Archive for month: October, 2020

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

Baptiste Vanlitsenburgh – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 28
Belt: I’m a proud white belt!
Profession: Working in the procurement department of a big Danish brewery.
How many years in BJJ: I started to train regularly a bit more than 2 years ago, but got interested in the art a bit before that thanks to some seminars and the awesome Mr Jiujitsu on Facebook.
Other martial arts: I started practising martial arts almost 10 years ago. Coming from a small village in France I didn’t really have much to choose from. My first experience was with American Kenpo Karate; I trained in that style for a few years but then had to stop when I moved to Poland. There I had the opportunity to train in a few different places; some Filipino martial arts, a bit of Taekwondo (ITF), and for the past two years years Muay Thai in addition to BJJ. I try to keep a training rhythm of three grappling sessions and 1 striking session per week.
Where do you live: Poznań, a lovely city in the west of Poland and a great place for BJJ. We have many clubs in town, and some world-class athletes like Adam Wardziński and Natalia Jakubowicz (still young, but she’s on the right track to become a great and famous athlete). By the way, if any Globetrotters are ever around, don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll be happy to show you around, grab a beer, and roll with you!
Where are you originally from: Moncheaux, a huge city of 1500 inhabitants about 30 km south of Lille in northern France.
Other fun or curious information you’d like to share: I speak Polish fluently, which is something that always surprises the locals! I also love history and like to share some random facts in the middle of casual conversations.

Baptiste Vanlitsenburgh BJJ

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
Originally I wasn’t really into travelling. But my sweet girlfriend convinced me and then pushed me to get involved in the Globetrotter thing. I was initially just looking for a place to train while on the road, but after the Iceland camp I realised how cool the lifestyle was and really started to live it to the fullest.

Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
Not counting the current trip to France for Christmas (since I’ll mostly just stay at home and eat myself to death), the last two trips were:

• A weekend in Mallorca. It was totally spontaneous and we got tickets for €10 for the entire round trip. Off season, it’s still a lovely place. I had the opportunity to check out an olive festival in the village of Caimairi, as well as get some great rolls in at Ground Fight Familly.
• A quick roadtrip to Germany to enjoy mulled wine and bratwurst in hope of surviving the winter.

For our next trip, we’re planning on going to Cape Verde. We’re not interested in hanging around on beaches the entire time, so we’re currently bookmarking all the best hiking trails, hoping to spend a night or two in the wild (no snakes, so we’re safe!). I don’t really see the point of traveling during the summer, since it’s the best time to enjoy my city. On the other hand, winter in Poland is grey, dark and cold, so the more I can escape it the better!

Baptiste Vanlitsenburgh BJJ

What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
By far the thing I enjoy the most about traveling is trying the local food. The goal is to eat like the locals as much as possible.
Street food is something that really grabs my interest, and I usually talk more about what I ate than what I saw.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
One of the first things that came to mind was the time I was on a business trip to Germany, in a quite boring city called Mannheim. Apart from work and staying in my hotel I didn’t have much to do. Luckily I checked in the Globetrotters Facebook group and found a place in the nearby town: Heidelberg. I had the opportunity to meet and roll with cool people, and it really made my trip much better!

The camp in Iceland was of course a unique experience for me. First of all because the country is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and I recommend that everybody should visit it. The other thing that made it unique was the six full days of amazing seminars with great professors, and all the friends I made there.

Another story I’d like to share doesn’t involve BJJ but Muay Thai. During my trip in southeast Asia last year, I really wanted to train in a real camp in Thailand. After booking a training session in Bangkok and jumping in a taxi, I realised that the drivers there are not like in Europe. We drove for an hour and half in the crazy traffic just to have our driver drop us in the middle of an unknown residential district telling us he didn’t know where the camp is. I missed the session, of course, but it gave us the chance to spend the evening in the local night market, where we were the only tourists. Great food and a great experience in the end.

One last anecdote; I’ve been hosting BJJ travelers for some time now. Every time I host people I take them to my gym and the magic just happens: most of the time they don’t speak a word of Polish, and many of my teammates don’t speak English, and yet on the mat they understand each other. This is one thing that makes Jiu Jitsu beautiful, and really pushes me to get more and more involved in the community.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
This is a very hard question to answer, but I think that people’s reactions and the almost instant friendships made through Jiu Jitsu are the things that have stood out to me the most. It’s the greatest icebreaker ever, either when hosting people or when traveling myself. In a time where we tend to be more and more isolated, I realised that hosting this matsurfer or taking this hitchhiker in your car could be a great experience and you could meet awesome people.

