Featured Traveller: Stephanie Barthelemy – BJJ Globetrotters

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Stephanie Barthelemy - BJJ Globetrotters

Age: I am 32 years old.

Belt: A 2-stripe blue belt (I often get demoted by my washing machine, but that’s a story for another day).

Profession: I am a small business owner working in marketing, advertising, and investment.

How many years in BJJ: Only been on the BJJ train for 3 years, yet it feels like forever.

Other martial arts: Boxing and Muay Thai have both been a consistent part of my life since I was 16 years old.

Where do you live: 4 years ago, after experiencing the worst snowstorm and almost losing both my ears and fingers to the harsh Canadian winter, I decided enough was enough and packed my bags for a forever sunny location. From the crazy sub-zero Quebec Arctic to the buzzing desert. Happily living in the sunny Abu Dhabi, UAE desert ever since.

I am forever grateful that this was possible due to the flexible nature of my work. This was also very strategic, since it would allow me to travel to my favorite countries more efficiently.

Where are you from: From Montreal, Canada, an absolutely beautiful and culturally rich city, with so much to offer, whenever it’s not freezing 8 months of the year. All righty, I’m just kidding, slightly…

Montreal will always have a special place in my heart as it’s also where I first started BJJ.

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I obsess and meticulously plan so that I can travel as light as possible and all my stuff fit into one glorious bag. It’s like a religion to me at this point, or a fun psychotic game.

Stephanie Barthelemy – BJJ gear for travelling

 

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I travel for both fun and work. I would always visit local gyms for weight training. But when I started BJJ, I noticed that I was feeling anxious at the thought of missing training due to work travel. Then I remembered how popular the sport was globally and how awesome it would be to add BJJ to my travel routine, trying new clubs all around the world.

The rest is truly history. Now the first thing I do when I’m planning to travel to a new place is look for a BJJ gym. You know how some people love to check out UNESCO heritage sites? Well it’s a bit of a similar situation for me. I even go as far as choosing the apartment that’s closest to a BJJ gym.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I was in Belgrade, Serbia last October for a friend’s birthday and we both fell head over heels with the place. Then I spent 3 weeks in Riga, Latvia for medical tourism.

The next few months should be just as hectic as I like it. I’m planning to go back to train with my new BJJ friends in Belgrade and Malaga. On the calendar there’s also Bulgaria, an Egyptian wedding, and Globetrotters camps in Estonia and Poland.

There are still so many places I want to go to. It’s been a lifelong dream to make it to Antarctica. Also would love to go back to Iceland to hike the Landmannalauger and a glacier again. Then there’s Argentina for a wine and Asado course with some tango.

There’s so much to do and such limited time.

Anyways, I digress. One thing is certain is that I get quite excited when I think about the possibility of still being able to drop by BJJ gyms even in the most remote places. Meteora (Greece) is the only place where I couldn’t find any BJJ gym so far.

Stephanie Barthelemy – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
As a history and architecture aficionado, it goes without saying that I enjoy checking out the historical landmarks and museums. I also like outdoor adventuring. That said, my travel pattern is still different nowadays. For example, my friends tease me and call me a turtle because, apparently, I travel way too slow. I tried my best to pick up the pace but with time, I finally got to understand and accept my personal travel style instead of fighting it.

If I only have one week, you best believe it will be spent in the same city. This reminds me of a guy I met in Istanbul a few years ago. He was telling me about how fast he was and how he was able to travel the entirety of Turkey in only a week. I still shiver at that thought up until today. I had no idea how he did it.

Anyways, on my side, I’m slow and I like diving into the local food as a self-proclaimed foodie. Getting to know the locals and sharing meals and drinks with new friends is my main focus and the absolute cherry on top for me.

Then when I started dropping by local BJJ gyms, my overall travel experience increased tenfold.

Nowadays my perfect travel itinerary looks something like: work in the morning, then a quick museum, cultural, or food walking tour in the afternoon. In the evening, I head to Gi and NoGi training… brownie points if there’s a 10th Planet around (yes I know). Afterwards I’d be hitting some of the best places to eat. Ending the day with some crafted cocktails in a hole in the wall bar lounge that only the locals know about.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
I’ve been traveling for quite some time now, but only recently started to merge it with training. And let me tell you that I never fathomed this type of life-changing experience.

Back in November, I traveled to Latvia entirely alone to have a major surgery. Before the surgery, I managed to drop by Strela Riga BJJ in order to train. I still remember the pure joy I felt attending the class being fully taught in Russian. BJJ truly knows no limits. I just never expected to receive such a warm welcome and acceptance from the head coach along with the team members. After the training we all exchanged our @ on IG (how things have changed since the email days). I had only recently met these people and only rolled with them once, yet they all kept checking on me post-surgery, during my recovery and offering me their help. Up until today, I’m still flabbergasted by their kindness.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Yes, there are most certainly serial killers out there. That said, after continuously traveling all around the world, I’m determined that most people are good. And I don’t say this lightly but as a minority who sticks out like a sore thumb wherever I go.

My experience has never been short of amazing 99% of the time. It’s insane how people go out of their way to help you.

Another surprising thing is related to traveling in the modern landscape. I still can’t get used to how so many people use Instagram. I know that the platform gets a lot of hate, but I’m so thankful that I started using it this year. It has had a great impact in my life and has been a positive tool to stay in contact and nurture the friendship with all these amazing jiujiteiros/-as all around the world.

There was also that time when I was traveling through Palestine and met this lovely Palestinian girl at a local coffee shop. After talking for a few minutes, she invited me to stay over at her place so she could practice her English. She was a recent medical graduate looking for a job and was bored out of her mind. Next thing you know, my one week stay turned into 3 months and we were traveling round the region and having a blast. She also refused to let me pay back a single dime for the hospitality.

So many people with hearts of gold all around the world. I try my best to contribute and pay it forward in my own way.

Stephanie Barthelemy – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’m afraid I’m not much of a budget traveler. I see myself more of medium to luxury traveler with a passion for scoring good deals. That said, most of my trips are planned ahead of time, which gives me plenty of time to research the best prices.

I guess I still have my ways to minimize cost and strike a balance. For example, I don’t mind a budget airline for shorter trips but then I would splurge on a nice apartment rental, restaurants, wine, and excursions. That said, I will almost always say yes to any adventure so I don’t mind roughing it occasionally. All in the name of yolo-ing and making lifetime memories with amazing friends.

For the sake of transparency, I also do want to add that my favorite parts of the world to travel are the Baltics, Balkans, overall the geographical Eastern part of Europe (not trying to get political here), the Caucasus, and Central Asia (Silk Road). Coincidentally, these are all places that also allow me to stretch my dollar much further than, let’s say, Switzerland, France or Scandinavia.

So that’s probably my #1 travel hack right there.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
A reminder that even if we look different or speak different languages, have different nationalities etc., we’re all social creatures who crave various level of human interaction, connection, and a sense of togetherness and belonging. I think fellow globetrotters already know this to some extent and tend to be naturally adventurous at heart.

Still, it’s very easy to get complacent or let fear cripple us, as the news only seem to get worse by the day. So let’s all keep gallivanting around the globe in our gis whilst simultaneously connecting and sharing awesome moments together. Although we certainly momentarily choose violence on the mats, no one else knows how to have a good time like my fellow globetrotters.

Looking forward to seeing you half way around the world, perhaps even RNC’ing a couple of you guys, only to enjoy a few too many glasses of wine when all is said and done.

Cheers & stay curious and adventurous my friends!

Thank you to Stephanie Barthelemy – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Featured Camp Instructor: Zachary Miller – BJJ Globetrotters

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Zachary Miller BJJ

Zachary Miller – BJJ Globetrotters

Belt: Black
Age: 30
Profession: Serving in the United States Marine Corps since 2013
Started training (year): 2009
City/country: Arizona, USA

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

I’m relatively new to competing in Jiu Jitsu and have just recently found a desire for competition, so still building experience in that regard. I do however take much pride in my teaching abilities and consider my experiences of teaching in other countries with BJJ Globetrotters as the current highlight of my career. I’m honored to have met so many wonderful people and blessed to have  been afforded the opportunity to help others along in their journey on the mats. Being able to teach my style in a realistic, relatable and most importantly, humorous format will continue to be my goal. 

 

In addition, I’m very pleased to be working as a volunteer with We Defy Foundation, an organization focused on rehabilitating combat disabled veterans through jiu jitsu. I am currently their Training Facility Coordinator and responsible for making sure all affiliated gyms who partner with us meet the criteria for providing a safe space for our scholarship recipients. Given the fact that Globetrotters is so welcoming and non-political, my experience with them has given me great insight on what  to look for and avoid in the process of screening potential gyms. 

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

Iceland, St. Barthelemy, Germany and every Arizona camp there’s been.

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

It’s definitely a tie between Iceland and St. Barthelemy. Iceland because I was able to experience a culture and region vastly different from my home for the first time, and St. Barts because of the small interpersonal camaraderie your afforded.

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

 

Zachary Miller – BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp

 

Another toss up between so many memories! It’s between competing in the Glima tournament and hiking with friends to watch an active volcano eruption in Iceland or the last minute mansion party in the hills of St. Barts and competing in the Caribbean Island camp surf competition, despite sucking royally!

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp?

Recently in Germany my Coach and good friend, Michael Currier and I started co-teaching a Big Guys vs Little Guys class. This has been the most fun class to teach thus far as we both enjoy making everyone laugh and entertaining the group. With him being 145lbs and me being 215lbs we have to modify so many things when rolling against each other’s style. Sharing those adjustments has been really fun and helpful at camp.

Zachary Miller – BJJ Globetrotters Camp

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

I’m truly grateful for BJJ Globetrotters. Because of this organization I have been able to identify and avoid cult gyms, skirt around unnecessary politics, find and embrace my new and current gym/team, make wonderful friends all over the world, teach my style of Jiu jitsu, travel and experience new cultures with my wife, and live the dream. I encourage anyone reading this who’s never attended a camp to take their first step and purchase a ticket!

 

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Zachary Miller – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

 

Featured affiliated academy: Fat Man Gym, BJJ Croatia

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Fat Man Gym, BJJ Croatia

Where is Fat Man Gym, BJJ Croatia located?
Osijek, Croatia.

How many people train in your gym?
About 10-12, but not always at the same time.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We are growing but not by much because we don’t have space (only 20 m2). So 4 people can train at a time, but when there are more than that it’s not so good. For now we are growing though – we started with 4 people and now we are 10-12.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Highest is brown, lowest is white belt.

When did the gym open?
The gym opened in 2021.

Some facts about you:

Name: Marko Torić
Age: 36
Belt: Brown
Profession: Special education teacher
Years in BJJ: 14
Other martial arts: Sambo, Boxing, Kickboxing
Currently living in: Osijek
Originally from: Zagreb, Croatia

Please tell us the story of how Fat Man Gym, BJJ Croatia came into existence
Four of us (Igor, Bojan, Želimir, and myself) started to train outside when all the gyms were closed. We bought some mats, found a place that no one was using, and after a few beers we were training.

Our BJJ gym, BJJ Prime (run by BJJ black belt Vedran Budetić) was also closed. After the first lockdown we went back to BJJ Prime, but vew few people returned since there was still the fear of COVID in the air. Then the second lockdown came and we were again hiding and training. During that time I was looking to buy a house, and one of the requirements was that it had to have space for a small gym. Nothing big, just for few people to come and train in case of a new lockdown.

