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| BJJ Globetrotters Newsletter // September 2023 | |
Dear Globetrotters,
It's late afternoon and I am sitting in a cafe in the medieval town of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland, located in the middle of the Baltic sea. Chairs and tables are put out in between a ruin of a very impressive church that used to stand here; first erected in the year 1060. The serenity of this is such a crazy contrast to what I came here from; a wild ride of non-stop camps all summer. It's impossible not to smile to myself when I think back at it. Countless memories of laughs, friendships and amazing training. I would like to thank all of you who came to the camps and I hope you had even just half as much fun as I did.
Now it is time to rest and take it easy for a while. I'll read a book and go for some walks around town, that is basically all I have planned for the next month here. Upcoming Zen Camp in Poland will be a nice extension of this!
Have a nice day,
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What you'll find in this month's newsletter: - Photos from Austria Camp last month
- Featured Globetrotter: Leslie Baird
- Photos from Summer Camp Heidelberg last month
- Globetrotters Academy in Focus: The Misfits Club
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| 2023 summer camps: Thank you!!!! |
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A huge thanks to the 1400+ participants who joined us for this crazy, wild, fun, intense summer of camps!
Let's do it all again, how about next summer? 😄 |
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| Iceland Camp '24 is announced: Half of tickets booked in five days |
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* From July 8th to 13th, 2024 *
* In Reykjavík, Iceland *
* Six-day training camp in the largest grappling and MMA gym in the world *
* Classes all day long *
* Full use of all sauna, hot tub, ice bath and weight-lifting facilities *
* 45 minutes from Keflavik international airport *
* Vikings vs. Tourists Icelandic wrestling competition *
* Optional half day Golden Circle sightseeing trip *
* Final evening barbecue & party *
* Everyone welcome, regardless of experience or affiliation *
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| Photos from our family friendly Austria Camp last month |
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Less than 20 tickets left for Zen Camp spring edition in April |
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* Now a full week training camp *
* New spring edition *
* Monday, April 15th to Sunday, April 21st *
* In the middle of nowhere, Poland *
* Accommodation in traditional Japanese houses *
* Huge mat space *
* Gi laundry service *
* Free use of spa and sauna *
* All meals included *
* Bottled water, tea, and coffee included *
* Daily sauna therapy sessions *
* Board games *
* Daily workshops and lectures *
* Mushroom picking in the forest *
* Morning yoga classes *
* Everyone welcome, regardless of experience and affiliation *
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| Featured Globetrotter: Leslie Baird |
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Age: 30
Belt: Blue
Profession: Nanny
How many years in BJJ: 3.5
Other martial arts: Boxing (11 years)
Where do you live: Currently London
Where are you from: Scotland
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I've been to 76 countries so far and have lived in 4 countries (not including the UK) |
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Tell us what inspired you to travel and train? I've always loved travelling. I've been travelling since I was 19 and started boxing in Australia just to keep fit and then basically that spiralled into more martial arts and travel. It's a great way to meet new people in new countries, especially when travelling alone.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
Currently this year has been a lot of European travel, including two camps in Estonia. I'm trying to keep the cost down as I spent three months in Africa (11 countries) last year camping and overland trucking.
As for upcoming trips, I have a trip to Iraq in October which I'm very excited about. Hoping to do some BJJ in Saddam Hussein's palace.
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What are the things you enjoy about travelling? Meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, and definitely the food. Also learning new things - I always seem to leave a place with some new fact, usually weird and wonderful.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
So I don't always train when I travel. Often I travel solo to places which don't seem to have gyms. I find it pretty fun to meet other travellers or locals who are keen to learn a few basics and end up showing them some things. Whilst in Africa last year I ended up showing a local guy from Zimbabwe armbars and triangles while we were on a house boat on the Zambezi River. We got told off several times by the captain, as he was scared we would fall off into the croc and hippo-infested water, but it was definitely a lot of fun. I love showing people who haven't had the chance to learn or even try it. Looking forward to try and teach a few people in Iraq a thing or two.
Non-training examples are meeting and experiencing amazing people and things. From walking up hills for views in Samoa and being stopped by literally every person because they are that friendly and want to say hi and even giving you free fruit from their plantation because it's customary, to having a local tap tattoo done in a beach hut next to a guy receiving his pe'a (from knee to bottom back tattoo, needs to be finished or it's dishonour to family) being chased by elephants in Zimbabwe and having zebras sleeping next to our tents, to playing netball with local girls in Malawi. It's all simply wonderful.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
How kind people can be. I started travelling when I was 19 and moved halfway across the world. I had so many strangers look out for me. I used to door knock as my first job and I was terrible at it, but I met some wonderful people by knocking on their door and often would get homemade dinners to take home with me. I was even invited to spend Christmas with another family I met doing the job. Obviously you always have to be careful, especially as a solo female, but I think if you always show kindness then most people will show the same. Even had the most wonderful experience in Yemen where I was invited to the house of a local woman who didn't speak any English and we ended up having the funniest and most genuine "conversation" with the few random words I knew in Arabic and hand gestures and pointing to things. I think simply smiling is the international language that we all know. |
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Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I used to only be a budget traveller, but not always now that I've gotten older. Tips are: cook at hostel, find fellow travellers to cook with, and meal share. If you know you're going somewhere expensive, pack some dry packets of rice or pasta etc. Also walking everywhere is incredible - you usually find some secret treasure and obviously it's a free mode of transport.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be? Just go! Go somewhere new that you barely know much about or somewhere that scares you. You will be pleasantly surprised at how wonderful places can be.
