Featured Traveller: Sebastiaan Munter – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: 49
Belt: Black
Profession: PE/ Self-Defense teacher in vocational education and part-time gym owner / head coach
How many years in BJJ: 25 already
Other martial arts: I did Judo since I was 6 years old and have done competitive MMA and kickboxing when I was younger
Where do you live: Heemskerk, The Netherlands
Where are you from: Beverwijk, a small city close to where I live now
Any fun facts you’d like to share: I now officially have more camp souvenir tattoos than beer count wins…
Sebastiaan Munter – BJJ Globetrotters
What inspired you to travel and train?
Just before COVID, I saw a documentary on TV about the Faroe Islands. I already made plans to go there, but when I saw there would be a Globetrotters camp in the summer of 2022, I immediately booked a ticket. That was my first camp. Before that, I used to travel quite a lot and always tried to drop in a local gym for some rounds, but after the first few camps it all kind of changed. Now I get asked to teach everywhere across Europe!
Tell us about your most recent trip and what’s next – where have you been and where are you going?
I’m a PE/ self-defense teacher at a school in the safety and security sector, so I’m kind of blessed to have one or two weeks off every two months. My latest trip was the first Midsummer Camp last month, and I will be at the Heidelberg camp for the fourth time this summer. I really love the energy of the Globetrotters camps, and meeting so many cool people that share the same passion for BJJ. Besides the camps, I have some projects going on to teach in Belgium, Germany, and the UK in the next few months.
Sebastiaan Munter – BJJ Globetrotters Spring Camp
What do you enjoy most about travelling?
Traveling to me is more than just leisure. After my divorce in 2022, I made myself a promise that I never was going to compromise on traveling, meeting cool people, and following my passion. At first it was a pretty awkward feeling of traveling somewhere on my own. But I managed to embrace that feeling and started to really enjoy solo travelling. I think my stories now also inspire my students too, because most times I go to a camp I get accompanied by one or more of my students. I think we will be at next year’s Tallinn camp with 8 or 9 people from Bushido, so beware LOL.
Any particularly memorable experiences that made it all worth it?
Too many to mention hahaha. My first camp in the Faroes literally blew my mind. So many cool people, so many nice chats, drinks, and all not too serious. It’s no secret I like some nice beers, and sometimes lots of them…
From my judo background I trained everywhere across the world, but these camps were all about performance, and they really lacked the social aspect I really like about Globetrotters. So it was a direct match! After the Faroe Islands camp, I immediately signed up for the Tallinn camp in ‘23, and after some rolls there Christian asked me to be a coach. And all the camps after that all have their own unique memories. But to name a few: from the staircase bar in Torshavn, where I had to drag a drunk Patricia downstairs and outside to not make her vomit inside the bar, spraining my ankle quite badly, to the final party in Tallinn ‘23 where we all went shirtless, spraying champagne while singing karaoke… and of course, after a few too many shots I decided to take a scooter home in Heidelberg ‘24, until the Blue Dog crew picked my unconscious body off the street. After a few rounds around the block with them I managed to find my hostel, where after a short sleep I needed to go to the bathroom, and I fainted. I fell head-first onto a thick German concrete floor and woke up in the nearby hospital. And of course, all the fun challenges and tours at the camps. Beer counts, game nights, the human jousting in Wagrain, the scooter race in Pärnu, dodgeball, go-kart races, pub crawls, dressing like a granny… and all the super nice friends I made along the way.
What has surprised you the most while travelling?
The most surprised I was, and still am, is that people come to my classes and invite me out for seminars. Like, I’m definitely no Rickson, Wardzinski, or Lovato Jr. I still compete once in a while, but I’m not a world class player or a world class coach. Yes, I try to do my very best at every class, but I believe there truly are thousands of better teachers out there. But still people come to my classes, and even invite me to their gyms to teach. And after every camp I usually get texts or DMs that my class was enjoyed, and that my techniques actually improved people’s games. I can tell you, that is such an honour! I will never ever take that for granted, and I feel super blessed by that.
The second thing that surprises me is that so many people just follow their hearts, and open their own gyms. Either because they were disappointed by their previous gyms, or their teacher moved away. I love to see that gyms are not just about black belt teachers. In my opinion, they are a community of people enjoying Jiu-Jitsu, but also enjoying each other’s company. In 2001, when I started BJJ, my teacher was a blue belt. In that time there actually were no black belts in the Netherlands, but I like the concept of starting something, figuring stuff out, sometimes making stupid mistakes, but eventually sticking together. And if you stick around for long enough, somebody will put that black belt around your waist.
Sebastiaan Munter – BJJ Globetrotters Summer Camp
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
To be totally honest, the older I get, the more I fancy a little comfort. I mean, I can sleep on a couch, or even on an outside terrace if one of my students locks me out, but I really like a nice bed, a fridge, and a shower. And autistic me always tries to plan everything way ahead, so I usually get my AirBnBs for quite a fair price. Also, a nice thing about the Globetrotters community is that lots of us plan the camps well ahead, so we can rent houses together. Last year in Copenhagen, me, two Brits, a Finn, and two fellow Dutchies rented a house and everyone (well, most nights it was Shawn) was on our couch…
Any advice for your fellow Globetrotters?
Very simple, just do it. Just follow your gut. Go places. Travel. Visit people and train together.
And of course, if you’re in the Netherlands, you are more than welcome at Bushido Jiu-Jitsu. The gym is only half an hour by train from Amsterdam, so if you’re around, please drop by!
