Florence and Sitges: Motorbike and Crab Rides

From the cobbled streets of Florence Italy to the seaside vibes of Sitges Spain, I didn’t think having my lack of crab ride defense would cross international borders.

 

My motorbike journey brought me to Florence in early September. This was good timing as the locals who I talked to told me it was unbearably hot earlier that year. I was lucky enough to train with the guys over at centurion bjj. Whilst not globetrotters affiliated, still allowed me to train for a class for free. In class was myself, another blue belt, a young black belt, another traveller (From Sweden) and two white belts. Training was in the gi and both in Italian and English. They were really good at pointing out specifics that my no-gi conditioned brain would miss. This was followed by standard 5 min rounds where the aforementioned black belt took my back with crab rides more times than I’d like to admit. Between valuable rolls, conversations about Dante’s inferno filled the time. Really nice gym I’d be more than happy to go back to.

 

After making my way across the French Riviera and over Andorra’s mountainy terrain, I ended up in Sitges (just south of Barcelona). We trained with the guys at Flow grappling which was a really nice underground gym focusing on gi and no-gi. There was also a good mix of skill levels, with a brown belt taking most of the classes when we were there. This gym was a very high standard (Including, but not limited to, pulling off crab rides on Irish tourists) and I particularily benefitted from rolls and pointers from a comp blue belt there. They were incredibly welcoming when we were there, and I can’t recommend them enough!

 

If you are in either place, 100% check these gyms out.