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’m definitely more on the budget side, and planning in advance really helps there. For example, for Iceland I made sure to prepare my trip far in advance and packed plenty of things like instant soup. Unlike plane tickets, the food budget is always something you can save on. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to eat instant soup and sandwiches all the time, but there’s always space for a little optimisation!

The other thing is not to be afraid to be spontaneous. I got tickets to Mallorca this way: €10 per person for the entire round trip.

And I’ve had awesome moments in Asia sleeping at people’s places (they were renting a spare bedroom in their house) or simply in a hostel.

But I also have to be honest here – my girlfriend is much better than me at organising and planning cheap travel, so she’d be able to give a much better answer!

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
I think I’m not going to give the most original answer here, but I would like to use a quote from Christian Graugart in his presentation at the Iceland camp: “It’s almost like all you guys care about is having fun”.

Thank you Baptiste Vanlitsenburgh BJJ for doing this interview!

Where is the gym located?
FM BJJ Carrigaline Ireland is located at SOLAS Health & Fitness – Unit 6, Carrigaline Industrial Estate, Kilnagleary, Carrigaline, Cork, Ireland.

How many people train there?
10-15

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Numbers are slowly increasing by around 2-3 committed students each year.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
The head coach of the affiliation is a 3rd degree black belt, and the head coach of the club is a 3-stripe brown belt. The newest student has 2 classes done!

When did the gym open?
2014

Some facts about you:

Name: Roy Noonan
Age: 35
Academy: FM BJJ Carrigaline Ireland
Belt: Brown
Profession: Military
Years in BJJ: 11
Other martial arts: Judo, MMA, boxing
Currently living in: Cork (2 minutes from the gym)
Originally from: Cork

 

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
I started out by borrowing mats to train nearer to home, as my gym at the time was too far away, I eventually got 3 other people to train regularly, but had to give back the mats. So I just decided to buy my own mats and later got affiliated.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
Mostly college students and other military personnel.

Why do they train?
I try to make the classes as fun as possible, I believe in laughing while learning where possible! So I guess that they enjoy it while learning an effective art and getting fit.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
It’s an almost unheard-of sport, and rent in my area is very expensive.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
Growing every year. I will hopefully run FM BJJ Carrigaline Ireland until I’m too old to move, and expect others to start over the years as more Jiu-Jitsu blackbelts come to be.

What’s the best thing about your gym?
The students are all good friends. No egos – they all just look to practice Jiu-Jitsu and have fun.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
We have several beaches nearby (although Irish weather is mostly bad) and coastal towns. Carrigaline is just a few minutes walk away, and we have a hotel and B&Bs near the club. Plus airport and ferry ports just a few minutes drive from gym!

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

Katharina Danielski – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 35

Belt: White

Profession: Field application scientist

How many years in BJJ: 1.5

Other martial arts: Two years of no-gi grappling before starting with BJJ in the gi

Where do you live: Landshut, Germany (Bavaria)

Where are you originally from: Poland

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: My special skills involve geeking out on science, Marvel, cars or fighting… at the same time. All the time.

Also, I’m particularly good at ignoring what my coaches tell me and ending up doing whatever I want in competition. I live for the moments when I see the mixture of rage and resignation on their faces after pulling side-control on top of me with Youtube
techniques I had reviewed one day before my fight.

Katharina Danielski BJJ

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I never thought I’d be traveling a lot, but I kind of stumbled into this lifestyle due to the job I found. Working in support for American biotech companies allowed me to see a lot more of the world than I ever imagined possible. During the early years of
my grappling/BJJ journey, I used to focus only on work during my business trips, and trained only back home in my own gym. After a while though, I realized that I wanted to get better in BJJ a lot faster than by only training once a week. That’s when I started searching for BJJ schools at the locations of my business trips, and that’s also the reason why I found BJJ Globetrotters.

Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
My most recent trip was to Lisbon in Portugal, where I competed at the IBJJF European Championship on 20th of January 2020 and won the gold medal in my division. My next trip is coming up already on 24th of January; I’m heading over to Palm
Springs, California, where my company is having its annual global meeting. But I’m flying out a few days early with a couple of colleagues, and we’ll do a weekend road trip to Las Vegas first.

