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Greetings From Bucharest Romania! (13-21 Aug 2017)

I left on a train from Iasi for Bucharest, looking forward to Meet and train at the Absoluto BJJ HQ that Mihai talked so much about, little did I know how much plans would change in the coming days. The train route I was taking involved a transfer at one point, at a station in the middle of nowhere where no one spoke English and there was no wifi. I’m glad I had my ticket printed to show to people so they could at least just point to the platform. I had over an hour to wait for the next train, even after all the time it took to figure out which platform it was arriving on. The train I was connecting to was quite late so I was worried I had missed it, maybe I was on the wrong platform, maybe the previous train was the one I should have boarded, not until I was assured by a conductor that I was on the right train did I finally relax.

It was evening by the time I arrived in Bucharest, I was tired and starting not to feel too well. At first I decided to take a taxi rather than figure out the transit system. I walked outside to the one of the waiting taxis and asked how much to get to the the hostel I was staying at, which wasn’t that far. I was told an outrageous price so I asked if he would put on the meter as I knew it be would no more than half the price he asked. He refused, telling me it would the same and then telling me it doesn’t work, so I told him he’s crazy to ask that much and went to the next taxi who also asked for an outrageous price. When I asked him to run the meter instead he told me “Meter? No, it’s Sunday, and in the evening, and it’s doesn’t work well..” because apparently all the meters don’t work well when it’s a Sunday evening. I had seen on Google maps on my phone that there was a train station nearby, so I said loud enough so other people exiting the train station could hear me “That’s a stupid price, I can take the train for way less” and walked off toward the subway. I got to the hostel easy enough and settled in, ready to sleep and plan out my visit in Bucharest. 

Staying In Bucharest And Taking A Break

I woke up still not feeling well and decided, with the BJJ Globetrotters Fall Camp around the corner, which would be my first camp attending, I would skip training and relax. Hopefully I would feel better for the camp I was so excited for and just take in the sites in Bucharest. I spent some time looking online at the sights and monuments in Bucharest and decide on which ones to see and film and take pictures of, over my time visiting Bucharest I got to see a lot of the city, which has a lot to see.

Unfortunately my memory card on my phone glitched during this trip and I lost most of the pictures, luckily the videos I took were all intact and I was able to make this video. To watch the video you can head to the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel. Share some love and like, share, comment or subscribe to the channel!

You can also see what ever pictures I managed to save from this trip on my Flickr Account.

Meeting Leonie

During my stay at the hostel in Bucharest I met Leonie, a German woman on vacation checking out Romania. We went out for food one day and wandered about taking photos of the city, I had a picture (that I lost) of the top of a building that was riddled with stray artillery fire from the war. It was cool wandering with Leonie as she would pick out little details from buildings like that, we would guess what the old buildings are before reading their signs, or talk about what they might have been before. Many good times were had hanging out with her so when she mentioned she was off to Brasov to see Transylvania and Castle Bran, Dracula’s castle, and asked if I wanted to come along I couldn’t refuse. Throughout the trip Leonie had her camera with her taking all sorts of great photos, you can see her blog on the vacation and all her awesome photos from our adventures HERE. I’m so glad I met her at the hostel as I probably would have just sat there watching Netflix otherwise, thanks for the good times Leonie, until we meet again!

Adventures In Brasov

With the new plans to head to Brasov we headed out to the train station in the morning and picked up tickets for the next train that wouldn’t be for some time. After grabbing a coffee and waiting we decided to head to the platform we thought we were informed to wait at. All the boards were in Romanian and neither one of us could read what they said so we were going off of the broken English instructions from the ticket desk. We walked out and sat down and waited, and waited. Other trains came and went and finally after about 30 minutes past when our train was supposed to be in Leonie went to go find out what was up. She came back in hurry to tell me we had missed our train that was on another platform and if we hurry we can exchange for the next one that is coming soon. We walked back to the ticket desk to see there was a big line up, it took forever to get to the front, so much so that when we finally got out tickets exchanged we had to run back to the platforms in order to catch our train. It’s funny now picturing us running “Is that our train?!” “Platform 6, right?” “Wait for us!!” We hopped on just in time found a seat and sat down, each taking a big sigh to finally be on our way to Brasov. After about 5 minutes of us being on the train now out of Bucharest Leonie asked “Did you read the sign on the train? Are we on the right one?” Which then led to us anxiously waiting for another 10 minutes for the conductor to come by and check out tickets. We were in fact on the train and all was good.

We were staying in different hostels since I booked mine last minute but both were walking distance from the train station. Leonie’s was closer so I walked her there and we agreed to meet later, in an hour or so time from then, and get some exploring in while the sun was still up. Neither one of us had data on our phones so we would have to use the wifi at our hostels, once Leonie sent me the message she was leaving to meet me there was no way to for me to tell her if there were last minute set backs, or for her if she got lost on the way. Luckily Brasov isn’t very big and the meeting area, in the main street tourist area, was pretty straight forward, and also I tend to stand out, so we were able to meet up easily enough. Navigating around the town on the other hand was a bit of pain at times especially when we were trying to find a path up to the fortress or use the buses, but we managed and had a great time wandering the town and checking out all the old buildings. Leonie had a thick Romania tourist guide book so we had all sorts of information about the area at our fingertips, I shot us walking around and sight seeing and with the added information to what were looking at it gave a new depth to appreciating the old architecture and history of Brasov and Bran. As I said earlier my phone glitched and I lost all the pictures of the area but at least Leonie has a great collection of photos on her blog of our adventures, which you can see HERE. There is also the video I put together below you can watch over at the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel.

Let’s Go See Dracula!

I was looking forward to seeing Dracula’s Castle, even though I knew it was nothing like the movies and Vlad didn’t actually live there. It’s a monument to a source of a piece of classic literature as well as a historic symbol to one of the most interesting and influential people in Eastern European history. Vlad III (The Impaler) seems like such a fictional character and with his life being the source material for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it’s hard to distinguish fact from fiction. To be honest I didn’t read too much of the information posted in each room explaining and separating the two as I didn’t want to ruin the illusion I’ve had since childhood. In my mind I walked through a castle of a real life vampire that Van Helsing defeated. The castle itself, in actuality not near as huge as described in the novel, was the setting for ‘Dracula’ so being there and walking through it as I learned more about it’s connection to the real Vlad III was a great experience. I wonder what the townsfolk thought of this place back in the day, maybe they had their own stories of what went on in that place they would tell among each other before Bram Stoker’s novel swept the world.

The next day after Leonie and I got to Brasov and did some evening exploring started early. We met up and made our way to the bus station that would take us down to Bran, it was a bit difficult getting there at first as we had to use a city bus to get across the town to the station and the bus routes are a bit confusing. We made it with only having to ask the locals a few times for reassurance that we were going the right way and on the right bus. Besides that we got to castle Bran without too much of an adventure. When the bus pulled up to the castle we could see the clearing in front was busy. There’s a big market selling all kinds of shirts and souvenirs and snacks (even a haunted house!) at the base of the property that the line to the castle goes through. We walked around all the stalls and it was hard not to buy anything, especially a shirt, but somehow I held out and settled later on buying a Castle Bran patch to add to my collection. The castle tour itself was interesting, with some great views of the area from the top, but way too packed with other tourists. There were was really interesting rooms, like the room explaining the fact and fiction of Vlad III and the room with his old armour and weapons and most well known outfits, but there were so many people around that there were times where we had to wait forever to get a decent picture or wait a long time just to move to the next room or be able to read a sign. I’m glad I went with Leonie and got to see this place and I would absolutely love to go to their Halloween party, but I do think they need to monitor the amount of people they allow in at a time. I put together a video of the castle tour that you can see over on the Pandas’ Odyssey YouTube Channel.   