A few months after the second lockdown, in May 2021, I bought a house with one more guesthouse in garden. The logical move was to renovate it and make a small gym inside. So from May 2021 we have been training there. We were planning on going back to BJJ Prime, but it didn’t feel right. We all love each other, I am a great friend with Vedran, his best man at his wedding. But the four of us started to train differently and learning different techniques (we were all doing techniques for heavy people!). We liked the relaxed training, watching tutorials etc. When you’re in a normal BJJ club you can’t usually do that. You have to have structured learning. So we parted ways and that’s how Fat Man Gym was created. We still go to Prime and hang out, but we are older and fat, so we can’t train like some 20-year-old competition BJJ player…

Tell us about the people that train in Fat Man Gym, BJJ Croatia – who are they?
Three people we have to talk about are Igor Dundović, Bojan Mikac and Želimir Gusak. They are the core founders of Fat Man Gym. All good people, they like to train and learn. They supported and helped financially me when I was doing home improvement in the gym. Other members are also Marin Šutalo and Tomica Mandić who are there every training and doing their best to improve. Our logo creator Ivan Janković, who is helping us by printing logos on t-shirts. Mauricio Lazarić is coming and training with us and in his original BJJ gym, Univerzum. And a few others who come and go, but these 7 are there on a weekly basis.

Why do they train?
We love the complexity of Jiu Jitsu and like to see how much our bodies can do when pushed. And it is a great way to get away from the wife and kids :D

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
This is a small gym and we are all friends, so we talk every day about how to schedule a training session.

How do you see the future for Jiu Jitsu in your area? 
The area is good. In Osijek there are 5 Jiu Jitsu gyms and all are doing great. We are friends with all of them and are hoping that we can create massive open mats so all of our styles can come together and we can all learn from each other.

What’s the best thing about your gym? 
It is open 24/7 and we can have parties in there :D

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym? 
Try the food here – it’s great! – and see the city and the countryside.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Fat Man Gym, BJJ Croatia, you can contact them at [email protected]

Featured Traveller: Lea-Marie Stock – BJJ Globetrotters

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Lea-Marie Stock – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: I am 26 years old

Belt: A freshly promoted purple belt (dyed my hair purple the week after!)

Profession: I am currently working on finishing my Masters degree in psychology to work as a forensic psychologist. I also work as a bouncer from time to time.

How many years in BJJ: I’ve trained BJJ for 4 ½ years now. It feels like ages and that the time just flew by at the same time.

Other martial arts: I never did anything sporty before I started Jiu Jitsu. I was a nerd in school and I used to prefer to write (mediocre to be fair) homework about muscles rather than performing step aerobics in front of the class, and so my teacher told me that I am probably “just not a sport person”. Definitely proved her wrong by now. I also tried MMA and Muay Thai a couple of times in the past years, but I didn’t like it. I sometimes do Combat Jiu Jitsu though!

Where do you live: I live in Duisburg, Germany. Duisburg is known to be the ugliest city ever, and if you ever end up at the train station (I hope you never do) then you will know why. In the first week of living in Duisburg I witnessed a robbery in front of my door, involving a wrestling belt. After having lived there for a year now, it makes sense from a retro perspective. (If you ever catch me at camp, ask me for that story, it’s a good one). In the future I would like to live somewhere nice and maybe even abroad.

Where are you from: A German city close to Duisburg. I downgraded myself to be closer to my Jiu Jitsu gym in Düsseldorf.

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: Three years ago I decided to build my own (chromatic, google it!) harp, ignoring the fact that I had never played a harp before. I am now the worst harp player known but I can tell you everything about the history of different kinds of harps and other totally useless knowledge.

Lea-Marie Stock – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
Originally when I started doing Jiu Jitsu (I was introduced by my current boyfriend at that time) I would never have imagined how far this would go. Jiu Jitsu was appealing to me because it seemed so nerdy and playful, and I was pretty much hooked after a few classes. And then it found more and more place in my daily life. I think that signing up for camps and competing helped me to start traveling. Of course, I always had some sort of travel plans, but they were pretty much always vague and “someday…”.
But with having concrete dates it was easy to realize it. I know the competition is on the 14th of something, so I know I have to be there on the 13th and so on. And once I started traveling it was much easier to continue. I feel like once you experience how easy it is (as a European) to go somewhere else for a weekend and you get confident in not getting lost somewhere, there’s not much that stops you anymore.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
So just two weeks ago I flew to Rome to drink Aperol Spritz (I drank plenty) and I also competed at the IBJJF No-Gi Europeans where I took gold and bronze. Three weeks before that I was in Latvia (shooting and learning something about history) and Spain (competing for the German national team).

So my next trip will probably be the BJJ Globetrotters camp in Austria (I will function as Christian’s helpful elf). Afterwards I’ll go to Paris and compete at the IBJJF Europeans and then I’ll go to Bucharest in Romania. I think I have too many places I want to see next year. I want to go to Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland (again!), …

Lea-Marie Stock – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
I just like seeing different places. I mostly like city trips, wandering around in a nice-looking city (Riga for example was sooo pretty!) and getting to know a little bit about the history of the country and do some sightseeing. I also enjoy meeting new people and making friends everywhere.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Before Jiu Jitsu I used to be extremely shy and not talk to people (in the first six months of going to class I couldn’t even say hello to my teammates) and if you meet me now it’s the complete opposite. Having the experience of being in a group of people who try to help each other out really helped me to grow into a confident person and that makes it worth it 100%.

And I think especially the combination of training and traveling is great. When you meet people at Globetrotters camps from all around the world it makes it easier for you to visit different places, because you already know someone who can give you a couch and good recommendations. You always get a better experience when you go with the local people. When I did the Iceland Camp in 2020, one of the women who worked at Mjölnir MMA and trained with us during the week took us for a hike the day after camp. After hiking for 1.5 hrs in the beautiful nature of Iceland (we had been told it was 30 minutes, but nevermind) we sat down in the hot springs in the mountains, and I think I will never forget how stunning that was. I would have never found that place without having someone local with me.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
That it’s incredibly easy to get recognized as a German as soon as I stop at a traffic light.

Lea-Marie Stock – BJJ Competition

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I am a budget traveller. For my last competition in Rome, I depended on people donating money so I could afford to go. I just try to book smart and find the best airplane prices and prefer Airbnb before hotel. But I also love having kitschy rooms when I can afford it.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Just go. Jump in and enjoy it! You will be overwhelmed by how welcoming everyone will be.

Lea-Marie Stock - BJJ Globetrotters

Thank you to Lea-Marie Stock – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Featured Camp Instructor: Wim Deputter – BJJ Globetrotters

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Wim Deputter BJJ

Wim Deputter – BJJ Globetrotters

Belt: Black
Age: 40
Profession: Fulltime BJJ coach and competitor at Brasa Belgium
Started training (year): Started martial arts around 1990, started BJJ around 2000
City/country: Leuven, Belgium

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

-World Champion JJIF 2014

-MMA record 19 – 4 (all losses by decision)

-Silver medal IBJJF No Gi Europeans Masters Absolute

-Double silver medal IBJJF Silver masters, -76kg and -82kg

-Building my own gym and making a career out of Jiu Jitsu

-Triple Gold at Grappling Industries after 7 months of recovery due to surgery

-One of best selling instructors at BJJ Fanatics

 

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

-Every Leuven Camp (5x?)

–Heidelberg 3x

–Zen Camp 4x

-Bournemouth

–Talinn 3x

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

Zen Camp

 

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

Meeting my wife Yara two days before the 3th Leuven camp during a bar crawl in Brussels with some camp attendees who arrived sooner and wanted to go partying in Brussels. Long story :)

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp?

-Breathing techniques at Zen Camp 2022

-the formula for an Impassable Guard at Zen Camp  2018

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

-Personal website: www.wimdeputter.com

-Gym website: www.brasateam.be

-Podcasts and interviews: https://www.wimdeputter.com/podcasts/

-Instructionals: https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/instructional-videos/fighter_wim-deputter

-Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/wimdeputterbjj

-Instagram: www.instagram.com/wimdeputterbjj

-Main facebook profile: www.facebook.com/wimdeputter

-Facebook athlete page: www.facebook.com/wimdeputterbjj

-Biography interview: https://bjjtribes.com/bjj-athletes-wim-deputter-biography-interview/

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Wim Deputter – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

 

Featured Camp Instructor: Joshua Janis – BJJ Globetrotters

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Joshua Janis - BJJ

Joshua Janis – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 39
Belt: Black
Profession: Communication Coach with MyOdisee
Started training (year): 2000
City/country:  Milwaukee, WI, USA

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

The main thing I am proud of is creating lasting relationships with practitioners all around the world. In a close second, becoming a megaphone for the Jiu Jitsu hobbyist. We can become excellent at Jiu Jitsu and also train in a painless, precise and playful way.

 

Joshua Janis – BJJ Globetrotters

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

I have attended Arizona a bunch of times, Iceland, Estonia, Heidelberg, and St. Barths.

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

Estonia in Tallinn. It was a magical mix of people in a wonderful city.

 

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

Oh gosh, so many. I’ll pick Three. First, the 12 ft ladder, Jesus take the wheel, back flop into a kiddie pool. Second, rapping karaoke in estonia while having way to many “Free” Mintu shots. Third, finding a hidden club in the basement of a bar we were just in the night before and had no idea. Dancing the night away when I thought I just wanted a night cap.

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp?

I just love teaching, so any really. If you are twisting my arm (Jiu Jitsu pun intended) I would have to pick my guillotine classes as I have the largest breadth of knowledge on the subject.

 

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

I have 2 BJJ fanatics videos out with a third being filmed in November.

https://bjjfanatics.com/products/guillotin-glossary-volume-1-by-josh-janis

https://bjjfanatics.com/products/guillotine-glossary-volume-2-by-josh-janis

I have a dojo named White Lotus that my partner Meghan and I own in Milwaukee, WI. We love visitors. Check us out at https://www.gentleartlifestyle.com/whitelotusbjj 

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Joshua Janis – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

 

Featured affiliated academy: White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA

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Jiu-Jitsu USA

Where is the gym located?
The best address ever – 420 S 1st street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

How many people train there?
14

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
The gym is growing really fast. Since we’ve been open for 3 weeks as of writing this, that is 5 students a week :)

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Our school is for experienced grapplers, so our lowest is 4-stripe white belts with multiple black belts.

When did the gym open?
September 6th 2022

Some facts about you:

Name: Joshua Janis
Age: 39
Belt: Black
Profession: Interpersonal Communication Coach with www.myodisee.com
Years in BJJ: 19
Other martial arts: TKD as a kid
Currently living in: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Originally from: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
Like any good story, it starts with trial and tribulation. After coming out of Covid I ran into some unexpected internal conflict with the gym I had been at for 15 years. Having done a good bit of travelling, watching other coaches, other gyms, and listening to a plethora of different perspectives made it hard for us to fit into any gym’s culture. We felt that there could be a school that focused on the hobbyist, whose culture was a bit nerdy, and where you could focus on learning in a roll instead of winning.

Once we committed to creating a home for us, the universe provided. We found a perfect spot, in the perfect location, for something we could afford. We got to work, putting in the long hours to create a brand that was congruent with who we are as people. Then building the comfortable environment that we felt was super important to our culture.

White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA is different. We cater to the experienced BJJ hobbyist. Our classes are principles-based over individual methods. Our gym is open 24/7 to members and couples as a co-working space. Our lounge allows for a space to come together to watch grappling, fights, Avatar the Last Airbender, or even House of the Dragon.

While it is still very early, I consider ourselves very lucky. It has been an amazing experience to create something with my partner Meghan. Her ability to listen to her emotional voice balances my logical voice perfectly. While it has been a lot of work, I look back at what we have accomplished so far with fondness and pride

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
One common thread with our students is their open-mindedness and intelligence both in their professional and Jiu Jitsu lives. Mix these traits with helpfulness and pour into classes that encourage discussion on what works for the individual and you have White Lotus.

