Featured Traveller: Taehoney Kim – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: 34
Belt: Purple
Profession: Sports coach and personal trainer after majoring in Sports Science; adventurer and writer after last year’s trip.
How many years in BJJ: 10-ish years
Other martial arts: Korean wrestling (Ssireum), Wrestling, MMA, Muay Thai
Where do you live: Canada
Where are you from: South Korea
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I love challenges. I’ve taken some not-so-easy trips, going on hiking trips, road trips, and backpacking adventures. I’ve spent nights in a snow cave or under the stars in -20°C weather. I got stuck on a glacier for 11 hours in the middle of Alaska, and later encountered a cougar. Instead of getting surgery on my right arm, I hiked the West Coast Trail – one of the toughest and most fun trails in the world! Last year, I trained Jiu-Jitsu in a forbidden gym deep in the forests of Ukraine. I’ve had so many awesome experiences like this that always make me smile.
Taehoney Kim – BJJ Globetrotters
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I realised that traveling can be just like everyday life – not just a special event, but part of it. Travel and daily life are two sides of the same coin. When you’re at home, you dream of traveling. When you’re traveling, you miss home. I feel the same way, but instead of separating travel and training, I decided to combine them and write about the experience!
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I’m traveling right now. I started my journey from Canada to the southern tip of South America on 1st January 2025. I’ve already driven 10,000 km from Calgary to Vancouver, passed through the U.S. west coast, and reached Cabo San Lucas, the southernmost point of Baja California. I’m trying to make it all the way to the end of South America. At the same time, I’m training BJJ throughout my journey.
Finally, I plan to compete in the Brazilian National Championship at the end of April. Do you think it’s possible? My van and I are both old, which means we’ve both had a lot of issues. Most of my money went into fixing the van, and now I’m financially struggling. It’s not easy to prepare for a competition while traveling another 10,000 km to Brazil. I don’t speak Spanish or Portuguese, and even my English isn’t perfect.
So, I don’t know.
But I don’t want to give up.
Taehoney Kim – BJJ Globetrotters
What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
- I get to live life for myself.
- People. Life is amazing, and there are so many incredible people in the world.
- Training. Every training session feels like a seminar to me.
- Experiences. It’s not just about external experiences, but also about discovering more about myself.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
I suddenly started a trip last year after my divorce, with no plan, no money, and no timeline. During those 80 days, I traveled through 10 countries and 35 cities, meeting new people, discovering new places, and taking time to reflect on myself. During a conversation in London (thank you Olga), I realised that I want to prioritise training Jiu-Jitsu, as it always makes me feel alive. Once I understood how important Jiu Jitsu was to me, I began training during my travels. I visited many gyms that welcomed me, including Tristar Gym—one of the best gyms in Canada—where they helped me a lot. I also trained in a forbidden gym located in a restricted military area deep in the Ukrainian forest. When there was no gym available, I trained alone on the east coast of Canada or on remote islands. At the end of my journey, I competed in a superfight in Saskatchewan—and I won!
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
My last 80-day trip around the world was an incredible experience. I decided to continue my journey of TTT (Tay + Travel + Training) once again!
While preparing for my second journey, I learned about BJJ Globetrotters from my BJJ mate (thank you, Jerry!). I decided to start van life, which would allow me to both travel and train (thank you Don, Gato, Aggi, Greg, and Rob!). I bought a van and set off on my journey south with my friend Ki, who joined me for a month from South Korea. We had an amazing time exploring places like natural hot springs hidden deep in the mountains, coastal attractions, and deserts. We also encountered wildlife—elk, seals, sea lions, and even whales!
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. We had a flat tire, got stuck in the desert multiple times, and even had to get towed back to Mexico after struggling to cross the border because my van refused to start again. We visited mechanics six times, including one night when we had to sleep inside a locked mechanic shop just before reaching Las Vegas.
But we made it! We finally reached Cabo San Lucas, the southernmost tip of Baja California.
And this is where my real story begins.
After Ki left, I planned to drive 2000 km to Texas, to focus on BJJ training. Before that, I wanted to get my van checked, because after 10,000 km on the road it had started making strange noises under the hood. Then came the bad news. The mechanic found a serious engine problem. He told me I needed to stop driving immediately before the engine broke down completely. (He even said it wouldn’t be surprising if the engine failed at any moment due to a broken pulley.) Worse, there were no replacement parts in Las Vegas. He assumed there were no parts available in the U.S. at all because my van was too old. The only option was to order the part from Germany, which would take 10 weeks. On top of that, the repair would be expensive because they’d have to remove the entire engine to fix it. (They didn’t even charge me for the diagnosis because the news was so bad.)
I felt completely frustrated.
I had two choices: give up my trip, or give up my van. After thinking it over, I realised I didn’t want to give up either. So I took a third option: going back to Mexico, where repairs would be cheaper and I already had a positive experience. I started driving south again, going no faster than 40 mph (about 65 km/h). It wasn’t easy. On the highway through the Mojave Desert, I feel like a turtle as cars sped past me at over 130 km/h. It was enough to make me go crazy. Then, this crazy Tay had a wild thought…
Just a week earlier, Ki and I had visited the Mojave Desert, and I had lost my right AirPod there. Now, as I was passing through the desert to save my van, I thought: what about my Airpod? Before I even realised it, I found myself heading back into the desert with my still-unfixed van. I pulled over just before the off-road area and prepared a solo run deep into the desert. And unbelievably—I found my AirPod!
That small moment completely changed my mood. It reminded me of Route 66, which I realised would be a safer route for my slow-moving van. Taking that road led me to an old man in an emergency situation. Through that experience, I met two girls (thank you, Erin and Tanya!) who had also helped him, and they gave me a tip about a skilled mechanic. So I drove two days to San Bernardino to find him. And there, he said he had the parts I needed! Even better, he told me they didn’t need to remove my engine to fix the problem!
That was it. This was my most surprising experience.
Taehoney Kim – BJJ Globetrotters
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
Of course I am! I believe limitations make everything more fun. But in my case, I’ve been able to handle every problem so far thanks to the amazing people I’ve met. So these days, I don’t worry too much about the budget. I care more about my time and the people I meet. To make that possible, the most important thing is taking care of my body and mind. I’ve learned how to manage my body—I know simple and nutritious recipes to keep myself fuelled. And I use my driving time for stretching or mental training. These habits help me save both time and budget.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
My favourite person told me: “The biggest enemy of the challenge is the advice of those who have not challenged”.
If you want to travel, buy the plane ticket first.
If you want to compete, register for the match first.
Then you are going to move.
