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| BJJ Globetrotters Newsletter // June 2020 | |
Dear Globetrotters,
Finally, it seems like there is some sort of light at the end of the tunnel for us; the camp in Iceland next month is for sure going ahead. Training is allowed again and their borders are opening for tourists next week. To say I'm excited about finally getting to see and roll with friends again, is a big understatement :)
Our camp schedule has been shuffled around a bit this year, but is is always up to date on our website www.bjjglobetrotters.com/camps. Many of the camps that were sold out before now have tickets available after being postponed, so if you consider joining us for some adventure after all this craziness, you're most welcome. If you have a ticket for a camp already and feel like moving to a different one, we're offering that flexibility this season. Just let us know on customerservice@bjjglobetrotters.com.
Have a fantastic day,
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What you'll find in this month's newsletter:
- Sign up for the online premiere of our documentary
- Iceland Camp next month is official happening - tickets still available!
- Featured Traveller: Jorgen Matsi
- Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Legion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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Sign up for the free online premiere of our documentary! |
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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. |
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Iceland Camp next month is officially happening - tickets still available! |
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Against all odds, the camp in Iceland next month is gonna go ahead!! - Iceland has the virus under control (virtually no cases since mid-April)
- The borders are opening next week for tourists
- A negative COVID-19 test is required to enter the country. Travelers can bring a recent one from home or take one directly on arrival, at the airport.
- Training has been officially allowed for a few weeks already
If you feel like getting away from all the craziness for a little bit, come join us in Iceland, it will be fun! :)
If you want to get a feeling of what the camp is like, check out our video from last year here: |
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Special offer: Iceland Camp gi and rashguard bundle |
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Due to the challenging logistics of pre-producing and shipping gis to camps at the moment, this year’s Viking Edition gi and rashguard will only be available for ordering online. Ordering is available to everyone, including non-participants of the Iceland Camp. |
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Arizona camp moved to December |
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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. |
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| Featured Traveller: Jorgen Matsi |
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Age: 37
Belt: Black
Profession: I’m a personal coach / counselor in a CRM software company called Pipedrive.
How many years in BJJ: 16
Other martial arts: Aikido for a few years before starting BJJ and MMA at age of 20 back in 2003. Parallel to BJJ I’ve trained quite a lot of MMA and related combat sports (wrestling, judo etc).
Where do you live: Tartu, Estonia, where I’m the head coach of Võimla (literal translation: The Gym) - the oldest official BJJ and MMA club in Estonia.
Where are you originally from: Pärnu, Estonia
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: Still to this day, I like to secretly think that one of the main things that inspired Graugart to start this awesome camps project after his around the world trip was how awesome the big BJJ & MMA Summer Camps I put on in Estonia were (I think Christian took part in 3 of those).
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Tell us what inspired you to travel and train? I don’t know, it came really naturally. I was part of the group that kickstarted BJJ and MMA in Estonia, so to learn and develop myself I also had to travel, since YouTube didn’t exist back then :D Nowadays when I’ve again done a few international camps again (after dedicated 5 years of raising small humans) it’s just my favourite type of vacation away from my day-to-day life.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?My most recent trip was a work-related one to Lisbon (my company has an office there), but I managed to visit 3 different gyms in the 5 days I spent there. I worked during the day and trained in the evening; it was the perfect work-vacation, and all three gyms were super nice and accepting of visitors. |
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| What are the things you enjoy about traveling? I’m the kind of person that actually enjoys the “everyday vibe” the most. I’m not big on specific sightseeing - I just like to wander randomly around places a bit, spend time with local people and train. All of which is nicely facilitated by doing a small fringe sport which has quite a welcoming community - BJJ :)
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training? Unfortunately I’m kinda boring in that regard - I’ve just enjoyed spending time with people I’ve befriended and with whom I still communicate online even when we might not actually see each other for a few years in between common travel locations. To me, connecting with other people with whom I, by default, share the love for BJJ yet in comparison to whom I'm often a very different person with a different history - that’s the most enjoyable thing. Also, I first played real live DnD in Heidelcamp last year :D
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What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling? I learned a hard lesson on how to not be a douchebag and got choked unconscious for the first time in my life. In 2012, me and my wife were visiting Amsterdam (this was also the time me and my wife first met in real life our wonderful friend and fellow Globetrotter Daniel Bertina). In addition to visiting Carson Gracie BJJ, we also visited R-Grip, the home gym of female MMA pioneer Marloes “The Armbarian” Coenen whom I was and am still a fan of. I was a purple belt with 9 years of MMA and BJJ and coaching experience so there were definitely some ego-demons I hadn’t conquered yet - yes you can say it - I was cocky.
The nogi BJJ class was taught by R-Grip head coach Roemer Trompert, and it focused on a front headlock series which included the famous Matt Hughes choke over Ricardo Almeida. I had seen the fight and thought it was somewhat of a fluke. Hughes had freakish strength and Almeida slept on it (pun intended) not taking urgency to defend. So I didn’t think it was something that could be systematically replicated by average people on someone who has decent awareness and choke defence (and that would include me of course).
