Zen Camp 2019: Over/under passing with extra gravy with Aaron Ross

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Zen Camp 2019: Instagram story

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Zen Camp 2019: Guillotine grip to pass half guard with Bjarni Baldursson

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Zen Camp 2019: Salsa sidecontrol with Bjarni Baldursson

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Back to the US! New York City & Harrisburg

East Coast Friends

With fall arriving in Europe (I hate the cold) and the first ever BJJ Globetrotter camp in Phoenix (my home town!) on the horizon for the upcoming month – it was time to head back to America! There was still some weeks before camp though, so I took a little detour on the way back from Spain to Arizona to visit a few friends along the way, and to see a few new US states!

One of my dearest and closest friends Rebecca had recently moved from Phoenix to Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) upon graduation from dental school, and had invited me to come visit and stay at her place. After a little searching, I was able to find a cheap flight from Spain to New York City (NYC), so we decided to meet there and stay overnight before taking a train back to Harrisburg, together.

I’d never been to NYC before, and it had been on my list of US cities to visit for quite some time now. As chance would have it, another good friend of mine, Jeemin (originally from Phoenix as well) now lived in NYC. Upon hearing we were planning this trip, she instantly very generously offered to host us and to take the day off to show us around!

New York City

New York City Mini Trip!

I stayed in NYC one night, just enough to take in the ambiance and get a few impressions of this great American city I’d heard so much about. NYC did not disappoint! I can definitely understand why people fall in love with this place – it’s one of the most lively, colorful, cultured and diverse cities I’ve ever been to, massive and modern with a rich history. The food is great with many very cute cafes and restaurants throughout, and the public transportation is excellent!

I didn’t get the chance to train in NYC, which is a little unfortunate since there are many top gyms with very prestigious instructors in the area. But, since I was only in NYC one night (not even two full days), I opted to spend the short time being a tourist with friends instead. Below are a few of the specifics sites we had the opportunity to visit.

New York City: pretty neighborhoods

Luggage Storage

I was traveling with my usual full backpack plus suitcase. Wanting to make the most of our short time in NYC, it didn’t make sense to go to Jeemin’s apartment to drop off my luggage, nor did I want to carry it around all evening. So, we left it with one of the baggage storage places instead, which worked out really nicely. There are many of these throughout the city, which are actually regular businesses that very conveniently double up as luggage storage. A quick search revealed many in the area, I reserved one in advance. It was quick, easy, secure and cheap (about $11 to store luggage overnight). One word of caution – do double check the drop-off and pick-up times if arriving very early or very late, since these follow the regular business hours of the store and are closed at certain times.

9/11 Memorial

This is the location of where the twin towers used to stand. In the place of the buildings, there’s now giant square holes going many meters down with water pouring over the edges into a pool at the bottom, with the names of the victims engraved on plaques along the edge. The memorial was unfortunately closed by the time we arrived late in the evening, and was also additionally temporarily closed for restoration to the plaques with names that week, so the lights were off and we couldn’t get up close to the railing or peer over the edge. But, it was still pretty neat to see it from a distance, and to stand at the site where such a momentous event took place many years before. I was actually a little surprised at how small the perimeter indicating what used to be the base of the buildings were – I didn’t imagine such tall buildings could possibly stand so high on such a small base.

New York City: 9/11 Memorial at night

Times Square

This is a bustling plaza and pedestrian area in midtown Manhattan lined with businesses, clubs and restaurants, many of which don’t open until evening. Massive bright billboards and towering buildings dominate the horizon and illuminate the plaza at night. It’s the site of the world renowned New Year’s Eve celebration where millions of viewers squeeze into the plaza to watch a countdown and ball drop.

New York City: Times Square

Central Park

This is a giant urban park in the middle of Manhattan borough, with numerous sculptures, nice landscaping and paths meandering throughout. It’s about 0.5 miles wide by 2.5 miles long, with a lake in the center. It was far more beautiful than I expected.

New York City: Central Park

Bryant Park and Library

This area consists of a small lawn and majestic library built in the 1900’s in Manhattan borough. You can enter for free and wander throughout the various rooms, the ornate architecture and decoration are quite beautiful! It’s still a fully functional library with books you can request or check out. The library includes many grand high ceiling walkways, a few large stately study rooms with rows of tables (full of people reading and studying), and many old paintings throughout. The lawn outside has chairs and tables scattered about and cheerful relaxed ambiance, great for a picnic, hangout or coffee with friends. It was quite busy and lively when we visited.

