Archive for month: July, 2020

Liz Corso – BJJ Globetrotters

Let’s start out with some quick facts about you…

Age: 35
Belt: Blue
Profession: Teacher
How many years in BJJ: Two
Other martial arts: None
Where do you live: Paris, France
Where are you originally from: New Jersey, USA
Other fun or curious information you’d like to share: I do mail art, collages, and stop-motion animation. I also get really happy when I encounter a 3-pronged fork.

Liz Corso BJJ

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I’ve always been a traveller. I crave new perspectives and enjoy solving problems (how do I get vegetarian food in this strange language?!). I left the US as soon as I finished school, and have since lived in half a dozen different countries and travelled to well over 50. I accidentally stumbled upon BJJ while living in Taiwan and immediately became obsessed. My first coach, Daniel Reid, is a Globetrotter, and he introduced me to the Globetrotters network, which makes it so much easier!

Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going? 
I just got back from the Winter Camp in Wagrain and it was amazing! I always meet so many great new people at Globetrotters camps. My next trip is back to the US to visit friends and family. There’s a 10th Planet gym near my folks, which is a fun change from what I’m used to in Paris. Before I set off for the summer, I plan to revisit Prague in the spring. I hope to add a couple cities around that trip… possibly Vienna and Brno. We’ll see!

Liz Corso BJJ

What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
I’ve met so many great people training in different places. Some of them have gone on to become really good friends, some have even shaped who I am as a person. When you leave your comfort zone, you learn. Sometimes it’s painful (we all remember our first couple BJJ classes!), but learning is always rewarding.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
In addition to meeting great people, having lots of fun crazy nights, experiencing new cultures, and trying new things, travelling helps a lot for BJJ. Sometimes I’ll be having trouble with a particular aspect of my game, and this is often the best time to travel somewhere new and train. Fresh perspectives can really help to get you out of a rut… both in your BJJ game and sometimes life in general!

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Realizing how far a smile and patience can take you. Keeping my cool has helped me out of many many tough situations. For example, after living in Berlin for a couple years, I got tired of the weather and decided to do a motorcycle trip from Berlin to Bamako, Mali. Actually, I didn’t have an end destination… that’s where I ended up selling the motorcycle for plane tickets to Asia – but that’s a different story.

Long story short, I had entered Guinea illegally. Not because I had wanted to, but because…OK, short story…that’s how it was. When crossing the border into Mali, I ran into trouble: I was illegally in the country with a foreign vehicle. This being Africa, the border guard was eager to cut a deal: $100. The only problem was that 1.) I didn’t want to spend $100, and 2.) I had sewn my larger bills into the waist seam of my pants and I only had a 1 dollar bill on me. Not losing my cool, staying friendly, and having patience worked to my advantage. It took a lot of smiling and A LOT of patience, but in the end, I parted with my $1 and was on my merry way.

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
Staying and training with a Globetrotters host not only helps you to meet a great new person, but also cuts down on accomodation fees. In the summers, I quit the city for good. I sublet my apartment and explore around Europe in my VW camping van (yeah, the sexy kind). I love the freedom it affords and I only wild camp, so it doesn’t cost much. It’s really nice, but the van doesn’t have a shower. That’s where training fits in perfectly! I find a nearby club with showers to train at. I still go to laundromats to wash my gis, but nogi gear can easily be hand washed.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Smile. Be open to people and experiences and things will happen.

 

Thank you Liz Corso BJJ for doing this interview!

Pat Divilly – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 32

Belt: Purple

Profession: Speaker and Coach

How many years in BJJ: 3 and a half years

Other martial arts: A little Judo as a teenager, alongside boxing, Muay Thai and MMA. Now that I’m old I stick with BJJ!

Where do you live: Galway, Ireland

Where are you originally from: Limerick, Ireland

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I’m a speaker and podcaster in the area of personal development. Have a huge passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and my work, have done a number of high-altitude mountain expeditions, and in recent years have gotten into yoga and surfing.

Pat Divilly BJJ

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I trained martial arts as a teen and loved it, but didn’t have the work ethic to really succeed in my younger years. When I “grew up” I gave up everything to chase financial success and status. I spent 10 years growing a business, woke up at 28 having ticked all the boxes I thought I needed to tick, and still didn’t feel fulfilled day to day. At that point I knew it was time to go back to martial arts, and I took up BJJ.

Training does a huge amount for me in terms of supporting my mental and physical health, providing community, and giving me a chance to find a state of flow daily.

Travel has been a staple of my life for the last number of years. I feel blessed to get to see the world, and feel I learn more about myself when I’m outside of my comfortable environment than I ever could being in one place.

Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
I’m currently in Zanzibar for a few days after climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for the second time. I brought a group of 21 clients to climb to the highest point in Africa, and now I’m getting a little down time before heading home to Ireland.

My next plan is to go to Bali for a month in April to surf, train Jiu Jitsu, and work on new content for my future seminars and workshops. I work in the area of personal development, and so I like to be constantly tweaking my content and taking on new experiences to ensure I’m “practicing what I preach”.

I tend to work intensely at home and in the UK delivering lots of workshops for 2-3 months, then go away for a month of travel and new experiences.

Pat Divilly BJJ

What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
I love it all! The uncertainty, the break from routine, the chance to be completely anonymous and to see the world through a different lens. I love seeing a new snapshot of the world, a new culture, meeting new people and seeing how different but similar we are. I love the possibility and the randomness of showing up somewhere with no expectation and no plan. I love meeting new parts of myself through adversity, challenge and unpredictable situations and experiences.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
I’ve been welcomed at BJJ gyms all over the world and treated like family, climbed some of the world’s highest mountains, completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training in Thailand with no previous experience.

I’ve spoken at a youth leadership conference in Nepal and subsequently funded a school out there. I’ve gotten to run a triathlon with my business hero Richard Branson and his family, and visited his private Island in the Virgin Islands.

I’ve gotten laughed at and pointed at by every person in the nightclub in Tanzania for being the only non-local (or maybe it was my dancing?!). I’ve lost passports and credit cards in South America, been surrounded by an angry mob in Russia and climbed snow capped mountains in Poland in my shorts with Wim Hof.

 

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Fresh in mind, I think Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has surprised me the two times I’ve been there. I used to own a gym and would encourage clients to work toward goals such as 5km, 10km and half marathons. Then I decided organising and bringing a group to Kilimanjaro would be a great personal challenge for my clients.

In the back of my mind, I thought it would be overly commercial and wouldn’t feel like an authentic experience, but on both trips I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the energy and passion the guides and porters continue to bring to the mountain.

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’m pretty laid back in general which makes it easier to budget for trips. I don’t like spending money on hotels, as I feel all I need is a bed or a sleeping bag and I’m good! I can be a little last-minute booking my flights, which probably ends up costing more than it might have otherwise…..

Some people are keen to tick all the boxes on the tourist attractions of the city they are visiting. Maybe I’m boring, but for me I just love sitting in a local coffee shop or bar, having a coffee or beer and watching the world go by!

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Just get it booked! We tend to spend our lives waiting for the perfect time but the truth is there is no perfect time. Figure out where you’d like to go, get your dates in the calendar and book the flight. From there everything else will fall into place! I’m a believer that the worst decision you can make in life is no decision and so I try to be decisive, take risks and jump into things before I feel ready!

Thank you Pat Divilly BJJ for doing this interview!

Where is Sarnia BJJ Guernsey gym located?
Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

How many people train there?
20-30

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
It would be but for COVID-19!

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Black through to white.

When did the gym open?
2018.

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
I returned home from London and wanted a Jiu Jitsu experience I couldn’t find elsewhere on the island, so I decided to try and create it.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We have a great mix: we have young and old, women and men.

 

Some facts about you:

Name: Adrian
Age: 36
Belt: Brown
Gym: Sarnia BJJ Guernsey
Profession: Jiu-Jitsu teacher
Years in BJJ: 9
Other martial arts: Kickboxing in the past
Currently living in: Guernsey
Originally from: Guernsey

Why do they train?
We have students who train as a hobby, students who train for self defence, students who train for exercise, students who train for mental health, students who train for professional skills, and students who train for sport.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
I think the biggest challenge by far is getting people through the door, and to come to enough lessons that they “get it”. Jiu Jitsu is so good that, with the right culture and teaching, people will fall in love with it. But trying to get people who’ve never heard of Jiu Jitsu to come and lie on top of a stranger is difficult. Guernsey is a little behind the times, and so the barriers here are probably even greater than they are in many places.

BJJ Guernsey

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
It’s going to be amazing. Jiu Jitsu is unheard of for most of the islanders. It’s going to be great to see the benefit it can do for the community.

What’s the best thing about your gym?
How committed all the students are to making a positive environment which is inclusive and fun for all. I have been to many gyms which are great if you are a certain type of person or practitioner, but I think it’s a real testament to our students that whether you are shy, non-physical, and new to Jiu Jitsu or confident, strong, and experienced you’ll have a great time.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
The beaches, the cliff paths, the beautiful island!

Thanks for sharing with us! If you’d like to pay a visit to Sarnia BJJ Guernsey, you can find them here.