August 1, 2022 | BJJ Globetrotters

Featured affiliated academy: Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School

August 16, 2022/in Blogs/by BJJ Globetrotters

Where is the gym located?
Brighton, UK. Not to be confused with all other Brightons ;)

How many people train there?
We have about 20 people training regularly over the week, and then some people people coming from time to time. All together about 50.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yeah, there is slow, steady growth as we are becoming more established.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We are majority white and blue belts here, with one purple and one brown belt as well.

When did the gym open?
The beginning of April 2021 as a permanent location, but some of us have been training together as a group for a while in other locations.

Some facts about you:

Name: Tom
Age: 42
Belt: Purple
Profession: Security guard / doorman
Years in BJJ: 4.5
Other martial arts: Boxing for a few years, a little bit of Muay Thai
Currently living in: Brighton
Originally from: Poland

Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
After I left my previous gym due to internal conflict, a decent group of us continued training together in hired spaces (or on the beach during the summer). At some point it became painfully obvious that we needed our own space, as we were getting tired of always working around someone else’s schedule and relying on other venues for our training. Sure it’s cheaper to rent space by the hour, but you often deal with venue owners that can be slow to respond, difficult to deal with and so on. I started looking for the place and sent an email to the owners of the building where we are now. I initially forgot about it and it turns out my email went under the radar for a bit. Three months later they responded and we started talking. Things got delayed a bit because of the pandemic and lockdowns, but we eventually got everything going.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We have a good mix of people – quite a few students as Brighton is a university town, but also working class folk etc. We have labourers, office workers, hospitality industry workers, we have a lifeboat operator, baker, teachers, a club DJ, a couple of social workers and a few more. Definitely a nice mix!

Why do they train?
Guess everyone is different, but we are mainly hobbyists rather than professional athletes, so people do it because they really enjoy it. Of course that doesn’t mean we don’t have some good Jiu Jitsu here amongst our club members! We have significant crossover with the local traditional Jiu Jitsu club, who initially just wanted to cross train a bit and now they enjoy BJJ on their own and form a big part of our club.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Let’s just say there are still a fair bit of BJJ politics present, which I wasn’t aware of that much when I was just a student. Also, there are a lot of gyms in this area, so it’s a pretty saturated space, which can be an issue if you are trying to run a business. Luckily for me I didn’t design this gym as a business to live off, so I don’t have as much pressure. As to general challenges – well, you have to learn a lot of stuff about admin, bureaucracy etc.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
It’s growing and becoming more popular, and the Brighton BJJ Open tournament is quickly becoming a well-known event, so I think the future is bright.

What’s the best thing about your gym?
It’s probably a bit of a cliche, but really, it’s the people that train there. We have a good bunch here, with quite a good female representation as well, and I think we really created safe, inclusive atmosphere. We have a strong set of values that we stick to and we pay big attention to having a good, positive gym culture without any toxicity, macho bullshit, and other questionable things that are unfortunately still very present in a lot of places.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School?
If you like clubbing you definitely won’t be disappointed, as Brighton is a party town. Otherwise there’s not a HUGE amount of stuff to see, but you should check out the Laines area and the seafront, and if you like nature a walk around South Downs or a trip to nearby Seven Sisters cliffs is definitely recommended.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School, you can find them here.

Featured Traveller: Glenn Lambdin – BJJ Globetrotters

August 13, 2022/in Blogs/by BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 65

Belt: Black

Profession: Retired building contractor

How many years in BJJ: 12

Other martial arts: Muay Thai

Where do you live: Sierra Madre, California, USA

Where are you from: Sierra Madre

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I trained Muay Thai out of the Sityodtong Camp in Thailand and fought in Thailand at 53 years old. I’m an avid surfer and live on the island of Kauai, Hawaii several months out of the year. I enjoy playing the guitar, especially playing some get-down blues. Every year, I throw a sleeping bag, a pup-tent, and a few gis on the back of my Harley Davidson and do a motorcycle/BJJ tour across the western United States (if I make a wrong turn, I stick with it to see where it takes me). 20 years ago, I was the elected Mayor of the City of Sierra Madre, California.

Glenn Lambdin – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
For many years, and before I started to train BJJ, I would travel abroad to different surfing locations and pursue my passion for travel, guitar, and surfing. After starting to train BJJ as a whitebelt, and while on a surfing trip to Kauai, I dropped in at a school on the South Shore that held classes in the second story of a church in Poipu. Instantly, I was shown so much “aloha” by the locals. It started to show me how the BJJ community is actually a global community where we all enjoy sharing this amazing art. Since I live in Southern California, (and prior to the Covid restrictions) many of the IBJJF Worlds and Pan tournaments were held near my home. At times, people I met while travelling would stay at my home so they could compete in these larger tournaments. Of course, then the book “The BJJ Globetrotter” came out and really planted a seed in my brain to mix travel and BJJ. The idea that every person on the mats is a friend to be made really struck a chord in me. I’ve been addicted to traveling/training ever since.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
After earning my blackbelt, I made the decision that while travelling on my annual motorcycle adventures, I would offer to stop and visit various academies while travelling and do seminars for free. I never charge and will not accept any payment. It’s a “pay it forward” passion that I have. I plan a route and then contact academies close to that route. I just returned from a 3-week motorcycle/BJJ trip where I stopped at several academies teaching my style of Jiu Jitsu in California, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. I try to find academies that are in smaller cities or rural communities that don’t have access to all of the blackbelts that are available in larger cities.

I’m excited to be attending the Austria Camp next month in August, and then from September 1-19, I’ll be travelling throughout Germany and am currently in the process of planning my route and am contacting different smaller academies offering to volunteer to teach a seminar at their academy. I find planning my travels, learning about the local cultures, food, and music is part of the enjoyment of the entire travel experience.

Glenn Lambdin – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
I enjoy getting a sense of a local culture and the people. On some trips, I’ve taken a guitar, and although I might not be able to speak the native language, I’ve been able to play music with local musicians, using our music to communicate with one another. In some ways, it’s an intimate connection that connects people differently than words can connect them. I find a similar connection happens with Jiu Jitsu; we can communicate and connect using Jiu Jitsu as our language.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
A week ago, while on my motorcycle trip, I decided I wanted to experience “mat-surfing” from one of the hosts on the BJJ Globetrotter website. I stayed with a host that has mats spread out in his living room. After training at his regular academy, he invited a few of his teammates back to his home for additional training. After some delicious pizza and conversation, we trained until 12:30 am sharing many of our own favorite techniques. I find that the friendships and camaraderie we build in Jiu Jitsu are as much a part of the art as the techniques themselves.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
The most surprising experience, I suppose, was getting mugged at knife-point by three guys on a beach in Rio de Janeiro. Note to myself: “be aware of your surroundings!”

Glenn Lambdin – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
In many ways, I am a budget traveller. I don’t really care for large fancy hotels or pretentious locations. I prefer smaller towns and villages over large cities. I feel like I get a better sense of local culture and local flavors in smaller towns. I prefer to spend my money buying from local shops and independent businesses over corporate businesses. I will sometimes use Airbnb and will often tent-camp. I try to take the advice of the travel expert, Rick Steeves, by packing as little as absolutely necessary but always having a credit card available in order to buy my way out of any trouble that I may encounter.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
We live on a magnificent planet with so much to see and experience. Don’t live your life so that someday you’ll regret never pursuing your passions.

To quote the marvellous Mae West: “You only have one life to live. But, if you live it right, one is all you need…”

My wish for everyone is that they live their life “right.”