If you’re a fan of the music I use in my videos it’s from my brother’s band Phantom, give them a listen and a follow or grab their music at their Facebook Page if you like.

After such an awesome time exploring with a new friend it was time to head back to Bucharest, I had only come up to stay 2 nights, time enough to explore with Leonie. I had to head back and get my things ready, I was about to head off back to Heidelberg Germany for my very first BJJ Globetrotters Camp, which I wrote about in my ‘Seminars & Camps‘ post. If you haven’t read it before be sure to check it out, I did an interview with Christian Graugart about the camps and Globetrotters organization as well as my take on the camps and how awesome they are. My next article takes place after the camp when I returned to traveling around Eastern Europe, starting at Sofia Bulgaria.

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

WAYS TO SUPPORT PANDA’S ODYSSEY!

Sign up to the Panda’s Odyssey Patreon Account.

Buy Panda’s Odyssey Patches at The Gi Hive.

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Follow me and other traveling Jiu-Jitsueros at the BJJ Globetrotters blog section.

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Greetings From Chisinau Moldova & Iasi Romania! (1-6, & 6-13 August 2017)

Hello! I decided to merge the next two spots I visited because my visit to Chisinau isn’t enough to fill one article on it’s own and in these two spots I decided to start making new videos, which I’ve put out since but will be posting again here.

I had some interesting rides going to both places. First it was heading off to Moldova on a bus. Bogdan brought me to the bus station and found the proper bus for me. The buses were more like vans than a real bus and they weren’t properly labeled either, so finding the right one is a bit of a task. Bogdan talked to a guy standing by the bus, smoking and not looking too interested in the whole affair. Afterwards Bogdan then says to me, ‘This is the bus, they’ve changed the schedule but they’ll take you, just get in’. And in 5 minutes we were off to Odesa, even though I’m sure the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave for another 20 minutes. It was smooth trip to Odesa but from there on it changed and became more interesting. I got off the ‘bus’ and headed into the restaurant in the station, the bus station was set up as a market with different stalls for souvenirs or magazines and snacks at every parking bay outside and a restaurant and different stores inside. The restaurant had wifi and I had 2 hrs to wait until my next ‘bus’ so I ordered some food and waited and tried using the slow but free internet.

When it came to leaving on the next bus I walked out looking for it, checking each and every parking bay sign. I walked around twice and nowhere did I find anything saying ‘Chisinau’ so I asked around and although none of the stall operators seemed to speak English I had a copy of the ticket and would show them it, which usually gained a vague finger point or head shake. Finally I ended back at the first small bus I rode in on so I asked the unenthusiastic drivers who were from what I could tell just leaning against the bus and chain smoking the entire time since we got into the station. The first one read my ticket and asked the second a question, then came back with a nod and a number written on some paper. Apparently they would be driving me all the way to Chisinau, and also apparently I needed to pay them for my backpack for the second leg. I’m sure it was a shakedown but it was a pretty cheap one. So I paid them and got back onto the shady short bus and we were off to the border.

Crossing a border in Eastern Europe in a little short bus with an eclectic bunch riding it was particularly an interesting experience. On the way to the border people were flagging down the bus to get a ride along the way, most of them getting off later on down the road but a few stayed. At one point I had an older man sit down next to me and try talking to me, I think in Ukrainian. I tried over and over to tell him I did not understand but that didn’t seem to deter him to continue mumbling on to me until he got off 15 minutes later. The wife of one of the drivers, who was along for the ride, thought the whole thing was funny as I looked helplessly over to her. When we got closer to the border I noticed all kinds of stalls and wagons set up selling melons. The entire trip it was nothing but fields and fields of sunflowers and then suddenly it was all melons. People were loading up on them too, packing their entire car trunk with them, I’m sure to sell to what ever town they’re going to. I think maybe that was in part why crossing the border took so long, they had to search the bus and our luggage as well as checking all our passports. It was a bit of a nerve racking experience, being asked to park over beside the border security and customs buildings and waiting for what seemed like an hour before we could leave. When we did leave it was quick, the border officer came and gave them some papers and the bus driver wasted no time getting the bus going. The thing is we still hadn’t gotten our passports back, so the bus was flying down the dirt road and I was getting a bit nervous thinking maybe they forgot. Finally the driver’s wife started handing the passports back and everything was ok, but the thought of losing it made my heart jump. 

The rest of the trip was ok, I ended having a much longer walk to the hostel then I expected but no real adventures. As for my train from Chisinau to Iasi there were a few adventures but none that involved me, it was more a ride where I experienced the adventures happening around me. First was the father and son duo I watched board at one point and hop around seats during the travel. The father seemed to time his bathroom breaks perfectly when the conductors would be walking by. Finally at one point he was stopped and after a few words ended up paying the staff for what I figure are tickets that he and his son didn’t have. The son must’ve said something that clued the staff member, maybe the father was trying to get a cheaper ticket for a shorter ride than we were intending, whatever it was after the conductor walked away the father was quite upset with his son. Luckily the father decided sitting away from his son was the best solution as myself and few others were watching him very closing and ready to act if the situation needed it. It would not have ended well for him, . 

The second adventure I watched unfold happened as we crossed into Romania and were close to the Iasi train station. The train staff were very tight for checking proper documentation, each one that passed by asked to see passport and proper paperwork if needed and once we crossed into Romania a customs guard came on board to check the papers himself and also check luggage. The first conductor to come by me asked for my passport, saw the cover with the Canadian crest and ‘Canadian Passport’ printed on it, looked at me and said “Canadian? Good” and walked off without ever looking at it. The next two to come by checked everyone else and just looked at me and nodded. When the customs guard came by after opening and checking everyone’s bag in great detail he just looked at mine, saw the Canadian patches, “Those are yours, Canadian? OK, very good.” and walked off without even checking anything. Meanwhile he caught someone for having 3 cigarette packs too many and was forced to get rid of them. A conductor helped him out by buying them off him, I’m sure at a discounted rate too but the only other option was throwing them away or paying a fine. We got into the Iasi train station without anymore adventures with my host Mihai was waiting for me, he brought me to his place to drop off my gear and get settled in and ready for my time in Iasi.   

And with that my adventures getting from one place to the next were over but made for interesting transit stories to share with you. In both cases I made it to where I was staying safe and sound, settled in and was ready to explore and train in a new city. 

Walking Around Chisinau

Chisinau isn’t very big, there are things to go do and see outside the downtown core but not a lot, my time there was limited and I didn’t quite learn the bus system so I didn’t go out on an adventure to any of them. I did walk around the city area close to me and take some pictures of the park and some interesting buildings.

I also played around with trying a new video idea. I filmed as I walked around Chisinau and stopped off at a few points to talk about the sights. My idea is to give a more in depth look at where I’m visiting and although I haven’t been able to do this at all the places I’ve been to, or manage to edit all the footage I have taken yet, I do have a collection of videos of sight seeing different parts of the world, which is pretty cool.  So even know I’ve posted this video when I first made it months ago here it is again. To watch the video or if you want to see my other videos you can head over to the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel and see it there.

And as always you and can over to see my Flickr Account where I have more photos from this and all my other visits.

Bercut Fight Club 

The only BJJ club that I was able to contact and that anyone in the Globetrotters community talked about in Chisinau was the Bercut Fight Club. Looking back on how I got around, or the lack of, when I stayed in Chisinau it would be interesting figuring out how to visit other clubs, which are more outside of town. The gym is right by the hostel I was staying at so I could just walk there for class and Bercut has a big sign with directions to make it up to the gym in the top floor of the old building, making things really easy. I was getting over some stomach issues from Ukraine so I had to skip some classes and with the schedule I could only make it to one class. Once I got to the top of the old and heavily graffiti-ed staircase I was met with the front desk to the gym where I nice woman showed me where to get changed and where class would be taken place. Bercut has a main room where I gather the other classes like MMA or different exercise classes are held and a room on the side with a matted floor and a weights section where the BJJ classes are held.

