“jiu-jitsu é a única arte marcial que tem família” (Jiu-Jitsu is the only martial art that has a family)
Team switching in Jiu-Jitsu is a very controversial topic that will always provoke different points of views and arguments among the BJJ community. Throughout Jiu-Jitsu history, there have always been individuals that have gone their own way, leaving their initial team or master, to either join another team or create their own. This is what many people know as “Creontes”.
What Makes You & Doesn’t Make You a ‘Creonte’ in BJJ
If you think about it, the majority of BJJ players and competitors could be considered “creontes” unless they were with just one academy their whole lives. When it comes to switching teams, everybody has their own reasons for doing so. It can be because of a disagreement on teaching style, involve money, location etc.. One thing that history has taught us is that whenever small teams break off, eventually more new teams will break off from that new team (for ex:Alliance> Brasa> Checkmat…).
Ryan Young, a BJJ instructor at Kama Jiu-Jitsu in Texas, talks about the sensitive subject of switching schools. Why do some people do it and how to do it.
Ryan has been training and teaching Jiu-Jitsu for close to 30 years and has seen it all. He explains his views which are are full of wisdom:
