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| | | BJJ Globetrotters Newsletter // October 2022 | | Dear Globetrotters,
After such a busy summer, it feels strangely quiet these days. We have to go all the way back to the height of the pandemic in 2020 since we've gone a full month and a half without any camps. While it's nice to rest a bit, I must also admit that I already miss it. Luckily, the Zen Camp in Poland is coming up in 10 days!
We have recently announced a whole lot of camps for next year and it looks like it'll be another busy year: Camps for the rest of next year are still to be announced. Keep an eye on your inbox 🙂
Apart from that, we are closing in on the 10 year anniversary of BJJ Globetrotters, which is around New Years. I'm trying to think of something special to do for it and if you have any ideas, feel free to shoot me a message on christian@bjjglobetrotters.com!
Have a nice day, | | | |
What you'll find in this month's newsletter: - Featured Globetrotter: Volkert Doop
- Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Tórshavn BJJ
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| | 955 affiliated academies around the world all offering one week of free training for traveling BJJ Globetrotters members!
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| | | | Less than 10 tickets left for February |
| | * February 6 - 12, 2023 in Saint Barthélemy *
* Easily reachable from United States and Europe *
* Seven-day Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training camp *
* Six nights central accommodation *
* An affordable chance to visit exclusive celebrity island *
* Dinners in local restaurants *
* Daily surf lessons and board rental *
* Catamaran boat trip *
* Fresh bread from local bakery every morning *
* Laundry service *
* Stay extra nights at affordable rate *
* Minivans and cars available for exploring the island *
* Some of the world’s best beaches *
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| | | | Featured Globetrotter: Volkert Doop |
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| | Age: 39
Belt: White
Profession: Project Manager
How many years in BJJ: Almost three years
Other martial arts: Four classes of Myanmar Lethwei boxing back in 2017
Where do you live: The Hague, Netherlands
Where are you from: The Hague, Netherlands
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: This year I fought my first two competitions. |
| | Tell us what inspired you to travel and train? After starting to train BJJ in January 2020, I immediately found BJJ Globetrotters online, and I felt that this could be my thing. Travelling and learning how to shoulder roll and perhaps even some arm bars while traveling to locations I’d never been to, sounded way too exciting. That month I immediately booked the Arizona camp for March 2020 and the following Zen camp.
As we all know, 2020 was a tough time for travel-hungry pajama-fighters and the Arizona camp was off. I had a tough time getting through those first few lockdowns. I had no idea about basic techniques, and suddenly I wondered if this was the right thing to have invested my money in and committed my time to. Though during the following Zen camp I realized how I was going to try and progress through Jiu Jitsu: slowly and steadily, while enjoying the scenery.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
This year my calendar bulged with travel. I had my third (Iceland), fourth (Faroe Islands), and soon my fifth camp (Zen). I travelled a couple of weekends to Rome, Berlin (shout out to Jack!), Switzerland, and the UK. And work travel to Burundi, Rwanda, DRC and Ethiopia.
In November I plan on travelling to Goma, DRC. There is no BJJ there, but the local boxing champ invited me into his gym. Apparently also some Congolese judo guys have volunteered to teach me some takedowns.
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| | What are the things you enjoy about travelling? Ever since I was a teenager I’ve been fascinated about languages, cultures, and travelling. Now I’ve visited more than 60 countries and have lived in more than half a dozen. Many of the places I visited and lived in were touched by violent conflict or raw dictatorships. I managed to visit Syria just before the war started there in 2011, and I lived in Sudan, Central African Republic and Congo, and visited places like South Sudan and Myanmar. Every place I visit provokes these questions about where I come from and how the world is organized. Wherever I travel, I try to experience a part of daily normal life, because even though the political situation can be chaotic, there is always some normality to be found which helps to bridge the gap between me as a visitor and me as a part of society.
Although I had never trained any martial arts, in many places I’ve experienced it as part of the local culture. Just like the Netherlands is known for its kickboxing, in Sudan there is a lively Nuba wrestling culture and there I attended some matches. In Kinshasa, I saw teenagers training boxing in the early morning on the streets. So when I visited Myanmar, this led me to also take up some classes of Lethwei boxing. Without being able to understand a single spoken word, I trained along and I got a sense of the kind of discipline it would take to become any good at that sport.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Whenever I now travel, I try to find a local gym. Since I travel to rather far-flung places, this isn’t always easy. Though this July when I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I found KAO BJJ, the only place to train Jiu Jitsu in Ethiopia. Being able to just join in and feeling the same excitement as in other classes at home or at the camps is so rewarding. The familiarity of Jiu Jitsu, while being far away from home, is perhaps for me one of the great things about travelling and Jiu Jitsu. And afterwards we could just sit down, break down sparring sessions, talk upcoming matches and just general weird Jiu Jitsu stuff over Ethiopian beer and Italian pizza.