I was a bit early so threw on the gi and started to stretch out on the mats while more people started to show up. There was a good amount of people by the class started and the mat space was pretty hot, for me at least, so I had to take a few water breaks and with just getting over my stomach issues I had to sit out a few rolls and just watch the class. Overall the club members and the class was fun and inviting but not a lot of talk, I had a conversation with one guy who told me that not a lot of the people there didn’t speak much English so I would have a hard time conversing with anyone. It was still a good time working some guard passing chains and rolling with the few roll I rolled with. I wish I was in better condition to show up to more classes and get to really meet the club, it was a weekend class and from what I was told it was a more casual setup with not as many people as during the week.

I left a bit disappointed in only being able to attend one class and only able to do so much and I felt like I really didn’t get to see Moldova. That just gives me a reason to come back to see more and visit Bercut again and maybe make it out to other clubs as well. I left too early, both in the time spent and time of day, it was still dark when I woke up and the staff were still sleeping when I left to catch a taxi to the train station. Until next time Chisinau! 

Walking Around Iasi

After Mihai picked me up at the train station and gave me time to settle in at his place he showed me around the city a we met up with some friends of his for some drinks. During the week though Mihai was busy with work online so after showing me around I was on own for exploring and seeing sights, here’s some of the my shots of Iasi.

I also put together a video, this time more in depth, of walking around the city of Iasi. It was my second video so there was still a lot of learning and trying new things. I feel like I’ve come a long way with my recent filming, once I have time to edit it all and publish it I will of course post it here. To watch this video and others  you can head to the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel to see more of my videos.

As always you and can over to see my Flickr Account where I have more photos from this and all my other visits.

Staying With Mihai

I saw Mihai on the BJJ Globetrotters matsurfing map and contacted through e-mail about coming and visiting. We began talking and arranged me coming to visit, with Mihai promising to take of me and show me his home town. I knew nothing of Iasi before talking to him and didn’t know what to expect but I’m glad I made the trip to explore another small town away from all the tourist hot spots. Mihai has a nice apartment up high in a building that gives a great view of the town and it’s perfectly in the middle of and walking distance to the downtown area and where the club is farther away from the inner town area. I can say without a doubt Mihai lived up his word and looked after me, making sure I had everything I needed. I had to do some shopping, involving picking up new running shoes to replace the old pair I had been wearing since I started this journey back in Canada. Mihai made sure I always knew where I was going and how to get back, going as far as to instruct me how to tell the taxi drivers to get to his place and what the price should be in case they try to over charge me.

The few times Mihai and I ventured out together he would tell me all about the town and history of the area, how schooling is in Romania, the long process that the country went though after the fall of the Soviet Union, and the coming of modern malls and brand name stores. The story how and why the Romanian people love Adidas is particularly interesting. I wish we could have had time to talk on camera and do an interview and get half of what he told me about Romania and his club in an interview to share with you, but I guess instead you will have to go and visit him yourself to hear these great stories. Thank you Mihai for such a good time hosting and feeding me, I’m sure we will meet again one day.       

Absoluto BJJ Iasi

There is only one BJJ club in Iasi and Mihai runs it, Absoluto BJJ Iasi, which is an affiliate from the Absoluto BJJ HQ in Bucharest. Mihai has brought together a good group of guys that train regularly with him, they all were welcoming to me and although I didn’t get a chance to talk with most of them, they all seemed like good people. Mihai is a purple belt and he studies a lot of online videos to come up with material for class, when I was there they were preparing for a big competition so putting together their game strategy and the importance of take downs was the focus. I had fun drilling and rolling with the guys, Mihai and I would make sure to get in a roll each class and afterwards on the way back to his place I would ask him about some of the students that I rolled with. They all came from different backgrounds, some older with other martial arts experience, some younger in school and really fit and keen to learn. Mihai knew each and every one through and through and it was interesting hearing his take on their techniques and where each was on their training for the next belt. 

While I was visiting I picked a GoPro to start shooting my next new idea for videos: training videos. I’ve only been able to make a few on these and I want to get back to making more as it shows the fun I’m having drilling and rolling with everyone. I set up the camera in the corner shot some classes and then edited the footage and added music to make this video of us training together. Check it out over at the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel and watch it, and all my other videos, over there.

After a good visit learning about a place I’d never hard of before and making new friends I was off to my next destination: Bucharest! Thanks again Mihai for the good times and looking after me. 

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

WAYS TO SUPPORT PANDA’S ODYSSEY!

Sign up to the Panda’s Odyssey Patreon Account.

Buy Panda’s Odyssey Patches at The Gi Hive.

Buy a shirt at Panda’s Jiu-Jitsu Store.

Follow me and other traveling Jiu-Jitsueros at the BJJ Globetrotters blog section.

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Check out my full photo albums for each article at my Flickr account.

Add me and follow along on most social media @pandasodyssey

Greetings From Kherson Ukraine! (26 July – 1 August 2017)

Kherson Ukraine was not a place I would ever figure of visiting before this trip. I’ve never heard of the small harbour town and it’s quite out of the way. When I was asked where else I was visiting when I was in Kiev I told the guys I was heading to Kherson next and they all asked the same thing, why?  Because the BJJ Globetrotter community was asking to come visit, that’s why. I forget where I was, somewhere in Germany I think, and the new Globetrotters article came out featuring some new Matsurfing ads. I always read the articles and look at the new Matsurfing ads to see where there’s an offer I could maybe take advantage of and plan out the Odyssey to head that way. As it happens I was just working out the details for eastern Europe at the time and I needed to figure out a stop between Kiev and Chisinau Moldova. Kherson was perfect. I sent off a message to Bogdan and we quickly put it together.

I left Kiev in the afternoon on an overnight train. The majority of people, both on the train and as staff in the train station, didn’t speak any English so finding the train and my exact room and seat was a bit awkward. I had my ticket printed out at the hostel so I would have a paper copy to show them and help me out, this was very useful especially when I didn’t know how long my phone would hold out on this trip. I got to the station, showed the first staff member I saw my paper and asked “Where’s the train to Kherson?” he responded with “Ah, Kherson!” and ushered me to the track and handed me off to two other staff members, one brought me to the proper cart and gave me hand signals on how to find my room. I climbed into the train, which was boiling inside as there were no fans, and with my backpack taking up all of the narrow hallway I slowly and awkwardly made me way to find my seat was already taken.

The sleeping car I was supposed to have a bed in was full with a family of very big women that didn’t speak any English. I showed them my ticket and they keep making signs to me to go to another room. I didn’t understand what they were saying and tried showing them my ticket and pointing to the seat a few times, only to get a bunch of Ukrainian and shooing me away. I, in true Canadian fashion told them “I sorry” but I don’t understand. While standing in hall waiting for a staff member to come by and hopefully sort this situation out I stood listening to the women make fun of me and laugh away repeating and mockingly saying “I’m sorry, oh I’m sorry!” I decided to ignore them. As it happens the room next to where I was supposed to be staying had an elderly couple in it and the husband spoke English. He explained to me that the women had their mother with them and she was supposed to be in the room with him but decided they would take over the room and my spot and that I should take her bed instead. In his opinion I was better off in the car with him and his wife rather than be around the, as he put it “special people”. I agreed, not because of how they treated me while trying to figure out seating but because they were sweating away in the sweltering train and all smelling really bad, I couldn’t imagine sleeping in that room with them.

