Archive for category: Blogs

Where is the gym located?
241 Pauline Dr, York, PA 17402, United States

How many people train there?
We currently have over 150 students.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Our official grand opening was on March 1st. Little early to say how many we’ll grow each month, but I’m expecting to be around 10-15 students per month, the 1st year. Many of our current students came with us from a few different schools in the area.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We have every belt color represented; from white to black.

When did East York BJJ, USA open?
March 1, 2025.

Owners
Front: 3rd degree black belt, Tom Fleming
Back (L>R): Aaron Fillman, Richard Keever, Chris Stillwagner, Brian McKee

Some facts about you:

Name: Richard Keever
Age: 42
Belt: Black
Profession: Financial technology
Years in BJJ: 14
Other martial arts: Judo
Currently living in: Maryland, United States
Originally from: Portage, IN

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
Where do I begin???

My friends & I co-own 2 BJJ gyms. Our 1st opened in Jan. 2025 (Hereford BJJ, located in Parkton, MD). Our 2nd BJJ gym opened on Mar. 1, 2025. We all trained at a different affiliation, leaders of these schools, and in some cases fellow owners. However, we saw some things from other owners that made us feel we could do things better. So we decided to leave and start our own gyms. Hereford had been in the works even before we left, but everything accelerated once we decided to leave the affiliation.

Tell us about the people that train in East York BJJ, USA – who are they?
I love my training partners. Some of my best friends were made through BJJ. Our mat room will have wrestlers to accountants, and everything in between. We have competitors and hobbyists all cheering each other on. Everyone defines success differently and it’s important to celebrate other people’s wins. The truly is an ego-free training environment.

Why do they train?
Some train because their life may depend on it, while others train to bond with their kids. Most use the mat space to de-stress from life.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
I think most people go into this thinking primarily about the coaching aspect of being an owner. There’s just so much more to it – manufacturing leads, creating enough value that makes the prospect want to spend their time with you, then closing the deal. The biggest challenge is when a prospective is unresponsive for several days or even weeks… or we never get a response at all.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We’re changing the game in our area. Righting a lot of wrongs we felt were important to students. The future is bright.

What’s the best thing about East York BJJ, USA?
The people. Hands down. Not even close. Oh… and we’re installing a pit wall.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
There are a lot of historical places in our area. Put on a good pair of hiking shoes and check out Gettysburg, Annapolis Rock (Appalachian Trail), or go into Baltimore to walk along the harbour.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit East York BJJ, USA you can contact them here.

Age: 43

Belt: Blue

Profession: Filmmaker

How many years in BJJ: 9-ish years

Other martial arts: Some Muay Thai in a past life

Where do you live: Leipzig, Germany

Where are you from: Rostock, Germany

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: This is my second feature here; the first one was before I received a massive name and gender update. I did a lot of Jits and travel before transitioning and now get to navigate those things as a trans woman… and let me just say: there are a lot of things we as a sport can and should work on.

Riley Dedio – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I’m a documentary filmmaker. I travel a lot, or did before Covid. Back then, I always looked up clubs wherever I was going. 6am classes in Cape Town, Paris, Nagasaki, Tunis, Vancouver? Sign me up! I loved the camaraderie that comes with our sport, being welcomed at gyms around the world. It was a privilege in more ways than one (since I was presenting as a middle-aged white dude).

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
Much of that privilege went away when I transitioned. I’m lucky that the coach of my home club is not just accepting but absolutely supportive, so I still have a home there.

I started travelling more again in recent years, but I haven’t trained anywhere that’s not Globetrotter camps or my home gym since coming out. The sad truth is: It’s simply not safe.

Sure, I could message clubs in cities I’m going to and ask if they will let me train, but that puts a huge mental burden on me for something that should be self-evident. If I am in a town where I know other Jits folx who will take me with, I’ll be so happy to go. Same if I come across clubs that are openly queer/trans supportive.

Riley Dedio – BJJ Globetrotters Winter Camp

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
Being welcomed into new groups of people was always an amazing feeling. Like, I’ve never seen these people before, we sometimes don’t even share a common spoken language, but our expression on the mats is all that matters. I always felt part of something bigger… sadly, that was because I didn’t see the less savory side of that. I didn’t check my privilege. I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I’d be accepted as a human being, or, say, whether I would be sexually harassed.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
Where do I start… Walking into a Coral Belt’s club and getting to spontaneously roll with someone who’s been doing Jits since my parents were children… Attending class without understanding a word that’s being said and having to learn 100% visually… Sweating buckets on the mats under a tin roof at the edge of the Sahara in summer… Walking off the mats and meditating in the ancient Viking temple right outside…

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Spontaneously getting three stripes on my white belt one afternoon when I had absolutely no idea that was coming.