New York City: Bryant Library

Harrisburg (Pennsylvania)

I stayed at Rebecca’s place in Harrisburg for about 2.5 weeks in September-October, which felt very short and flew by much too quickly! We quickly fell back into a regular routine of working all day (me from my computer at home, Rebecca at her dental office), then hanging out together in the evenings and weekends. Overall, was a very relaxing and laid back couple of weeks!

Pennsylvania was one of the original 13 colonies US colonies, which you see represented on flags with the 13 stars arranged in a circle instead of the usual 50 stars in a grid. Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania, despite being much smaller than at least 8 other cities in the state.It has a peaceful small-town vibe and is very green, with cute little neighborhoods and forested areas throughout. The Susquehanna River runs through the middle, crossed by a handful of bridges. The city center area is small and nice, with some interesting older buildings in a handful of different architectural styles. The weather while I was here was pretty mild – summertime warm with blue skies most days, with a few rainy days and cooler temps toward the end of the stay. A few of the trees were just starting to get gold and red leaves, though overall it still felt more like summer than autumn.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: City center

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Bridge near City Island

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna River

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: So green!

Transportation

Like most American cities, the public transportation is basically nonexistent. It’s very difficult, inconvenient and time consuming to get around without having a car. In addition, Uber/Lyft rides are pretty expensive in USA. You can expect to pay $15 for a 15 minute car ride, with prices increasing during rush hour traffic times. Coming from SE Asia were Grab scooter taxi rides were just a couple dollars, the thought of paying these prices for short trips seemed a little outrageous.

The only place I really needed to go on a regular basis was BJJ training. My original plan was to purchase a cheap bike (I found many for sale for under $40 on Craigslist) and bike to the BJJ gym every day. This had seemed totally feasible looking at a map online, but after seeing the distance in person it really didn’t seem like a practical plan anymore. Fortunately Rebecca, being the very wonderful friend that she is and understanding the importance of training almost daily for me, very generously offered to drive and pick me up from training every day! And, since we were doing things together the rest of the time, my own lack of car didn’t really turn out to be a problem at all.

Troegs Hops Dash 5K in Hershey

Somewhere around the middle of the stay, Rebecca, Paul and myself participated in the Troegs 5K race, which was hosted by one of the local breweries in the nearby town of Hershey. The morning was unpleasantly chilly, but warmed up by the time we got moving and the race began. It was a pretty nice course in the countryside, going over a handful of mild hills and through some tree tunnels. This actually made me realize how much I sometimes enjoy running and rekindled my interest in getting into jogging regularly again.

Hershey is a small town named after humanitarian and philanthropist Milton Hershey, founder of today’s Hershey chocolate empire. The town includes a Hershey’s factory, a chocolate history museum, a theme park and has an overall chocolate theme. All the roads are named after chocolate related things, and the ends of the lamp posts are shaped like little Hershey kisses!

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Troegs Hops Dash 5K

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Hershey town

Boxing and Yoga

One Sunday morning, Rebecca took me to her boxing class at Title Boxing Club. There was no live sparring, but it did include wrapping hands, wearing boxing gloves, and practicing various combos against heavy bags for about an hour. And let me just say, I was NOT AT ALL prepared for what an intense workout this turned out to be! I have some chronic shoulder/elbow issues and was a little worried the repetitive punching motion would put too much strain on my shoulder/elbow, but it turned out to be no problem at all.

Boxing was followed by an hour of yoga right across the street hosted by Evergrain Brewing a brewery which every Sunday offers free yoga classes! The class was held inside the main restaurant area, with benches and chairs moved to the side. It was a very full class, including a nice handful of pretty standard yoga sequences. We stayed for a really good brunch breakfast at the brewery after. If I lived in this city, this boxing + yoga + brunch combo would definitely be my regularly Sunday routine!

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Evergrain Brewery

Training at Harrisburg BJJ And Judo

Harrisburg BJJ (Globetrotters affiliated!) became my home gym for the time I stayed in Harrisburg. Everything about this gym was excellent, and I really enjoyed my time training here!

Harrisburg BJJ offered a very full schedule with both gi and nogi classes many times throughout the day, as well as kid’s classes, women’s self defense, judo, kickboxing, and boxing classes. With about 500 members, most classes were pretty full all days I attended. It was a pleasure having so many different people of all levels to train and roll with! The gym was medium size, clean and well maintained, with high quality mats. They were in the middle of painting a large mural across the back wall, which even only half finished looked really nice! I attended the beginner’s followed by advanced classes most weekdays as well as the open mats on Fridays. The ambiance was friendly and welcoming with many tough and very technical rolls – I felt instantly at home here!

