Yes! It is ok and it is very beneficial to building your Jiu Jitsu game and the Jiu Jitsu community as well! We encourage our students to attend open mats at other academies and invite others to do the same at ours. We totally understand you are 100% loyal to High Altitude but cross training is beneficial for you and your Jiu Jitsu growth. Team allegiance and cross training are two completely different things.
Jiu Jitsu is about community. Open your mind and heart to all practitioners to live the true spirit of Jiu Jitsu. Learn a new style of grappling, make new friends, have more rolling partners, work on overcoming mental obstacles. None of this sounds like a bad thing right?
If you are constantly training with the same people, every day, every class, week after week, you learn their game and they learn yours. This doesn’t leave much room for expanding your Jiu Jitsu knowledge. You know what they are good at, what move they will likely go for next and how you will stop it. While this is great for perfecting moves and drilling, it lacks the element of surprise.
We all have our favorite partners that we love drilling with but you should push yourself with new partners as well. When you roll with someone and have no idea what they are going to do, you are forced to adapt and learn much faster than someone who you are already familiar with. You will still make progress with your go to partners, you might just progress a little faster dealing with all the curveballs.
High Altitude Martial Arts offers several classes that are open to all academies:
- Saturday 9am – Ladies Only No Gi (All levels)
We really love this one and hope it continues to introduce women into to the wonderful world of Jiu Jitsu. It is a great place to get your feet wet and see what training is all about. It consists of a mix of new white belts to higher level belts who want to make friends and mingle with other women in the Jiu Jitsu community. Grab a friend and jump into class. We promise you will laugh and have fun while learning!
- Sunday 12pm – No Gi Competition Training (Blue belts and up)
This class consists of live intentional rounds. It is a tough class that is designed to preparing you for high level competition.
We welcome high level drop ins and offer weekly rates if you are in town for a bit and want to get some training in. Here is some helpful information regarding dropping in for some cross training. Remember, you are representing not only yourself but also your home academy so come in respectful and ready to work.
Visiting other academies while on vacation in different states and even different countries is cool, really cool. You get a good roll in and get a fix for your Jiu Jitsu obsession. Imagine kickstarting your Hawaiian vacation with a hard roll by the beach. Or maybe you are stuck somewhere for work, no better way to clear your mind and fill your time then getting some Jiu Jitsu in.
So cross train! You learn something, you may teach someone else something. You can bring back some tips and tricks to your home gym. Make new friends and spread the Jiu Jitsu love