Why do they train in White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA?
I believe our people start training for many reasons, however they stay around because of the dojo culture. If the dojo culture matches what the student wants then they will stick it out.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
In general, it is just like any business. Staying organised, keeping the facility clean, how to handle student challenges, how to get people in the door etc.

We have a very specific challenge in that we are opening as a dojo for experienced grapplers only, which means no white belts (which is normally the blood of a dojo). It isn’t that we are against white belts, it is that we want to teach advanced BJJ principles so you need to have basic methods somewhat understood. This makes our pool of possible participants smaller. We also don’t want to be perceived as “poachers”, so we created an auxiliary membership that can easily be paired with a home gym of students.

White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
I believe that we are still at the tip of the spear in regards to the popularity of Jiu Jitsu. It is a tool that fixes so many of the challenges we face as a society. When done right, It inspires confidence and develops strong relationships. As people develop their own expressions of the art it will continue to explode both in Milwaukee and all over.

What’s the best thing about White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA?
I’ll answer this from my perspective…

Spiritually: Creating something with my the love of my life.
Emotionally: Watching students interact with something you have created.
Physically: The lounge. It’s so cool to have a place to chill. It’s like a living room in a dojo!

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym ?
Depends on the time of year. Summers in Milwaukee are perhaps the best in the country. We have huge music festivals, we are the home of Harley Davidson, and if you have never seen Lake Michigan it will take your breath away. In winter, the best part is our winter BJJ camp :)

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit White Lotus Jiu-Jitsu, USA you can find them here.

Featured traveller: Marju Kern – BJJ Globetrotters

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Marju Kern BJJ

 

Age: 45

Belt: 4-stripe white belt

Profession: I identify mostly as a full-time mom. All legal work experience, telco business, and investments feel kinda irrelevant compared to parenting.

How many years in BJJ: 6

Other martial arts: I started with MMA after my 4th child was born. I guess I was a bit overwhelmed with the chaotic life with kids at home and I was looking for a place where I could release some stress (sometimes moms need to kick something for their sanity). A 3-month introductory course for beginners seemed just the right thing, because I thought 3 months is doable and by that time I’ll have gotten the stress out of my system. However the club also had a 3-month follow-up course, and as a young widow I had new reasons to keep going. During MMA classes I sometimes saw people doing BJJ on other mats. BJJ looked awful, sweaty, and embarrassing. Not for me, I thought.

Where do you live: Tallinn, Estonia

Where are you from: I was born and grew up in this lovely town Pärnu, where this year the BJJ Globetrotters beach camp took place.

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I like real letters and postcards. I have a penpal in Finland with whom I’ve exchanged handwritten letters for 32 years. I was on a school trip to Finland and a girl asked my address when we were visiting a local school. The next time I saw her again in person was 27 years later during another trip to Finland.

A few years ago I discovered postcrossing. This is also a cool way to send and receive postcards from all over the world.

Marju Kern – BJJ camp in St. Barts

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I think the first time I read about BJJ Globetrotters camps was on social media, when someone from Estonia shared her experiences. I was immediately mesmerized by this – imagine that! The two best things combined: travelling somewhere and training with friendly like-minded people! Then Priit “defensivebjj” Mihkelson started participating in camps and was very un-priitly happy about that. As a curious person, I wanted to go and see in person what it’s all about. Finally in the summer of 2020 the planets were all correctly aligned and I could go to my first abroad camp in Iceland.

Participating in a camp is an excellent chance to squeeze more training hours into a smaller time period. At home I can go to the gym 2-3 times a week, if I’m lucky. At the camp I can take 3 classes a day, plus open mat time. Accordingly it’s all win-win for me. I can see new places or familiar places from new angles and have more mat time. Plus hopefully there are more people of my size to train with.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
The last one was the Faroe Islands Camp. I arrived a couple of days earlier because I wanted to look around. The nature in the Faroes is breathtaking and it’s worth taking time to enjoy that.

A trip that I’m looking forward to next August is a 10-day expedition to Greenland on a sailboat.

Marju Kern – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
I enjoy being in a new environment, where everyday chores don’t haunt me. New tastes, different smells, light from different angles, different landscapes – when travelling I notice more details around me and that changes the perception of time. Days feel longer and that in itself is really uplifting considering how regular days tend to slip away too fast.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Here I can only tell about travelling to BJJ Globetrotters camps, since those are my only training destinations – at least so far.

When travelling to a camp I always have this feeling that I get more local inside info on what to visit and what to do. For example, I hadn’t heard of summer tobogganing before the family camp in Austria, and that was really fun to try with kids.

Of course, travelling to Caribbean Camp pays off price-wise. The camp is the cheapest option to stay on this wonderful island for a week.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
The most colorful experiences are definitely from trekking trips to remote places like Kamchatka and the Kuril islands (far east of Russia) or Torres del Paine in Patagonia. Apparently I am very naive and I believe everything they write in ads. I went to my very first trekking trip with a small organized group to Kamchatka. It was said that no special skills are needed, only that I have to be morally prepared to walk 8 hours a day while carrying supplies for 1 week in my backpack. There were moments where I cried (inside) and would have definitely preferred to have had certain mountaineering skills. The lesson I learned from there is that when there are no other options I am able to do so much more than I ever thought.

Surprising experiences in random order:

  • How many steep and slippery cliffs I can climb (without any safety ropes).
  • How easily you are given a gun in Russia when you have to wait in the woods and there is high probability to meet a bear. No questions ever asked about whether you know how to use it.
  • How my body feels after a 10-hour boat trip on a heavily crowded boat, sitting on a hard bench when legs could be moved only when the entire row of people moved their legs together.
  • How many midges are in Scotland in a quiet morning.
  • How rainy the rainforest is during raining season.
  • How friendly people are everywhere and how many interesting stories they have.

Marju Kern – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
Not so much. At my age I prefer comfort and I’m not looking for the cheapest options possible. I usually don’t have the liberty to wait until last-minute cheap offers or discounts pop up.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Pack less and see more.

Thank you to Marju Kern – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Featured Camp Instructor: Jorgen Matsi – BJJ Globetrotters

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Jorgen Matsi bjj

Jorgen Matsi – BJJ Globetrotters

Belt: Black
Profession: Personal coach / sport psychologist
Started training (year): 2003
City/country: Tartu, Estonia

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

Lots of (very mostly non-default:) medals on the regional scene

 

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

Leuven 2018, Heidelberg 2019, Tallinn 2019, Iceland 2021, Tallinn 2021, Spring Camp 2022, Beach Camp 2022, Zen Camp 2022

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

Heidelberg 2019

 

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

Me getting my blackbelt totally unexpected in Tallinn 2019 was pretty cool. In general I like the overall camp vibe in every camp, not very specific moments. 

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp?

I like to teach something conceptual every time. Mostly have been doing “wrestling in context of BJJ” stuff thus far.

Anything else you want to add to your profile:  I like to talk about things :) If anything I’m interested in interests you – I’m easy to find on the mats and in the good ol’ interwebs.

***

Jorgen Matsi – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

 

Trekking, the Camino and How the BJJ Globetrotters Network Brought Me Home

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Dust Mop Jiu Jitsu: The Expat Files: Chapter Five: Boston BJJ-Newton, Massachusetts

-On focusing on the journey instead of the destination and the importance of being a beginner

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This is Chapter 5 of what I’m calling the Expat Files. If you want to know more about what this project is, you can read more about it in the first article here.

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After Denmark, Rachel and I made our way to Germany, Spain and Portugal. By the end of our four month journey, we had explored mountains, tried surfing and obtained official documents absolving us of our sins (Neither of us are Catholic, but it can’t hurt). Each place was amazing but we had a special mission for  Spain: the Camino de Santiago.

I’ve previously written about my love for trekking. Living out of a bag and only eating what you can carry gives you a simple daily structure . For the Camino:

 

7am: Wake up, roll up your sleeping bag, lace up your boots, wolf down a pastry, slam back an espresso and start walking
9am: Stop for second breakfast
9:30 am: Keep walking
1:00 pm: Lunch
1:30 pm: Keep walking
3 or 4 pm: Find your hostel, claim a bunk bed, take shower and a nap
5 pm: Get dinner with some strangers and have the best conversation of your life
8pm: Bed

 

It’s a hiking trail that’s like no other. You walk over the pyrenees, through the desert and then to the ocean. As a pilgrimage, these different parts of the trail have meanings. The first part, over the mountains, is good for the body. The second part, the Meseta, is devoid of scenery and it forces you to turn inward and examine your mind. The last, toward the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, is for the soul. 

 

Three years prior, I had started the Camino on my own. The whole thing takes six weeks, but in 2015, I only had three. I remember agonizing at the time about what I should do. Should I take a bus to the last bit? Perhaps I could skip the meseta. Maybe I could rent a bike.

I had fallen in with a group of hikers who gave me different advice. My assumption was that I would not be able to ever come back to Spain so I needed to get to Santiago now. I’ll never forget the conversation I had with this older French dude named Jerome.

Jerome: Ah so you will coupé (cut it) with a bus?

Me: I’m considering it

Jerome: But you will ruin it! Just walk to where you can and come back. You will see, it’s amazing! It will be just as you left it!

Me: But I’ll never be able to come back!

At the time, I was annoyed with him, but he was totally right. The best part of the Camino is starting it and looking forward to the journey. I remember meeting people who skipped the first few days so that they could make it to Santiago. I actually felt sorry for them. Like Jerome said, being a beginner is the best part. In contrast, the end of the Camino, in 2018,  was totally sad. The hope that we would reach Santiago is what got me out of bed each morning, now we didn’t have that. Rachel and I actually labeled it Post Camino Depression. But the beginning, the bonding with other travelers, the arduous hikes, is what made it special. 

After the trail, we flew to Boston from Barcelona. The cool thing is that we flew to Korea out of Los Angeles so since leaving the states, and then went to Europe and finally to Massachusetts. That meant that since leaving the USA for Ulsan in 2017 we had actually circumnavigated the globe. 

 

It had been six weeks since I had trained any Jiu JitsuBy the time we arrived in the states. Luckily I knew exactly where I could go. Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy caught my eye years before going to Korea, but I was always too nervous to go in. But here I was, six months into training. I had already been brave enough to start the process and continue it in other people’s gyms. This would be my first foray into establishing myself as a BJJ practitioner in America. Interesting how for some, the globetrotters network brings them gyms all over the world. For me, it literally brought me home.

All that  confidence crashed after I stepped onto the mats and saw a wall of people wearing black belts. At Ulsan Fight Gym in Korea, my instructor was a purple belt. In Thailand, I met black belt instructors but nobody else was at that level. This was the first time I saw black belts learning from black belts. To this day, Boston BJJ is the most black belt heavy gym I’ve been to. 

The class was at 7 AM. I dragged myself out of bed to get there. In late November, a few guys were freezing at the door. The instructor, John, finally showed up late and herded us inside. Since none of the guys complained, I figured this must be normal. Nobody even noticed me enough to find out if I was a member. They just rushed on the mats and started a twenty-five minute game of King of the Guard.

If you haven’t played it, King of the Guard works like this:

  • Everyone pairs up with one person being put in guard
  • The person in guard has to pass
    • If he makes it, he stays down and somebody new comes to him
    • If he doesn’t he finds a new person
  • The person who has guard needs to sweep or submit
    • If he sweeps or submits, he stays where he is
    • If he gets passed, he gets up and finds a new person

I got swept and submitted less than 30 seconds with each person. It wasn’t even close. These guys were toying with me like a cat with a ball of yarn. 

One guy showed up late. He walked slowly, had wrinkles under his eyes and looked frail. He made the loudest old man noises as he stretched. Once he was on the mats, I walked over to him and he looked deep in my eyes. He spoke extremely slowly to me. “Listen. You are young. I am in my fifties. Okay? Be aware of our age differences and that I don’t heal as fast. OKAY?” Five seconds later I was in the tightest armbar I’ve ever felt. 