Katharina Danielski BJJ

What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
I guess the variety – not being stuck in the same place all the time. I did work for three years in an office before I switched to a field-based role. I can’t imagine going back to an office job. Working in the field and traveling for work gives me the (partial)
freedom I need. People in various countries can also be very different, and you learn a lot about the world and about yourself. Unfortunately, I am more of a nature girl rather than city, so after a while all cities look the same: airports, motorways, hotels. Also, since I travel a lot for work I tend to stay home when I actually have holidays, as I just want to relax in my garden and see
my own BJJ peeps for a change. Traveling to the BJJ Globetrotter camps is a big exception to this rule.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Combining training with my business trips has its pros and cons. Pros: you get to train a whole lot more than if you only focus on training back home, especially if you are traveling ~70% of your working time. You can develop your game a whole lot faster this way. Cons: since you visit various gyms you are always thrown into their training structure, which you obviously don’t know. The various trainers have their agendas and training plans for their students, and you are only visiting for a day or two. That means you get to see loads of techniques taken out of context, and they all swirl together into a massive mix at the same time in your poor white belt head. However, eventually I will be able to control the chaos (where are the Witcher fans??). And it’s a very rewarding feeling when you have learned a new technique or just some small detail you had missed before on a business trip and then get to try it out back home and it actually works (sometimes).

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Some countries surprise you in general due to the way how we are conditioned about them by the media. I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist nut, I’m definitely not, but just to give you an example: I have once been to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for two weeks for work. Talking to the people – and especially the women – did open my eyes somewhat. Every story is strongly influenced by the perspective it’s being told from, and those scientific women I spoke to painted a whole different picture for me than what the media has taught me to think. I am very grateful for having been able to experience this. Unfortunately, this trip happened just before I started with Grappling/BJJ, so I didn’t have a chance to see if I would have been able to find a women-only BJJ class there. That would have been interesting to see.

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
Not really. I would say I am somewhere in the centre: not too cheap and not too extravagant when looking at trips. But I do like to plan ahead, as I need to have structure of knowing where my next sleeping place is going to be.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Training while traveling benefits not only yourself, but sometimes also the people you visit. Therefore, use every opportunity you can get to visit other BJJ gyms while traveling. It can be scary at first; it really was for me. But as with everything in life, you only grow outside of your comfort zone. Every gym always involves rolling as part of their training, and that means you get to roll with loads of various people. It’s kind of like a tiny tournament for you each time. Of course, you don’t treat these rolls as actual tournament rolls: check your ego! Don’t hurt your hosts and don’t be hurt. But what I meant is, every new partner brings a new set of skills and movement patterns. Rolling against the same people every time in your home gym means that you eventually get to learn their styles and can use that knowledge to anticipate their moves. Well, not as a white belt (lol), but later on this will matter for sure. I had a situation once where I was training in another country, I can’t remember where. But I was rolling against a guy and we were fairly evenly matched. At one point I managed to get him into a body triangle. I didn’t think too much of it, but after the roll he told me that none of his training buddies ever does that kind of move on him and he had no clue what to do about it. That was a very refreshing perspective I hadn’t considered before.

Thank you Katharina Danielski BJJ for doing this interview!

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

Charles Harriott BJJ

Age: 32
Belt: Black
Profession: Wandering Jiu Jitsu instructor and Airbnb Host
How many years in BJJ: 10 or 14 years, depending on when you start counting
Other martial arts: Tae Kwon Do, American Kenpo, Universal Martial System, and Judo
Where do you live: Technically Gainesville, FL, USA (really out of a backpack)
Where are you originally from: Boca Raton, FL USA
Other fun or curious information you’d like to share: I studied physics in university, was president of the UF Breakdance club and Hip Hop Collective (I actually got deep into BJJ after a breakdancing knee injury), enjoy origami but can only make two things, and love long walks on the beach, lillies, and summer sunsets.;-)

Charles Harriott BJJ

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I always loved travelling, but had never really done it beyond a few weeks for vacation or studying abroad back in college. I’ve always been taking little road trips around Florida to train at different gyms since I was a white belt. Visiting open mats appealed to me more than training, because then you’d get to roll with everyone. Over the years this grew into visiting gyms further and further from home, or finding a gym while on vacation or traveling for work.