The rest of the transit to Kherson was actually quite pleasant. I sat with the elderly couple, whose names I forget and I feel really badly about that, and the husband filled me in on all sorts of history facts and the trains and Ukraine and Russia. One interesting thing he was telling me was that certain old tracks in eastern Ukraine require the train to pull into a station, have the cart taken off the frame and attached to a new frame before continuing on. Apparently the train tracks in Russia are a different dimension than the rest of Europe. I found some more information about the different train track widths but I couldn’t find any articles on switching the cars on to different frames. During the entire trip the train would stop at each station for a good half hour as we waited the the train coming in the opposite direction the pass since there was only one track. This meant the only cooling breeze to keep the heat down would stop and it would become a sweltering heat box again. Over night the loud speakers of the train stations would wake me up over and over making these stops really annoying. But it also gave time for the husband to tell me the history of the area, what soviet industry or military buildings used to be around back when he was a kid and what the stop used to be for back then instead of just picking up passengers now. It was quite the educational travel.

In the evening it was tea time and although I brought with me some snacks for the trip it was nothing like the rest of passengers, the elderly couple I was sharing the room with in particular. They pulled out all sorts of biscuits and fruits and other food and set themselves up a meal, of which they offered me a piece of every single thing they pulled out. The biscuits I could not escape, they would not have me declining trying them out, which happened to be half a dozen of each type, tea biscuit, wafer, some sort of wheat cracker, etc. There was a story for each of these as well, eating them as kids, or they were a local favourite or only made in Ukraine, it was a great experience taking this night train, meeting this couple and sitting and taking part in them sharing their food and telling their the histories. In the morning the man gave me a piece of newspaper with his name and number on it and told me if I ever needed any help to call him, I wish I had the thought to write it down in my book as I lost it and now I have this wonderful story of him and his wife without their names. What ever your name is, thank you for your help and stories and sharing your biscuits, it made the long uncomfortable train ride a great unforgettable one!   

Staying With Bogdan

Bogdan was waiting for me when the train got into the station and after meeting each other we were off to catch a bus back to his place. I was his first guest, after all I did send him a message only 2 days after the Matsurfing post was out, and although they have had other guests to the club I would be the first being hosted by him. Bogdan’s English was pretty good and although he’s a bit quiet, maybe even shy, he was a great host and we talked about all sorts of things the whole time. He would ask about how I promote my trip online and how to better promote the club since it’s still relatively new, or how I was able to sort out being able to travel as I do. As Ukraine was in a heat wave when I showed up we hung out inside quite a bit, both being pale skinned people that burn easily, so we had a lot of time to chat about all sorts of topics. On the few times it was safe enough to go outside and not catch fire he showed me around the town, parks and waterfront. It was a great experience being in Kherson, even on the days we did little else but sit on our computers and talk. I was away from the city, away from all the tourists and tourist hot spots. When we did walk around town is was the real Ukraine I was seeing, with old soviet era buildings, not dressed up to sell to tourists. The people were different too. For one very few of them spoke English so I was grateful to have Bogdan around to help me, and the attitude was different too, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was one of the few spots I’ve been to that I felt I really got to experience living there.

One day Bogdan and friends of his and I took the train out of town to an area that apparently used to be a desert is is now a huge forest. After walking for half an hour or more we came to these lakes that the locals believe have magically properties. the train ride itself was an interesting adventure. It’s an hour or so to get out to this field and throughout the train ride women laden with baskets full of fruits and vegetables and random trinkets they were selling would be walking up and down the train cars. At some point we saw one woman walk by arms full with bushels of vegetables then come back 15 minutes later now with jars of honey she had recently acquired. We could only guessed she traded the vegetables for the honey she was now trying to sell. It was an interesting market culture to see and made the long boring train ride a lot more entertaining. It was a grey day when we got to lakes, with the sun poking out from behind rain clouds all day, but it was nice enough to go have a refreshing swim in the salt lakes and cover ourselves in the mud. The lakes are said to have healing powers and truth be known I had a planters wart starting on my foot that miraculously vanished after this swim!

Another day Bogdan brought me over to ‘granny’s house’ for supper. Supper was, as I was told, going to be Varenyky, Ukrainian dumplings (he Ukrainian version of pirogi) homemade by Granny herself. Supper actually ended up being three courses of so much food I had to bring some back to Bogdan’s because I couldn’t eat it all. A salad to get things started then fried ground chicken patties and sliced potatoes which in itself was meal, then finally the Verenyky which was piled high on a plate for me. After all this Bogdan asked if I wanted pancakes, pancakes?! It ends up there are many typos of pancakes and in Ukraine they make them as a dessert. I had to pass on them I was so full, which meant he brought a bunch home with us. I like to eat as much as the next Panda but trust me, you will never have an appetite big enough to take on a Ukrainian grandmother’s cooking, she will tap you out every time. It was great meeting Bogdan, thank you for taking me in and showing me around and having Granny feed me, until we meet again my friend!

I should also note that all the photos I used of the club training and of us at the lakes were taken by Bodgan who’s let me use them for this article, thanks for the awesome pics dude!

The Sights

As I said Kherson is a small town so I have limited pictures but here’s some of us walking around through the park and seeing the monuments.

Bogdan took shots of his friend and I covered in the miracle mud at the lakes. locals would come put the mud on their joints and other areas that were bugging them convinced it would fix them, they would even fill up jar with the water and bring it home to use.

As always you and can over to see my Flickr Account where I have more photos from this and all my other visits.

Skif BJJ 

The club Bogdan trains at, Skif BJJ, is one of the most devoted clubs I have met, not because they train all the time or are huge competitors, quite the opposite in fact. It’s because despite being in such a secluded place without anyone to teach them they decided to start a BJJ club and learn mainly as those back in Canada first started, by watching videos and drilling what they see. The power of YouTube is what created this club and the power of the BJJ Community have helped them continue, but it’s their devotion as all white belts to come together and start training and learning the slow and hard way and work together to keep the gym going. One night they asked that I teach them some things, as this was one of my first classes I taught I was still a bit at a lost for putting together a full set of techniques to show them so I was more just winging it and showing how I do certain things that they were asking about, like and Q & A session. We had a great time training together, the club isn’t big enough to have separate classes from kids and adults so everyone trains together in the same class which means one minute I’ll be manhandled by a huge guy and then next I’ll be a climbing toy to one of the kids as he tries to get on my back and attack me with an RNC.

The club trains out of an old community center that they have a room in the top floor of, it’s an old building and when I was there there were a lot of renovations being done but the club had to fix up the room they use themselves. Although I have been in more dive clubs than Skif BJJ they are far from the mural painted flashy gyms you see in the big cities boasting their affiliations or black belt professors, they are a humble club with a humble beginning. They are a group not about flash but technique and although I’m sure they will one day have their gym complete with all new mats and equipment they don’t show up to take selfies and look good, they show up to train Jiu-Jitsu. Added to the fact they accept all visitors and are eager to learn from everyone they are a great place to visit for no nonsense, no ego training. Thank you guys for letting me come train with you, I look forward to watching the club evolve.

Igor and Bogdan

After class one day I managed to make an interview with Bogdan and Igor, talking about how the club got started, how long they’ve been training together and how they keep it going. Igor does everything he can to make ends meet and keep the club open, and it’s the dedication of the rest of the club helping out that makes this club so special and able to run without any senior belts around. Bogdan is new to the sport, only a few months of training and already hooked on Jiu-Jitsu. As he says in the interview, he was a shy person until he got into BJJ and now he’s offering strangers like me to come stay at his place to train with the club. It’s amazing what Jiu-Jitsu has done to these guys in Kherson and a prime example of the interesting people I meet on this amazing odyssey. Thank you both for having me over into your house, gym and Jiu-Jitsu family.

You can view the interview on Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel. While you’re there show some love and please like, comment, share and subscribe, thanks!

After an awesome time seeing ‘true’ Ukraine in Kherson away from the big city of Kiev it was time to take a bus off to Moldova where I would be visiting the city of Chisinau.

