Archive for month: September, 2024
Zen Camp Spring 2024: Unusual side control submission, borrowed from Judo with Sebastian Ruling
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Zen Camp Spring 2024: Back control and submissions with a pinky finger with Aaron Esdon
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Featured affiliated academy: High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA
Where is the gym located?
South Burlington (VT), United States.
How many people train there?
15 full time adult members (gi and no-gi), 14 kids (gi), 12 kids wrestling. We have a lot of members that cross train from other gyms as well (drop in training partners).
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We have been getting about 2 new members a month.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
White belt up to brown belt. But we are under Nick Bramlage, a 1 stripe black belt that comes to train monthly.
When did High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA open?
We opened a small training room in June of 2023. In February of 2024 we found our current standalone location, which is when we began advertising.
Some facts about you:
Name: Shayne Fenton
Age: 50
Belt: Brown
Profession: Farmer
Years in BJJ: 8
Other martial arts: N/A
Currently living in: Charlotte, VT (15 minutes from the gym)
Originally from: Burlington, VT
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
I was training under a Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt, and my son lost interest in that program. In order to keep him active, we opened a small training room near our house where we trained together. From there I realised that I was unhappy with the training as well. I was introduced to Nick Bramladge from Infinity Martial Arts, who is an Allen Hopkins blackbelt, and began training under his tutelage. Alex Z began training with me and we began brainstorming to find a larger location where we could build out the Jiu Jitsu program, but also build a youth wrestling program. After moving to the new location we brought in three-time Vermont state wrestling champion Jack Carney to lead the youth wrestling program.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
In our adult program we have a high school senior, several members of law enforcement (both local and federal), a doctor, an executive vice president, a math graduate student, a physical therapy student, and many others.
The kids program has students from 5th through 10th grade.
Why do they train in High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA?
Lifestyle change, community atmosphere, to be essentially a part of a support group. Some train for competition and some for self defense. Some of us come to train hard and get a good anaerobic workout and sweat.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
The population is small in our area. It can be challenging to incorporate new people into our gym and build their fundamentals while also keeping the more advanced people engaged. But we have established a good system that keeps it balanced. Vermonters live a very active outdoor lifestyle. It can be hard to pull people away from their lifelong interests.
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We are very optimistic based on the growing interest. The sport is clearly gaining popularity. We offer an excellent combination of sport Jiu Jitsu and self defense. Our location and friendliness make us an excellent local option for training. Our goal is to double our adult enrollment by Christmas.
What’s the best thing about High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA?
Our focus is on building a great training environment which is very welcoming. We are not focused on the financial aspect of having a gym, which gives us the freedom to vet new training partners.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
We are two miles from the Burlington Waterfront of Lake Champlain and the Church Street area. We are 1 and a half miles from the University of Vermont. We are 20 minutes from excellent hiking and biking trails, as well as some of the best ski resorts in the north east. We are an hour and 15 minutes from Montreal.
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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA you can contact them here.
Featured Traveller: Shiggi Pakter – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: 38
Belt: Purple (1 stripe)
Profession: Uh, Space Unicorn? Audio Editor, DJ, Mixed Movement Instructor
How many years in BJJ: 6 years, 10 months
Other martial arts: Tae Kwon Do, Capoeira, Fluid Tactics (Filipino MA + Jeet Kune Do)
Where do you live: Wherever my two backpacks are stationary
Where are you from: Kenya
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: My BJJ nickname is Storm – due to the silver mohawk I used to sport when I started BJJ, and the equally comic-loving professor I trained under thought I reminded him of Storm from X-Men.
Also, I’ve got this crazy big plan behind all this 10 month travelling stint – to support the Kenyan BJJ scene, but to ultimately build my own dojo for retreats and a local academy outside of Nairobi that’ll provide a girls’ combat scholarship programme with a select core group of schools.
Shiggi Pakter – BJJ Globetrotters
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
When I started BJJ in 2017 after around 43 classes (yes I count them, currently on 536) and truly got the bug, I put down the challenge that I’d want to take BJJ back home to Kenya once I got my purple belt. That happened in 2022, and I figured before relocating from London, UK I should probably get a broad experience of gyms under this purple belt beforehand. Also getting the insane opportunity to help with and edit Christian Graugart’s audiobook during lockdown gave me inspiration right in my ears whilst working!
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I’ve been on the road since February 2024, spending varied amounts of time at random locations, finding gyms to train at nearby. Tenerife and Gran Canaria was probably the best way to start, with the easy pace of life, great weather, and super friendly gyms.
I’ve since been through Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. The last leg is coming up and that’s a quick speed run through the US, maybe with a cheeky stop in Mexico.
Shiggi Pakter – BJJ Globetrotters
What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
The freedom of being able to move when I feel like it. Solo travelling as a woman has a lot of fears thrown around it, but I honestly haven’t felt much. Just being a little bit proactive prior to travels and keeping your head on your shoulders whilst out and about works quite well.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
Having trained with some folks in Lisbon a few days prior and rolling with some folks in Barcelona just before the IBJJF Europeans, I decided to spectate at the competition and was pleasantly surprised to bump into a lot of folks from Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lisbon… and past rolling buddies from a few gyms London were there too. Whilst I am definitely more on the reserved/introverted side of things, making friends from training means you’re never short on local recommendations, or even just going out for a drink afterwards.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Honestly, how easy it is to fall in love with the vibe of a place, and random things aligning that means I ended up volunteering at the Gran Canaria hostel I was staying at and training at a BJJ gym for a month! I also taught a class or two.
Shiggi Pakter – BJJ Globetrotters
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’m a budget traveller – shoestring even! I use a host of apps to cross check for cheap deals around accomodation and transportation. Between Agoda, Hostelworld, Booking, Hopper, and other accommodation websites I often find fairly decent options.
Hostels are great, and so many places have really cute and quirky accommodation. The most important thing though, is a well stocked kitchen and suitable fridges. If you can cook your own food in bulk and just chip away at it during your stay, you save a lot!
Lastly, laundry! I have my gi and no-gi stuff and I’ve washed them all in buckets/bathtubs and sinks and hung them on coathangers in showers to dry. If you can put a few shekels to one side, getting to a laundrette is almost like a special treat.
I live out of two backpacks – one a 28 litre and the other 40 litre. They’ve mostly been okay as carry-on when you pay for a large cabin bag on flights. Otherwise, busses make for an easy option too.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
BJJ really is everywhere! I love going to smaller or newer gyms in places to really find what makes them tick and see where that drive for folks to stick with BJJ starts.
Whether you’re travelling for a weekend or a few months, let go a little. This whole idea of a fully regimented life all the damn time is madness.
Thank you to Shiggi Pakter – BJJ Globetrotter for making this interview!
Winter Camp 2024: How to safely grapple with drunk friends (and impress the crowd) with Christian Graugart
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Winter Camp 2024: Sneaky turtle attacks – Sankaku Jime from different angles with Sebastiaan Munter
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