Riley Dedio – BJJ Globetrotters Camp 100

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
I’d like to make this one a piece of advice for clubs hosting Globetrotters instead. I’m not going to ask you to be accepting of trans people; if you don’t support basic human rights, I don’t think there’s a point. I will ask this, though: Be vocal about it. Advertise. Be seen as an ally (and help us be seen). Put (Progress) Pride flags in your social media posts, on your doors. Sign posts with a simple “Our team is LGBTQ friendly”, or equivalent. Do those things – and then live by them.

If you’re worried that supporting a threatened and marginalized minority may cost you members, it may be time to check your privileges. Or, as we say in Germany: If you wonder what you would have done to stop fascism and genocide in the 1930s, you have the chance to do so now.

 

 

Thank you to Riley Dedio – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Daniël Bertina – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 44
Belt: Black belt, third degree
Profession: Journalist, creative translator, teacher, dad
Started training (year): I think around 2000
City/country: Vietnamsterdam / Culemborg, The Netherlands

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

Mostly bronze & the occasional silver at a few comps here and there. I’m the first black belt awarded by Marcos ‘Flexa’ Neves, which I guess makes me the first Dutch black belt in the Carlson Gracie lineage.

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

I’ve been involved with BJJ Globetrotters since pretty much its inception, and usually I teach at one camp a year – because I have a life. So multiple visits to Copenhagen, Leuven, Heidelberg, Tallinn, Pärnu.

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

They’ve all been wonderful. It’s the people that make the camps great. Doesn’t really matter where we end up. Could be a shack in Zimbabwe & we’d make it a fun time.

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

The surreal heat of the Leuven Sauna Bunker combined with free camp kimonos with faulty blue dye, that everyone who wore one into smurfs. Glorious, gluttonous meals in Heidelberg & Estonia with good folks. Building long-lasting friendships with people from all walks of life. Realizing jiu-jitsu can be a great tool for self-improvement and building a positive community.

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp? 

Anything that involves maximum efficiency, minimal effort for mutual welfare & benefit. And massive, ungodly pressure.

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

I enjoy sport climbing, ecstatic dance and yoga. My aim is to be able to train until the day I die.

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Daniël Bertina – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

Age: “One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything.” -Oscar Wilde

Belt: Blue (BJJ) and Brown (Judo)

Profession: I’m a practicing CPA in the state of Pennsylvania, specializing in corporate tax.

How many years in BJJ: My BJJ journey has been a rollercoaster, but I suppose everyone can say the same when COVID lockdowns threw a wrench on all our training lives. I started BJJ in 2013, training inconsistently, and stopped in 2016 to focus all my martial arts efforts on Judo.

Other martial arts: Judo.

Where do you live: Currently in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since December 2023.

Where are you from: I was born in Manila, Philippines where I also spent my childhood. I moved to Los Angeles, California with my family when I was 14 years old.

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: My other passions in life are cooking and classic literature. If you’re a fan of classic literature, I’d love to hear your favorites!

MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
In 2012, I was stationed in Naples, Italy while serving on active duty in the US Navy. I was not a fan of running but because I needed to be able to pass a bi-annual physical test that included a timed 1.5 mile run, I needed to do some sort of cardio that I enjoyed. At an acquaintance’s recommendation, I tried BJJ. I was addicted.

In the first year, I trained BJJ almost daily. Sometimes, twice a day. Also in the first year, my beloved instructor, Marco Galzenati, passed away. I then turned to bodybuilding, something I can do in solitude. I grieved. I lost the fire that I had when I first fell in love with BJJ. A year after his death, I decided to travel around Europe and train at different gyms while also exploring the area’s culture, history, and culinary scenery. Sometime in 2013, I stumbled upon CSA in Copenhagen, and wrote to one of the instructors (at the time, our venerable Christian Graugart) to ask if I can drop in for a class — at the time. It also turned out to be the same week that he was hosting a multi-day-training event with different instructors. That, my friends, was the very first BJJ Globetrotter Camp. I started to enjoy BJJ again and this began a series of introductions to so many new, lifelong friends made at subsequent camps.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
Exactly a year ago, I spent a month in the Philippines to do some island hopping. El Nido is my favorite place for snorkeling. While Sardinia has pristine, emerald blue waters, El Nido has vibrant, colorful corals teeming with a variety of fishes.

A more recent trip was a week-long, summer road trip and camping through the Adirondacks. We stayed around the areas of Lake George and Lake Placid, host of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.

