Featured traveller: Karl-Johan Larsson – BJJ Globetrotters

Thailand, San Diego and Beyond: We caught up with Karl-Johan Larsson to find out where he’s been and plans for future travels.
“Travelling and training often brings you out of your comfort zone. You have no choice but to talk to strangers and ask questions that feel stupid.”

Name: Karl-Johan Larsson – BJJ Globetotters
Age: 25 years old
Belt: Blue, 3 stripes
Profession: I’m an electrician
How many years in BJJ: I have trained BJJ for about 1.5 years
Other martial arts: Grappling, Full Contact Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and MMA
Where do you live: Örebro, Sweden
Where are you originally from: A small village outside Örebro, called Glanshammar
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I am a pretty mean tattoo artist when I’m drunk, I think…

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?

The first time I travelled to train was in 2014. I went to Thailand for a month to do Muay Thai at Dragon Muay Thai in Chalong. I had set my mind on doing my first fight ever but while training for the fight I realised that meeting people from all over the world who shared my passion for a good fight was the thing I wanted to do. I won the fight, but compared to the friends I met that doesn’t matter much does it?

Karl-Johan Larsson – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?

My most recent travel was to Barcelona with some of my students who I currently coach in my home town. My girlfriend and I used to live in Barcelona and that is why we graduate under Robin Gracie who is the son of Helio Gracie. We chose to live at Rocket Hostel Barcelona which I can recommend to everyone regardless what your plans are in Barcelona. Everyone at the hostel was so helpful and friendly, I really can’t give them enough credit for it! The hostel is located about 300m from Gracie Barcelona academy, which obviously is perfect if you go there to train. A friend of mine, José, who is a brown belt under Robin, hosted a self-defence seminar with Robin at Gracie Molins de Rei, which is located 20 min outside of Barcelona. After the seminar José threw an amazing BBQ in his house up in the mountains. The ride home from the mountains was also an experience. For those who have had a car-ride with a Brazilian you know what I’m talking about! On the weekdays Robin does four one hour sessions, always the same setup: light stretching, three techniques and three rounds of sparring. The atmosphere at the academy is one of a kind! Everyone is welcome to train at their own pace. You can do all the techniques and all the sparring or you can choose to just sit back and chill or try some cool stuff you saw on YouTube. Anything goes as long as you aren’t too loud.

This past summer me and my girlfriend Elina travelled to San Diego for a month to train at Atos HQ. Atos had just won the prize for ‘Best Academy’ at Worlds the week before and it really met all of our expectations. The training reflected the gold medals decorating the walls, you could understand why the place is pumping out some of the best BJJ athletes. The sessions were 1.5 hours consisting of a thorough warm up, drills, super detailed techniques and at least 35 minutes all in sparring. At first we were feeling smashed and defeated but after a few days we got more used to the tempo. It was easy to talk to everyone and the general feeling in the gym was very welcoming. Their well deserved reputation of being the best gym in the world brings a lot of travellers to pass by. It is also common that people move to San Diego just to train full time. While we where there we met Marcus Tan and Alessia Frissina, two super nice globetrotters who currently run a blog that you can find on globetrotters.com.

Elina and I just recently bought a van that we are rebuilding into a home to live in. We are gonna drive it all over Europe as soon as Elina finishes law school, to train BJJ and meet new friends for as long as possible – stay tuned!

Karl-Johan Larsson – BJJ gym

 

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?

Like I mentioned earlier, my favorite thing about traveling is to meet friends from all over the world! Other than that I love to experience different cultures and eat my way through new cities, gladly trying some new (vegetarian) dishes accompanied by a cold tap beer.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth travelling and
training?

Travelling and training often brings you out of your comfort zone. You have no choice but to talk to strangers and ask questions that feel stupid. I first started training BJJ in Barcelona, with the consequence of having all instructions in Spanish. I had to swallow my pride and not only get smashed in sparring, but also at the language. The experience made me a better person, more humble and more open.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when travelling?

How fucking gangster sea-lions are.

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?

No, not really. But when we get the van on the road the budget-issue is gonna be real. Hit me with your best tips and tricks!

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?

There are no strangers here, only friends you have not meet yet (quote: William Butler Yeats).

Thank you Karl-Johan Larsson – BJJ Globetrotters for doing this interview!