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

WAYS TO SUPPORT PANDA’S ODYSSEY!

Sign up to the Panda’s Odyssey Patreon Account.

Buy Panda’s Odyssey Patches at The Gi Hive.

Buy a shirt at Panda’s Jiu-Jitsu Store.

Follow me and other traveling Jiu-Jitsueros at the BJJ Globetrotters blog section.

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About a month ago, I announced six new camps for 2018, totaling 9 scheduled camps for the year. Researching and planning the camps is something that I put a lot of work and time into every season. Over the years, more and more people seem to rely on BJJ Globetrotters to plan their holidays, just waiting for the camps to be announced so they know where they’ll be going. This is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly; I am very committed offer the absolute best possible BJJ travel experiences out there for those who choose to participate.

There are a lot of thoughts going into selecting camp locations and themes, but the 2018 season has been dominated by one single goal for me – something that I have been working towards achieving for a long time and finally managed to do.

The Caribbean Island camp has long been the “pirate-themed” camp of BJJ Globetrotters. Later on, we more of less randomly ended up discovering a Japanese village in the middle of a forest in Poland to host the Zen Camp and that’s where the idea started to materialize in my head. The business plan on which I would end up basing the entire season of camps:

• In one year, do camps for all four distant cousins of conquer and pillage: Pirates (Caribbean Island camp), Vikings (Iceland Camp), Samurais (Zen Camp) and Medieval Knights (Castle Camp). Full circle.

I drew this illustration on my white board back when I started working on the camps about six months ago and I’m very satisfied that I actually managed to achieve it. Renting an insanely expensive castle for just 20 people made zero sense from a business perspective but the medieval knights were the last ones I needed, so I was pretty much forced to do it and luckily it worked out.

So there you go, the secret business model that I base all of the BJJ Globetrotters camps on. And maybe even the secret to their success? 

When I came back home to Iceland after my backpacking trip around Central America, I had a lot to think about. I felt like the world was my oyster, I could do anything. I returned to my old job and realized I needed to do something different, tailor my life so I had the freedom to follow my passion. So I decided to go back to school for one year to study Adventure Sports, returning to school was not something I expected to do in the near future. Committing to school for only a year may not sound a lot to most people. For me however, someone who just had a mind blowing experience and the drive to do something different, it was a big deal. In the long run however I believe that these studies will help giving me the freedom I so desperately want.

Now fast forward until December, the holidays are around the corners, I’ve been doing my studies for about four months. I am actually really enjoying the program and it’s pushing my comfort zone and expanding my skill set. However I’m still in Iceland living in my small fishing town, to be honest I was really starting to crave just a change of scenery and meet some new interesting people. So I decided to just get a quick fix for my island fever and grab the cheapest airfare I could get to Denmark. That’s about the only cheap airfare that you can get in Iceland and I knew that one of my closest friend Daníel who just moved there would have a couch waiting for me to crash on.

I flew over there and stayed with him and his girlfriend for 10 days, even spending New Year’s Eve there. It was just what the doctor ordered. Just walking around, travelling with the public transport and talking to some local people, made me feel like I was immersed in a new environment. Giving me a quick glance of how so many of my Icelandic and Danish friends are living.

One of the best things about going to Denmark was to be able to visit CSA, the original Globetrotters gym. I planned to meet up with my friend Jonas during open mat and when I showed up there I’ve never seen as many Globetrotters’ patches outside a camp. I wasn’t even the only foreigner visiting, no one was suprised having some visitors there. I ended up rolling with Jonas most of the time, going back and forth like crazy and both trying to survive. The Christmas break had not been kind to us.

Throughout my stay I managed to train 4 times there, 2 open mats and 2 classes. I recommend anybody who is in Denmark to drop by and check them out. I met bunch of great people there and everybody was super friendly. The gym also has a diverse crowd of practitioners and coaches.

At the end of all this I was able to come back home feeling all refreshed and ready to take on next couple of months. I used the down time for some introspection and working through everything that I’ve had going on in my head. Travelling with no insane schedule, just doing everything at my own speed and only doing the things I wanted.  There isn’t much that tops that.

Greetings from San Diego USA! (9-21 Oct 2017)

I’m detouring from detailing my adventures traveling and training around the world to bring you a special article about my time on a training camp in San Diego with a bunch of crazy Australians. I last left off leaving Russia for Ukraine, and I will get to that shortly, but this camp I went on was a special time and I need to cover before it becomes too late, which is already is.

Open Guard and the Free Rollers

Let’s begin with explaining who set up the camp and how I got involved. Open Guard is a website with the focus on bringing together the BJJ scene in Australia, with a number of writers posting articles on the events taking place there. They feature different competitors and gyms and review BJJ gear from time to time and have some good articles about all sorts of BJJ related topics. Part of Open Guard is the Free Rollers community, the people and gyms who just like to roll with whoever, whenever, without any club drama. The idea is similar to the BJJ Globetrotters community, but centered on the Australian BJJ scene. Open Guard and Free Rollers have been around for a few years now and I’ve had the pleasure of watching them grow from reading the first few articles and seeing the pictures from the very first Free Rollers Outdoor Open Mat. Being a part of the first Free Rollers camp was an honour and a lot of fun, but how did I manage to get involved with them?

Luke Docherty

I first met Luke over 3 years ago when I first started posting to the BJJ Globetrotters Facebook group about my eventual plans to travel and train around the world for a year. Luke was one of the first guys to reply to me and invite me out to his place and we’ve been good friends ever since. You may recognize the name if you keep up with the Jiu-Jitsu Times articles as Luke is a usual contributor, including this awesome interview on my milestones we did. Luke and I have a lot in common, Serving in the Navy, being obsessed with BJJ and a healthy sense of inappropriate humour, we have often made jokes about being long lost brothers. He’s also part of the driving force behind Open Guard and was the one who put together the Free Rollers camp. Luke bounced some ideas off me about the camp and would keep me updated on it. I was always planning on making it to Australia to meet Luke and travel around and see the mystical Land Down Under that I’ve only ever learned about from shows like Crocodile Dundee and The Crocodile Hunter (Or Luke’s favourite: Precilla Queen of the Desert). Meeting the guys and hanging out together in San Diego just seemed like a great idea, both as an awesome setting for us to meet before heading back to Australia and an awesome way for me to visit San Diego on this journey. Although adding the Free Rollers camp to the Odyssey timeline meant adding a lot of traveling, and extra expenses, it was also an adventure I didn’t want to miss.

Free Rollers San Diego Camp

Now that I’ve filled you in on the back stories to everyone let’s get to the actual camp! Everyone but me was from the same club back in Perth Australia so I was the outsider at first. Having Jiu-Jitsu traveling and an odd sense of humour (and me enjoying their ability to call everyone ‘Kent’) we all quickly warmed up and become one close group training twice a day, exploring San Diego and generally getting up to no good. From the start I could see guys had a lot of steam to blow off and were really excited about the trip, there may have been a tiny bit more partying than I first expected, but that’s the difference between saving to go on a training vacation and backpacking around the world for a year. All my steam was gone, I am just going with the flow and trying to balance training with exploring so I don’t do too much at once and end up burnt out or injured. These guys could go hard, both on and off the mats, and just rest once they got back to Australia. I had my hands full these 10 days we hung out and trained and partied together. While the nights usually ended with the guys having a few cold ones and getting a little wild (there was a night of midnight ‘No-Gi’ wrestling in their underwear that took place in the front room. Where I sleep. While trying to sleep) we all put in quite a bit of training throughout this camp. As the saying goes, work hard, play hard, or in Australia they say “We’re not here to fuck spiders!” that actually became the camp motto, I’m still waiting for the shirt.