In January, I’ll be in Hawaii for a week with my family. I no longer train martial arts when I’m on vacation with my family because I want to maximize the limited quality time we have.

MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
My favorite aspect of traveling is the discovery and experience of something new.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
What makes it worthwhile to both travel and train are the lifelong friendships I made along the way. Other than that, I don’t think too much of it anymore and I just enjoy the present.

MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I am a budget traveler in the sense that I plan my trip within the bounds of set financial constraints, which doesn’t always necessarily mean the trip will be cheap. There’s a Swabian saying: “The cheapest thing is the one you don’t buy.”

I think that if you would like to go on a cheap trip, then you have to go to cheap destinations or places where your currency has strong purchasing power. This will minimize the risk of finding yourself on social media with the captions “Destitute Foreigner Stranded In [Insert Southeast Asian country].” Jokes aside, luxurious or modest, I think it behooves anyone to set a budget for any trip, or any expense for that matter, to avoid a snowball of debt because interest makes everything more expensive.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
I don’t like to give advice because I think people should do whatever they want to do, but I’ll say that years ago, I used to travel and train both Judo and Jiu Jitsu when I visit a new place. Now, if I travel with friends and family, I don’t train at all. I spend all that quality time with my loved ones. I used to be selfish and plan trips with friends and family, fly halfway across the globe, only to let them know I’m stepping out for a Jiu Jitsu session. Obviously, this is something I can do at home so I realized it was selfish of me to have people fly halfway across the globe only for me to miss out on potentially the best memories we could have together. While Jiu Jitsu is great, it’s only just one of many aspects of our lives.

Thank you to MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Age: Chronologically speaking 44, biologically speaking will depend on my life choices at the time. My social age will range from behaving like a 12-yr-old during Ninja Assassin Game shenanigans at Zen Camp, or 105 after a full day of training and open mats 😀

Belt: A happy brown belt now (which wasn’t always the case)

Profession: Short answer – Nurse. Long answer: I am a trained paediatric nurse (RN), but hardly worked as one. Instead I ended up working 10 years in geriatrics (one of the hardest things I’ve done), first as an RN, then qualified to be a Quality Manager within geriatrics, then a Charge Nurse, then became the equivalent of a Nursing Director for nursing homes. However, I gave up on all that to become what I had dreamed of becoming since my apprenticeship: a specialised OR Nurse. I like “open” people! I love my job.

The hardest and most rewarding job, however, is being a lone parent to my daughter since she was 6 months old. On top of that, since 2023 I also take care of my mum, who has been quite ill. I basically run a household where no one listens to me… apart from the dog… sometimes haha!

How many years in BJJ: 13 years, since October 2011. Ask me what happened at my first training session, proper cringe…

Other martial arts: I did Wing Chun for a couple of years.

Where do you live: That’s easy to answer: Bergen, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Where are you from: That’s not easy to answer 😂 I am an ex-military child, so although I was born in Germany, I grew up mostly between England and Germany, with a short spell in Northern Ireland. I’ve lived in Germany for longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. It is my home now.

Other fun or curious information you would like to share:

• Genetically I’m half German/half Polish. If asked, however, I’ll always say I’m English. That is a campfire story.
• I went to boarding school. Started learning German properly when I was 16 and I’m still learning haha.
• I was junior silver medalist in Lower Saxony for small caliber air pistol.
• I used to be in a band called “No Borders”, and we had a few gigs around my area. I kinda gave up playing guitar when I started BJJ. I dabble from time to time now.
• For a couple of years now I’ve been on a constant search to discover ways to help myself and others with strategies to help with mindset.

Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp 2024

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I wouldn’t necessarily say I was inspired to travel and train. More like I was forced to. The only training available when I started was 1 hour away in Hannover, where my ex Wing Chun teacher, forever mentor, and good friend had started to train. It took a while for me to grasp what the hell was going on. The long car rides back and forth, training 6 times a week, with him explaining EVERYTHING, truly helped. Later on, however, because of the growing obsession to acquire as much information as possible, I would visit other gyms, go to seminars by myself, and compete as much as possible. I’ve lost count of how many gyms I’ve visited. One thing I do remember though is, wherever I went, regardless whether there were girls’ changing rooms, showers and lockers or not, the vibe of the people on the mats, irrespective of country, was consistent.

This is what inspired me to travel as much as possible, to visit any gym that I could. I always felt we were all in the same boat, trying to get better, trying not to drown. It never mattered that I was often the only woman on the mat. It never mattered that I had to bring my little girl with me to training because there was no one else to look after her. It didn’t take long until roadtrips became our thing. Pretty sure my daughter grew up mostly in the car hahaha.

