Never let your loyalty make you a fool.

Written by Brandon Hetzler  who is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black bet under Rickson & Kron Gracie, 7th degree black belt in Jugoshin Ryu JuJutsu.

Loyalty in martial arts:

I believe in being loyal to your instructor 100%. In fact, I have been loyal to my life long Sensei for 30 years now. With that being said, Loyalty and respect must go both ways. I see a lot of people in the martial arts world remaining loyal to their instructor even though they are being mistreated. I have walked away from some very high level instructors due to the fact of being treated badly. I will not accept being treated disrespectfully or being robbed of my dignity.

Here’s another thing. If your teacher does not have good moral values it is also acceptable to walk away. Just because someone is a great martial artist (skill level) does not mean they are a good person. A truly great martial artist shows it in everything they do. They are not only a great fighter but they are also a good person with great moral values.

“Being a samurai is all about selfless service and if the lord or instructor abuses the samurai, it is no longer a situation of service; it becomes the situation of a victim. It is never acceptable for a samurai to be a victim. It is never acceptable to allow an instructor to abuse you or rob you of your dignity. In such a situation, it is acceptable to walk away.”

The author Brandon Hetzler

Politics in martial arts:

Politics in martial arts have been a huge factor in the demise of real martial arts training. In my 33 years of training I have seen politics destroy some really good martial arts. I am convinced that this was not what the old masters would have envisioned. People fighting over position, rank, titles, associations etc, instead of fighting to master martial arts. Politics is yet another reason why I chose to go off on my own. Of course there will always be some level of politics but I have tried to make Jugoshin Ryu Jujutsu politic free.

Just train hard and everyone is treated the same way.

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