Individual v Team

In order to determine to what extent it is acceptable for a Jitsuka to train at multiple schools, the example of the Judoka, the individuality of the sport, school rivalries, the focus on being a team sport and instructors shall be discussed.

In Judo Judoka often teach their most efficient moves to visiting Judoka from other Judo clubs and encourage their club members to train anywhere and everywhere. This has to be because Judo as a sport is about the individual. The individual represents themselves and their School and/or Nation, in that order, therefore when the overall level of competition is at a high level, other Judoka have to acclimatise to that standard, which only furthers the sport. This suggests that to a minor extent it is acceptable for a Jitsuka to regularly train at multiple schools.

It can be said that Jiu-Jitsu is an individual sport. A Jitsuka develops at their own pace, their technique improves after they work hard to improve it; they start putting it all together on the mats because they want to become a better Jitsuka. A Jitsuka’s team can only help them so much, it very much has to be an individual effort because, at the end of the day, when it comes down to who is on the mat, it’s either the Jitsuka himself or his team mate and if its themselves they can only be helped so far. This illustrates that it is acceptable for a Jitsuka to regularly train at multiple schools.

It has been expressed that it is unfair to restrict a Jitsuka where they can or cannot train because a Jiu-Jitsu School has already set up a School in their area and has a policy that Jitsuka must train at their academy and their academy alone. It can be said that it is not fair to restrict a Jitsuka’s development solely because of geography. This much the author agrees with. The following is a hypothetical: as a Jitsuka, my local Jiu-Jitsu School is Alliance BJJ because it is 5 minutes bus ride away, I am finding it hard to develop a style for my Jiu-Jitsu that suits my body and flexibility; however if I travel for 35 minutes more, I can go to Gracie Barra, who will provide me with techniques and instruction that are more suited to me and my body’s capability as a Jitsuka. It surely is more correct to train with a team that will support and enhance your progression rather than a team that by virtue of location is closer to the Jitsuka. This highlights that it is acceptable for a Jitsuka to regularly train at multiple schools.

There are schools of thought that suggest that when a Jitsuka chooses a school to train at, they are making a decision to train exclusively at that school, and that school alone. By training with that school, one might argue that a Jitsuka perhaps singles them out from training with other school, especially any who may have a rivalry with your local school. Under that scenario - the only option available to a Jitsuka is to train at the school that they first trained at, buy into the school rivalry idea and build a fierce loyalty to their school. No longer would Jiu-Jitsu solely be about the purity of the technique; the purity of the technique would be felt to be enhanced, even sweeter, if it could be performed on a rival school member. This suggests that to a minor extent it is not acceptable for a Jitsuka to regularly train at multiple schools.

There is another school of thought that suggests that Jiu-Jitsu is a team sport. Jitsuka train together, learn together, roll together and they fight together as a team. Were one to make parallel’s between Jiu-Jitsu and its Samurai history; it is especially important for a Jitsuka to know that their Team, who represent a Samurai’s Clan, will be there to back them up and will go to war with them. It is suggested that when one competes for a Jiu-Jitsu School, it is then that they make a decision as to which School they fight for, as they make a decision as to who they will go to war with. Such a bond as this is hard to turn your back on, making it difficult for a Jitsuka to acceptably and regularly train at multiple different schools. This suggests that it is not acceptable for a Jitsuka to regularly train at multiple schools.

The final school of thought relates to Jiu-Jitsu Instructors. When a Jitsuka chooses a School to attend, they form a relationship with their Instructor. Effectively it becomes a contract between the two individuals – the Jitsuka subconsciously says, “I will support you and your school; I will represent your name and your school if you teach me to become better at Jiu-Jitsu” and the Instructor subconsciously replies, “I will teach you all I know provided that you support the school, represent the school, yourself and myself in a way that we can be proud of”. This becomes an unspoken agreement between Jitsuka and Instructor that illustrates that both parties have a vested interest in the development and prosperity of the other. After all, aside from the economic reasons for paying for Jiu-Jitsu classes, if your Instructor could not afford to rent the space for you to train, you would not have any Jiu-Jitsu classes, therefore it’s in your interests to ensure that they are able to do the things that you may not see. A second point related to Instructors is that when an Instructor becomes invested in your development, whether that is because they have awarded you a stripe, a Belt or you fight for their team, they are now placing time and energy into making you the best that you can be. To turn your back on that and effectively say “Thanks but this other Instructor is as good as you, so I want to train with them as well” is like a slap in the face to your Instructor. That is why at a certain point e.g. competing for their team, accepting a stripe or accepting a belt, it is not acceptable to regularly train at multiple schools.

In conclusion, the decision to train at multiple schools is an individual one. There is no right or wrong answer. You may improve as a Jitsuka quicker if you treat Jiu-Jitsu as an individual sport. There is nothing wrong with this approach as long as you and your Instructor(s) are aware of what is going on. If you want to dedicate yourself to one Instructor and one School, there is nothing wrong with that either. Jiu-Jitsu regardless of what point of view you take on this is an individual journey; you can have help along the way, you can go it alone; you can seek instruction from multiple instructors, you can choose one instructor that you stick with; it is your choice.