what do you guys think about this? I feel loyalty to one main teacher but if I get an opportunity to train with another teacher like maybe once a week, is that being disloyal?
Others have different opinions, but I would always ask my teacher if he minds, if the other teacher is teaching the same art.
Depends on a ton of factors...
I would leave it to seminars and training out of town only. And of course simply get your instructors approval first... Better safe than sorry for insulting him...
I agree with Uni. The answer is "it depends."
I would just say it all depends...does your teacher have loyalty to you? or are you just a paycheck to him
lets face it in BJJ now a days the agreement between teacher and student is a buisness transaction! Not in all places but a lot!
I train at two different places at times. One is kind of out of town and a
day off at my regular school. My instructor is fine with it. I would not
train at a rival school in the same town where the two schools compete
for business.
I agree with "it depends".
Look at it this way, IF your child had math or reading problems, would it be wrong to take them to a tutor for additional help?
If your child was on a wrestling team, would it be wrong to take them to someone for additional coaching and instruction?
If the place you train makes you sign a contract and takes your money, does that mean they have a right to tell you you can't learn from other sources?
But i go with "depends" because i have never really had to pay to train at a school until recently, so after i am there awhile i might change how i think.
Worst part about BJJ is the drama.
I dont see why this odd dynamic between the teacher and students in bjj exhists. You pay for a service, why should the relationship go beyond that? BJJ techniques have been disseminated to the point where no one can claim to have secret knowledge.
Your instructor should want you to reach your full potential. That can only
be done by having more than one resource for Martial Arts. If he has a
problem with it he is disloyal to you!
what DC said. ...its not signed in BLOOD u MUST learn only from a certain teacher..i bet 70&% of instructors learn from other teachers as well...
they are not doing any favors for u if paying them anyway ...they not teaching for free and you are not learning for free.
My teacher encourages training with ohter instructors. He has never told me not to train with anyone
I agree with Marcovia is he loyal to you.
My instructor still charges me the same price when we were training in this old tiny building with no A/C and was brutal even though he moved to a brand new facility.
I was loyal to him when it was far away and a harder training enviroment he is loyal to me now that its new shiny place.
this is the gayest thing about bjj.
you're paying them, yet they own you? how does that make sense?
imo, you should be allowed to train wherever you want, true loyalty is the person you compete for or who you represent, not who you've trained with.
theres a saying, something along the lines of: "....loyalty?.....tell your bjj instructor you dont have money to pay him this month and see how loyal he is to you"
If they expect the relationship not to be business transaction, then they shouldn't demand that it be a business transaction. It's that simple.
If an instructor is training you for free in return for an expectation of loyalty, that I can understand. But if he's taking money? Silly to be taking money with one hand and demanding loyalty with the other.
I agree with Shen. It is a courtesy to ask your instructor. You do represent them as a member of their school.
Loyalty is a two-way street. Yeah, I trained with an instructor and was loyal and new students were charged a bit higher rates. I was charged the old rates. Almost saying "Thanks for hanging with me when we all cleaned the mats together, etc." It's not just about "maximizing" profits. Being a BJJ teacher years ago or with an unknown instructor because you thought he really wanted to teach the art to you and make you a better martial artist, person, and competitor.
Haven't seen one of these threads in awhile. There are alot of variables in determing the answer to that question. Is it a rival school where you want to train at or are they on good terms with your school? Do you plan on competing and if so what team will you represent? Who will promote you to your next belt level?
There is no cut and dry answer to the question, it depends on the scenario. Definately talk to your instructor and be up front about it,