Age: 43
Belt: Black
Profession: Full time BJJ instructor at Artemis BJJ
How many years in BJJ: Since 2006, so 19 at the time of writing
Other martial arts: First one was fencing as a teenager for a year, then a weird TKD/kickboxing/kung fu hybrid at uni called Zhuan Shu Kuan, for about 8 years. I’ve dipped into lots of others over the decades (judo, MMA, etc), but very intermittent.
Where do you live: Bristol, UK
Where are you from: Always a difficult question. I was born in Belgium to a German mother and Turkish father. We then moved to the UK, bouncing around the country due to my father’s job. I have a German passport and a British one. I usually just say I’m European.
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: Outside of BJJ, I am a massive geek, so I love stuff like Warhammer 40k, DnD, anime, comics, etc. I’ve been salsa dancing for years (I’m still rubbish, but it’s fun and my teacher is awesome). I also have shared my home with a variety of adorable guinea pigs for the last 20+ years.
Can Sömnez – BJJ Globetrotters
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
Blogs, pretty much, back when those were a thing (at this point, I’ve largely switched to my ArtemisBJJ Instagram instead). I started blogging about my martial arts training in the early 2000s. Initially that was in posts sharing my training experiences with like-minded martial arts nerds on message boards, such as Tung-Fu, Cyberkwoon and most importantly, Bullshido.
I transferred those posts to a blogger site a little later, which became slideyfoot.com. Once I began posting on there about BJJ in 2006, that made it one of the very few BJJ blogs around at the time. The main BJJ bloggers I remember from those days were Seymour (of Meerkatsu fame), Val Worthington, and a certain Christian Graugart.
BJJ blogs got increasingly popular over the years, with numerous interesting writers getting involved. I would spend hours reading and commenting on as many as possible, which built up a friendly network. Lots of these bloggers lived outside the UK: I decided I would like to meet them in person. There were also the many contacts I’d made via sites like Bullshido. When I finally made it out to the US for the first time in 2012, I therefore had loads of people I wanted to visit.
I was blown away by the hospitality. Georgette was especially amazing: thanks to her generosity and kindness, I had a fantastic time in Texas, staying at her beautiful home. John (who I knew through Bullshido as simply jnp) was another wonderful person I hung out with on that trip. He gave me some excellent BJJ advice I use to this day, about a control point framework. That experience sparked off repeat trips to the US to meet more bloggers, demonstrating to me what an incredible community BJJ can be.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I travel often: looking at the last few months, I was in Spain in January 2025, along with teaching at the BJJ Globetrotters Winter Camp earlier that month, plus a seminar I taught in Munich. Last November I ran an Artemis BJJ Camp in Berlin, headed to my parent’s second home near Bodrum in October, visited my good friend Mike V in Madison, Wi during September and I taught in Heidelberg last August. I count myself very fortunate to be able to travel as much as I do.
Coming up this year so far, I’ll be teaching at my friend’s camp in Wales in April, then it’s the first iteration of the Artemis BJJ London Camp in May, a trip to Portugal in July, along with a return to Berlin in October to run another camp there. I’d love to somehow squeeze in Heidelberg again, but we’ll see if I can make that work.
Can Sömnez – BJJ Globetrotters
What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
I love visiting my friends, many of whom I first met at BJJ Globetrotters Camps. That’s the primary reason I travel, as most of my close friends live outside of the UK. I also enjoy art and history, along with trying out the food. I’m not really a foodie (I’m pretty bad at savouring food, I usually eat it too fast), but an interesting local dish tends to be a travel highlight.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
I’ve already mentioned a few, but as those were from quite a while ago, I’ll share some more recent examples.
Exploring the cheese market in Madison, WI with Mike, my student Dan, a black belt friend from London and a new friend from the North of England was cool, before we then all trained together at Mike’s gym. The day finished with a gloriously indulgent feast featuring those famous US portion sizes.
Sparring in Munich with some Globetrotters friends on Halloween, then heading out dressed as a squirrel. We continued on to the restaurant, enjoying our food still in costume, before promoting my close friend Eva to blue belt at the end of the meal.
Hanging out with my old student Erin in Melbourne, then jumping on the train to Ballarat, where I met up with another BJJ friend that breeds horses. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting riding tips from her and learning about gaited horses, before heading back to Melbourne for a class with Liv and Lachlan Giles at Absolute MMA.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Probably in Nepal in 2004, during a fabulous round the world trip (when there were still comparatively cheap student offers, allowing a certain number of stops per continent). While I sat outside eating at a restaurant, a baby rhino appeared, took a fancy to me and laid its head on my lap. That was one heavy baby, so I just had to wait until it got bored and wandered off.
Can Sömnez – BJJ Globetrotters
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I am fairly budget, so I’ve done the FlixBus thing before. That’s probably the cheapest way to get around Europe, especially with airlines charging so much for luggage now. In terms of planning for a trip, the biggest concern for me isn’t usually cost, it’s my mental health.
I have a mild form of bipolar called cyclothymia. With that, the manic and depressive phases switch over in a fairly regular pattern. In my case, it is usually every 7 to 16 days. Although I don’t have control over when the phases switch, I can at least track them, which enables me to take an educated guess.
If my travel falls on a depressive phase, that can have a big impact, especially if I’m travelling to teach at a camp. I therefore try to be very careful about which camps I select. I aim to pick (or organise) camps where I have good friends going too, who I know I can depend on for support if I do happen to slip into a depressive phase.
Letting people know you’re struggling is important, which is why I wanted to make a point of mentioning it on here, for readers who might be in the same boat. I’m lucky that my condition is mild. Many people have it a lot worse. A strong support network makes such a huge difference.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
To go with something mundane, vacuum compression bags to maximise your luggage space. You don’t need an actual vacuum: the bags usually come with a simple handpump. Be careful though, as the airlines are getting strict on hand luggage. It used to be I could just wander through with a bulging backpack, but they check more regularly now. I have fit two gis, five full sets of rashguard and spats plus non-training clothes into hand luggage before thanks to those vacuum compression bags, but to be sure to avoid any extra fees, I would recommend cutting that amount in half.
Thank you to Can Sömnez – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!
