| View this email online if it doesn't display correctly |
| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Newsletter // December 2020 | | Dear Globetrotters,
It's a bit of a quiet time at the office these days, but at least it looks like there's some sort of light at the end of the tunnel soon. Things are starting to look good for next year and we're seeing an increase in ticket bookings for our camps. Take a look at www.BJJglobetrotters.com/bjjcamps for an overview of what camps we're planning in 2021!
Have a fantastic day,
| | | |
What you'll find in this month's newsletter:
- Featured Traveller: Eira Culverwell
- Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Forge MMA
|
| | Arizona camp postponed to March, tickets available
|
| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Pirate Radio Podcast episode 17: Bobby and Amanda started BJJ program in Moldavian village, now run a pay-what-you-can academy/campsite/community in North Carolina |
| | In this episode I’m talking with Bobby and Amanda McMasters who I met in Romania during my trip around the world back in 2011. They had volunteered through the Peace Corps and Bobby had been setting up a small Jiu Jitsu project in a village in the middle of nowhere with population of just 2000 people. Later, they’ve moved back home to the United States, where they’re running a membership-free Jiu Jitsu academy and campsite with various self-built accommodation options.
|
| | | Sign up for the free online premiere of our documentary! |
| | The Gentle Art of Travel is following the BJJ Globetrotters camps behind the scenes over the course of one full year and 12 training camps around the world. Sign up now to receive an invitation for the free online premiere. |
| | | | | | Featured Traveller: Eira Culverwell |
| Age: 37
Belt: Purple
Profession: Managing Director of a personal safety company called RESOLVEit.
How many years in BJJ: Almost 5 years.
Other martial arts: Oh where do I start!
I won’t list the black belts, I cringe at things like that, but let’s just say the few look quite nice framed on my wall now lol! Initially, I started in Kung Fu with my dad because I was bullied. Then I joined a Taekwondo club and by the age of 10, I was already part of the Welsh Squad and competing heavily. In my early teens, I ended up moving cities and by sheer chance, started Karate after a friend asked me to go with him. Subsequently, he quit and I stayed.
Fast forward 28 years, I met someone at a Mixed Martial Arts seminar, who changed my whole perception on martial arts (and life). It was one of those defining moments that led me to hanging up my Kyokushin gi in exchange for the BJJ and Shin Atemi gi and the rest is history...
*Shin Atemi is a form of Mixed Martial Arts that combines the striking art of full contact karate with locks and throws and then ground work and grappling.
Where do you live: Wales, UK
Where are you originally from: I was born in Zimbabwe and moved to the UK when I was around 2 years old.
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I’m a huge fan of Wonder Woman and every belt I have in BJJ has a small Wonder Woman logo on it haaaa!
|
| | Tell us what inspired you to travel and train? Travelling and training has been built in me from the age of 7, so being in the UK for long periods irks my soul.
I’m inherently quite a detached person from the mainstream crowds, and find socialising quite overwhelming and usually disappear or make my excuses. I like the mix that travelling and training offers me. It allows me time to balance my soul again - as deep as that sounds. I have undisturbed time to reflect and process my thoughts; to set my intentions and to keep my training and development moving forward.
I also find there’s way more women abroad who train; it's refreshing to roll with women as opposed to just men. Women’s physiology is so different, it’s so much fun to roll with women and you know what… it’s damn right amazing not to constantly be one of two women, the smallest and oldest haaaa! We all know those very excitable and explosive 18 year olds...
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?Ah, the great escape...
My most recent travel (escape) was to the BJJ Globetrotters Zen Camp in Poland. And by now, you’ll see why it grabbed my attention. Set in a Japanese-style village in the middle of nowhere, with like-minded people, all united together, to escape the madness of the world for a few days, just to train...
It was a much needed reprieve.
My next plans are Japan. My other half lives and trains there. He’s a 5th dan in Judo, purple belt in BJJ, is a sambo and catch wrestler, and heads up Shin Atemi. So going back there has dual meaning. I hope to extend my time there by spending time in Tokyo, at Carpe Diem BJJ. One of the places I really felt at home and mirrored the same style of coaching I get at CRA.
I’d like to go back to Orlando. I made some wonderful memories at Bruno Malfacine’s club, and miss Steve and Bruno and their classes. There are just some places you feel as though you fit, eh?
There’s also one person I’d love to be taught by, and that’s Margot (Mars) Ciccarelli. I rolled with her in Carpe Diem, before the Tokyo and Asian Masters. Since then, I’ve followed her teachings online as she’s travelled round the world. She’s a huge inspiration on and off the mats.
|
| | | What are the things you enjoy about traveling? I love exploring. It’s the freedom of not having a routine. I can just get up, pack a rucksack for the day, google a few places, and head out the door. I’m not the type to just sit around and sunbathe. I have to see and experience what the place has to offer; be it on foot, bike, car, plane etc...
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
I was prepping for Worlds Masters in 2018 and flew to Orlando to train at Bruno Malfacine’s (oh, and obviously to go to the adventure parks - huge Harry Potter geek). The experience was 1st-class. The comp classes were tough and the standard was extremely high. The USA has an incredible standard of BJJ and is kinda a mecca, especially around Worlds.
My other favourite places to train are Thailand, at Phuket Top Team with Professor Olavo, and at Keenan's new club in San Diego. Again, both were super welcoming, no rules on colour gis or affiliation patches, just good old-fashioned warm welcomes, hard training, and brilliant teaching. |
| | What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling? Besides not killing myself on the American freeways haaa. It’s how comfortable and adaptable I’ve become when travelling, even down to being a pro packer; I’m the travelling martial arts Marie Kondo ha!
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip? I always budget, but I will always stay in one nice hotel during my trip, especially if I’m competing. I don’t do hostels anymore, and I’m a pillow snob.
I don’t drink or party, so my home life really only revolves around work, training, studying and travelling to training... man I sound boring! I tend not to spend money on anything else, plus I’m sponsored by Aesthetic, so all of my BJJ kit is paid for (which saves a ton).
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be? Whatever camp or holiday you’re pondering over, don’t. After a fairly shitty year, we all, I hope, can agree that life is way too short.
Maybe don’t buy that coffee or takeout two, three, or four times a week....
I have two actual piggy banks sat on my kitchen window, where every week I put £1 coins in one and loose change in the other. That’s how I paid for the Zen camp! |
| | | | A full week of training, surfing, exploring, beaches and sailing that you don’t wanna miss. |
| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Forge MMA |
| | Where is the gym located?
No.52, Eldams Road, Teynampet, Chennai - 600083, Tamil Nadu, South India.
How many people train there?
Currently I have 5 people training in my gym under my brand.
Is the gym growing - if so by how many new members each month or year?
Not exactly because of the pandemic, and the market here in this city in general is not an ideal place for starting an MMA academy. But teaching MMA for self defense has always been my passion, so I'm pretty much swimming against the tide here.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We don't have any belt system in my gym, as I don't have access to learning from a quality BJJ instructor/school here in my city. I come from a Krav Maga background. After I came across BJJ back in 2015, I've been smitten by the amount of sense it made in terms of taking it up as a self defense martial art. Hence, I teach Gracie Combatives as part of my MMA fundamentals training program.
When did the gym open?
September 15th 2020.
|
| | Some facts about you:
Name: Shyam Kumar
Age: 34
Belt: White
Profession: MMA combatives instructor/ GPP coach (general physical prep) Years in BJJ: 4 years (following the Gracie syllabus)
Other martial arts: WAKO kickboxing, 1st degree black belt in Kyokushinkai Karate Currently living in: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India
Originally from: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India
|
| Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence Having been into Krav Maga for over 7 years, I came to realize its shortcomings. I also realized that MMA offered a much more hands-on training approach for unarmed combat. Hence, after learning and training under a few professional MMA athletes, I opened my gym on September 15th, 2020.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
Mostly young adults from the age of 20 to 30 years old, from all walks of life.
|
| | Why do they train? Mostly, the glamour factor of UFC 😄😄. But some of them are students doing their masters in the United States and Canada. So they're looking to be in decent shape to join an academy/club there and start competing.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
Cosmetic solutions. That's what majority of people in my city's market look for. Flashy, quick fix solutions to look cool and do cool things by totally ignoring the fundamentals or looking at it from a long term point of view.
|
| | How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
Growth at a very very slow pace due a well-brainwashed populace brimming with ignorance.
What’s the best thing about your gym?Unlike the 3 famous so-called MMA gyms in my city, we're not a corporate/sports promotional hub. We're more of a community than a factory-tailored cult.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym? The food joints. Notable street food joints and eat outs. Some surfing and open water swimming too. But damn are there endless possibilities for exploring your gastrointestinal urges around here.
-----
Thanks for sharing with us! If you'd like to pay a visit to Forge MMA, you can find them here. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