A few years back, I planned a 3-week trip that used all my vacation time to go to Los Angeles, Japan, London, and the Netherlands. Training in Japan, as well as training and competing in England, really affected me. It kind of opened my mind to the possibility of doing this for a longer time. In Japan, I saw an old friend from home, John Hommel, but the real lightbulb moment was meeting Jose and Miharu. I didn’t know them, but they put me up in their house and treated me like family while I was there. Next, in England, another friend from home who had moved there about 8 years prior, Alain Pozo, took me on a whirlwind tour of gyms. This really gave me the bug. Training, getting on a train, eating some food, then training again at the next gym. I loved it.

I went back home to my job and got my black belt shortly after. The feeling marinated for a while. Then I found myself in a situation where I had the freedom to actually do it. I sold a lot of my things, and gave away and lent even more. Then I took the plunge and hit the road on 14th Feb 2018.

Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
I just finished a road trip with Chris Veilegaard through Denmark and Germany. Traveling by car is really different and fun. Next up is Milan, Mantua, and Vigevano (Italy), followed by a week in England and a further week in Ireland.

Charles Harriott BJJ

What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
Meeting people and learning what aspects of their city and country they’re proud of. The food! Seeing how different cultures do the same thing. Natural landscapes. And museums.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?

1. Hanoi, Vietnam on Ho Chi Minh’s birthday. I’ll hand it over to my Instagram post from the day!

“I am going to miss #hanoi and #vietnam in general. Our last night in hanoi, @hugsandsalsa(Lorna) and I were just walking down the street looking for a place to eat dinner. We came upon a large group eating and drinking. They signaled us to join and gave us some Vietnamese Whiskey as well as some ginger lemongrass duck meat. We struck up a conversation via Google translate and eventually figured out they were celebrating Ho Chi Minh’s birthday and would not let us drink beer on such an occasion. They taught us how to cool and drink the whiskey in the local way with a ladle and ice in a bag so that the whiskey doesn’t get watered down. The whole scene was amazing.”

2. Danimal BJJ Kaohsiung (Taiwan)
I taught a seminar here, and at the end Dan surprised me with the news that they have a tradition that the instructor rolls with everyone in class: sub-only, no time limit. So I had 21 people to roll with, starting with Dan, who is a monster with whom I’d been having absolute wars all week. He tapped me the first day I was there and we’d been stalemating ever since, with the arms race of counters and new strategies in full effect. So Dan and I end up going about 8 or 10 minutes and are both slowing down a little as we crash into the wall and have to reset. I dive in and catch a desperation heel hook. This is still the only time to this day I have caught Dan. However, there are still 20 people left…

I go on and, about 5 people in, I get tapped by Ryan (a strong blue belt at the time; now purple). The second I tap I realize I really have to pee. So I ask for a break and run to the bathroom, then I’m back in there feeling refreshed. I work my way down the ranks and finish with Pan, a 120+ kg monster white belt I’d rolled with a few days earlier and had had a hard time dealing with fresh. I can barely stand at this point, so pulling guard was not a good idea. I get crushed and passed and then it is arm triangle city. So I finish my gauntlet at a respectable 19-2.

I love this gym and everyone there. A few days later, I ended a dance battle at the bar they own on the ground floor. It was also off of Dan’s recommendation that I even got a small sponsorship deal with Globetrotters, and an opportunity to teach at the Summer Camp in Heidelberg. So you could say that without this first visit I wouldn’t be living the life I am today. Much love to all you guys – I will be back this year.

3. All the camps. I’ve been to three types of camps, and they were all different and all amazing.

Craig Jones’ Heel Hookers Camp
It was amazing to see so many people together that all want to play heel hooks. Usually I have to ask and make sure I won’t be viewed as some sort of monster. However, here I was among my people. On a professional level, to see how Craig was able to fill an entire week with twice-a-day sessions focusing just on the heel hook was amazing. It helped my understanding of not only the technique but also interesting ways to drill and improve them.

I made a lot of friends and had a great time.

Ballaton Summer Camp
This was the most intense of all the camps. It was packed with black belts and pretty much all the killers of every belt level from ZR Team Europe. There were three sessions a day and I went to all of them. All the rolls were hard, and for some reason all the 220lb /100 kg + purple and brown belts wanted to roll with me. I never say no to a roll, so every day was war! This camp defined #everydayporrada. However, it was also fun. Intense fun, but fun. I ate so much food and yet still finished the camp weighing less than I have at any point since high school.

Globetrotters Camp (Fall ‘08)
This camp was a game changer for me. The focus was on Jiu Jitsu, but more so on fun. As a new instructor, I was terrified and didn’t want to screw up. After meeting Priit Mihkelson, Jeff Knight, and some of the other instructors, it was clear the level of instruction was very high. On top of this I met Chris Paines, who promptly asked me to darce him if I could in a roll. I was scheduled to teach a darce class the very next day.