I had never felt such a gap in skill. In Korea most people were beating me, but it didn’t feel like a shutout. This felt like being in a tornado. I got swept and submitted by everyone in less than a minute. One guy put his hand over my mouth and nose. I remember asking him if it was a legal move. “…no. Just something we like to use for newcomers.” 

 

–

 

It’s not that black belts are inherently more athletic than everyone else. When you start Jiu Jitsu, you’re not used to moving around on the floor. The movements don’t have access to potential energy. Once your body gets used to that, you have a major advantage over somebody who isn’t. Think about what it’s like to run a race against somebody who doesn’t even know how to walk. 

With more advanced people, the intimidation comes more from the sense that they always seem to know something you don’t. Now think about how those people are with each other, how much misdirection they learn to get what they want against somebody who sees their moves coming a mile away. It’s this learning curve that gives Jiu Jitsu its mythic status as the martial art for the little guy. 

BJJ people love comparing jits to chess. “You get better by rolling with people who are better.” But these guys were honestly too far out of my league. I would get home feeling like I had never understood anything. They rarely even taught techniques unless the instructor felt like it. The schedule said they had a fundamentals class. I had not yet been to a gym that had separate classes for beginners. A prideful part of me didn’t want to think of myself as a beginner but I knew I had to give it a shot. 

I actually ended up really liking the beginner’s class. There’s a split in the Jiu Jitsu world over how much time should be devoted to warm ups. Some feel it robs you of valuable time you could be focusing on Jiu Jitsu. But our instructor, Alex, led them in an interesting way. He would say “20 jumping jacks.” First he would count to ten then we would count in unison from 11-20. When you are new to a gym and a group of people, yet you find yourself moving in the same way as them, you inevitably feel a connection. That team feeling is what was missing from the class with all the Black Belts. Those guys weren’t trying to be exclusive, but the reality is they had all probably known each other for at least 10 years. Just like on the Camino, it’s easier to connect with people who are on the same leg of the journey as you. 

Alex also explained some of the basic moves in a way that made me realize I had never understood them back in Ulsan. Alex’s class structure helped me feel like I did in Ulsan, that I was learning something new each day. (He’s also a good writer. Check out this article he wrote about Anthony Bourdain and BJJ or his sci-fi series on MMA. He writes about a dystopian world where wars are fought through MMA matches. The practices he describes in the book actually describe the kinds of methods he used at Boston BJJ).

I spent every day for almost a month at either the advanced or fundamentals class. And I I learned a lot. I like to think I was getting better, but I was more likely learning how to identify what I had been  previously doing wrong. Here again, I found it interesting to be around such advanced folks. The advice I got from black belts was great, but the advice I got from blue and purple belts was honestly more helpful. Those were the folks that were most recently in my shoes. 

Boston BJJ ended up becoming a second gym to me. I would soon move to Burlington, Vermont. My coach there had gotten his black belt from the Boston BJJ head coach, Roberto Maia, which meant I didn’t have to pay for drop ins. I would train there whenever I was visiting my parents or working in the area. I always looked forward to it as well. I still got crushed by the black belts each time, but I started learning from them as well. 

Unfortunately, I think they took a hit during the pandemic. I’m not sure the full story, but all I know is that they don’t exist at that location anymore. I hope they get back on their feet soon and I can see those folks again. Since they closed, I’ve had to look for other gyms to train when I visit my folks. At a few places, I’ve seen some of the Boston BJJ diaspora. I always approach them and commiserate about how much we miss the academy. 

The folks I walked with on the Camino DeSantiago will always have a special place in my heart. But similarly, the black belts who crushed me, the blue belts who mentored me and the white belts who grew with me will forever be a part of my BJJ journey. 

 

The Dust Mop Takeaway:

 

Part of the reason for me writing this blog is to reflect on what it feels like to be a white belt after so much time. When I started BJJ, I remember hoping that I would make it to blue belt before I got to the states. But there’s something comforting about being a white belt. Nobody expects anything from you so it’s a win-win scenario. If you do poorly, nobody looks disappointed, and if you do well, everyone seems impressed (or annoyed depending on who you roll with). It’s honestly something that I think I will miss if I get promoted, that feeling like I’ve got nothing to lose. 

At Boston BJJ, I learned to love being a beginner. I got the mindset that there’s always more to learn. Just like being on the camino, there’s always more trail to cover. It’s what inspires you to wake up at 7am, lace up your boots and get walking right away. For jits, it’s what inspires me to get to training five days a week.

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My goal is to visit 100 gyms! If you ever want me to visit yours and write about what it’s like to learn from you, feel free to reach out at [email protected].

If you want to read my articles as soon as they’re published, you can follow me here.

Treat Everyone Like They Will Be A Black Belt

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Dust Mop Jiu Jitsu: The Expat Files: Chapter Four: CSA-Copenhagen, Denmark

-On fitting in, reconnecting to nature and BJJ as a communal endeavor

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This is Chapter 3 of what I’m calling the Expat Files. If you want to know more about what this project is, you can read more about it in the first article here.

–

After Thailand, Rachel and I went to Nepal. I found literally no traces of BJJ existing there. We spent two weeks there trekking and breathing fresh air. This was a detox we sorely needed. Ulsan, the city in Korea, where we had lived, was incredibly crowded. Most nights we had to keep our curtains closed to keep out the neon lights. The first time we slept in our apartment, we heard the screaming cries of a stumbling drunk. But for two weeks in Pokhara, we woke up and saw mountains for days. Missing Jits was honestly worth it. 

Rachel’s parents are both academics. Her mom gets consulting jobs all over the world to help museum’s with their exhibits. It’s really impressive because she can tell you all about the cafeteria in each one and what you should be ordering. Right after leaving Nepal, we met up with them in Copenhagen where she was working with the natural history museum. 

Copenhagen is a beautiful city with beautiful people. A little…too beautiful maybe. Let me explain. Rachel and I had spent a year where we were, quite obviously, not Korean. People just automatically knew to switch to English when they saw us, or, at the very least not try speaking Korean.  We thought that going to Europe would be the end of that but…no. People there all seemed to be a foot taller than me and incredibly stylish. We were planning a backpacking trip in Spain so we only had hiking clothing. But as the Danes rode their bikes through the streets, they all seemed like something out of a Gap commercial only wearing black or charcoal. I swear I saw a woman riding a bike with a scarf on where it waved behind her like a flag. Not a care in the world. No worry, for example, that it would turn into a game of tug of war between her neck and the bike chain. I think most people could tell without speaking to me that I wasn’t a local. I’m too short to be a Dane.

The food was amazing, if not a shock to the system. Good bread is hard to come by in Korea. Most apartments I saw in Ulsan didn’t even have an oven. And cheese options were limited as well. But here we were eating smoked salmon on the richest cheeses and the hartiest breads we’ve ever encountered. I lost a lot of weight in Korea not having access to that stuff. I gained it back in Denmark.

For Jiu Jitsu, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. CSA, home of the BJJ Globetrotters! I knew that was where the whole project of politics-free Jiu Jitsu started. I made sure to get myself over there. One morning, I hopped on what seemed like the world’s most advanced bikeshare and made my way to the class. (Biking in Denmark is awesome, and there are good views everywhere.)

When I arrived I saw a building that looked huge. I knew it couldn’t be 100 percent dedicated to BJJ. It turned out to be a community center with art studios, education offices and gym space. The hallways looked all the same and I wasn’t able to find CSA. I even stopped by a Karate dojo in the building wondering if they shared the mats with them. 

Finally, I found the place. They didn’t have a bathroom in the gym space so I went down the hall. It didn’t have a gender on the sign so I went in and saw a room full of doors, each leading to a private toilet. In the middle was the sink with the soap. I went into a toilet stall and changed into my rash guard. When I came out, I saw a woman washing her hands and I was taken aback. Up until that point in my life, I had literally never seen a public restroom set up that way. Why don’t we do that in the US? It would probably save space and make some culture war issues moot. It’s honestly seeing things like Danish bathrooms that make travel worth it.

Roger Huerta was the instructor for the day. He said he was just filling in for the jiu jitsu instructor. Although Adam Shahir Kayoom at Q23 is an MMA fighter, I had never had a class taught by someone who mostly taught striking. But I was intrigued. MMA is an interesting part of the jiu jitsu journey. Before doing BJJ, I had never been interested in the sport at all. But as I learned more about the history of the UFC and the way it brought grappling to the spotlight, I started to gain more perspective. The first UFC I ever made a point to watch had just happened the previous week. It was the infamous UFC 229: Connor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagamedov.  I had kept my eye on the media hype over it because it felt like the ultimate grappler versus striker setup. I had felt somehow vindicated when Khabib played with McGregor like a cat place with a ball of yarn. My discipline was legit enough to win.

Despite my budding interest in MMA, I was still unsure of what a BJJ class taught by a striker would entail. Roger was the nicest guy. It was me and three Danish guys. I remember one of them being super tall and the other guy being very large. I’ll never forget grappling with the latter and not being able to secure the ever-illusive triangle choke. He said, “Ya don’t worry about it. My neck is too fat. Everybody is telling me so.”

Most Danes I met spoke English better than me so their fluency didn’t really surprise me. Still, what surprised me was that the class was taught entirely in English. It made sense in Thailand since most people were expats. But I still can’t figure out if that’s how they normally do it or if they just switched as soon as I got in the class. Come to think of it, to this day (4/5/22), the last time I’ve been to a Jiu Jitsu class not taught in English was in Korea. 

Roger turned out to be a really fascinating person. After the class we had a conversation about life, fulfillment, mental health and training that covered a lot of ground. It felt like the kind of talk you have with a friend over a series of drinks but here we were sober, exhausted and getting into all of life’s mysteries. A few months later, he messaged me on my birthday. Everyone does that on facebook, but his last comment meant a lot to me. He was the first person to suggest that I could someday become a black belt. 

If you haven’t seen it, there’s an amazing ted talk called lollipop moments. In it, Drew Dudley advocates for thanking people for offhand comments that make us feel special. Even, or especially, when they can’t remember it themselves. 

 

“We celebrate birthdays, where all you have to do is not die for 365 days. Yet we let people who have made our lives better walk around without knowing it.” 

 

Roger might have just been being nice by suggesting that I might one day become a black belt. But my theory is that longevity in this sport has to be a communal endeavor. The common estimate is that it takes ten years to become a black belt. How can you possibly do that alone?

You need people to care that you stick with it and you need to be invested in their success and longevity as well. People care that I show up on the mats. I have to remember that and care that they show up as well. Treat everyone like they will be a black belt and you might find yourself becoming one faster.

So, this one’s for you Roger. Your prediction was a major lollipop moment.

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My goal is to visit 100 gyms! If you ever want me to visit yours and write about what it’s like to learn from you, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. 

If you want to read my articles as soon as they’re published, you can follow me here.

Overcoming the Disappointing Part of Travel at Chiang Mai BJJ

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Dust Mop Jiu Jitsu: The Expat Files: Chapter Three: Chiang Mai BJJ-Chiang Mai, Thailand

-On the disappointing nature of traveling without a purpose, the connection between BJJ and Trekking and the ways that Jiu Jitsu lets you borrow another life for a day.

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This is Chapter 3 of what I’m calling the Expat Files. If you want to know more about what this project is, you can read more about it in the first article here.

–

Imagine you take a trip to Berlin. You’re there for three or four days. You see the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, a number of museums and eat as many pretzels and brats as you can handle. By the time you leave, you ask yourself, “Did I really see Berlin?” You likely haven’t even scratched the surface. There’s always a sense that you could have done, seen or experienced more. It’s the disappointing part of travel that I rarely see mentioned.