So Roemer came to us and asked how we were doing and I said something like “Yeah I don’t think that’ll really work.” He was super polite and said he’ll demonstrate on me, and I was like “Alright, I’ll let him put it on me and then casually defend.” I remember thinking “Okay, this is tighter than I thought it was gonna be but it’s OK…”. Next thing I remember is feeling super weird and looking up from my back instead of being on my knees and a bunch of worried faces (including my wife and Marloes Coenen herself) looking at me weird. Despite that episode, everyone was still super nice to me, and I had really nice polite rolls including one with Roemer in the end of the class.
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip? I used to be in my 20s, but now I am old and lazy and have a stable income. I've done my fair share of sleeping in gyms and couches, and kinda have had enough. I wouldn’t mind it still if other conditions were so appealing, but I avoid it if I can. Food-wise I still like to pack some apples, protein powder, and a bag of nuts in my carry-on luggage whenever I go to travel because I don’t want to get stuck with being hungry in the middle of the night or having fast food as my only option. When I didn’t have to count every Euro anymore, I realized that more expensive flights can sometimes be literally cheaper enabling easier transfers, spending less money on food etc.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be? Contact gyms you’re going to beforehand. You’ll get a good idea in regards to how they are with visitors, and you’re going to have the best time in gyms that are actually excited about having visitors. At the same time - and depending on your goals / level - you might want to sniff out the largest open mats in the area for best rolls. If you've got competitive aspirations there’s nothing like competitive rolls with people you don’t know. |
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Castle Camp Italy moved to October - a few tickets have become available |
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Candlelit open mats in the gently shifting shadows of a 1000-year-old altar. Cosy evening dinners under the starry sky. And an entire ancient castle all to ourselves, with a private staff on hand to take care of our every need.
The most exclusive and luxurious of our camps is back, and all it’s waiting for is for you to come and join us!
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| BJJ Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Legion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu |
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Where is the gym located?
The gym is located in Tbilisi, Georgia. Currently we're located in a judo academy in the Dighomi area, but our location will most likely change soon.
How many people train there?
Currently we have around 45 people actively training in the academy. We are a growing team with many BJJ practitioners visiting from around the world, all year long.
Is the gym growing - if so by how many new members each month or year?
We've had over 200 members since opening last year in May. The vast majority of them really enjoy it and wish to become part of our team; however, contrary to popular belief Jiu Jitsu is not for everyone after a certain period. Therefore the core team is growing at a relatively slower pace than the total numbers would suggest. Currently we have 5-6 new people signing up every month.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
The highest ranked student I have is a purple belt, and of course lowest belt training is a white belt. Currently most of our team is comprised of white belts, but I expect a lot of them to be blue belts by the end of next year.
When did the gym open?
May of 2017.
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Some facts about you:
Name: Alexander Umantsev
Age: 37
Belt: Black
Profession: Information Security Specialist / Entrepreneur
Years in BJJ: 11
Other martial arts: Boxing, Kali
Currently living in: Tbilisi, Georgia
Originally from: Israel
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Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
In 2017, me and my friend, partner, and student Temo Mamatsashvili were introduced to each other by an American purple belt, Kevin Meyers. Temo had been training BJJ In London at the Roger Gracie Academy, and had been looking to start a BJJ program in Tbilisi since returning, since there was no real Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team in Georgia at the time. For those reasons it was pretty much a no-brainer for us and we decided to open an academy and try our hand at developing the sport.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We have team members from all walks of life, as you often see in BJJ gyms around the world. We have everyone from 14-year kids with achievements in mind to 40-year-old businessmen who want to train martial arts and get in shape.
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Why do they train?
They came for a combat sport, but stayed for Jiu Jitsu and its unique trait of uniting everyone; all while being a legitimate martial art.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
Besides the challenges that come with running every business, in Georgia the hardest part of running a BJJ gym is the fact that it's a completely new and unfamiliar sport/martial art in the country. Furthermore, in Georgia martial arts are usually considered as being relatively cheap sports, because sports like judo and wrestling are usually funded by the government. Therefore, given the fact that BJJ is obviously not funded by the government, we have to run it like a business and it does require some adjustment in the public opinion.
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How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We have done a lot of ground work so far, and I wish to proudly say that there is and there will be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Georgia. We have a lot of talented guys training with us, and more are joining everyday. Georgia has an amazing pedigree and history in wrestling/grappling sports, and there's absolutely no reason why BJJ will be any different. I predict that in the years to come Georgia will have very formidable competitors at various belt levels internationally.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
In our gym you can get a high level of coaching and a beautiful atmosphere to which all of our members contribute. All our experienced visitors truly enjoy the atmosphere in our academy and the level of skill present on the mat.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
Georgia has amazing food, nature and history. I recommend that people see different landmarks around the city, but the Old Town is a must. Visitors can also travel from Tbilisi to the mountains for sports in the winter and to the seaside in the summer.
Thanks for sharing with us! If you'd like to pay a visit to Legion Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you can find them here. |
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Make your custom gis, patches and rashguards at our dedicated BJJ Globetrotters factory |
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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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