After 30 minutes of trying, I couldn’t. I went back to my room and went over my seminar obsessively and made sure it was as bulletproof and as polished as I could get it. When it was my time to teach, I was in awe of how many people showed up. It went really well, and when I was done I received loads of positive feedback. The whole camp was amazing, with everyone just freely doing their own thing. I got to pay Dungeons & Dragons for the first time, then go on a pub crawl, and then I was gifted a stuffed sloth. I love Globetrotters camps.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
How kind and helpful most people are. You hear on the news and social media about the bad ones; how we as people are so different and just can’t get along. However, in every country I visit, the strangers and people I’ve met have been so kind and helpful.

From the random elderly women who guided me through the Osaka Kansai subway system despite my incredibly basic Japanese, to all the various people who helped me when I injured my knee in Germany (Chris, Craig, Ivo, Sven), to great people in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Montana that treat me like family whenever I come to train.

Everywhere on Earth has awesome people, and we really aren’t all that different. This is what I love about Jiu Jitsu. When you’re rolling there are no politics; it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, black or white, liberal or conservative, we’re there in that moment trying to submit each other. To outwit each other and have fun playing human chess.

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
Yes, go somewhere that you can matsurf. That takes care of lodging. In terms of training, take just nogi gear or a travel gi (I have an Origin Warrior that is super light and a Globetrotters travel gi).

Make sure you know the bag policies for airlines in Asia, Europe, and the USA, as they all tend to be different. Once you know the policy, you know exactly how much you can bring without having to pay any extra for it. Also, always check in as early as possible so you can avoid the sneaky fees from discount airlines.

In Europe, check the saver fares. Especially in England, book your trains early! The price really climbs dramatically the closer you get to the date. For something like Flixbus you can procrastinate a bit more, but keep in mind that the price increases a lot within the final hour before they leave – even if they’re not highly booked. For all of these, get the apps.

Don’t forget to get your train tickets validated in Italy or Germany. The fine is €50+, and they don’t care if you are a tourist/traveler.

In general, plan ahead! Sometimes I don’t and it almost always costs more. You pay a premium for flexibility.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?

• Charging cables are worth their weight in gold. Have backups.
• Spring for the local SIM card, if only for the GPS.
• Always try to call the gym you’re visiting to make sure the info on the website is up to date.
• If possible, matsurf and make friends with a local before or while you’re there. Things are more fun and people are interesting.
• Say yes as often as possible. These adventures are more fun when you step outside your comfort zone.
• Kinesio Tape, antibiotics, and Ricola.
• If you’re buying soup, make sure the water is boiling!

“Treat everyone you meet like they could be your new best friend.”
From Christian, but it serves me well.

Thank you to Charles Harriott BJJ Globetrotters

Where is the gym located?
The gym is located in the Colombo district (Western province) of Sri Lanka. The exact address is: No. 457, 3rd Floor, Galle Road, Rawathawaththa, Sri Lanka.

How many people train there?
Roughly 20 people for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, 70 for Karate, and 20 for KAPAP Krav Maga.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yes, our monthly average is 2 to 3 new members.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Highest is blue and the lowest is white.

When did the gym open?
2017.

Some facts about you:

Name: Thushara Wasantha Kumara Ratnayake
Age: 42
Academy: Total Extreme Budo Academy Sri Lanka BJJ
Belt: Blue belt
Profession: Consultant – SAP Technical, IBM World Trade Corporation
Years in BJJ: 4 years
Other martial arts: 6th degree black belt in Shotokan Karate, 3rd degree black belt Krav Maga, International Level 1 KAPAP instructor under Avi Nardia Academy, KAPAP Federation Israel
Currently living in: Colombo
Originally from: Sri Lanka

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
Martial arts training is the great passion of my life, and in 2017 I was able to achieve my biggest dream and open TEBA Sri Lanka BJJ.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
The gym has people of all different age levels and backgrounds, from professionals and entrepreneurs to pro fighters and recreational practitioners.

Why do they train?
Recreation | Fitness | Self Defense | Pro Fighting

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
BJJ is very new in Sri Lanka, and currently we don’t have any BJJ black belts here. There are Sri Lankans with higher ranks, but they all live out of the country. Since we lack access to regular input from higher ranks, I either have to invite my masters to Sri Lanka or need to travel to other countries myself in order to gain new knowledge.