 It’s one of the reasons I love trekking. You always have a goal: get to the next campsite. On trail, you meet amazing people and gain an intimate relationship with the landscape. As long as you made it, every other experience is a bonus.

Rachel and I had no real direction in Bangkok. It had been less than a week since we left Korea so we had no plans or goals. It was hard to see a purpose for us really being there except to say we had been in a new location. We felt aimless as we headed to our next location. 

 

We took a night train north to Chiang Mai. It’s one of those awesome romantic things that you hope to be able to do at least once in your life. You walk through your carriage and everyone gets their own bunk bed with curtains. To help us sleep, we took the most powerful drowsy pills the Korean medical system can give you. “If you’re flying,” Rachel’s doctor said, “only take them once you’re on the plane! People take them in terminals and miss their flights.” They hit us like bricks. We slept like babies. But we really didn’t know what they were. Prescriptions in Korea often just came in plastic bags. You would walk away from a pharmacy feeling like you’ve collected your fix from a drug dealer. It was only a month after leaving Thailand that we realized they were probably opiates.

Bangkok is loud, overwhelming and fairly polluted. Chiang Mai, on the other hand, is this beautiful, small city centered around a number of Buddhist temples. Definitely a more relaxed atmosphere. We tried to be as chill as possible. We saw the sites, went to a Muay Thai fight, got a couples massage and took a day trip to an elephant sanctuary.

These experiences were fun but there was still the Berlin problem. How could I have a goal that would allow me to “accomplish” the city? It’s harder in urban settings, there’s too many options.

Being from New England, I’ve been to New York City several times.  My favorite time going there was for a job interview. I woke up early like a New Yorkers, hit the subway and felt like I blended into the rhythm of the city. In Bangkok, I realized I had felt that way training at Q23. Figuring out the transport, adhering to the Thai schedule and doing the same drills as everyone else gave me the impression that I was borrowing another life instead of simply being a tourist. 

I used the BJJ Globetrotters network again to find Chiang Mai BJJ. Even before arriving at the studio, I could feel my new tourism strategy working. Getting there by foot allowed me to orient myself to the city. Also, I felt like I had a reason to be there.

Unlike the gym in Bangkok that was in a five star hotel, this one was on the second story of an apartment building. I went to two classes and both times felt a specific sensation: a rented, clean jiu jitsu gi hitting a body that’s already sticky with sweat. The humidity in Thailand is something else.  

Everybody there was so chill! I had more time there to meet people and talk with them. That’s something that didn’t happen much in Korea. Most people in the gym were expats. Both times I rolled with this nice British dude, I think his name was Daniel (second from the right on the top row). I remember he was planning on trekking in Nepal,  where Rachel and I were headed next. We rolled and I almost put him in a triangle choke, but it would honestly be another year before I made that work on anyone. Another guy was also from the UK but competed a lot in Israel. Hearing him talk about it, I was intrigued and intimidated. I remember thinking of the competition I pulled out of in Korea.

The guy to the left of Daniel, Kia (I think), was trying Jiu Jitsu for the first time. Bryan, the instructor, surprised me by pairing me up with Kia and asking me to explain some basics. I was thrilled! I had never taught anybody anything in BJJ before. 

He made it very clear that he was just trying and didn’t want to commit to anything. But as I explained the difference between being in guard and passing it, his eyes widened in amazement. I’ve explained the same concept several times over the years, it never gets old seeing the gears turn in people’s heads. I sometimes wonder where Kia is now and if he continued.

The expats in Chiang Mai were different. In Bangkok, the jiu-jitsu folks I met had been there for a long time. They had stable jobs and were married. But most people in Chiang Mai were just passing through on their way to mountains and other adventures. This was another important thing for me to see on my jiu jitsu journey. 

Previously, I had the impression that if you want to train, you really need to have a nine-to-five and carve out your schedule. But these folks trained in between, and sometimes as a part, of their adventures. Because of that you heard about places that they had trained before, either in their home country or other places. 

I had only previously experienced that on trekking trails. You share fires, campsites and beers with fellow hikers. There’s a natural comradery in everyone working toward a common goal. You know the trail will be over in a few days. You want more experiences and friendships like this and you ask your fellow travelers where else have they been or where they want to go. The imagination goes wild and you see the world as one big trail. Leaving Chiang Mai BJJ, I saw the opportunity to learn grappling, experience culture and share the journey with folks all over the world. 

I had never connected my love for trekking with my love for Jiu Jitsu. There’s a clear goal, a feeling of slow but constant progress and an affinity for people that are on the same journey. I once met a Rabbi who defined love as just that: people working toward a common goal.  

 

The Dust mop Takeaway: 

Getting the opportunity to teach Oren was what I’ll remember the most. It was the first time I taught anybody else in BJJ. 

For techniques, I remember my roll with Daniel. Bryan saw us and casually said, “you’re not going to get a triangle choke going that direction.” My body had pivoted the wrong way. I remember him as I watch newer folks struggle to configure themselves.

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My goal is to visit 100 gyms! If you ever want me to visit yours and write about what it’s like to learn from you, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. 

If you want to read my articles as soon as they’re published, you can follow me here.

What It’s Like to Use the Globetrotter Network for the First Time: Q23 Bangkok

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Dust Mop Jiu Jitsu: The Expat Files: Chapter Two: Q23-Bangkok, Thailand

On the pleasures of living out of a bag, trusting your commitment to BJJ and overcoming the fear to drop-in to another academy.

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This is Chapter 2 of what I’m calling the Expat Files. If you want to know more about what this project is, you can read more about it in the first article here.

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There’s a specific joy that comes with living out of a bag that’s small enough to be your carry-on. You feel like you’ve stripped down to your most basic essentials. Sadly, my bag that lasted me 10 years and 8 countries fell apart on the last day I left Korea. At the Daegu airport, I quickly found an outdoor store, and repacked my stuff. To save space, we only packed quick-dries, easy layers and, since I was still doing grad school, my laptop. For BJJ, I had decided against bringing my travel gi. All the no-gi clothing lends itself easily to hiking. I said a wistful goodbye to my favorite adventure bag and we were on our way!

After one year teaching abroad, Rachel and I were ready to slowly make our way back to the states. Our first stop was Bangkok, Thailand. We made no specific plans since we knew we would be physically and emotionally exhausted. Leaving our job as kindergarten teachers meant saying goodbye to a hundred small children screaming they loved us. Sitting at the airport, I remember reflecting on how many aspects of daily life would no longer be accessible to us. No more bathhouses, festivals about anything and everything or barbecue with unlimited side dishes (it’s just not the same anymore). My gut had grown accustomed to eating kimchi multiple times a day. Would I even have access to that in the states?

At that point I was in the habit of going to Jiu Jitsu three times a week. Would that be another thing that disappeared from my life like random street protests and little kids treating me like a jungle gym?  Not wanting to lose my momentum, I looked up places on the BJJ Globetrotters facebook group. The recommendations brought me to Adam Shahir Kayoom’s gym, Q23. While I was excited to go, I was definitely unsure about what it would be like to visit someone else’s gym. It took me almost 15 years from hearing about BJJ to finally go to a class and now I was just going to waltz into someone else’s club like it was no big deal. Despite my hesitations, something inside compelled me to go through with it.

Bangkok was so different from where we had taught. It’s a mixture between modern developed Asia with skyscrapers and public transport, but with the rustic vibe that comes with motorcycle taxis and floating markets. Getting inside from the noisy street felt like entering an airlock. The gym was on the fifth floor of a pretty ritzy looking hotel. High ceilings, floral patterns, saunas and people wearing tennis whites. It seemed like a country club until I found a door with the logo on it. Q23 operated in a small room and it reminded me of what I had at Ulsan Fight Gym. To date, it’s the fanciest setting I’ve seen for a BJJ gym but the room itself reminded me of what I had in Ulsan.

Adam was a nice guy as he registered me for the class and gave me the rental gi. I remember being fascinated by their routine. Like most gyms, they had some warm up movement drills. But they did partner shrimping and reverse shrimping through people’s legs which actually gave me more context for that specific movement. To this day, I enjoy showing that to new white belts who seem like they’re struggling to get movement right.

“Okay, let’s do some live rolling (Jits speak for sparring).” As soon as Adam said that,  everyone went to the wall to grab tennis balls. From there, they rolled while holding them in their hands. I watched from the sidelines since I was asked not to spar. If you don’t know Jiu-Jitsu, grips are extremely important. The gis we wear feel like bathrobes because you are allowed to grab the fabric. Holding tennis balls means focusing more on using your legs. Four years later, I have yet to try that. It’s always cool to see a gym do something unique. 

Unlike Ulsan Fight Gym, most people at Q23 were expats so Adam taught in English. It felt so strange to be in BJJ class and be able to understand everything.  Not just for the  lesson, but also the small talk. For context, all the international friends we made in Korea had the same experience:

  • We tuned out the conversations around us since we couldn’t understand them. 
  • We stopped whispering since we assumed most people couldn’t understand us. (It’s a dangerous assumption. Rachel and I got into some pretty embarrassing situations. We definitely had some Korean folks chime in on some very intimate conversations around our sex life…). 

The result is that when you return to the states, people think you speak way too loudly and you find the conversations around you incredibly distracting. The class at Q23 had both problems. I am positive they spoke at a normal volume, but to me it felt like I could hear every word in every sentence in every side conversation.  

Despite not getting to do everything, I had a great time. I was also proud of myself for getting to the class. My biggest worry with leaving Korea was that I wouldn’t keep training. Now I knew BJJ would be at least one thing that I wasn’t leaving behind. 

After the class, a few of us were chilling with Adam. We all laughed as he told us his daughter was getting into trouble in school for putting boys into submission holds. “They keep messing with her! I also keep on telling her that it’s going to make boys feel uncomfortable if you make it look that easy. I’m probably just encouraging her.” 

Except for Ho Chun and a few others, I had never really chatted with someone in a Jiu Jitsu gym. I also never worried about personality clashes since those only occur when you have the ability to communicate. Nobody I was friends with did BJJ and I didn’t know if I could make friends with someone who did. As a visitor, I didn’t know if people would be okay with me being at their gym or perceive it as a dojo storm. But everyone at Q23 was nice, and welcoming. I could see myself hanging out with them. 

I remember this British dude being my training partner. He offered  me a ride back to my hotel. He had been living in Bangkok for ten years, was married to a Thai woman and first came to teach English before moving on to doing some business distribution thing. Before doing BJJ, he trained some Muay Thai but found everyone too aggressive. He felt like Jiu Jistu was more welcoming. I had just met this guy, was in his car, drinking a coffee that he had just bought me. I had to agree that the folks who do BJJ are my kind of people.

Getting a ride, shooting the shit with the instructor and swapping BJJ stories would come in many more gyms. At each one, I imagined what it would like to stay and make it my permanent academy. What if I became a mainstay instead of a blip on the radar? What if I were there for birthdays, tournament wins and holidays? It’s not that hard to imagine that as a possibility. Later in the states, my strategy for finding friends would be joining a Jiu Jitsu gym. It has definitely paid off, but that’s for a later chapter. 

 

The Dust Mop takeaway: 

There’s a unique kind of insecurity that comes with starting Jiu Jitsu. People get instantly hooked. You might know you want to train forever, but you can’t ensure that you will be there one year later. Life and work might get in the way. But at some point, you do something that gives you evidence that you’ll be in this for the long haul. For me, I knew that getting my ass to a lesson in the first week post Korea was proof that I would continue on. Going to Q23 was proof. It was not a passing fad. I had gone out of my way, on a vacation, to train jiu jitsu. From then on, I was able to trust my own commitment.