I love meeting new people. I love the invisible bond there is between people. It wasn’t until my first BJJ Globetrotters camp (which was my first ever camp, and took me 5 years until I could fulfil that dream) that that invisible bond became tangible. I was absolutely completely hooked. It’s kinda like a drug to be surrounded with people who follow the credo of “it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, you are welcome, you are seen, you are part of a big ginormous family”. So it felt completely normal to have post-camp blues and, regardless of the consequences, to book the next camp straight away. Not one of my better life choices, but I’m still glad I did, as that camp turned out to be the best for multiple reasons.

Although there are many more gyms to train in nowadays (even one down the road from me) my time and my capacity to train are much more limited than they used to be. Sometimes just getting to training is a battle in itself, so to be able to go to camps is even harder. But not impossible. Never impossible.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
As 2024 comes to an end, it has been a great year of travelling. I’ve been to Hamburg, Osnabrück, Munich, Holland, Breslau (Wrocław) and via the Czech Republic, which is a beautiful country, I visited the first Spring edition of Zen Camp. Those cherry blossom trees are a must see. I went to Iceland for the first time on a strict budget, which was terrifying, but doable. Lastly my favourite camp, the October edition of Zen Camp again. (I love autumn.)

In December I’m going to London with my daughter and hope to be able to train at one of the infamous London gyms, and I’ll kickstart the New Year in style at the Winter Camp in Wagrain, Austria. In January, I’ll be going to Lisbon. I will always move heaven and earth to be able to go to Zen Camp, mainly because I love messing around pretending to be a ninja and thinking of ways to kill people in the most secretive way. Those who know, know.

Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters Zen Camp Spring 2024

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
I could start by saying all the things that everyone who loves to travel would say, and I will get to that. First and foremost though, for me travelling is a form of escape. I’m sure many parents, especially the ones doing it by themselves, will agree. In normal day-to-day life you sometimes lose yourself, but once you get in that car to go somewhere (yes I love driving, even with my English road rage) things become easy again. The rules change, there is no protocol to follow, there is just leaving “life” behind and the destination—with whatever goodies occur on the way.

On the occasions where I travel by myself or with a friend, I find my equilibrium returning to “normal” person settings. Not the parent, not the caregiver, just me. This is the thing I love the most about travelling.

The opportunities that arise whilst going from A to B are just the cherries on top. Often I’ll stop the car at a random place and just revel in the beauty of the moment, feeling grateful for the chance to have that for myself. If I have a road trip buddy with me, the deep and meaningful conversations are always the apex of the journey. Throw in some hiking, waterfalls, forests, history, food, like minded people, BJJ and something I have never seen or done before and BOOM… perfection.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
I find this extremely difficult to answer, because something that makes it worth it for me may seem extremely banal for someone else. Mostly, however, it has been the echoes of the personal connections made. Getting to know someone on a deeper level is a byproduct of traveling and training. When training we learn to trust people with our bodies, and when spending time with certain special souls you learn to trust them with your thoughts and feelings. This leads to friendships that withstand space and time.
Any experience I’ve had whilst traveling and training has been a memorable one, regardless whether it’s been traveling to a competition or a camp. The inside jokes that are made, the craziness that happens, that even 10 years later we still laugh about. The more time I spent with my team or fellow Globetrotters, the closer we got.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
I have never been one to remember things. The most surprising thing for me was, once you’ve left, there’s no going back. No do-over. Just gotta keep going. So even if you forget XYZ (unless it’s your passport/ticket) it just isn’t that important. There is no going back to collect, so make the best of what you have, and be surprised by the outcome.

As I previously mentioned, doing Iceland on a budget was scary. It was at the hardest, lowest financial moment of the year (maybe my life). It got to a point where I had no way to get back to the airport. I thought I had money on my card, but a surprise booking went through and I was left with nothing. The caring, sweet, financial help of someone I had just met a couple of days ago meant I got to get my flight. Something I will never forget. A truly humbling emotional experience.

I guess if you put your faith in the humanity of others, you will be constantly surprised.

During my early days of training, I was constantly surprised by the amount of people willing and able to help with my daughter. As the years progressed she went from being held, fed, changed, and rocked to sleep, to being played with, entertained, and looked after whilst I sparred. To then having help with schoolwork, held when upset, and heel hooked for being cheeky. It was always very touching to have people spontaneously willing to help.

Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp 2024

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
For a few years I was forced to work part time to be more present at home. This obviously also meant half the pay. So although I love the finer things in life, they were (are) just not an option. I work more now, but still not to my full pay. So I’m constantly on a budget.

