Do you drink the Kool-Aid?

So I read a post on Facebook from a fellow teammate about a week ago from an interview with Ryan Hall {click for interview} (BJJ black belt, great competitor and all around cool guy) about training with people outside of your team, or affiliation and it got me thinking. Now for those who train BJJ, you know exactly what I'm talking about, but for those who don't, let me give you a quick run down.

Some academies/dojos/gyms have a very tight-knit atmosphere, one could almost call it a second family. It's sometimes common for people within the same team to have rivalries, or disagreements with other teams. This type of rivalry is common in almost any sport, so it's almost natural to transcend into BJJ. For some teams, it's almost a cardinal sin to train with members of the opposite team. It can be seen as "betraying" your family. So now that you're all caught up...

I completely agree with Ryan Hall and his approach to training partners. I think it is silly to hate, not want to train with someone from another team, or treat them differently just because they are from another team than your own. I personally embrace training with as many people from different academies as possible to enhance my game and learn. I've not only trained with these people, but have made strong friendships as well. It's naive to think that one person has all the answers to such a huge art. If you're able to train with someone from another team, don't shy away, embrace the opportunity and take it as something that you can learn from, get better with.

Now if you're getting the pressure from people within your own academy to do, or not to do something, you may want to evaluate if this is the best thing for you. At the end of the day you should try and make as many friends as possible in jiu jitsu and like I said a million times already, learn as much as you can from them, everyone has something new, or different to teach. Make opinions for yourself, don't inherit them just because you joined a club.

Don't drink the Kool-Aid