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| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Newsletter // January 2019 | | Dear Globetrotters,
Happy New Year everyone! As usual, we started the year in style with the Winter Camp in Austria. It was the 6th year in a row we've done it, and never ceases to be super fun for me. This one was a bit special though, as it was the first out of 53 camps where I got sick! Luckily it was over again before the camp ended, so I still got to enjoy a lot of fun and snowboarding there.
I wish you all the best for the new year and hope you've made some exciting plans. I am definitely excited about all the things that's going to happen for BJJ Globetrotters in 2020 and I hope to meet some of you along the way, out there in the world!
Have a fantastic day,
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What you'll find in this month's newsletter:
- Photos from Winter Camp in Austria
- Featured Traveller: Stevie Antoniou
- Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Bohol Island Jiu Jitsu
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| | Check out our new video from Caribbean Island Camp! Very few tickets left for next one in February, hurry up if you wanna join us :) |
| | | Come run away from the cold winter together with us! The tiny island of Saint Barthélemy in the Caribbean used to be a hideout for pirates before Sweden and France invaded. Today it’s usually off-limits for anyone but Hollywood celebrities and the super rich, anchoring the world’s biggest yachts and staying in ultra-expensive luxury hotels.
Working closely with the local St. Barth Jiu Jitsu club, we’ve managed to book a newly built accommodation facility there and will be hosting yet another Brazilian Jiu Jitsu camp on the island! A full week of training, surfing, exploring, beaches and sailing that you don’t wanna miss. |
| | | We're going back to Arizona in March! |
| | Our first ever Arizona camp was a huge success, so we’ve decided to go back to the desert. All day classes, open mats and workshops, combined with on-site barbecues and breathtaking landscapes. |
| | | Photos from Winter Camp in Austria |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Train all day long in the largest grappling and MMA gym in the world. Choose whether you want to relax in the rejuvenating waters of a natural hot spring or surf the invigoratingly cold waves of the North Atlantic. Wrestle a Viking under the open sky and then retreat to the nearby tavern for a well-earned horn of ale.
Yes, we’re heading back to the Land of Ice and Fire for another week of training, exploring, and partying in one of the most stunningly beautiful places on Earth. Grab your drinking horn and gi (and glíma belt) and meet us there!
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| | | | Featured Traveller: Stevie Antoniou |
| | Age: 24
Belt: Brown
Profession: Freelance photographer and filmmaker
How many years in BJJ: 8
Other martial arts: Nope
Where do you live: In Stockholm, but I’m traveling more than I’m at home. :)
Where are you originally from: Stockholm, Sweden
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: Parents are Greek/Irish and Swedish/Estonian. |
| | | Tell us what inspired you to travel and train? Honestly, I’ve always met inspiring people when traveling, and that's what keeps me going. Combining it with Jiu Jitsu is perfect because you get to meet locals wherever you are and make friends in a matter of minutes of stepping on the mats.
Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
Well, if this year's travel counts as recent then I have 17 trips to tell you about… Go to my Instagram for all that. These past two months I’ve been to France, Poland, Arizona, and Oregon. Currently in a hammock between two palm trees in the Caribbean. I’m in St. Barth for a month and then I'm going home just before Christmas. I’m heading to Asia in mid-January for a month or five. We’ll see haha |
| | What are the things you enjoy about traveling? The sense of adventure and the fact that I always learn a lot about myself. Whether it’s trying new things, exploring on my own, or meeting inspiring people with different views on life.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Man, it doesn't matter where in the world you are. Put on a gi and a smile and you are welcomed like family in most places. I was on a train in Portugal a few years ago and I was with my girlfriend at the time. We were there for a holiday and we definitely didn’t think to pack our gis. Before getting off the train, I see a poster with a quite famous face on it. Everything is in Portuguese so I can't read what it says, but there’s a number on it. I call and find out that Royce Gracie is doing a two-day seminar that upcoming weekend. The guy says we are welcome to come, so we show up and it's me, my girl, and 40 portuguese dudes. I was a blue belt at the time, and she had just started training. We didn’t have anything to train in, but after a day of asking around and searching everywhere for a gi, we found this guy who sold us two gis out of his trunk in a shady parking lot. When the first half of the seminar was finished, I’m talking to another participant and Royce joins the conversation and invites us to come to the beach with them. Long story short, we ended up hanging out with Royce Gracie and his friends that whole weekend. Beach trip, a few meals, and even the club haha. I can't think of any other sport that this would happen in. Does the random guy who trains soccer get to go stand-up paddleboarding with Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
I have plenty of stories like this, but all I can say is that combining traveling and BJJ is an awesome time, and everyone should give it a shot.
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| | What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling? How easy it is! Once you get in to it the world isn’t as big and scary as you think.
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip? I like a bit of both. In general, I don't spend a lot of money and try to find good value. I don’t mind spending €50 on a killer breakfast buffet every once in a while either though. When I’m at home and have a trip planned, I’m extra particular on not spending money on stupid things. Having something to look forward to keeps me motivated to save money for that specific trip. You don't need that cigarette or caramel frappuccino with extra cream ;).
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be? Just freaking go. Book that ticket, make that call. Whatever it is. Experience is more valuable than most paydays. I’ve never been on a trip that made me regret going or spending that money.
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| | | | We continue to break new ground with this camp in the ancient yet vigorously modern Baltic city of Tallinn. Join us as we explore the largest and most innovative Jiu Jitsu gym in the country, as well as some of the most beautifully preserved medieval architecture that Europe has to offer. |
| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Bohol Island Jiu Jitsu |
| | Where is the gym located?
Bohol Island Jiu Jitsu is located in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, which is right smack at the center of the 7,107 islands in the Philippines. Our island is a very touristy place, with a lot of nature and great beaches, and the smallest monkey in the world - the Tarsier (our logo) - can be found only on our island. Currently we're the only BJJ school here.
How many people train there?
In total we have around 20 members registered, but the consistent numbers we get are about 50% of that.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Since most of our members are students, and we don't have a lot of job opportunities here, people tend to move to other bigger islands in the Philippines so once they graduate. So to answer the question - we are growing, but people also leave every now and then.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
White belts, blue belts, and purple belts.
When did the gym open?
The gym started in 2014 in an old Taekwondo gym. Since then we've moved to a newer location.
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| | Some facts about you:
Name: Jay Uy Age: 31 Belt: Purple Profession: Manager Years in BJJ: 11
Other martial arts: Boxing Currently living in: Tagbilaran City, Bohol Originally from: Tagbilaran City, Bohol
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| Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
I started training BJJ in 2008 in Cebu City, where I attended university. Every now and then when I went back to my hometown, I would teach and train with my brother, who had also started training in Manila under a different team. I would seek out MMA gyms and other martial arts gym here in Bohol just to be able to train. On the weekends, I'd take a 2-hour boat ride to Cebu to train with my old team and try to keep learning from my coach there. In 2013, when I was still a blue belt, a big earthquake hit my island and a lot of the buildings got damaged. A year afterwards, in 2014, I learned that another blue belt from New York was in town and was actually based here. So I tried to reach out, knowing he was teaching at a local Taekwondo gym here. After a few months training with each other and a few beginners, he decided to name the team Bohol Island Jiu Jitsu.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
Most of the guys that train with us are from here - they really started from scratch with me, John, and my brother Ton. The majority are students that go to school in the morning and train with us at night, like Julliver, Vincent, Arman, Ali, and Milven. Some of our senior members like JM, Luther and Vic have jobs during the day, so most of our classes are at night only.
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| | Why do they train?
They really do love Jiu Jitsu and enjoy learning from each other. I guess for the younger members it's for fitness and self confidence. Our older members would say it's such a big stress relief from work as well.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
For me it’s a passion project. I really enjoy teaching and spreading BJJ, and learning from different people, so I’m not in it for the business side. However, paying the bills can get pretty stressful at times as well. When people leave to pursue a career elsewhere, we also lose members. Losing people can be pretty frustrating. On the other hand, I’m happy they started with us and when I see them do well in competitions in other countries. Also, in our area time can move pretty slow, and some of our members can get pretty lax at times when it comes to training. Especially if comp season is over.
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| | How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
Hopefully, other teams or gyms can start as well in order to have more BJJ spread out in the other towns. Economically our city is growing, and population also increases along with that. When jobs start pouring in, people that have trained on other islands might want to come work here as well, and either train with us or start their own schools. I see a ton of potential here. We don't have a black belt yet on our island, and maybe one day if not me, one of my students would be the first home grown Boholano black belt.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
Our gym is just a small gym, but between me, John, and my brother Ton, we have a total of 33 years of experience between us. John started in 2008 in New York - he has his own style of teaching. My brother Ton also started in 2008 with our current Professor, Ali Sulit in Manila, and he incorporates a lot of the ATOS-style techniques. Our gym also has a lot of tourists that drop by every now and then to train with us. You never know when a group of 3 people from Australia will show up at the exact same time a Swiss purple belt said he would drop by to train as well. Plus the beach is just a few minutes away from us too. :)
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?Panglao Island is where all the best resorts are - we have world class beaches there. Also a great spot to try and learn diving, or hop on a boat to go visit other smaller islands. Bohol can offer tons of dive spots around the island. We have beautiful reefs and the diversity of marine life here will amaze you.
The Chocolate Hills are a couple of hours drive from Panglao or the city. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site where 1,260 hills turn brown in the summer season and resemble Hershey kisses. To get there you can either join a tour or drive, but on your way there be sure to also visit the Loboc River cruise where you can have lunch, and the man-made forest in Loboc and Bilar towns.
The Tarsier Sanctuary is also a must-visit if you're here. The monkeys are endangered, and although some can be found in the wild, the sanctuary is the best place to find and learn about these nocturnal creatures.
You can also rent a motorbike or go on a countryside tour, where you never know when you'll stumble upon exotic caves, stunning rice fields, fireflies in mangroves, very old churches, or great views from mountaintops.
Thanks for sharing with us! If you'd like to pay a visit to Bohol Island Jiu Jitsu, you can find them here. |
| | | | | | | | Make your custom gis, patches and rashguards at our dedicated BJJ Globetrotters factory |
| | | It can be a mess to try and find a manufacturer of BJJ gear that you can trust on quality, delivery and attention to detail.
You can burn a lot of money going through samples from the many thousands of factories in Asia, trying to find one that will provide you with the product as you’ve imagined it. We know, because we’ve been through it all, ourselves! |
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