This was also the first time I dropped into another community’s gym. Before starting BJJ in Korea, I had been scared to walk into a studio. After Korea, I was intimidated to step into somebody else’s. But since visiting Q23, I no longer have that fear. Instead, I had the feeling that these were all people I would want to know better if I had more time. I knew dropping into gyms was going to be a staple of my jiu jitsu journey as long as I train.

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My goal is to visit 100 gyms! If you ever want me to visit yours and write about what it’s like to learn from you, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. 

If you want to read my articles as soon as they’re published, you can follow me here.

Featured affiliated academy: Tórshavn BJJ, Faroe Islands

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BJJ Faroe Islands

Where is the gym located?
The gym is located in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands.

How many people train there?
We currently have approximately thirty members.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yes, the gym is growing but not in a linear way. Throughout the year, we grow by a small handful of people while some existing members might pause or cancel their memberships. All in all, we have a strong core community while membership ebbs and flows in a positive direction.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We have one purple belt, seven blue belts, and the rest are white.

When did the gym open?
In the summer of 2015.

Some facts about you:

Name: Luis Antonio Pellecer Jr.
Age: 38
Academy: Tórshavn BJJ, Faroe Islands
Belt: Purple
Profession: Sales/Service Management & Landscaping
Years in BJJ: 14
Other martial arts: Muay Thai/Boxing
Currently living in: Iceland
Originally from: Michigan, USA

Please tell us the story of how the gym came into existence
I moved to the Faroe Islands as an early blue belt and quickly realized no one was training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With no one to train with, I resorted to tying a gi onto a pillow and practicing guard work, but this style of training obviously got old quickly. I decided to begin advertising some BJJ 101 classes, and with the help of a local gym and the local judo club, Tórshavn BJJ was born.

Tell us about the people that train in Tórshavn BJJ, Faroe Islands – who are they?
Our club is made up of people from all walks of life, from teenagers who want to build their self-esteem to adults in their 50s who want to work on fitness, flexibility, and self-defense.

Why do they train?
I can confidently say the primary reasons our members train are: self-defense, mental health, and community. BJJ is world-famous for its practicality and efficiency for self-defense, but something the BJJ community had known for a long time is how it can play a transformative role with mental health. We have members who discovered BJJ to be therapeutic for their anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, and PTSD. Whether it stems from the discipline, fitness, confidence, community, or some combination of these factors, our members have found BJJ positively impacts their lives in various areas of life.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Of course there are the practical challenges of running this sort of operation e.g. finding a system to handle membership fees, creating and adjusting the training schedule to fit most people’s needs, etc. However, the biggest challenge for our club has been breaking through social preconceptions of which sports are appropriate/acceptable and which are not. The Faroe Islands is a fantastic place for many reasons, but it has been isolated from the outside world until relatively recently. So when locals see adults rolling around on the floor in compromising positions, self-defense and fitness are not the first things to pop in their heads. This matter is combined with the fact that the Faroes are heavily invested, socially and financially, in their most popular sports, namely Football and Handball. So yeah, it has been a slow process for us, but we are making progress with gaining headspace in Faroese sports consciousness.

How do you see the future for BJJ, Faroe Islands?
In the near future, we hope to get recognition by the Faroese Sports Authority which would provide our club, and the sport throughout the country, with funds and greater legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

What’s the best thing about the gym?
The best thing about our gym is the community of kind people who are always willing and ready to choke out a friend in need.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of Tórshavn BJJ, Faroe Islands?
We have some wild and magnificent nature in the Faroes, so I would recommend renting a car and spending a couple days exploring the beautiful fjords, waterfalls, mountain hikes, and ocean views. But make sure to leave time & room for the local food, especially the fermented meat! Oh, and also important, book your hotel & restaurant reservations MONTHS in advance if possible. This is a tiny country, so things fill-up quickly, especially during tourist season. Either way, enjoy!

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Tórshavn BJJ, Faroe Islands you can find them here.

Featured traveller: Volkert Doop – BJJ Globetrotters

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Volkert Doop – BJJ Globetrotters Camp in Faroe Islands

Age: 39

Belt: White

Profession: Project Manager

How many years in BJJ: Almost three years

Other martial arts: Four classes of Myanmar Lethwei boxing back in 2017

Where do you live: The Hague, Netherlands

Where are you from: The Hague, Netherlands

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: This year I fought my first two competitions.

Volkert Doop - BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
After starting to train BJJ in January 2020, I immediately found BJJ Globetrotters online, and I felt that this could be my thing. Travelling and learning how to shoulder roll and perhaps even some arm bars while traveling to locations I’d never been to, sounded way too exciting. That month I immediately booked the Arizona camp for March 2020 and the following Zen camp.

As we all know, 2020 was a tough time for travel-hungry pajama-fighters and the Arizona camp was off. I had a tough time getting through those first few lockdowns. I had no idea about basic techniques, and suddenly I wondered if this was the right thing to have invested my money in and committed my time to. Though during the following Zen camp I realized how I was going to try and progress through Jiu Jitsu: slowly and steadily, while enjoying the scenery.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
This year my calendar bulged with travel. I had my third (Iceland), fourth (Faroe Islands), and soon my fifth camp (Zen). I travelled a couple of weekends to Rome, Berlin (shout out to Jack!), Switzerland, and the UK. And work travel to Burundi, Rwanda, DRC and Ethiopia.

In November I plan on travelling to Goma, DRC. There is no BJJ there, but the local boxing champ invited me into his gym. Apparently also some Congolese judo guys have volunteered to teach me some takedowns.

Volkert Doop – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
Ever since I was a teenager I’ve been fascinated about languages, cultures, and travelling. Now I’ve visited more than 60 countries and have lived in more than half a dozen. Many of the places I visited and lived in were touched by violent conflict or raw dictatorships. I managed to visit Syria just before the war started there in 2011, and I lived in Sudan, Central African Republic and Congo, and visited places like South Sudan and Myanmar. Every place I visit provokes these questions about where I come from and how the world is organized. Wherever I travel, I try to experience a part of daily normal life, because even though the political situation can be chaotic, there is always some normality to be found which helps to bridge the gap between me as a visitor and me as a part of society.

Although I had never trained any martial arts, in many places I’ve experienced it as part of the local culture. Just like the Netherlands is known for its kickboxing, in Sudan there is a lively Nuba wrestling culture and there I attended some matches. In Kinshasa, I saw teenagers training boxing in the early morning on the streets. So when I visited Myanmar, this led me to also take up some classes of Lethwei boxing. Without being able to understand a single spoken word, I trained along and I got a sense of the kind of discipline it would take to become any good at that sport.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Whenever I now travel, I try to find a local gym. Since I travel to rather far-flung places, this isn’t always easy. Though this July when I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I found KAO BJJ, the only place to train Jiu Jitsu in Ethiopia. Being able to just join in and feeling the same excitement as in other classes at home or at the camps is so rewarding. The familiarity of Jiu Jitsu, while being far away from home, is perhaps for me one of the great things about travelling and Jiu Jitsu. And afterwards we could just sit down, break down sparring sessions, talk upcoming matches and just general weird Jiu Jitsu stuff over Ethiopian beer and Italian pizza.

Also having been part of the first Faroe Islands camp was a great experience. Not only were we, as humble visitors, excited, but the genuine excitement of the local BJJ community was palpable. I guess there is something about the traveling Jiu Jitsu community which doesn’t only make traveling exciting for the visitor, but also for the host.

Exchanging techniques from home and blending in those from abroad… for me it connects me both to my roots, where I come from, as well as to the town, the country, and the people that I’m visiting.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Last month, when visiting a friend in Woking, UK, I walked into the local gym. To my surprise, fellow Globetrotter Seb opened the door! Is it that the world has gotten very small, or is it that BJJ Globetrotters has gotten very big?!

Volkert Doop – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
My best advice is to make a lot of friends. Both at the camps, but also wherever else you can. It has allowed me to visit so many places I otherwise would have never been able to visit. And of course, I try to pay it forward. So please come and visit me in The Hague!

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Follow your curiosity and don’t hesitate to reach out to any local gyms. So far I’ve only had good experiences.

And if you happen to visit gyms which have difficult access to BJJ materials, bring them with you! In Ethiopia for the new students, they really had a tough time getting enough training materials: gis, white belts (the pieces of fabric), and higher belts (the persons).

Thank you to Volkert Doop – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Starting Jiu Jitsu as an Expat in South Korea

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Dust Mop Jiu Jitsu: The Expat Files: Chapter One: Ulsan Fight Gym-Ulsan, South Korea

-On getting better each day, hacks for remembering Korean names and staying calm while being choked.

What is this project?

At current count, I have done at least one lesson at thirty separate Jiu Jitsu studios. In 2018, I started BJJ in South Korea and moved to Burlington, Vermont. The pandemic brought me to the Berkshires (western Massachusetts) and then, in september 2021, to Amherst (same state but more East). Throughout my journey, I’ve tried to keep up with going to class at least three times a week. If I found myself out of those four locations, I went to lessons wherever I could find them. Visiting family in Nebraska, attending academic residencies and visiting potential universities with my wife gave me the opportunity to see Jiu Jitsu in multiple states, countries and continents. 

Partially because of all the moving, I’m still a white belt. I’ve been trying to make sense of all the time I’ve dedicated to my sport. I’ve gained so much with regard to physical health, confidence and social connections. Yet I keep focusing on the Blue Belt that has continued to elude me. People love to say that Jiu Jitsu is great for keeping your ego low, but I have to admit that I get uncomfortable when people ask me what belt I am. After four years, it can sometimes feel embarrassing to say white. 

If you stick around at one gym, my assumption is that eventually you will get a Blue Belt. The gyms I’ve been to don’t want to give one to a guy who’s only been around a few months. They want to be able to take stock in your progress and see your journey. That leads me to this project. I need to take it upon myself to reflect on that journey rather than waiting for someone else to do it for me. Without the promise of a belt, I’ve had to find more subtle ways to mark moments of growth.

The name “Dust Mop Jiu Jitsu” represents my belief that I’ve taken crumbs from everywhere I’ve been. I’ve told myself that seeing all of these gyms has been good for my Jiu Jitsu. But I haven’t really taken the time to reflect on how attending classes while globetrotting has actually helped me. I can’t claim to remember everything I learned from each place. That’s why I feel like a dust mop as opposed to a sponge. But my thought is that, through writing, I will be able to remember at least one way that each gym has contributed to my BJJ repertoire in the form of a technique, a life lesson or an interesting story. 

This blog is dedicated to the coaches and students who I’ve learned with along the way. You’ve influenced me more than you can know. 

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This is the first chapter of what I’m calling the Expat Files. It starts when I was living abroad until I found a permanent gym in the states.

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I began my Jiu Jitsu journey in Ulsan, South Korea. Growing up I had always loved Martial Arts. As a kid, I did Karate and watched every Jackie Chan movie. I quit by sixth grade and rediscovered my interest in my teens. My older brother got really into watching Bruce Lee movies and we would break things around the house trying to recreate our favorite scenes from Drunken Master. 

Arthur, a highschool buddy of mine, got jazzed into it too after I introduced him to Human Weapon. We roped in our friend Rae’e and would practice sparring in my parents house or outside the cafeteria at school. Looking back, we must have looked like absolute jackasses trying to pull off flowery kicks on each other. 

Arthur heard that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was this mysterious art where a little guy could beat a bigger person. He ended up trying Jiu Jitsu in college for a year but I was too intimidated. Ten years passed by and I pulled every excuse in the book not to try it out. I told myself that I was too tired after work, too out of shape to start and not aggressive enough to make it my hobby.  It didn’t help that Arthur, forever a gym rat and always in way better shape, had made his practices in college sound like the most intense workouts he’s ever done. There was even a gym around the corner from my house near Boston and instead of going to it I waited until I was halfway around the world to give grappling a shot.