TEBA Sri Lanka BJJ

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
In Sri Lanka there is a huge potential for BJJ. It’s a current trend, and everyone is curious to learn more about it.

What’s the best thing about your gym?
The main strength of the gym is my students and their parents – we’re like a small family.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
Sri Lanka is very beautiful island with lots of historical places to visit, including UNESCO World Heritage site the Lion’s Rock at Sigiriya, Lord Buddha’s tooth relic at Kandy (“Daladamaligawa”), and the ancient city ruins of Polonnaruwa at Anuradhapura.

And with some of the highest biodiversity per kilometer on Earth, Sri Lanka is indeed a beautiful place to visit, stay, and train. We were recently recommended as the best place to visit in 2019 by National Geographic. Moreover, Sri Lanka is a country with rich culture and diversity, with many wonderful foods and drinks to try out. Surrounded by the ocean, Sri Lanka has the most amazing beaches with sunny weather throughout the entire year.

Thanks for sharing with us! If you’d like to pay a visit to Total Extreme Budo Academy Sri Lanka BJJ, you can find them here.

Where is the gym located?
MAEDA Team BJJ Tunisia is located in a suburb of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

How many people train there?
50.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
The gym has experienced significant growth this past semester. We have an average of 5 new members a month. There is, however, often turnover due to injuries.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
The lowest is white and the highest is purple.

When did the gym open?
2016.

Some facts about you:

Name: Samir Annabi
Age: 47
Belt: Purple belt
Academy: MAEDA Team BJJ Tunisia
Profession: Newaza Technical Director at the Tunisian Jujitsu Federation
Years in BJJ: Since 2008.
Other martial arts: No.
Currently living in: Tunisia
Originally from: I’m half French and half Tunisian.

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
I’ve always been passionate about martial arts. After an accident which led to a physical handicap (knee and foot/ankle), I become more oriented towards fighting on the ground as opposed to standing. My uncle, a Judo 4th Dan black belt and Newaza Sensei, transmitted the technical basics. I had the opportunity to have many foreigners from different countries come to my gym. Most of them practiced BJJ, which led me to be drawn to this sport.

My belt evolution is not mainstream or usual. We started inviting black belts from abroad for workshops and training. This enabled me and my students to learn new techniques, but also be tested for our belt colors. The club’s orientation today is dedicated to self-defense, self-confidence, and Newaza/BJJ competitions, both at the national and international level. We can proudly say that we have Tunisian Newaza champions at our club, who will soon be participating in the African and World championships.

The gym is proud to have been contacted by the Caveirinha Academy (https://cjjfacademy.com/) to represent them locally. We will make this official in June when one of their representatives will come to Tunisia.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
I have two kinds of people who train: kids and adults. About 70% of the adults are less than 25 years of age. Most of them are university students; the rest are businessmen, architects, software engineers, male nurses, lawyers, and mechanical engineers. They come from different social classes, and they have become a family.

MAEDA Team BJJ Tunisia

Why do they train?
Most of them want to discover their capacities and limits. They also want to achieve more and push their limits to the maximum. Discovering a martial art which takes place on the ground will enable them to be more complete by mixing it with a “standing” sport. Some aim to eventually do full-time MMA.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
One of the challenges is getting students and their parents to accept that this sport becomes a full part of your life. The first difficulties encountered are dealing with pain and injuries. Then comes managing the different egos of the students. Apart from that, there are no particular challenges in my area specifically.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
The future is rather bright for BJJ in Tunis. The sport is becoming well-known, more and more people getting interested. There are clubs opening every year. And there is a national will to push the sport forward and make it mainstream. I am hopeful and I expect to see many people from different backgrounds and education levels become smitten by BJJ.

What’s the best thing about your gym?
From a technical point of view, we apply all the BJJ basics, but we’ve also developed our own particular style centred around everything related to escape positions. This is not something we see regularly on YouTube. We apply this when we compete, and it has been extremely effective and efficient.

From a personal point of view, the students have become a family. They have a strong feeling of belonging and there is a special relationship between myself and my students.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
MAEDA Team Tunisia is in the suburb of Carthage, Tunisia. Carthage has been the center of the Punic and then Roman worlds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage). We also have superb beaches and great Mediterranean gastronomy, which is based around lamb and fish.

Thanks for sharing with us! If you’d like to pay a visit to the MAEDA Team BJJ Tunisia, you can find them here.