Entries by J.W. Seo

Training Report: Black House Jiu-Jitsu (Miami Beach, FL, USA)

Hello, everyone. I am back! After a long break due to COVID-19, I finally had a chance to travel again. I felt rather strange visiting a new gym in a new city after quarantining in my tiny NYC apartment for so long. At the same time, I could not be more excited to start an […]

Training Report: Fifty/50 Martial Arts Academy (Falls Church, VA, USA)

After a 2-year-long backpacking journey in Asia and Europe, I finally returned to the United States to resume the glorious corporate lifestyle. Don’t worry, I still have countless cities and academies that are still on my bucket list! Before moving back to New York City, I had a pleasure of living like a teenager again […]

Training Report: Aorta BJJ (Brussels, Belgium)

After almost 2 years of being a BJJ Globetrotter, I finally planned a reunion with my college friends in Brussels. Sadly, this will be my last training report in Europe (only for now!) before returning to the United States. Don’t worry, I expect more training in Europe in the future! On a Friday evening, I […]

Training Report: MK Team Paris (France)

On a sunny Saturday morning, I hopped on a TGV from Luxembourg Gare Centrale around 5am heading to the city of love, Paris. Although it was an early morning, I have always fantasized about the city, and I could not wait to arrive and explore it myself. Knowing that the next couple of days would […]

Training report: 10th Planet Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

If anyone is planning a Euro trip, Amsterdam is always top of the list, and I was thrilled to finally visit the infamous city after 2 years of backpacking. Especially, I planned to catch up with my Dutch friends whom I met in Thailand (Hey Jan, Gaya, Kyra!), and I could not wait for the […]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Sri Lanka (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Colombo, Sri Lanka — In order to get away from the harsh European winter, I booked a flight to Sri Lanka. My “winter” vacation mostly consisted of immersing myself in Sri Lanka’s scenic beaches and green highlands while eating delicious koththu rotti and sipping the country’s famous tea. Luckily after gaining 10lbs in 2 weeks, I had […]

Infini Jiu-Jitsu (Strasbourg, France)

Strasbourg, France —Next Stop: Strasbourg and its most popular and possibly the oldest Christmas market in Europe! Also, it was my first city in France on my journey, and I could not have been more excited. Although my weekend trip to Strasbourg was rather short, I had an opportunity to drop by Infini Jiu-Jitsu’s open mat […]

Visiting Munich MMA (Munich, Germany)

Munich, Germany — Next stop: Munich and its wondrous Oktoberfest! Before my trip, I posted on BJJ Globetrotters’ Facebook page asking for a gym recommendation while I was in Munich for Oktoberfest. Although most people in the group predictably and understandably did not agree with my choice, I got in touch with Ben Schotthöfer at Munich MMA […]

ExitAsia (Freiburg, Germany)

Freiburg, Germany — Living and working in Europe presented me with many opportunities for weekend trips. Compared to the United States and Australia, weekend getaways to different cities and even new countries were easily manageable in Europe. I could simply leave either Friday evening or Saturday morning after work and return Sunday night. One of the destinations […]

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 […]

High Rollers Jiu Jitsu (located in Lichtenfels, Germany)

High Rollers Jiu Jitsu in Lichtenfels, Germany  Prior to starting to work in Frankfurt, my German road trip had one more stop. Via my friend’s recommendation, I discovered Bamberg, Germany, which is one of those beautiful German settlements with a rich history but are often overlooked by the average tourists in favor of more famous […]

Training report: Hilti BJJ in Berlin, Germany

Training report from Hilti BJJ in Berlin, Germany  Before I started working in Frankfurt, my German road trip continued. As Paris is for France and London is for England, Berlin comes first to everyone’s mind while thinking of Germany. From the Berlin Wall to the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin was the city I had always dreamed […]

Academia Five Elements Jiu-Jitsu (Lisbon, Portugal)

Lisbon, Portugal — Before I started my job in Frankfurt, I had a couple of weeks to kill. During that time, I decided to visit David, my digital nomad friend who was then living in a hacker house in Lisbon. David and I met while we were traveling in Japan, and I was thrilled to catch up […]

Training report: Alliance BJJ – Frankfurt, Germany

After the successful interview in Luxembourg, I was offered a job as a Financial Analyst. For the first few months of my newfound job, I was based out of Frankfurt, which became my home base while I traveled in Europe. In Frankfurt, Alliance Jiu-Jitsu became my home gym and is where I received my blue […]

Uplay Martial Arts – BJJ Luxembourg

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg — Have you heard of Luxembourg? I myself was vaguely familiar with it, but could not have told you anything about the country until I temporarily lived there. This past January, I was traveling in Germany when I received an invite to interview for a job; I had to jump on a plane for […]

German Top Team (Reutlingen, Germany)

Reutlingen, Germany —The road trip in Germany through Matsurfing continued. After training in Stuttgart with my host, Philipp, he invited me to visit his old training ground in Reutlingen. Visiting this unknown city was unplanned, but I was rather excited to explore a smaller German city and train at a new academy. Without Philipp, there […]

Impacto Team (Stuttgart, Germany)

Stuttgart, Germany — Let the German road trip begin! With a working holiday visa in Germany in my hand, I was searching for a job. At the same time, it was an opportunity for me to travel within the country. The first stop was Stuttgart, and I got in touch with Philipp via Matsurfing. As […]

Roger Gracie Academy Gymbox (London, England)

Roger Gracie Academy in London, England  “Do you guys also train BJJ?” asked Jack. I was meeting with my Matsurfing host, Joe, in his office in London, and Jack happened to walk by and started talking to us out of nowhere. Some of you who went to the BJJ Globetrotters’ camps might have met Jack […]

Training report: London Fight Factory (England)

 After a long but exciting journey in Asia and Australia, my euro trip began in the UK. Thanks to BJJ Globetrotters’ Matsurfing, I got in touch with my host, Joe. Before moving forward with the post, I would like to thank Joe for being an amazing host and becoming a new friend. Despite his busy […]

Training report: Toronto BJJ (Toronto, Canada)

Toronto BJJ, Canada Before moving to Europe from Asia, I decided to take a quick detour to Canada. Although I lived in New York City for a while, I never visited Canada, and this was my chance. With Toronto’s perfect weather in early June, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to visit the city. […]