Entries by Nick Lanspa

Asado and New School BJJ in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina is the first city on my four-month South American itinerary; but, it also marks the final leg of my year’s trip. I embraced laid-back culture permeating through the people in the hectic city, the beautiful weather and great/cheap malbecs all month long. It was also incredibly satisfying being able use my basic […]

Back to Basics in Bulgaria

Travelling across Asia and Europe for the past seven months and constantly switching gyms has been amazing. It’s allowed me to experience tons of variations of high-level techniques, spar with amazing training partners and even pick up a few secret moves. But, it’s also destroyed my fundamentals. I practiced acrobatic De La Riva to X-guard […]

Scraping Off the Rust in Prague

Rehabbing from Injuries while Traveling 8 weeks ago, I hyperextended my elbow in Serbia. 3 weeks later in Portugal, I jumped on the mat for the first time and something in my knee popped. I finally accepted that I had to stop rushing my recoveries and give my body some time to heal. Otherwise, I […]

Recovering in Lisbon

I’m six months in and almost halfway through my year-long trip. For the next 30 days, I’ll be living, working and training in Portugal – mostly Lisbon.   Dealing with Sickness and Injuries I started my BJJ packed adventure six months ago in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. I hit the ground running with training sessions 4 […]

Finally… Classes Without English

I trained across Southeast Asia for 4 months and English was spoken in every gym. Now, in Belgrade, I have to rely on my existing bank of BJJ techniques and principles to make sense of the Serbian instructions… I love it. Eight years of mechanically setting up armbars, repping guard passes and shrimping across the […]

Goodbye Southeast Asia, Hello Eastern Europe

I’ve spent the past four months meandering around Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. It was a mix of constantly chaotic cities, serene countryside escapes, amazing food and tons of BJJ training. The next four months of my year-long adventure will be spent in Europe (starting in Belgrade, Serbia) but, before I get wrapped up in […]

Adventure Week in Thailand

Without hesitation, I can say that within my 4 months of continuous travel, so far this past week has been the most mind-blowing. I trained at two gyms, explored temples, attended a televised fight and went on a day-long motorcycle adventure – all while maintaining a steady job. I still have 8 months left before […]

Thailand Week 1: Going Hard

I’ve been in Thailand for one week and yesterday was the first time I had more than few hours of sleep. Bangkok has been a whirlwind filled with training, sightseeing, work and partying. It’s been crazy and I love it!   Embracing the BJJ Globetrotter Community in Thailand For the last three month traveling South […]

My Month Training in Cambodia

Tonight’s my last night in Cambodia. I’ve been in this country for a month but in the morning, I’m boarding a flight to Bangkok, where I’ll be for all of May. Before I leave, I want to write down some memories about my time training here.   Training with H/Art After taking almost a month […]

Weekend Trip to the Ancient Temples of Angkor

As the team I’ve been training with in Cambodia boarded their plane to compete in the Copa de Bangkok IBJJF tournament, I was on my own flight to a considerably less strenuous weekend getaway. Instead of entering the competition with the rest of the guys and girls I’ve been training with, I decided to spend […]

My Year Long Adventure

Balancing Work and Play While Abroad In February, I embarked on a year-long adventure away from home, friends and family. I’ll be travelling to Asia, Europe and South America. I don’t have much saving to fall back on, but I’m lucky enough to work for an amazing advertising agency in California. They’re supporting me through […]