Also having been part of the first Faroe Islands camp was a great experience. Not only were we, as humble visitors, excited, but the genuine excitement of the local BJJ community was palpable. I guess there is something about the traveling Jiu Jitsu community which doesn’t only make traveling exciting for the visitor, but also for the host.
Exchanging techniques from home and blending in those from abroad... for me it connects me both to my roots, where I come from, as well as to the town, the country, and the people that I’m visiting.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Last month, when visiting a friend in Woking, UK, I walked into the local gym. To my surprise, fellow Globetrotter Seb opened the door! Is it that the world has gotten very small, or is it that BJJ Globetrotters has gotten very big?!
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| | Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
My best advice is to make a lot of friends. Both at the camps, but also wherever else you can. It has allowed me to visit so many places I otherwise would have never been able to visit. And of course, I try to pay it forward. So please come and visit me in The Hague!
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Follow your curiosity and don’t hesitate to reach out to any local gyms. So far I’ve only had good experiences.
And if you happen to visit gyms which have difficult access to BJJ materials, bring them with you! In Ethiopia for the new students, they really had a tough time getting enough training materials: gis, white belts (the pieces of fabric), and higher belts (the persons).
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| | | | * From July 17th to 22nd, 2023 *
* In Pärnu, Estonia *
* Easy bus connection from Tallinn and Riga *
* Direct flights from Helsinki and Stockholm *
* Huge mat space in a beautiful beach town *
* Six-day training camp *
* 20+ black belt instructors *
* 45+ gi and nogi classes *
* 25+ hours of open mats *
* High-level international instructors *
* Yoga every morning *
* All experience levels and affiliations welcome! *
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| | | | BJJ Globetrotters Academy in Focus: Tórshavn BJJ |
| | Where is the gym located?
The gym is located in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands.
How many people train there?
We currently have approximately thirty members.
Is the gym growing - if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yes, the gym is growing but not in a linear way. Throughout the year, we grow by a small handful of people while some existing members might pause or cancel their memberships. All in all, we have a strong core community while membership ebbs and flows in a positive direction.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We have one purple belt, seven blue belts, and the rest are white.
When did the gym open?
In the summer of 2015.
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| | Some facts about you:
Name: Luis Antonio Pellecer Jr.
Age: 38 Belt: Purple Profession: Sales/Service Management & Landscaping Years in BJJ: 14 Other martial arts: Muay Thai/Boxing Currently living in: Iceland Originally from: Michigan, USA |
| | Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence I moved to the Faroe Islands as an early blue belt and quickly realized no one was training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With no one to train with, I resorted to tying a gi onto a pillow and practicing guard work, but this style of training obviously got old quickly. I decided to begin advertising some BJJ 101 classes, and with the help of a local gym and the local judo club, Tórshavn BJJ was born.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they? Our club is made up of people from all walks of life, from teenagers who want to build their self-esteem to adults in their 50s who want to work on fitness, flexibility, and self-defense.
Why do they train? I can confidently say the primary reasons our members train are: self-defense, mental health, and community. BJJ is world-famous for its practicality and efficiency for self-defense, but something the BJJ community had known for a long time is how it can play a transformative role with mental health. We have members who discovered BJJ to be therapeutic for their anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, and PTSD. Whether it stems from the discipline, fitness, confidence, community, or some combination of these factors, our members have found BJJ positively impacts their lives in various areas of life.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Of course there are the practical challenges of running this sort of operation e.g. finding a system to handle membership fees, creating and adjusting the training schedule to fit most people’s needs, etc. However, the biggest challenge for our club has been breaking through social preconceptions of which sports are appropriate/acceptable and which are not. The Faroe Islands is a fantastic place for many reasons, but it has been isolated from the outside world until relatively recently. So when locals see adults rolling around on the floor in compromising positions, self-defense and fitness are not the first things to pop in their heads. This matter is combined with the fact that the Faroes are heavily invested, socially and financially, in their most popular sports, namely Football and Handball. So yeah, it has been a slow process for us, but we are making progress with gaining headspace in Faroese sports consciousness.
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| | How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
In the near future, we hope to get recognition by the Faroese Sports Authority which would provide our club, and the sport throughout the country, with funds and greater legitimacy in the eyes of the public.
What’s the best thing about your gym?The best thing about our gym is the community of kind people who are always willing and ready to choke out a friend in need.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym? We have some wild and magnificent nature in the Faroes, so I would recommend renting a car and spending a couple days exploring the beautiful fjords, waterfalls, mountain hikes, and ocean views. But make sure to leave time & room for the local food, especially the fermented meat! Oh, and also important, book your hotel & restaurant reservations MONTHS in advance if possible. This is a tiny country, so things fill-up quickly, especially during tourist season. Either way, enjoy!
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Thanks for sharing! If you'd like to visit Tórshavn BJJ, you can find them here. |
| | TRAVEL GIS CURRENT ON SALE DUE TO DESIGNS BEING DISCONTINUED |
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