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| Last 10 tickets left for next Caribbean Island Camp! |
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* December 4 – 10, 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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| Photos from Summer Camp in Heidelberg, Germany last month |
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315 participants in Germany's Olympic training center in beautiful Heidelberg! |
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| Last call for Winter Camp! (20 tickets left) |
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* January 2-7 in Wagrain, Austria *
* Five nights / six days training camp *
* 70 km from Salzburg airport *
* Beautiful location in the middle of the alps *
* Seven days of BJJ and skiing / snowboarding *
* Six nights accommodation *
* All meals included *
* Daily skiing and snowboarding lessons *
* Workshops, lectures and movie nights *
* 24 hr free fruit and non-alcoholic beverages *
* Extra mat space for all-day open mat / drilling *
* Free laundry service *
* Direct access to huge skiing area with 210+ km slopes *
* Free access to water park and sauna facilities next door *
* Afterski parties *
* All levels of BJJ and skiers welcome *
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| BJJ Globetrotters Academy in Focus: The Misfits Club |
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Where is the gym located?
Crescenta Valley, Tujunga, California
How many people train there?
68
Is the gym growing - if so by how many new members each month or year?
10 a month
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
7 black belts - 45 white belts
When did the gym open?
May 27, 2023 in the current location. Established in 2019.
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Some facts about you:
Name: James Martinez Age: 48 Belt: 1st degree Black belt Profession: Detective for LAPD Years in BJJ: 25 years Other martial arts: Muay Thai / Boxing Currently living in: Los Angeles, California Originally from: Los Angeles, California |
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Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence Prior to receiving my black belt, I had a major knee injury and stopped training for a year. Trying to avoid any further injury to my knee, I decided to quit BJJ and focus on Muay Thai. The Muay Thai gym I was training at wanted to start a BJJ program and traded free Muay Thai lessons for my family in return for teaching one BJJ class a week. Before I knew it, I was teaching 5 classes a week and we had more students than Muay Thai. Covid struck and our academy closed down but we continued to train both sports in the backyard of our home. Prior to winter we converted our garage into a gym where the student count grew as well as the number of black belts who joined us. At the end of 2022, we decided to open our own brick and mortar academy, already having over 25 students and 7 black belts that joined us on our venture.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they? The majority of the students (60%) are women, the rest are mostly professionals over the age of 35 looking to train, stay in shape, and be in a friendly environment with like minded folks.
As a 25 year veteran of law enforcement and with prior military service, our academy has focused on teaching police officers and military service members how to defend themselves and find an outlet they may carry due to their profession. We offer reduced cost to them as they progress through their martial arts journey.
Why do they train? We have a major focus on empowering women by not only having an all women's class taught by a female 2nd degree black belt, but making it a goal to build their confidence to train in the co-ed classes. We make it a point to treat students not by their gender, but by their belt rank. Empowering them to roll against all kinds of body types and perfect their technique.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically? Having students who transfer in from another academy expecting to get promoted on time and not skill level. We don’t have promotion ceremonies once or twice a year but have decided to award students the same way I was. At any given time any of the black belts can recommend any student for promotion to the next degree or belt at which time a vote is taken after all the black belts have rolled with the student. If the majority decides that the student is worthy of promotion, then their main instructor is authorised to promote that student. I have been vetoed by the majority and held a student an additional (6) months at their belt until another black belt brought their promotion back-up and we all agreed it was time.
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How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We are surrounded by traditional martial academies such as Taekwando and Karate, and are attempting to break into a niche market by showing the self-defence aspects of our sport for children as well as adults.
What’s the best thing about your gym?Training out of our home for over two years made us just not another school, but a family that would enter our home everyday that we trained. We celebrated milestones, birthdays and very often BBQ just to BBQ after training. We have brought that atmosphere with us by continuing the way we treat our students like family. We have open mat Sundays, cross training Saturdays where guest instructors are brought in free of charge and open to all, and most importantly we still BBQ, drink, laugh and have fun as a family.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym? It’s Los Angeles….. I recommend see it all.
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Thanks for sharing! If you'd like to visit The Misfits Club, you can contact them here. |
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*January 29th – February 4th, 2024 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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