Luke, as the spearhead of Free Rollers, had everything set up for this trip. He found an affordable Airbnb near the gyms, set up all the day and evening’s activities, like going to a college football game or to the USS Midway, and got us a group deal to train the whole time at the University of Jiu-Jitsu with none other than Xande Ribeiro (Saulo was back seeing family in Brazil). I has happy to have a destination that literally all I had to worry about was just getting the ticket there, I didn’t have to worry about sending e-mails or contacting the gyms on Facebook, or finding a place to stay, I just showed up and followed along with the guys. The day we all showed up to San Diego I got in a bit later than they did. They all arrived in LA and drove down while I took the long way with many connections and after a delay managed to visit Kurt Osiander’s gym for my 100th club visit before arriving in San Diego. Once I got into town and we were all settled in we stopped by Uni-JJ to say hi and set up our week long training passes. That’s when we met Gustavo Dias, a Brazilian tank of a black belt and one of the instructors for the day classes at the gym, as well as one of the nicest guys I’ve met. Throughout our stay Gustavo gave us so many tips on places to eat at and sights to see. Basically he gave us the necessary tools for the perfect camp: Jiu-Jitsu, beach and food.

We went out for supper that night at a near by ‘Buffalo Wild Wings’, we would become regulars there during this trip as most our suppers were held there while breakfast was had at the all-day breakfast place just a block away. We were creatures of habit but when you know what you like, why bother spending time looking for new places everyday when we’re on a tight schedule. Quite often we would make plans for the next day’s classes and activities while eating baskets of chicken wings and watching the sports highlights on the TV’s. There was always an over zealous “I’m hitting all the class tomorrow!” usually by Luke, that never panned out, and a comment about checking out other clubs since there are so many high caliber gyms to choose from in San Diego. Although we mostly trained at University of Jiu-Jitsu we did venture out to other clubs during our stay and one day the boys managed to hit up the Atos BJJ HQ for a weekend open mat without me.

During the day in between classes, or when we took some rest and only attended the evening class, we would pile into the SUV and drive around, hitting up a beach or pier to walk along and enjoy the sights.

One day a few of us made it down the Mall of Americas (or ‘Las Americas‘) at the US/Mexico boarder where we spent a bit more money than we all planned, especially at the Under Armor outlet which had pretty much everything at 50% off. I also ended up getting a custom Panda’s Odyssey ball cap while everyone else bought new Vans with the ‘buy one, get 50% off a second pair’ sale (Note to self: Next time buy new Vans!)

Of course we also spent an afternoon touring the USS Midway, and old Aircraft carrier that is now a museum and has all sorts of cool military paraphernalia at their souvenir shop, as well as both the flight deck and hanger bay full of old fighter jets you can climb in and take pics of in and flight sims you can try and fly.

The football game was an adventure I think anyone visiting USA should go on. The sports culture around American football is unique, with the tailgate parties and BBQ’s throughout the parking lot. The game itself, with all the cheer leading squads all around the field and the marching create a whole show to watch rather than just a sporting match. It’s quite surreal watching everything going on.

University of Jiu-Jitsu

Our first class at University of Jiu-Jitsu was the morning class at 7am, I believe that was the only morning class I made it out to. I don’t remember which class he taught but that day we met Victor Barreto, another tank of a Brazilian, like Gustavo, with the added  feature of towering over everyone. If you’ve watched the ‘BJJ Library Challenge‘ Victor was the winner of that challenge so it was pretty cool to watch that series then actually see him teaching our class. The whole week went on like this, showing up to class and meeting someone we’ve seen before online, or would be seeing a lot more of, like Casey Hellenberg who just competed in the EBI 14 ‘The Absolutes’. For the morning class there were only maybe 3 other people showed up for it and I could see the guys were all pretty nervous about their first time training in Uni-JJ. I guess maybe since I have traveled all this past year and walked onto so many mats it wasn’t as big a deal for me, I was more excited then nervous. Or maybe since the morning class was smaller they were all worried about being in the spotlight under Gustavo and Victor as the new guys, which in that case I was also a bit worried. Our fears were smashed away once we were done the warm up and drilling techniques, all that mattered was training the details. That’s one thing that is consistent through all of the Ribeiro instructors, the attention to detail and the emphasis on control. As in intimidating as Gustavo and Victor were they were great at teaching those points and seeing any adjustments we needed to make throughout our class with them.

The Wednesday night ‘Library’ class is where they film the class to use for instructionals on the BJJ Library, it was taught by Xande Ribeiro who was just coming back from his impressive run at the ADCC Worlds. This class was packed, the evening classes are always busy, with the count somewhere in the 30’s or 40’s, but Wednesday was especially busy and with the camera man there it there was an electric energy in the gym. Xande showed us basic moves all night, nothing special to the unknowing viewer, just basic armbar set ups from the closed guard. The very same moves and details he used to tap out world class competitors at the ADCC’s. Not so basic after all. The details he gave us were stellar, with a big emphasis on control and contact throughout all movement, once you had that arm it was your the entire time. Making the basic technique we all learn in our first days of starting BJJ into a world class, black belt level, competition winning technique. It was amazing being in Xande’s class, it’s like his presence just adds more energy to everyone training. Even during the week in classes he wasn’t teaching, if Xande was in the gym everyone stepped it up a notch. Xande himself was a great guy to talk to, welcoming us into the gym at the start of class and telling everyone to look after us. He was intimidating be around at first though, with his stance of constantly rolled back shoulders and open arms, like he’s ready to shoot for a double leg take down at any second. It made you hesitate walking up and saying hello, but he was always friendly and chill with everyone. Training there all week was absolute blast. While there’s tons of gyms to choose from in San Diego you really must drop by for at least one class.

10th Planet San Diego

One night I got a few of the guys to come along with me to another gym to get a completely different style of rolling in and see grappling from an all new perspective. We piled into the SUV and drove across the city, which in itself is an adventure if you’ve never driven in San Diego before, and ended up at 10th Planet San Diego. Richie ‘Boogeyman’ Martinez runs the classes there and man does he spread the love at that gym, such a warm welcoming place! From mis-reading the schedule we got there just as class was ending and had an hour to wait before the next class started. We sat and watched people train, like Liz Carmouche (the very first female fighter to walk into the UFC cage and Ronda Rousey’s first opponent) hit the pads. As people starting showing up for the next class they would come introduce themselves to us one by one, everyone was really friendly and we felt very welcomed, making this introduction to 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu a lot easier for the guys. Once class started and we got into drilling techniques Richie walked us down a rabbit hole of Rubber Guard set ups and chained it into the ‘Gogo-Clinch’ a move from rubber guard that incorporates the leg over the shoulder and under chin of the Gogoplata with the C-clamped scissoring arms of a No-Gi baseball bat choke to make the most hellish choke I’ve seen and experienced. At first we were all watching and thinking ‘Smoke another one bro, there’s no way I’m getting the rubber guard let alone finishing this technique’ but by the end of the class, with Boogey’s awesome guidance we were all able to drill this technique with only minor difficulties.

The rolling at the end of class was by the far the best part, I had my experience rolling with 10th Planet guys already and knew of the black magic to expect, but the other guys were going in practically blind. After the first roll I remember walking up to them and seeing their eyes the widest they had been this whole trip, just about popping out of their heads “Man, that was amazing! I didn’t know what was going on, I got wrapped all up and twisted and tapped but he didn’t muscle me!” 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu is indeed a different way of moving and manipulating the body, and being at the home of one of the foremost innovators to 10th Planet you can rested assured we were shown some really different shit during those rolls. After class we were all sitting in the SUV in the parking lot trying to figure out how to get back to the house and where to grab food when Richie pulls next to us “Hey guys, you want somewhere good to eat?” he asked, and then proceeded to tell us where to find the coolest Mexican food place in San Diego. “I’d love to come with you guys but I got to cut weight for EBI next week” he adds like it’s just another day at the job. We made our way to the restaurant and we were not let down. They whole place is done up as a tacky flamingo bar inspired Lucha Libre shrine with signed photos of great Lucha wrestlers all over the walls and masks encased in the seats. They even had a ring at the back that was set up with a table for private parties. It was a perfect place to end off our awesome night. We’ll have to go back with everyone next time, and hopefully Boogey can join us this time!

Victory MMA

Another gym we ended up dropping by for a class was Victory MMA. It wasn’t in the plans at first as it seemed a lot of the head instructors were away, and the guys just wanted to train at Uni JJ, but then we dropped by a cryotherapy place that was just across the street from the gym. As it happens the guys running it, Keeling and Bryan, were both black belts from Victory. We would drop by Chill’N Out quite often, at least one person would be going for cryo each day, and during our time hanging out there they would always mention how they would love to have us over for a class. Finally, after feeling guilty of these guys treating us so well and us not dropping by, we decided to go train with them on the weekend. We were not disappointed. They were just as fun to train with as they were to hang out with while we froze our balls off in their cryo chamber. Bryan ran the class that day and started with working functional movements as as warm up. One person sitting in open guard as you worked your footwork around his legs, triangle footwork drills, zig-zags in and out, hopping over, all sorts of movement. Let me say that Bryan is a spider monkey and makes the movement look way too easy, I was out of breath just watching him demonstrate.

I was teamed with a giant of a white belt and neither of us were in the mood to try and simulate Bryan’s Jack Russel-like movement but we did get along drilling quite well. Keeling and Bryan made sure to split us Free Rollers up so that we were training with guys from the gym so we got meet the club. Even in rolling we weren’t allowed to roll with each other, which was good since we didn’t travel half way around the world just to roll with the same teammates and by this point I had rolled with them all anyways. It was a lot of fun, which Bryan always made a point of telling us is his main goal for each class, training and rolling with the crew there in a relaxed setting. Everyone was pretty laid back and welcoming of visitors and I’m sure the guys each had a few questions asked about their travels and visiting San Diego during class like I did. I’m glad we finally made it over to see the Victory guys before the end of out trip. 

By the end of the 10 days we were tired, bodies beaten and heads full of all sorts of new techniques, and ready to head (back) to Australia. I’ve got to say thank you to Luke for setting this camp up and of course thanks to all the clubs and people who welcomed us during this adventure. It was one of those experiences legends are made of, and I’m pretty sure by the end of the trip we were all legends for one thing or another, weather we want the world to know what that is is another story all together. When it was time to leave we split up on our ways back to Perth Australia. I had a flight out of San Diego and 30+ hours of connections and flights while the guys headed to LA for one last night, where they decided to finally track down Zack’s man-crush he had been Instagram stalking all week, ADCC champ Gordan Ryan. I’m sorry I missed that event and can’t elaborate on it but I heard it ended hilariously. Anyways, I highly recommend joining Luke and guys on the next Free Rollers Camp, which I hear is already being planned and has a lot of interest, both from Australia and the US so keep watch on Open Guard for updates. I know I’ll be watching and hoping to meet with them again, in the meantime my next article will pick up where I last left off on the Odyssey: Kiev Ukraine!

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

WAYS TO SUPPORT PANDA’S ODYSSEY!

Sign up to the Panda’s Odyssey Patreon Account.

Buy Panda’s Odyssey Patches at The Gi Hive.

Buy a shirt at Panda’s Jiu-Jitsu Store.

Follow me and other traveling Jiu-Jitsueros at the BJJ Globetrotters blog section.

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Check out my full photo albums for each article at my Flickr account.

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We left LA and planned to head up along the coast the whole way to San Francisco over 2 days. We started the drive and headed trough Malibu only to be turned around and had to take the back roads due to an accident on the road. Once back on the Coast road again we made our way to Morro Bay, a small tourist town located next to Morro Rock. We spent the end of the afternoon with a walk around the rock while watching the sunset.

Morro Rock

Morro Rock

The next morning, we continued north and stopped in to check out the elephant seal viewing area, where large amounts of seals congregate. It was impressive to see how big they were and just how many were along this stretch of coast. Some of the coastal views as we came closer to San Francisco were amazing.

Sea Otters hanging out in the bay

Great Views

Arriving downtown, you quickly realize San Francisco isn’t the cleanest of cities, it was quite an experience dodging the human excrement along the sidewalk on some streets. We headed to the Ralph Gracie academy in the city. We had met Kurt Osiander at the Worlds Masters competition earlier in the trip where he had invited us to train with him. The gym is quite large with two mat areas and has a very old school Jiu-Jitsu feel to it, complete with club rules that includes no whining hahaha.

Golden Gate Selfie

Sunday NoGi class was super tough

As we were staying in Berkeley, Oakland we also trained at the Ralph Gracie Berkeley academy ran by Prof Eduardo “Selvagem” Fraga as it was only 5 minutes from where we were staying. Dee and I trained twice a day for the whole week, we would get up at around 5am to make sure we got across the Bay Bridge and through traffic with enough time to make it for the famous 7am class  ran by Kurt. This class has a large attendance for the time that it is ran and if full of a range of different people and ranks. We would then shower at the gym before heading out to explore the city for the day. In the evenings we would train at either the HQ or Berkley depending on where the kids classes where being ran. The one thing that everyone told us about before heading there was the full on warm ups and they were not wrong. Luckily, we were quite jiu-jitsu fit so it we were able to get through, it was definitely more intense than most of the places we had been to.

Ralph Gracie selfie!

The training was great, and we loved Kurt’s instruction, he is exactly as you would expect and even funnier in person. Both Lilly and Kobe loved his classes and his big “kid” attitude, as tough as he can come across he really is  a big softy with the kids, but don’t tell him I said that ?. I was lucky enough to get some rolls in with Ralph and Kurt during our time there which was a trip highlight. They are such nice people and have such a tough attitude when it comes to their training which I really admire.

Getting a roll in with Kurt

The training at Berkley was also great, Prof Eduardo who is the head coach welcomed and showed us around. We enjoyed training there and not having to battle the traffic trying to get in and out of the city. Lilly and Kobe made quite a few friends there and at one stage I’m sure there was a line as all the other kids took turns to ask them questions about the trip and Australia.

Kurt playing with Kobe

Lilly training at RGSF

Ralph Gracie Berkeley

In between the hard sessions we did manage to get some sightseeing in, we walked the golden gate bridge which is a must do when visiting San Francisco. We visited Alcatraz and did the audio tour which was pretty amazing, Kobe especially liked it and kept asking a heap of questions throughout the whole tour. We went and checked out the Bison in the Golden gate park and the Sutro Baths at Lands’ End, where an earthquake had collapsed the old bath house.

lands End

Alcatraz

As our time started to come to an end in San Francisco our bodies were starting to feel a little worse for wear. All the early starts and late nights with the hard training had left us feeling a little physically drained. The tape on our fingers and toes seemed to be the latest fashion accessory as there was no point taking it off between sessions and we wore it around while sightseeing, all the while getting strange looks. Dee’s nice black eye would have also contributed to the looks we were getting.

Getting in some great rolls

We spent our last day in San Francisco moving to another hotel closer to the airport, so we didn’t have to deal with the dreaded traffic before we flew out. We had some time to kill so we went to another Zoo!! I think this puts us to around 6 or 7 zoos we have visited this trip. It was a good way to spend our last few free hours before we headed off to the final leg of this adventure to Hawaii.

