfamiliar, I would describe it as a type  of cool guy handshake. This is what Wikipedia says about it - "Though it can refer to many kinds of greetings involving hand contact, dap is best known as a complicated routine of shakes, slaps, snaps, and other contact that must be known completely by both parties involved. Dap greetings sometimes include a pound hug." 

Cool guys have been greeting each other this way for decades. It gained popularity among soldiers during the Vietnam war and it continues to be popular among male musicians, athletes, and other cool guys. 

Most women, however, don't do this. We typically greet each other in one of two ways:

Formal

Familiar

So, when a coach or teammate extends his hand for a friendly exchange of dap, it is easy for a female BJJ player to misread the signal and fall back into her previous pattern of greetings.  

This is what happens when dap collides with a hug:

Don't let this awkward exchange happen to you! Learn dap and drill it until it becomes natural. As with any BJJ move, dap can be developed through regular practice. In time, you too can build muscle memory and add this move to your repertoire.