I know I’m not alone in starting later than I wanted. Almost every BJJ practitioner I know delayed starting because they weren’t strong/fast/good enough to start. Those same people always wish they had gotten over that and started earlier.

I moved to South Korea in the fall of 2017 to be an English teacher. After being there a few months, my girlfriend (now my wife) Rachel, asked if I wanted to try Taekwondo. “It’s the national sport after all” she said, “we might as well try it.” I hadn’t done a martial art since Karate in elementary school. But doing kicks with a few Korean teenagers and some extremely awkward expats made me realize that it was BJJ that was calling my name. 

I was thinking of sticking with Taekwondo and maybe trying BJJ once I felt strong enough. That’s a moving goal post. I still hear this all the time from friends that are flirting with joining. “I’m getting stronger, I think I’ll do it once I feel ready.”. Every BJJ practitioner I know thought they weren’t strong/fast/good enough to start. They all wish they had started earlier and gotten over those fears sooner. One Chewjitsu video in particular helped me realize that I would never be ready, but I would kick myself for hesitating once I started. On facebook, I found the closest academy which turned out to be Ulsan Fight Gym.

The first lesson, Jang Jiwoon, the instructor took me aside and gave me a brief intro. Jiwoon’s English was good but the class was entirely taught in Korean (which I don’t speak). We then started the class with shrimping (which I couldn’t figure out), reverse shrimping (which I couldn’t figure out) and the move of the day. My first ever technical lesson in Jiu Jitsu was the Kimura from a closed guard (which I couldn’t figure out). At the end of fifty minutes, they always did five minute rounds for half an hour. I didn’t expect my instructor to allow me to spar on the first day. I shakily walked over to a nice dude with glasses and a bowl cut who smiled and gestured for me to sit down. I panicked and bucked around. I somehow got the Kimura and my first ever tap. From that moment, I was hooked. That night, I lay awake in bed and I couldn’t sleep. It felt the same as when you start dating someone and you think it might be true love.

I started with two days of training a week and did my damndest to make it three. I already fantasized about doing it all day every day. Only problem was, I couldn’t always understand the lessons. Almost all of them were in Korean. The instructor spoke English but I couldn’t make him give me private directions each time. 

The people in the gym were always nice to me. But it was mostly an athletic experience and not a social one. Most South Koreans learn English in school. At the same time, most in my city didn’t really feel comfortable speaking it. There’s an interesting dynamic at play. If you look at test scores, South Koreans have really high grades in English but don’t really need it to have a stable career. It’s like learning advanced math in school and realizing that you’ll never use it beyond your college exams. Asking someone there to speak English is like asking an American to do calculus on the spot. The exception was Ho Chun (red rash guard above), who quickly became my favorite training partner since he loved to make crazy inappropriate jokes in English all the time. With that language barrier, most of my friends that year were American, French, Italian, British and South African. I think Ho Chun was the closest thing I made to a Korean friend. 

Of course there were other characters that I grew to love at the gym. The two teenagers on the right of the picture would always chase each other around like dragon flies trying to mate. The kids were really fun and would always pull out their best English with me. One heavyset blue belt would practice shadow boxing with one of those low-oxygen masks and collapse in a puddle in the corner before practice. This old truck driver would try to snap my achilles in half and laugh hysterically whenever I tapped to the pain. Actually, come to think of it, I didn’t like that last guy too much. 

Part of the obstacle to getting close to people is also the Korean names. Every Korean name, without exaggeration, has three syllables. The first one is the family name, and then the personal name i.e. Kim (family) Jong Un (given name). That makes it really hard to distinguish people’s names from each other. Remembering names is a prerequisite for friendship in my book

Another peculiar thing is that it’s common for Koreans to pick English names in elementary school and stick with them throughout their education and sometimes their career. I did that in the states in Spanish class but only for the first year (for the record, in sixth grade, I went by Alfredo). There, they did that much earlier, used them for longer, and it seemed like a bigger part of their academic identity. Sandra, a Korean teacher at the school, and I had a conversation about that naming process. I noticed all of the kids call her Sandra, even when they are speaking Korean.

Me: How did you come by the name Sandra? Did you choose it?

Sandra: Actually I changed it in middle school. I started with the name Monica at age five. My parents picked that name. But as more kids started to learn more English, they made fun of me by calling me Harmonica. So I made the decision to change it to Sandra. 

I saw a huge variety in these chosen English names. It was only two years post Frozen so there were a lot of Elsa and Anna’s. There were plenty of biblical names like Daniel and Isaac. Some parents opted for using the Korean names (like one of my favorite kids, Ju-Ha). But sometimes parents let the kids pick their own names and the results could be pretty entertaining. The following are a list of names that I, or my coworkers, actually taught:

  • Pikachu
  • Black Joe (Named after a candy bar)
  • ABC
  • Dragon
  • Luigi
  • King’s Guys

It bothered me, however, that I could not remember Korean names. I pride myself on being able to remember names no matter the culture, so I found a good work around. My BJJ coach explained that all I had to do was remember if people were older than me or younger. Apparently it’s totally acceptable to just call somebody by their age honorific. It’s a pretty simple system.

 

Are they… Call them: Translation
Younger? Dong-Sang Younger Sibling
Much younger (boy)? Alla Not sure, never looked it up
Same age? Chingu Friend
Older (man)? Hyun Older Brother
Older (woman)? Noona Aunt
Much older (man)? Appa Uncle
Much older (woman)? Ajima Old lady/bag/bat. Actually, don’t call them that…But that’s kind of what it means

 

Still, even if I was getting a handle on addressing people. I was clearly missing key concepts since all the instructions were in Hangul. To learn more, I started finding as much content online to help explain the fundamental concepts. Joe Rogan, Sam Harris, Jocko Willink, Nick “Chewy” Albin, Stephan Kesting, Rokas “Martial Arts Journey” Leo and Budo Jake became my English speaking mentors. I started to understand more and got fascinated by the principles that were so critical in the sport. I watched a Rolled-Up episode with Jeff Glover that helped me do a mounted triangle for the first time. “Remember guys, it’s not called a tri-in-front-of-the-guy-choke, it’s a tri-angle choke, you gotta pivot.” Those little details helped me learn how to survive.

Like most over-excited newcomers I got a few injuries. I bruised a rib and did something weird to my elbow. It forced me to pull out of what would have been my first competition. I still went, watched, and wondered if I would ever get the opportunity to compete. The thought both exhilarated and terrified me. I’m not a very competitive or aggressive person, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It would be another year until that happened.

 In hindsight, it’s a good thing I pulled out of that competition. I had started intermittent fasting and was losing weight rapidly. Being an American, I never really got a handle on Kilos as a measurement so I was not sure if I had given an accurate number for a weight class. But I know I lost 15 pounds easily. It was not just the IF that did it. I’ve never considered myself fat but I never had that much control when it comes to food either. Early on I learned that BJJ makes you crazy nauseous if you eat right before coming to class. I remember wanting to puke my second lesson. I ate an hour before the class because I didn’t want to train hungry. But I learned to make a buffer of two hours between meals and rolling. Additionally, I started to avoid sugar on days I attended class. Because of this, I remember turning down a free donut before heading to UFG and thinking that I had never in my life refused a pastry. The pictures below will show what I looked life before and after I started doing BJJ. 


In July, our contract with the school was almost up. Rachel asked me what I wanted to do when we eventually returned to the states. Before getting to Korea I was actually pretty lost in my life. I worked in outdoor education for a while and got tired of that. I had earnestly looked into becoming a Rabbi but ended up deciding that it wouldn’t be a good fit for me. A few weeks after starting BJJ, I started a masters in Mental Health Counseling but didn’t have a plan for anything related to work. I also didn’t know if I wanted to be a therapist or just enjoyed learning about the concepts. All I knew for sure was that I wanted to continue doing Jiu Jitsu. After all, this felt like the best therapy I had ever received.

It’s the tap that really makes Jiu Jitsu special. In outdoor education we talk a lot about trust building. Mostly we do that through climbing and belaying and learning to trust. But I felt that getting submitted is what really builds the most amount of trust in any sport I’ve ever done. When you tap to a choke, you are communicating clearly that if you keep going, I will die. The fact that you let go instantly builds a feeling of safety that I had never experienced prior. 

My first week, I remember how quickly I would tap as soon as somebody put their arm around my neck. But after a few weeks, I would start to notice I was still breathing. Just because the arm is there, doesn’t mean they have me. I don’t need to panic. I have options. That realization has carried me in stressful moments outside the sport.

At Ulsan Fight Gym, they did skill demonstrations for their stripes. I prepared with a wiry Korean dude who went by the English name Adam. I worked hard and got my stripe but honestly what I’ll always remember from that night was waiting for everyone to be done. This older dude, Jae-Min, tapped me on the shoulder and said, “This very boring!” We both burst out laughing. 

After four months of training at UFG, I was about to hit the road. Schools in South Korea usually give you a finishing bonus when your contract is over. Most people take that money and travel a little bit before returning home. That was our plan. We wanted to see a little more of Asia, meet up with Rachel’s parents in Denmark, go to Spain for the Camino De Santiago and then get home in time for Rae’e’s wedding in Boston. But I wondered how I would continue my training. That’s how I discovered BJJ globetrotters. One google search of, “how do you train BJJ while traveling.” Finding the site, I was so relieved to know that I could keep my progress while training! I used their website and facebook pages to look at possibilities for learning BJJ post Korea. If you’re curious about what that was like, be sure to look out for my next article where I talk about my time in Bangkok, Thailand.

The last night I was in Korea, I went to UFG. They surprised me with a cake and said goodbye to me. Jiwoon told me how lucky I was that I would be able to meet Black Belts in the states. Ho Chun, the wonderful weirdo, bought me a bag of socks. Four years later, I think I still have two pairs. 

I still keep in touch a little bit with the gym. Whenever I compete in a tournament, I send them some pictures. Someday I hope to go back and visit. The language barrier will still be there, but at this point, I’m positive our Jiu Jitsu can do most of the talking.

 

The Dust Mop takeaway:

So what did I learn from UFG? Technically I gained a lot of movement and skill. It’s almost a cliche to say that your first few months are usually spent getting murdered by everyone in BJJ. Those first few months were all in Korea so I never really got to see the other side of the hump except for a few clunky submissions scored on people newer than me.  

I learned here the lesson that most new, not-particularly-athletic white belts need to learn. Forget about winning and losing. Take stock of what happened in the roll and let yourself know at least one thing that went well. I would do this by telling myself:

 “I know I did something right because I got back to my guard” 

“I know I did something right because  he had his arms around my neck and I didn’t give up.”

“I know I did something right because he worked harder than he normally does.”

You gotta take the perspective that you are getting a little better each day.

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My goal is to visit 100 gyms! If you ever want me to visit yours and write about what it’s like to learn from you, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. 

 

Featured affiliated academy: Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ

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Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ

Where is the gym located?
Devonport, Tasmania (Australia)

How many people train there?
All up about 20 people.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We’ve only just opened and are still getting set up, but yes we have doubled our members in a month.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Highest grade is brown belt – that’s me and I am coaching. We have lots of new white belts which is great to help the sport grow!

When did Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ open?
We opened on the 1st August 2022. At the moment our space is pretty sparse, however in a fortnight we have new carpet coming, new vinyl cover for the mats, and we’ll finish painting.

Some facts about you:

Name: Matt Hull-Styles
Age: 42
Belt: Brown belt
Profession: Academic/University tutor
Years in BJJ: 15
Other martial arts: Luta Livre
Currently living in: Ulverstone, Tasmania
Originally from: I was born in New South Wales in Australia and moved to Queensland and lived there for over 20 years.

