6 Benefits of Attending Our Affiliate Training

by Team Passos | Jan 30, 2018 | Affiliation, Teaching Methodology

Team Passos Jiu Jitsu has an affiliation made up of different academies and Professors in various locations. We recently held our latest adults’ affiliate training and our kids affiliate training is coming up soon. During these events the team gets together to train at one of our affiliate academies. The point is to provide the opportunity for our students to train with new people, in a different environment that will expand their comfort zone, strengthen them mentally and emotionally while improving their game.

The energy in the academy is high with anticipation and excitement during our affiliate training sessions. It is run in a structured format and our affiliate Instructors monitor all rolls for safety and provide feedback and encouragement to the students so they can improve their game. These events are always such a great time. And there are many benefits to participating in the training:

1. Team Building

Our affiliate training is really a BJJ family reunion. Everyone is welcome. New friends are made and old friends reconnect. We are able to get to know one another better. It is a time of coming together to celebrate the art of Jiu Jitsu together. And it is an opportunity for affiliate instructors to introduce their students to the roots of the team, seeing firsthand where we come from.

Many of the affiliate academies take turns in hosting the events. For those traveling, the shared moments of carpooling and even going out to eat together after training connects us with one another that transcends just the mat.

2. Expand Your Support Network

Through attending the affiliate events, you are able to expand your network and gain an extended family. When you are traveling near affiliate academies you are welcome to visit and train with them. By attending an affiliate training, you will make friends in the other academies; which makes stepping on a new mat a little easier.

Further, if you ever decide to compete, teammates from our affiliate academies are usually in attendance. Once at the competition, you will already know each other and can support and cheer one another on. This enhances your competition experience.

3. Improve Your Game By Rolling Your Affiliate Teammates

During the affiliate trainings, we make sure that you have the opportunity to roll with a teammate from another academy with whose game you are unfamiliar with. This is a tremendous benefit. To roll with someone you do not know forces you to try new things. It will challenge you. This allows you to process and explore Jiu Jitsu in new ways. You will need to impose your game without knowing what the other person is going to do. In order to impose your game effectively, you must have an understanding of what your game is. And these situations have a way of revealing that to you.

4. Gain Emotional Fortitude

Jiu Jitsu as a sport is already emotionally challenging. By the nature of the art, you constantly find yourself in uncomfortable positions yet are required to stay calm in order to perform. These situations put a mirror in your face. You will gain a better understanding of how you react outside of your comfort zone. Jiu Jitsu teaches us the tools to deal with this pressure. And the affiliate training enhances this. It allows you to practice performing under pressure in a safe environment and promises to expand the boundaries of your comfort zone.

Affiliate training sessions are even more emotionally demanding due to rolling in a different environment (for some) with different partners. The anticipation of the unknown, anxiety over how we may perform, the wondering of how we will compare to others, and the excitement of entire experience is even higher than a typical day on the mat. It can be emotionally draining but it is rewarding.

Some people may say that learning to perform under pressure can be equally accomplished through competition. While I believe competition has many benefits, including learning how to perform under pressure, it will not accomplish equal results as something like the affiliate training. The reason being is that during a competition you have one match with each opponent. And when you lose a match, you are finished with the competition. The experience is short lived and before you know it the match is over. In the team training however, you will have multiple rolls with the same person, and then roll again with others. Even if you lose a particular match, you are going to roll again and again. Through this, you will be able to better process and work through your emotions. You can identify your weaknesses to improve upon as well your strengths to leverage.

5. Exposure to Another Style of Jiu Jitsu

Our affiliate instructors are present on the mat to coach the students during the affiliate training sessions. They are there to manage the mat to ensure safety and will also give you tips and coach you during rolls. To be coached by an instructor of one of our other affiliate academies provides you the opportunity to learn from a different style of Jiu Jitsu.  Additionally, you will be able to learn and experience this differently style of Jiu Jitsu through their students. By rolling with a student from an affiliate academy, you will be exposed to their game, which is often a reflection of their instructor’s style of Jiu Jitsu.

While we are all under the same Team Passos flag, each instructor brings their own unique strengths, talents and knowledge to the mat.  Putting yourself in the position to be exposed to our instructors’ different styles expands your repertoire.

6. Coaches Receive Insight in Students’ Progress

The affiliate training is also beneficial to the instructors. The instructors are able to see their students’ and how they perform in the group training setting. These insights help the instructors tailor training and coaching to an individual student once they are back to regular training at their home academy.

Further, by observing the structure of the training and how the other instructors teach, they can gain insights in how to improve their classes and instruction at their own academy. The  mark of a great instructor is one who always learning and improving in their own Jiu Jitsu, their teaching, and seeking how they can pass along their knowledge to their students.

Everything we do at Team Passos is with the benefit our students in mind. Each of our decisions and the structure in place on the mat is for the purpose of creating the ultimate Jiu Jitsu experience. We are always looking to improve and build upon our success. These affiliate training events are just one of the ways that we can offer an experience that will enhance each student’s game and grow individually and as a team. I hope you will have the opportunity to attend our next team training.