I am not a very organised person. However, something that has helped in that regard is to plan and research in advance. I don’t mean one or two months ahead. I mean more like two or three years into the future. It starts with an idea of wanting to go somewhere. That’s when the saving up starts. Also this is when I will start looking for accommodation, just to get a feel for the prices and make sure I research the area for better options. All the search engines are used. Every site you can imagine. Air BnB, Booking.com and even using Globetrotter matsurfing are viable options.

I now have a system that works for me. I plan out the yearly calendar by putting in the school holidays and all the BJJ Globetrotters camps or any other events that take several days. I see where the correlations are in regard to getting time off work (during school holidays it’s harder to get time off) and if there is organised child care available that I could book (this also needs to be done well in advance). So either I go to a camp where my daughter can go with me (during holidays) or I organise somewhere for her to stay, mainly her paternal grandparents. I make sure my mum has all her medicine and that my dad has no plans to go away.

I will mostly go to places that I can drive to. This means I also have accommodation in case worse comes to worst; then I’ll sleep in the car. Thankfully I have friends all over Germany and have always had a place to stay. One of the perks of having trained for so long. If you’re a relative newbie and would like to travel around, there is no harm in asking the people where you visit for the opportunity to either sleep in the gym (those big puffy gymnastics mats are awesome to sleep on) or for the possibility of a couch. There’s always gonna be someone who can vouch for you, providing you’re not a serial killer.

When staying somewhere, I’ll usually bring as much food from home as possible. If I’m travelling by car, the limit is endless. I will scope out offers for big packs in the weeks leading up to departure. If I’m flying then noodles, rice, oats, protein power, and soup bags are crammed into my hand luggage so that my main luggage is not too heavy. Also I will try to wear as much as possible so there’s more room for training gear. This is what I did for Iceland.

I will always be social, and being social isn’t defined by drinking and eating big meals in restaurants. So I save a heck of a lot by refraining from doing those things if necessary.

Using the WISE Card has been a godsend. You can create multiple currencies and that way save losing money from a bad exchange rate.

Keep the change!!! By that I mean all those little coins that inevitably find their way into your pocket. Keep them. Use them next time. Especially good for buying little things at the airport, or if you need to pay for the use of a toilet. I have lots of different wallets for different countries.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Go. Do the thing. Why wait. There is no better time than the present moment to enjoy your life to the fullest. If you struggle financially like me, then trust the process and know that you will be okay. You have survived being stuck in mount for what felt like hours on end, so yeah, having a little less money for the next few months will also be a lesson learned on how to do it better next time.

Always have something to look forward to. Why else do we work so hard? You deserve to be kind to yourself. For all those experiencing mum or dad guilt, trust me when I say your travelling and training experiences will make you a better, stronger person, and therefore a better parent. The kid/-s may not like or understand why you want to go somewhere by yourself, but they will reap the benefits of your mental batteries having been recharged.

The more effort you make to get to know people and to get out of your comfort zone, the more you will learn. Like Jiu Jitsu, you don’t get better by doing the same thing. Test the waters, discover new sides to your capabilities, surprise yourself—you will be better off for it. Trust yourself.

I for one cannot imagine my life without the Globetrotters camps now. From going to my first camp all by myself, to now having a solid group of people I look forward to seeing. Thank you to all who I have had the pleasure to connect with. Thank you Christian for being a legend on so many levels. And lastly thank you to those brave souls attending their first camp. Be brave. I cannot wait to see you!

Thank you to Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Age: 34

Belt: Black (as of a few days ago!)

Profession: Former bicycle-taxi, former programmer, sometimes Judo/Jiu Jitsu instructor. These days I work with spreadsheets and strategy while I figure out what’s next–including starting @newazaclub next month!

How many years in BJJ: Getting close to 19 years since I first stepped onto the mat.

Other martial arts: Judo, 2nd dan

Where do you live: Divide, Colorado, USA

Where are you from: Austin, Texas, USA

Other fun or curious information you would like to share:

• I once gave a talk in Esperanto about Jiu Jitsu while staying at “The Esperanto Village” (Herzberg am Harz) in Germany
• I was once nationally ranked in Sambo in the US (Unfortunately, I promise this sounds more impressive than it is)
• I once completed a ride that included 1500 miles in 36 hours on a 1986 motorcycle (a Yamaha FJ1200 if you’re a nerd), certified by the Iron Butt Association (Yes, that exists, and yes, I have a certificate)

Kyle Baker – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I moved to a foreign country when I was 18 and lived abroad for 3 years, and I’ve later lived abroad for many of my adult years in a few countries. