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| | | BJJ Globetrotters Newsletter // July 2026 | | Dear Globetrotters,
For the first time in 13 years, I have the month of July free from camps and I'm doing my best to enjoy it offline, but there's still work to do for the upcoming summer and fall schedule. Last month was our first ever Midsummer Camp in Finland with more than 250 participants. It was almost two years of preparation and I'm relieved that everything went super well. The weather was amazing and even after 125+ camps, we can apparently still find that feeling of doing something new and exciting ❤️
Negotiations and planning for next year's Finland Camp are needless to say under way and it looks like it'll be June 22-27, making it a day longer than the first one. Keep an eye on our newsletter, website and social media for announcements!
Next year's USA Camp Maine has also been announced a few days ago for June 7-13. Already more than 100 participants have signed up and just a few private rooms are left, so don't wait too long if you want to join us!
Here is the updated ticket status for our upcoming camps: | | | |
What you'll find in this month's newsletter: - Photos from Midsummer Camp in Finland last month
- Featured Globetrotter: Alan Titone
- Globetrotters Academy in Focus: KODAMA BJJ
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| | | Join our family friendly Jiu Jitsu and skiing camp in January |
| | We’re introducing a special, separate Winter Camp with a family-friendly focus. In a hotel exclusively for us, there will be skiing, snowboarding, Jiu-Jitsu, schnitzel, sleigh rides, waterparks, and plenty of activities for children of all ages. If you’ve ever wanted to come to one of our camps, but weren’t sure how to balance it with keeping the kids entertained, this is the one for you!
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| | | | Photos from Midsummer Camp in Finland last month |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 family rooms left for Austria Camp this summer! |
| | For this summer camp, we’re heading to beautiful Wagrain for five days of training among the rolling hillsides that are now brilliantly green and ready for you to explore.
We will have lots of Jiu Jitsu and activities for all ages!
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| | | | Featured Globetrotter: Alan Titone |
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| | Age: 43
Belt: Brown
Profession: Jiu Jitsu Gym Owner (Karma Jiu Jitsu), Husband, Dog Walker, Cook, Unemployed (the response I got when I asked my wife what my profession is)
How many years in BJJ: 6.5 years
Other martial arts: Karate as kid (was a huge fan of Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme)
Where do you live: Currently living in Ajax, Ontario — I see myself as a citizen of the world
Where are you from: Born in South Florida, raised in New York city, lived in Arizona for 15 years, Colorado for 8 years, spent three years traveling the world with a lot of time spent in Milwaukee and Ajax, Ontario.
Any fun facts you'd like to share: - I have trained Jiu-Jitsu in 14 countries on three continents.
- I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with a friend that is in the process of climbing all Seven Summits.
- No one has seen my chin since 2020.
- I met, married, and honeymooned my wife at BJJ Globetrotters Camps. USA Camp 2023, Arizona Camp 2023, and Camp 100.
- Can drive a full 12 seater van down the winding dirt roads of Italy without crashing or getting stuck.
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| | What inspired you to travel and train? JIU-JITSU IS NOT ABOUT JIU -ITSU
This is a phrase you'll often hear me say, because Jiu-Jitsu is cool, but the people I've met and the experiences I've had because of Jiu-Jitsu are way cooler.
Thankfully the black belt (Howie Spratte) that I started training under is a Globetrotter. He would take us to open mats all over the place, and he promoted cross training with other people and other gyms.
I attended my first Globetrotters camp in 2021 (Arizona Camp). There I met some of my best friends and greatest people in my life — Josh Janis, Meghan Wagner, Rich Sab, Michael Choi, Charles Harriott, Heather Raftery, Jay Pages, and so many more. At the time I also worked in Corporate America (Banking) and I traveled a lot for work. While traveling, I didn't want to miss out on training, so I started looking up and calling gyms to see if they were open to visitors. One of my favorite gyms I've trained at is called Silverback Jiu-Jitsu, owned and run by Daniel Casarez in a small town in New Mexico called Clovis.
By the time 2023 came around, I'd been to five Arizona Camps. I left my first wife, I left my corporate job, and I decided I never wanted to work again. Josh and Meghan invited me to Estonia; so I spent a month in Europe where I hired a mushroom shaman, slept on countless Globetrotters couches, visited the Alps, and saw the Moulin Rogue in Paris, all with Spring Camp in Tallinn smack in the middle of it.
I am grateful and blessed to have encountered the world of Jiu-Jitsu. Without it, I am not sure who or where I would be.
Tell us about your most recent trip and what's next – where have you been and where are you going?
My most recent trip was to USA Maine Camp 2026 (12 camps later). My wife Raechel and I met at USA Maine Camp in 2023. It will be a camp we attend every year to celebrate our time together. If you've been to USA Maine Camp, you know the magic it has, and if you haven’t been, you should definitely add it to the top of your list. Raechel and I met playing the Assassin Game (I stabbed her in the back) on the first day of camp. Later that evening, she met my alter ego, Namaste Nudie, the pro-wrestler at the first ever Forest Fisticuffs. Throughout the week, I took her out to dinner (at the cafeteria where everyone else eats), we did the Yankee Swap, sang karaoke, took care of drunk friends, hung out by the bonfire, went canoeing on the lake, ate really expensive gas station lobster rolls, and cried in the rain when it was time to say goodbye. Now all of these events hold a dominant place in our heart. We love sharing these moments with old and new friends.
What’s next? I love this question. So much so that I have it tattooed on my wrist. I'm always open and ready for the next adventure. Raechel and I opened our own BJJ gym in Oct 2023 called Karma Jiu Jitsu in Ajax, Ontario. We are a BJJ Globetrotter affiliated Gym — all of our travels have inspired us to build the community we have built and continue to grow today. We opened a second gym in Jan of 2026 in Brighton/Erie, Colorado. We plan to continue the grow the Karma Jiu Jitsu brand worldwide.
Our next travels will be to Zen Camp in Poland in 2026 and Spring Camp Tallinn 2027. I look forward to showing Raechel where I met so many of my European friends, had daily ice baths in the Baltic Sea, early morning coffee at the Kofeman Cafe, and trained incredible Jiu-Jitsu at Priit’s gym. In September of 2027, I'm planning a 9-day motorcycle trip across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Of course, while I'm there I plan to train at a Globetrotter-friendly gym I already found called Garuda. |
| | What do you enjoy most about travelling? The experiences, the people, and the spontaneity. I've travelled a lot in my life, and I used to try to plan everything out. I would fill every moment of every day with “experiences” and adventures. I would put so much effort into doing ALL of it that I never really got to experience the cool adventures and experiences in between it all.
I travelled solo internationally for the first time in 2023. I bought a one-way ticket to Munich, I booked a hotel for 2 nights, and after that I had zero plans. My obsessive self was SCREAMING at me. I simply kept reminding myself, “It's all going to work out.” I walked the streets of Berlin at 2am visiting WWII landmarks. I sat through countless random Catholic masses in amazing churches with architectural details and stained glass windows, and I'm not even Catholic. I found myself in a beautiful little German alpine town called Garmisch-Partenkirchen where I stayed at an AirBnB with the best view and the lowest ceilings ever.
I showed up to Moulin Rouge looking for a last minute ticket and the lady at the ticket booth audibly laughed at me — then proceeded to get me a ticket for the next night. I sat in a park for six hours eating prosciutto, cheese, and drinking wine while ducks literally walked at my feet. Globetrotters welcomed me into their homes, made me coffee, offered me a place to sleep, train and paid for many of my meals, instead of letting me pay for them (much to my chagrin).
Traveling before Jiu-Jitsu was fun. Traveling as a Globetrotter is the best experience one can have. You have instant friends, who speak the same secret language and want to show you their little nook of the world. You go from being a tourist to being a local, and with that you get to see more of the culture and day-to-day experiences of life in another place.
Any particularly memorable experiences that made it all worth it?
Second to meeting Raechel at a Globetrotter camp is marrying her at a Globetrotter camp. We had wedding gis, instead of a first dance we had a first roll, and we were surrounded by old friends, new friends, and complete strangers. To this day, people still come up to us and tell us, “I was at your wedding. It was the best wedding I have ever been to.”
Camp 100 was my last opportunity to go to Castle Camp and a way to celebrate our honeymoon in Italy. We joke and say Christian put on our own personal firework show just for us. The hot days by the pool, the slip and slide that led to many incidents of road rash, and the foam party at the end were all highlights of that trip.
Meeting Josh Janis and Meghan Wagner at my first camp has led to such meaningful relationships. At this point we've spent so much time together I can’t imagine a life without them.
Walking into Sping Camp Tallinn 2023 and Christian seeing me and saying, “Ahhh, you finally made it to a European Camp.”
Thanks to the Globetrotters, I found a gym on Zanzibar in Tanzania. I was able to spend a bunch of time teaching and coaching these guys and gals who don’t get a lot of access to upper belts in Jiu-Jitsu.
What has surprised you the most while travelling? I love my parents and everything they've ever taught me. But they were absolutely wrong when they told me not to talk to strangers. Also, quit watching the news. The media wants to show you how terrible the world is, and wants to show you all of the bad people. The hospitality I've experienced from complete strangers around the world has blown my mind. We are social beings, and Jiu-Jitsu provides a worldwide “third space”. A huge thank you to EVERYONE who I've met and interacted with, whether I remember your name or not. I hope you know the impact you have had on me and my life.
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| | | Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip? I came up with a phrase for the way I am, I call it “Backcountry Boujee”. I love to be in nature, I love to hunt and camp. I have no problem sleeping in a tent. I have slept on many couches and in multiple gyms. However, if I can find a good deal on a first class plane ticket, a nice hotel, a delicious steak dinner or an incredible experience — I am all for it.
Any advice for your fellow Globetrotters? Say YES! Say yes when someone asks you to go to Iceland with one week's notice (I didn’t and really wish I did). Say yes when you get invited for dinner. Say yes when someone invites you to their little nook of the world and wants to host you. Say yes when someone wants to roll with you. Say yes to making new friends. Say yes to new experiences. Stories are social currency, go out there and get as much of it as you can. Embrace being uncomfortable. You may meet your best friend, your spouse — you might even figure out exactly who you want to be. And don’t forget to thank Christian for everything he has created. He's not big on compliments and it's an opportunity to make an awkward situation. |
| | | | | Our week long Arizona Camp has quickly become a staple for our community in the US. All day classes, open mats and workshops, combined with on-site barbecues and breathtaking landscapes.
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| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Academy in Focus: KODAMA BJJ |
| | Where is the gym located?
KODAMA BJJ is based out of Angmering, a village on the South Coast of England. While the village itself has a population of around 10,000, we are centrally nestled right between several much larger coastal towns, making us highly accessible for the whole region.
How many people train there?
As of July 2026, just over four weeks after opening our doors, we have officially hit 53 active members. The response from the local community has been nothing short of tremendous; it’s an absolute flying start that completely blew past my initial expectations.
Is the gym growing - if so by how many new members each month or year?
We are growing rapidly. Before we even laid down a single mat on opening night, we had 30 people locked in wanting to join. In our very first month, we brought on another 23 members. While that initial launch surge will naturally level out and many trialists will drop off, my prediction is that we will continue to grow by a minimum of five new members a month in the short-medium term, factoring in our sports high levels of attrition.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training? Because we are a brand-new academy, the vast majority of our mat space is filled with enthusiastic white belts. However, we have a core of nine active blue belts, one brown belt, and then myself, the lonely black belt.
When did the gym open?
We opened on the 1st June 2026 and we’ve been inundated with requests for trials, to check out the gym, and to sign up ever since then.
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| | Some facts about you:
Name: Wayne Tomsett Age: 43 Belt: Black Belt - my first stripe is due in a couple of weeks. It's going to be a unique milestone for me, because funnily enough it’ll be the only stripe I’ve ever been given in my entire BJJ journey. My coach never believed in giving them. Profession: Right now, my full energy and focus is on being a Jiu-Jitsu coach. I was recently made redundant from my corporate job, which turned out to be the ultimate catalyst to finally bring KODAMA BJJ to life. To mitigate some risk while the business scales in its first year, I’m taking on a 'parachute' job for the next six months. However, my priorities are KODAMA. I’m fully prepared to hand in my notice the absolute second it interferes with the quality of my coaching or the growth of the academy. Years in BJJ: Nearly 14 years in the sport, I fell in love with it as soon as I started learning it. I was doing a bit of BJJ for a while at a Karate place and with my brother before I joined a proper club. I got obsessed pretty quickly, training 4-5 days a week, often two classes a day. I wrote a book on the sport — Cheat Codes, the Secret Guide to Winning on the Mat. Other martial arts: I did Wado Ryu Karate for a few years before I found BJJ, and I’ve dabbled in Muay Thai and Judo here and there. Currently living in: Worthing, on the south coast of the UK Originally from: Brighton, also on the south coast of the UK, and an awesome town to visit. |
| | Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence I trained at one academy in the UK for around 11 years, where I earned my black belt. For many of those years I coached my own class once per week and assisted in hundreds of other classes. I was originally asked to teach as a blue belt just as cover for a new gym my coach opened nearby — I was the most experienced person available on a day that he couldn’t regularly make it on time - and that just became my regular class every week. I never asked for a penny and continued paying my monthly membership. Teaching helped me understand Jiu-Jitsu on a deeper level.
Eventually I moved to a new town and joined another academy. Before long I was asked to coach there too, and for the next two and a half years I threw myself into that role. I ran classes, helped establish the women's programme, designed and taught beginners' courses, recruited the women's coach, organised team socials, and coached at competitions. I loved every minute of it.
Then I was made redundant from my day job. It forced me to ask myself what I really wanted to do with my life, and the answer was obvious: I wanted to build an academy of my own. It had always been something I'd hoped to do one day, but suddenly it felt like now or never. From the moment I started considering it, I told the academy owners. My plan was to open in a different town, further away than several other nearby academies, and I offered to do everything I could to make it as collaborative and positive as possible. Ultimately, our visions didn't align, and we parted ways.
While it was a difficult day, it forced my hand in the best way possible, with no job to return to and no gym to train at, I committed every waking hour — literally — to making the academy a reality. I adapted my original plans and, instead of waiting until I could afford a permanent facility, found an incredible community hall with a sprung floor. Four weeks later, KODAMA BJJ opened its doors.
The response to KODAMA BJJ has exceeded anything I imagined. We welcomed 30 members in our first week and reached over 50 members within our first month. More importantly than the numbers, we've built exactly the culture I hoped for.
KODAMA BJJ was founded around a handful of simple ideas:
- Don't be a cult.
- Come as you are.
- Choose kindness.
- Growth over winning.
Those values influence everything we do. They shape every class we teach and every decision we make. I wanted to create an academy where people could train hard, improve, and enjoy being part of a gym that is modern, forward-thinking, and open.
We teach a concept-led, constraints based approach to Jiu-Jitsu. We encourage cross-training, we celebrate curiosity, we reject all forms of traditionalism and we question everything about the Jiu Jitsu training and learning experience. More importantly than all of that though, is that we create an environment where people can challenge themselves without feeling intimidated.
I wanted to create the kind of academy I would have loved to train in myself, and I'm incredibly proud to say that's exactly what we're building.
Opening KODAMA meant stepping away from traditional affiliations to ensure our values remained uncompromised. KODAMA is proudly independent. We’re carving our own path, and while that means my journey as a black belt looks different from the traditional route, I am completely at peace with it. I'd rather build something that reflects my values than chase recognition at the expense of them.
That's also why Globetrotters feels like such a natural fit. Openness, sharing knowledge, training with everyone regardless of affiliation, and putting Jiu-Jitsu above politics are values I care deeply about. I'm looking forward to becoming an active part of that community, coaching at camps, learning from others, and continuing to grow alongside people who share the same philosophy.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they? It is a wonderful bunch. We naturally skew slightly older, which is a deliberate result of our culture and how we market the academy. We are absolutely not a 'fight to the death' gym, nor do we expect people to redline until they pass out every night.
We treat our members like adults who have demanding jobs, families, and real-world responsibilities. Because of that, our mats are mostly filled with working white-collar professionals, people in trades, and business owners.
Most of our folks are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, with a healthy smattering of young lions in their 20s keeping the rest of us on our toes. We also have a small but incredibly dedicated group of women on the team, and a major focus for me over the coming months is actively growing our women's representation.
Part of what ties everyone together is our club charter and code of conduct, which everyone must read and agree to before joining. It helps set expectations and maybe aids in filtering out those who are looking for a different, more old fashioned experience.
We don’t punish people for being late because traffic happens. We don't force anyone to bow to pictures on the wall or call me "Professor". There are no weird taboos about asking questions or talking about belts.
Instead, we focus on a collaborative, safe environment where we train hard but with care for our partners. Our coaching methodology keeps the environment engaging and intellectually stimulating for our members, making the gym a third space for them to escape the daily grind, connect with a brilliant community, and learn something awesome without worrying about being put through a meat grinder.
Why do they train? All sorts of varied reasons! But they all share a common thread. In fact, whenever someone shows interest in joining, I jump on a call with them to ask that exact question: "Why do you want to train BJJ?"
For a lot of our members, it starts with wanting a new challenge. They want to do something active, something physical to help with their fitness in general but hate the monotony of running on a treadmill or lifting weights in isolation (and honestly, I empathise). BJJ is very physical but it also has a significant mental element. I think that this blend of physical activity, problem solving, and interactivity is extremely engaging for a lot of the people we attract.
We also have members who come from a relatively sedentary background just wanting to get fit doing something cool. On day one, they might be utterly exhausted after two-minutes. But then you watch them do a little more the next session, and a little more the week after, until they’re handling entire sessions. Seeing that transformation is incredible. One of our members in his 50s, Si, recently told me, "My Mrs is wondering if I’ve been replaced, I’ve never enjoyed anything active as much as this." That is exactly what we aim to deliver: a genuine, deep-rooted love for the sport.
Another massive driver is simply just to belong to a community. I mentioned above about us being a great third space for people, it’s so important for your mental health that you have a separate environment that is away from your home and your job, and we provide that. More than that though, BJJ provides a unique, shared struggle. It brings people close together remarkably fast, and it’s a great way to make friends.
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| | What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically? Locally, geography throws us a bit of a curveball. Angmering is a small village nestled on the South Coast of England, centrally situated between several larger, more built-up towns. Because of that layout, there are plenty of long-established competitors in the surrounding area. But honestly, hand on heart, I don’t worry about the local competition. I have total belief in our coaching methodology, our culture, and the fact that we do things differently. There are plenty of people to go around, and we all offer something different. If you believe in what you do, and you try your hardest to do it as well as you possibly can, the right people will find you.
For us, the real day-to-day challenge lies in the nature of our venue. I was incredibly fortunate to secure space in a beautiful, modern community center with brilliant facilities, great ventilation, and a sprung wooden floor, which is an absolute dream for takedowns and partner safety.
The trade-off is that it’s a shared space, not a permanent, dedicated academy home. We have to lay the mats down before every session and pack them away immediately afterward. Storage is incredibly tight, which limits our growth footprint. Right now, our safe mat capacity is capped at around 20 people. I'm planning to add a few more mats when stock arrives in September, but physically, we can only expand by about six more pieces before we hit the hard limits of our storage cupboard.
Being in a community space also means we are occasionally at the mercy of the hall management or local council for maintenance closures or scheduling shifts. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it can be disruptive. I try to combat that with transparency and immediate communication with our members. But ultimately, I gladly pay that logistical tax in exchange for training in a bright, clean, environment without the overhead pressure of a commercial lease right out of the gate.
Beyond the local logistics, the general challenge of running any academy is the digital marketing and sales process. It is incredibly time-consuming to manage ads, website bookings, and follow up on leads. You naturally encounter tyre kickers and people who ghost you despite your best efforts. But I've learned to view that as part of the process. Every phone call is an opportunity to connect, and filtering for the right cultural fit before they even step onto the mats ensures that the community we are building stays solid, protective, and focused on lifting each other up.
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
Based on our flying start, I see the future being incredibly bright. The South Coast of England is experiencing investment and growth, with more and more people moving out of the major cities toward our coastal towns. That influx of new energy is fantastic for us.
Over the long term, I genuinely believe our progressive modern approach will continue to set us apart. My immediate goal is to keep driving that momentum, evolving KODAMA BJJ from a highly successful club into a permanent, full-time academy. Having a dedicated home will allow us to expand our timetable, build out women’s and juniors programs, and remove the physical limitations of our current mat storage.
But as we grow, I don’t see it as a zero-sum game against the surrounding area. I already maintain great relationships with several other gym owners. I hope we can collaborate, cross-train, and share ideas to make the regional community stronger. I’ve already had Tom, head coach at Brighton BJJ School, run a guest class for us, and I’ve covered a class for him at his academy. At the end of the day, our goal is simply to grow Jiu-Jitsu as a whole. If we keep focusing on high-quality coaching and welcoming environments, everyone wins.
What’s the best thing about your gym?Man, the best thing about KODAMA BJJ is our culture and vibe. I’m sure that’s an answer you get a lot, but we are somewhere you can walk in, forget about your day job, your worries, your stresses, and completely immerse yourself in the game of Jiu-Jitsu without fear of being treated like a child or broken like a toy.
The training environment is safe, intellectually stimulating, and highly collaborative. You get to learn BJJ in a beautiful space, push your limits safely, alongside a brilliant community of like-minded people who care about your longevity on the mats.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym? Go straight to the coast! We are incredibly lucky to have a gorgeous coastline right on our doorstep, and the stretch of seaside towns near Angmering is packed with character. If you’re visiting us from out of town or abroad, I highly recommend exploring the coast from west to east or vice versa.
West of our gym you have Chichester, my university town, which is beautiful, historic, and features lovely nearby spots like West Wittering beach. As you move east along the coast through towns like Worthing, you'll find a relaxed seaside vibe with a rapidly growing food and drink scene, perfect for a post-training pint or a great meal by the water.
If you keep heading east, you hit Brighton - where I was born and raised. It’s iconic! Quirky, bohemian, vibrant, packed with independent shops in the Lanes, brilliant pubs, top-class restaurants. I love Brighton, you should go.
Wherever you stop along the coast, grab some fish and chips, sit by the water, and enjoy the scenery. Just one crucial piece of BJJ advice for the beach: maintain a high guard at all times, because our seagulls will steal the food right out of your hands!
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Thanks for sharing! If you'd like to visit KODAMA BJJ, you can contact them here. |
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