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
I was training at another gym for a few months, but took a short break due to Covid concerns as my kids have compromised immune systems. In the downtime I started to realise there were some things at the gym I was previously at that didn’t sit well with me from a coaching and leadership methodology perspective. Soon after, some local guys I had met at open mats and casual classes contacted me to come and do some training. We hit it off and I began rolling regularly with them at their shed before it was suggested I start coaching some regular sessions. After doing this for a few months and having some new people join in, we realised we had something special going on and wanted to expand. We managed to secure a nice big space close by and are in the process of fitting it out, but have been training and welcoming new people in the meantime.

Tell us about the people that train in Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ – who are they?
We have a great variety of people already. Some young crew, a few a bit older like me or close to it, some relatively experienced with a few years of training, and others who are brand new. Men and women, mums and dads. Each person comes from a different walk of life and brings a unique background to training which I try to incorporate into how I coach them.

Why do they train?
Many of the students are fans of the new wave of nogi competition as well as MMA, and so it is a logical progression to seek out training. Others are keen for the challenge that martial arts creates and understand that grappling is a highly effective art for self defence as well as fairly safe due to the lack of repeated concussions that can accumulate when training in the striking arts for a long period of time.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
The main challenge for me is structuring classes that are engaging yet practical and build all the necessary fundamentals without being boring! Other than that other challenges are balancing the task of building a new business with my work and family responsibilities. Also, ensuring my way of doing business is community minded and ethical is also really important and needs constant attention. Keeping costs low for my students whilst trying to fit out the place on a limited budget is also challenging.

Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
There are already some other gyms around with their own flavour. I think different and new coaching approaches and gym cultures offer healthy alternatives to people looking to start BJJ, or who need a change from the gym they are in, so hopefully I can be a part of a trend that focuses on quality coaching and great gym culture.

What’s the best thing about your Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ?
The welcoming atmosphere and attention to detail! Lazy coaching is disrespectful and so is an uninviting vibe. From the outset I wanted to run a progressive and inclusive gym. I’ve been around enough to know the atmosphere I want to train and coach in and produce new students from. Racists, homophobes etc can go find somewhere else to train. We invest in people first.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
Tasmania is a gorgeous place!!!! I have only been here a year but the beaches are amazing, the numerous rivers and lakes are beautiful, Cradle Mountain is breathtaking, and the forests and natural landscapes are world class.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Bushido Flow Grappling Arts, Tasmania BJJ, you can find them here.

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

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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 adventure of training around the world. Although this short trip to Miami was filled with my friend’s bachelor party activities, I was able to sneak out and had an opportunity to train at Black House Jiu-Jitsu in Miami Beach.

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

City
Miami Beach is a south Florida island city connected by bridges to mainland Miami. When you imagine Miami, the first thing that may come to your mind is the beach that runs mile after mile filled with golden sands and sun-seeking tourists. On top of that, countless bars and energetic nightclubs that stay up all night do not let down its well-deserved reputation as one of the country’s top nightlife cities. However, that’s not all that Miami can offer. More laid-back visitors can relax in Lummus Park which can give you a taste of the Miami vibe and stroll through the Art Deco District to enjoy the eye-catching Art Deco skyline.

Overview
Black House Jiu-Jitsu in Miami Beach is headed by Will Abreu who is a black belt under Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. Professor Abreu is a former folk-style, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestler who successfully transitioned to BJJ earning IBJJF No-Gi Pan Championship titles. Born and raised in Miami, Professor Abreu is looking to encourage next-generation athletes from the area to learn how to be disciplined whiling focusing and pursuing their goals through martial arts. He is successfully supporting them by providing necessary guidance and creating an environment for the local athletes. The academy is currently partnered with Miami Martial Arts and the City of Miami Beach to provide Jiu-Jitsu to the local community.

When I reached out via social media, Professor Abreu kindly invited me to train at his academy. 3 hours after my flight landed in Miami on a Thursday evening, I headed to Black House Jiu-Jitsu in Miami Beach. I was not familiar with the area, but it was not too challenging to find an academy since I ran into Troy who was wearing a “Mexican Ground Karate” rashguard who kindly led me to the academy.

When I arrived, Professor Abreu was already running the Kids Jiu-Jitsu class, but he welcomed me to his academy. The mat was fully occupied with energetic kids while adults were gearing up for the next class. The general atmosphere at Black House was welcoming and friendly, and the detailed instructions on dogfight positions and half-guard sweep variations were on point during the visit. Students in the academy vary in age from high school teenagers to dads with superpowers, but the level of energy was quite notable. In addition, I can only guess that it is due to Professor Abreu’s background and influence that students love to scramble and wrestle during the roll. Anyway, I cannot deny that, with high-level Jiu-Jitsu, it was not an easy training session at Black House, especially before my friend’s bachelor party.

With its family-like atmosphere and outstanding instructions, I would highly recommend dropping by Black House Jiu-Jitsu among countless BJJ academies that are based in Miami. When you are in Miami, it is likely that you want to enjoy the beach and/or go out to party. However, I wouldn’t want to miss out on training and rolling at Black House if I were you. Thank you, Professor Abreu, Troy, Austin, and the rest of the Black House family! I will be back.

Location
Although Google Maps show the current location as 7140 Abbott Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141, United States, classes are held in North Shore Park & Youth Center (501 72nd St, Miami Beach, FL 33141), which is conveniently located across the street. (Google Maps: Link). The academy also has classes in Flamingo Park, which is located at 1200 Meridian Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (Google Maps: Link)

Schedule
Black House Jiu-Jitsu offers classes from Monday to Saturday in the mornings and evenings. The academy’s most recent schedule for each location is posted below:

Website
Black House Jiu-Jitsu

Visitor Pass
The academy welcomes all visitors from any affiliations, and the drop-in fee is $20. Just a reminder: It is always courteous to reach out to the gym before your visit!

Pictures from Miami

Featured traveller: James Woodard – BJJ Globetrotters

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James Woodard - BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 51

Belt: Blue

Profession: High school film/media and history teacher

How many years in BJJ: 7 years

Other martial arts: Judo for 20 years (nidan); Toyama and Shinkage Ryu kenjutsu; Danzan Ryu jujutsu for 8 years

Where do you live: Penang, Malaysia, currently training at FLOW BJJ Academy, Penang.

Where are you from: Iowa, United States

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I am an avid diver who enjoyed dry suit diving at Thingvellir during the first Iceland Globetrotter camp in 2017.

James Woodard – BJJ Globetrotters Camp in Heidelberg

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I started training BJJ while I was teaching In Myanmar. I had tried to train judo in Yangon, but there were arcane rules about foreigners training at the only gym in town. Somebody told me about an English lady running a BJJ gym out of her back room, so I went to check it out and was immediately introduced to BJJ Globetrotters, as the visiting coach, Brain Carlsen, was teaching some BJJ fundamentals in my friend Tammi’s apartment. I ended up hosting a couple different visiting coaches who passed through Yangon.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I had planned on attending the Heidelberg camp in 2020, but then everything went sideways. So I was very happy to come to Heidelberg for the 2022 summer camp. I spent the month travelling around Germany while researching for a history project based in the Baltic.

James Woodard – BJJ Globetrotters camp in Heidelberg

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
Meeting new people and having at least one good story by the end of the experience.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
I moved to Penang in 2017, but before I moved, I packed my gi and went to Europe, spending a few weeks in Germany and England training at some places I had been recommended through the Globetrotter network, each one of them letting me train for free during my stay. I travelled to Iceland and contacted Gudmundur Gunnarson through the Globetrotter network and he offered me a place to stay and train, and I got to meet his family and learn about different places to visit in Iceland. I travelled and trained in Akureyri and at Mjölnir gym in Reykjavik, where both places let me train for free as a visitor who contacted them as a Globetrotter. Gudmundur and his wife Eydis were amazing hosts, and becoming friends with them was a highlight of my journey.
Soon after I moved to Penang, one of the Globetrotter coaches that had visited Myanmar was giving a seminar in Penang. I went to attend and learned he would be coaching at a new gym close to my home. That summer I attended my first camp in Reykjavik and was again a recipient of Gudmundur’s hospitality.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
I have visited Mongolia a couple of times, and during my last visit was able to see a lot of traditional Mongolian wrestling in the countryside during the summer Naadaam festival. I did not do well, but it was worth the experience.

James Woodard – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’ll be honest, the older I get, the more comfortable I like to be. That said, I am used to couch/mat-surfing, and took a tent and sleeping bag to Iceland. I try to pack a lot of quick-dry stuff that compresses easily, but also find it useful to have a warm hoodie and sturdy pants.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Don’t let the news dictate where you should visit. There are tons of amazing experiences to be had in some pretty off-beat places.

Thank you to James Woodard – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Featured affiliated academy: Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School

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Brighton BJJ

Where is the gym located?
Brighton, UK. Not to be confused with all other Brightons ;)

How many people train there?
We have about 20 people training regularly over the week, and then some people people coming from time to time. All together about 50.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yeah, there is slow, steady growth as we are becoming more established.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We are majority white and blue belts here, with one purple and one brown belt as well.

When did the gym open?
The beginning of April 2021 as a permanent location, but some of us have been training together as a group for a while in other locations.

Some facts about you:

Name: Tom
Age: 42
Belt: Purple
Profession: Security guard / doorman
Years in BJJ: 4.5
Other martial arts: Boxing for a few years, a little bit of Muay Thai
Currently living in: Brighton
Originally from: Poland

Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
After I left my previous gym due to internal conflict, a decent group of us continued training together in hired spaces (or on the beach during the summer). At some point it became painfully obvious that we needed our own space, as we were getting tired of always working around someone else’s schedule and relying on other venues for our training. Sure it’s cheaper to rent space by the hour, but you often deal with venue owners that can be slow to respond, difficult to deal with and so on. I started looking for the place and sent an email to the owners of the building where we are now. I initially forgot about it and it turns out my email went under the radar for a bit. Three months later they responded and we started talking. Things got delayed a bit because of the pandemic and lockdowns, but we eventually got everything going.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We have a good mix of people – quite a few students as Brighton is a university town, but also working class folk etc. We have labourers, office workers, hospitality industry workers, we have a lifeboat operator, baker, teachers, a club DJ, a couple of social workers and a few more. Definitely a nice mix!

Why do they train?
Guess everyone is different, but we are mainly hobbyists rather than professional athletes, so people do it because they really enjoy it. Of course that doesn’t mean we don’t have some good Jiu Jitsu here amongst our club members! We have significant crossover with the local traditional Jiu Jitsu club, who initially just wanted to cross train a bit and now they enjoy BJJ on their own and form a big part of our club.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Let’s just say there are still a fair bit of BJJ politics present, which I wasn’t aware of that much when I was just a student. Also, there are a lot of gyms in this area, so it’s a pretty saturated space, which can be an issue if you are trying to run a business. Luckily for me I didn’t design this gym as a business to live off, so I don’t have as much pressure. As to general challenges – well, you have to learn a lot of stuff about admin, bureaucracy etc.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
It’s growing and becoming more popular, and the Brighton BJJ Open tournament is quickly becoming a well-known event, so I think the future is bright.

What’s the best thing about your gym?
It’s probably a bit of a cliche, but really, it’s the people that train there. We have a good bunch here, with quite a good female representation as well, and I think we really created safe, inclusive atmosphere. We have a strong set of values that we stick to and we pay big attention to having a good, positive gym culture without any toxicity, macho bullshit, and other questionable things that are unfortunately still very present in a lot of places.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School?
If you like clubbing you definitely won’t be disappointed, as Brighton is a party town. Otherwise there’s not a HUGE amount of stuff to see, but you should check out the Laines area and the seafront, and if you like nature a walk around South Downs or a trip to nearby Seven Sisters cliffs is definitely recommended.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School, you can find them here.