Black belts Gregg Anderson (head instructor), David Brogan, Luis Rosa, Shaun Raber, Monica Brogan, and brown belt Bob Landry were the instructors while I was there, all of who were exceptional instructors and a pleasure to learn from, with clear and detail oriented explanations of the techniques. I would have loved to stay here much longer to continue training with this group!

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: A small part of the Harrisburg BJJ & Judy group

Reflection on 2019 Travels

With the end of Pennsylvania trip, it was finally time to head back to my desert home for the “winter”, and for the upcoming BJJ Globetrotters Arizona Camp in Phoenix! Looking back on the last 8 months of travel, I’m amazed at how quickly time goes by – it feels like just yesterday that I was nervously boarding that first plane to Thailand!

Below are some statistics for the 2019 travel year!

  • 232 days of travel since I left Phoenix
  • 12 cities visited (10 of which were new)
  • 7 different countries (4 countries and 2 US states of these were new)
  • 15 new gyms visited
  • 1 BJJ Globetrotter camp (with another coming up before the end of 2019!)
  • 1 belt promotion (from white to blue!)

For the first time, I also completely circumnavigated the globe, leaving from the west and returning from the East! Looking at these numbers, they seem much too small to adequately encompass all that’s happened in the last 8 months, the vast amounts of new experiences and millions of unforgettable little moments. Traveling to SE Asia represented a HUGE step for me as a traveler, as it was the furthest and most culturally different places I’d yet traveled to. Going there solo and planning to stay for many months was a huge step outside my comfort zone. After these many months of travel, I feel I’ve become considerably more confident, knowledgeable, and comfortable with this kind of long-term travel, and much less shy when it comes to meeting new people and interacting with strangers (some of whom don’t always speak English). I’ve also greatly improved and streamlined my packing and unpacking techniques, and embraced the minimalist lifestyle, which I’d already been doing before but just not to this extreme.

After these last months of traveling SE Asia and parts of Europe, this is what I’ve learned.

  • People are amazingly kind and helpful everywhere.
  • Despite seemingly huge cultural differences, people are actually pretty similar all over the world, with the same basic hopes, fears, problems, and dreams.
  • Clean air is a wonderful thing and not available everywhere. Do not take it for granted!
  • Training BJJ transcends all languages and cultures! And is a great way to meet local people and connect over a shared interest.
  • With some careful planning and smart destination choices, it’s entirely possible to budget travel the world for as little or considerably less than it would cost to live in the US. You do not need tons of money to travel!

In regards to BJJ, I feel like my skills have vastly improved over the last year! I now have a much better grasp of the fundamentals, and can absorb new techniques with much greater ease than was possible a year ago.

Google Map screenshot of 2019 travels!

Thank You!

I’d just like to take a moment to express thanks to everyone who’s been a part of my 2019 travels. Thanks Christian for sponsorship and blog space, and for creating the incredible community that is BJJ Globetrotters! Thanks to the many instructors and training partners who have welcomed me to train with their teams, for some great rolls and the knowledge you’ve shared. Thanks Vara for being part of that first big plunge into SE Asia, and for introducing me to Thailand! Thanks to my Belgian relatives for their endless hospitality and many wonderful meals – it is always a great pleasure to return and visit! Thanks Rebecca for letting me stay at your place for awhile, and for showing me around your beautiful town! Thanks to my parents for their unending support of my somewhat unconventional lifestyle. Lastly, thanks to everyone I’ve met along the way for your kindness, recommendations, gym invites, tips, encouraging words, insights and for sharing your cities and cultures with me!

Future Travels

Looking ahead to the upcoming months and the 2020 year, I plan to stay in Phoenix until at least Christmas but will undoubtedly continue traveling for a large part of 2020. While being a full time traveler is not sunshine and rainbows all the time, the experiences and memories gained make the challenges and difficult days well worthwhile. I can think of no better way to spend the upcoming year then continuing to slowly traveling the world, training BJJ all along the way! I’m already registered for Estonia Spring Camp and Summer Camp Germany, so will definitely be back in Europe around that time, and will undoubtedly be spending some time in Belgium visiting family again. Beyond that, there is no concrete plan yet – 2020 is full of possibilities! Cheers to the BJJ community and the ongoing adventure!

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Strange Injury. Do I Still Deem This West Coast, Best Coast?

TL;DR – Messed up my neck/shoulder, but the recovery is going well. Although I am not training right now so I’m lowkey depressed. You live and learn. Also talking about some gyms in Las Vegas + The Bay Area. 

For a recent work trip, I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and San Francisco. I was so excited to check out the fight capital and the big-name gyms in the Bay area. All very exciting until I realized:

  1. Traveling for work is NOT traveling for fun
  2. Scheduling is a big issue
  3. Work won’t cover my Ubers/Lyfts to training
  4. So… the conversion between CAD -> USD is heartbreaking 
  5. Also, drop-in fees! I was taken aback. Sigh, all done within reasons I understand.
    But still. 

After taking all this into account, I was only able to drop into 3 gyms – Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu in downtown Las Vegas, Guardian Gym in Oakland and San Francisco BJJ in San Francisco.

Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu – A gym tucked away in a little plaza on Oakley Blvd. You can see the Stratosphere Hotel in the background. I gotta say, walking west on Wyoming Avenue from the Strip was sort of sketchy. I was told that they’re gentrifying the entire area (think – quiet street, boarded up shops everywhere, missing coats of paint) – I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into. Glad I made the trek though. It’s a really friendly place. I participated in the no-gi class with their teacher Rodrigo. We were going over side mount escapes. On top of getting decent rolls and no injuries, I was really happy with my experience here. Of course, if I had the time, I would’ve loved to check out Sergio Penha or Robert Drysdale’s gyms too. 

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Rodrigo and I @ CKJJ

San Francisco BJJ – I heard that Caio Terra would be around. If you don’t want to finish reading this post, I’ll be the first to tell you that he was NOT around the Tuesday I visited. I stayed for 2 sessions of no-gi with Denny Prokopos (I believe this used to be a 10th Planet SF) and had a good chuckle, as Denny’s lessons had a dramatic/comedic flair to it. I drilled technique with the only other girl there. It was nice to drill with someone my size- it had been a while since I’d seen another girl on the mats (which speaks to my inconsistency). Overall, I had some challenging rolls (everyone’s hooks were quite sticky- I had trouble passing one guy for the entire round). Again, if I had the time, Bay Jiu-Jitsu, Empire Jiu-Jitsu and Ralph Gracie were on my list too (oh well, next time!).

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Kristen, Denny and I @ SFBJJ

Guardian Gym – I found the gym via the Matsurfing map and really supported the nonprofit work they do. Kids train free there and supports a lot of youth programs. They accept donations for drop-ins. A very honest environment and cool space, but they’re apparently moving to a larger location (a bit further into Oakland, though) soon. I attended an incredible no-gi open mat on Sunday with my friend Ivo. I had a great time, and could tell that I landed a great group of higher belts because I came out injury free! I rolled with someone 3 times because we were roughly the same size and weight – I could truly practice my techniques and movement a lot more. So seeing how successful Sunday was, I opted to come back on Wednesday with Ivo’s coworker who actually trains at Guardian.

Open Mat @ Guardian Gym

Ivo and I. Been told my mouth guard makes it look like I'm missing teeth.

We did a beginner’s no-gi class. I partnered with someone roughly my size. Everything was going well- technique and drilling all worked fine, it was all great, until the roll. I don’t know what happened (typical BJJ answer) but I was in side control at some point and perhaps it was from the pressure (because there was no hint of submission) but the joints in my neck cavitated (these are all words from my friend in Chiropractor school). Imagine knuckle cracking. Except on my neck. It sounded like a semi-automatic rifle going off (too soon?) and my partner kind of dropped me and screamed. Again, never had this happen to me before. Here I am trying to catch my breath and refocus my vision, and everyone’s stopped to make sure I have no numbness or tingling sensations flowing through my fingers. I was even foolish enough to try drilling with someone, then realizing that the pain had traveled to my shoulder/I could not even complete the motion of leg dragging. I sat out for the entire round, very frustrated but not stupid. It just sucked that it was my last night before going home and I really wanted to get some good rolls in. But I’m not stupid.

If there’s anything I learned, traveling for work is not traveling for fun. I work in media production/marketing/communications/creative. That field. What if I had to run some type of production the next day? Oh sorry, I can’t do my job because I messed up my neck and shoulder in jiu-jitsu? I’m not out here to get fired (especially also since I just started a new gig). I’ve learned that I need to be more careful and stick to rolling with higher belts, especially if I am away from home. 

Pro-Tip: Unless you’re on some insanely expensive travel/medical insurance coverage, BJJ is usually NOT covered. My company will definitely not buy me the highest level of World Nomads Insurance, let me tell you that!

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Ground Fight Family (Training report for BJJ in Mallorca, Spain)

BJJ in Mallorca, Spain

 While working in Frankfurt, I chose Mallorca as my first vacation destination. With turquoise-blue waters and scenic beaches, the island was a perfect location to get away from somewhat gloomy Frankfurt. However, first things first, I had to find an academy to train during my vacation. After some digging, I got in touch with Ground Fight Family through BJJ Globetrotters who welcomed me to the incredible island. (Also, I received a t-shirt as a gift, which remains one of my favorites).

bjj in mallorca

Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for recent updates: @jwwseo

Island
Mallorca, one of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, is one of the most sought-after summer destinations filled with clear waters, hidden coves, and vibrant nightlife. The island is generously furnished with luxury hotels and villas, and the incredible local cuisines and wines only add to its appeal. From charming villages to beach clubs, the island is filled with activities and relaxation. After the sun sets, there is always the nightlife to complete your vacation. To get away from mundane city life, Mallorca is arguably one of the perfect holiday destinations in Europe.

Overview
Ground Fight Family (GFF) was established by Javier Jurado, José Martin, and Isaac Indart in 2015. With various martial arts backgrounds including Judo and MMA, the founders brought their expertise together and started a school dedicated to MMA and BJJ in Mallorca. GFF is currently under the flag of Crazy Team, which is led by Tito Beltran who awarded all of the founders their BJJ black belts. Under the guidance of the head coach, Javi Murdock who is a BJJ Black belt under Professor Tito Beltran, Ground Fight Family has approximately 140 students and constantly growing.

My experience at Ground Fight Family was nothing but positive. I got in touch with Javi via BJJ Globetrotters’ Facebook page. I messaged him and received a welcome message “Hey mate, you are welcome here.” After realizing that it was quite challenging to reach the facility via public transportation, Humberto and Mateu were kind enough to drive me to the gym. I cannot thank everyone at Ground Fight Family enough for their hospitality during my visit. The friendly training atmosphere was not the only element that stood out about the academy. The level of grappling skills at GFF was also notable. From drilling to rolling, the students at GFF seem to have solid foundations and grappling instincts. Under the outstanding instruction, professors and students actively compete in national and international levels to constantly challenge themselves and frequently place in those tournaments.

With Ground Fight Family’s welcoming environment combined with high-level training, I could not ask for more. I understand that when you visit Mallorca your priority might not be training. However, Ground Fight Family is an outstanding academy worth visiting, guided by incredible instructors. The academy will welcome you to join the training on the island with open arms. I truly felt that Ground Fight Family was a family rather than just a regular academy. If you are in Mallorca, you should not miss out on the quality training at GFF that Mallorca has to offer. Thank you, Ground Fight Family. I will be back!

Location & Facility
Ground Fight Family is located in the north of Palma, and the facility is located within the Mallorca Brotherhood Sports Complex (Castello Street Gremi Fusters 13). The academy has a spacious gray mat with basic training equipment on the side. There are public transportation options in Mallorca, but it is more convenient to rent a car to navigate around the island. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
Ground Fight Family offers classes from Mondays to Fridays with open mats on Saturdays. From no-gi BJJ to MMA, the academy presents a variety of options to its members. The academy’s most recent schedule is posted below:

Visitor Pass
Ground Fight family did not charge me for training. However, it is always courteous to reach out to the gym before your visit.

Things to do outside of training BJJ in Mallorca 

  • Palma Cathedral Le Seu — Originally started as a mosque, Catedral de Mallorca was reconstructed by the King Jaume of Aragon as a cathedral. Overlooking the Bay of Palma to the south, Palma Cathedral Le Seu features a spectacular Gothic masterpiece. The exterior of the cathedral cannot be missed in the Mallorca skyline, but its magnificent stained glass and interior are just as stunning.
  • Sóller — Take a vintage train from Palma through the Tramuntana mountains, and you will reach the town of Sóller that sits in the heart of orange groves between the mountains and the sea. With countless tapas bars and local ice-cream shops, there is little temptation to leave the town. With its rich history and full of architectural gems, the town draws affluent travelers from all over the world.
  • Mallorca’s Beaches — With 262 beaches around the island, Mallorca is a paradise for sun-lovers and beach-goers. The clear waters of Mallorca are perfect for water sports from sailing to surfing. If water, sports are not your thing, you can simply relax and enjoy the pearly sands surrounded by pine trees and beautiful waves.
  • Beach Clubs — Mallorca offers some of the finest beach clubs in the world, which will take sunbathing and relaxation to a new level. With services ranging from comfy lounges and signature cocktails to exciting pool parties with live music, Mallorca’s beach clubs are a must-visit.

A big thanks to all the people who helped me train BJJ in Mallorca!