-Woody

jitzwithwoodys.com/blog     Youtube   Facebook   Instagram-Woody Instagram-Dee      BJJ Globetrotters

Greetings From Saint Petersburg, Russia! (10-15 July 2017)

Finally I had made it. Russia was one of the first things on the list of places I want to go to, to see the culture and old Soviet buildings (and much older architectures) and of course learn Sambo from the birthplace of the sport. Although the flight over and navigation to the hostel was simple and easy, even though the bus charged me twice the bus fare because of my backpack, and the customs checkpoint went smooth (which I had been a little anxious over given my past career in the military), the steps taken to make it to Russia were more complex. Russia requires a Visa to visit and it’s quite involved with the amount of paperwork and information they require, with a lot of pre-booking before even acquiring the Visa. This would be the first time I had ever had to apply for a Visa for visiting a country as well so I was a bit unsure of all the necessary steps, and given the personal importance of this stop in the Odyssey, I was nervous to make sure it was all done properly.

When I was first laying out the rough draft of the Odyssey itinerary I had only a few points to go by outside of Canada. I knew I would be flying to London in March, and eventually wanted to make it to Thailand and Japan, but much else between, and the order in which I would visit these spots, was yet to be determined. When I saw on the BJJ Globetrotters map that there were gyms to visit in Russia and Morocco I decided I had to add those places, but I would have to plan out my route carefully so I could get the right paperwork completed and give myself the proper time to visit all the other places in between. With the Russian Visa Canadians, and most other countries, are allowed to apply as much as six months in advance for their trip. I decided Russia would be a great next stop after my maximum time of 3 months in the European Union was up, but when that would be depended on whether or not I made a stop in Morocco, which in turn dictated when I could apply for the Visa before leaving Canada. I could of course apply later but traveling while mailing my passport home and waiting for it to be returned and hoping it doesn’t get lost in the mail was not something I wanted to deal with.

I decided the first step was contacting the BJJ scene in Morocco about visiting and training with them, to which I got a resounding welcome message from everyone I spoke to (read about my adventures in Rabat, Casablanca & Marrakesh). After that I then figured out what time I had left in the European Zone to determine when what dates to look into my visit to Russia. From there I then planned when I could apply for the Visa. As it happened I would be in Ottawa, by the Russian consulate and Visa Services Canada just as the 6 month mark came up so I could apply for the Visa and drop by the office and speak to someone in person rather than just mail the papers in the mail and hope everything needed is included. That was the smart plan as not only did I not notice a small but important term in my flight out of Russia (I was originally going to fly to Belarus and visit there but because of current tensions tourists coming from Russia aren’t allowed to visit.), but also I needed to drop off additional paperwork, including a signed letter informing the Russian consulate as to why I was applying for a visa so much ahead of my visiting dates, apparently “because you allow me to” isn’t a good enough reason.

Once the Visa application was sent in I just had to wait for my passport to come back, I would pick it up at my friend’s house as my last stop in Canada. It was set, I would be flying to London and visiting the UK and Ireland in March, then make my way down to Morocco for May, and then make my way up to Russia in July. The all stops in between, all the adventures you have been reading about up til now, I had a rough idea of where and when I’d be visiting but they were all up in the air and planned on the go while I traveled, and they changed over and over. So all the paperwork was done and I had finally made my way to Russia, in Saint Petersburg, ready to get some first-hand experience of Sambo, and hope I don’t die from it.

The Many Many Sights

I knew there were a few things to check out in Saint Petersburg from doing a quick check online, and so many people telling how great the city was, but I did not expect to be so enthralled with all the old architecture throughout the city. By this point I was quite used to being around buildings that were everyday common apartment buildings or store fronts to the locals but cool looking to me and older than the formation of Canada itself. The difference with Saint Petersburg is the scale of which all these building are built. It’s like every building, no matter it’s function, was built to outdo Versailles. They were massive, several floor buildings covered with all sorts of ornate designs and pillars. Or the Orthodox church built with millions of multicolored tiles and spires and domes. There was a lot to see and take in for this city, here’s a small sample of the photos I took.

Kazan Cathedral is impressive building, that reminded me of the ship from ‘Prometheus’, with a small but busy park and water fountain in front.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood of course reminded me of Tetris, was also very busy and I didnt feel like being in the crowd pushing my through to see inside so I only walked around and admired it from the outside.

Peter & Paul Fortress is a sizable area with all sorts of different buildings and views, like the Peter and Paul churches, prison museum and the harbour dock and fortress wall and look in towards the city.

Historical Military Artillery Museum is across from the fortress and has a huge array of cannons, tanks and other artillery vehicles displayed across it’s lawns.

Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns are on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island and look in to the city and fortress view.

The Palace Square speaks for itself. 

I have more photos of my travels and adventures over on my Flickr account, head over there if you want to see more and maybe show some love by liking or commenting on few of them, thanks!

Alexey and The Saint Petersburg National Sambo Team

When looking into the idea of traveling to Russia I asked the BJJ Globetrotters Facebook page for contacts or experiences traveling there. That’s when I met Khaled, a Russian living in USA who apparently knows everyone in Russia. He set me up with Alexey, who runs AP Gym in Saint Petersburg, and also connected me with the Checkmat gym in Moscow and told me some great places to check out and had other contacts if I wanted to venture deeper into Western Russia. So I got a hold of Alexey and we began talking about me coming and visiting. Alexey was more than happy to have a visitor and was even going to set me up with a place to stay, except there was no certainty and with the language barrier I decided to go with a hostel and make sure all my paperwork was in order for the trip.

I contacted Alexey once I was settled into the hostel and we started working out when to meet up and train together. As I mentioned before he owns and runs a series of gyms around Saint Petersburg and I was looking forward to meeting his team and training with them, but then Alexey changed the plans. Apparently he had been invited out to train at the School of Higher Sportmanship, home of the Saint Petersburg National Sambo Team and decided to bring me along with him. Alexey and I met up across town at a train station and then he drove the rest of the way since the sports building was just outside of the city. I followed him through the halls and series of rooms, where I saw Judo classes beginning and ending, until we made it to the Sambo room, a big long room matted with three wrestling circles and huge portraits of Sambo legends hanging from the wall. There a number of student there ranging from big scary looking athletes that would break me without a second thought to young teenagers who could probably runs circles around me. It was an intimidating class to be a part of, but also an honour to be there.

The class goes through a series of warm ups but mostly it’s at your own pace and once you’re done warming up the class is fully on your own with the head coach, Korshunov Alexander Igorevich (A honoured coach of Russia) helping if you had any questions. For the hour that Alexey and I trained it was just us working no-gi, we would roll for a while and Alexey would give me tips for my game and we would drill a technique or I would take a break and grab some water while I watched the rest of the class train. There were a group of men training Combat-Sambo on one mat, a younger group working their take downs with the coach on another, it was amazing to see. As we were training a huge guy walked in and got ready to go a few rounds with his training partner. Alexey saw him and told me he was Denis “The Russian Bogatyr” Goltsov a MMA fighter and heavyweight champ. I watched him and his partner fight round after round beating on each other, impressed and intimidated by his size and skill. Alexey jokingly asked if I wanted to go a round with him, I think-or hoped-he was joking, but I just settled with getting a picture with this giant instead.

After training we went out for food and Alexey brought me a Chinese buffet, we talked more about Saint Petersburg and training and traveling and all sorts of things. Alexey has a few businesses other than his gym, he was a busy man doing the work of 6 men running all his entrepreneur enterprises, making him taking the the time to show me around and train with me all the more impressive. It was a fun night and I wished we were able to train more but that night was the only time I was able to make it out as I got head cold and was out of training for the rest of this visit. Thanks so much Alexey for everything, the hard fought rolls, bringing me to the Sambo training session, showing me your beautiful home town, it was an honour to meet you and hang out together. And thank you Khaled for connecting us.

After a short visit to Saint Petersburg and seeing all the awesome sights, a 5 day visit that went by way too fast, I was on a train to my other Russian stop: Moscow!

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

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