This is a very difficult topic for me to blog on especially
from an American Jiu-Jitsu instructor perspective. In
America team loyalty is important BUT students leave their instructors for
various reasons all the time. Are they wrong? Not necessarily.
I have thought long and hard about this issue before giving
my thoughts because I'm torn…but here goes.
A “Creonte” is a
Brazilian term that derived its meaning from a Brazilian soap opera where one
of the main characters would constantly switch allegiances with the other characters.
This term carried over to BJJ to mean that a “high level” student leaves a
school he or she is training at to go train with a rival team, in essence becoming
a “traitor”.
Before the popularity of the internet training academies
would literally have secret moves that they used against rival schools. In many
cases the instructor took a poor kid off the street and trained them for free
as a future champion, only to see that student go into the hands of the “Enemy.” To
lose a top level student to another academy was a disastrous proposition. I
would personally say that this is a moral character defect on the part of the student
and I would hope that Karma would pay him back one day.
In America things seem to be a bit different in the sense
that most students pay a fee to train at a specific academy. This is mostly a business transaction here in America and
thus as customers they are free to go and train at whatever school they desire.
Many do so because they live closer to the
other school, or want to pay a cheaper fee or they don't like the other
students, they might be getting hurt too much, the instructor could be a
dishonest person or they don’t do tournament training or they DO do tournament
training or heaven forbid, the school might just be better than the one they
were at. Does that make them a traitor? If you’re the instructor I’m sure it would be
“Yes”, in my mind, again, not necessarily.
This is especially true if the student is a LOWER level
student who might have just found his first school by accident. He knew nothing
about BJJ and he decided that the schools logo was cool and that’s why he
decided to train there. Does he have a
right to go somewhere else if he wants? You
bet.
What I don’t accept is a medium to high level student who
has been training for years, proclaiming to love his school, the people, the
instructor and the training who for one reason or another decides to leave to
better himself through another
instructor’s promises of quick belt promotions, teaching opportunities or
promises of free tuition. I refer to
this kind of student as “a piece of crap”, in other words a Creonte. It’s happened to me before including taking some of my
students with him! What are you to do?
If you are an
instructor who has experienced this as I have you need to turn the focus back
on you and ask yourself (as I did) some fundamental questions, Am I really
giving the VERY best classes I can? Am I up on the latest techniques of
Jiu-Jitsu? Do I really want my students better than me? Am I doing my best to make my students
succeed? Am I fair in my promotions? Am
I NOT playing favorites with some students at the expense of others?
If you can answer all of these questions in
the affirmative then the fault probably lies in the student and not you. It still hurts though.
Take a good hard look at your students. If they are people with low morals, long criminal
records and bad attitudes then what are you expecting from these types of
people? Loyalty? Really? If they are good,honest people, are you giving
them opportunities to shine, to teach, help the school and consequently
themselves? It’s only right.
If you’re a student you need to show loyalty to your
instructor! Look very hard at your
motives before deciding to leave your current instructor. Talk to your instructor first! In many cases, the grass is
not always greener on the other side. If
you do leave an excellent instructor because of selfish and disloyal motives (in your heart you know)
then be prepared to wear the moniker of “Creonte.” You deserve it.
I heard a saying that goes like this “If your best friend
borrows 20 bucks, promises to pay you back and then skips town…Wasn’t that a
cheap price to get rid of a bad friend?”
Better to not have given that
disloyal student a black belt from your linage because he will be your black belt for life. I promise you that you will be better off with
that student gone. I know
I was.
P.S. If you are a student who trains at two different BJJ academies without the knowledge of both instructors then you are a "Creonte." Pick a school and be loyal.
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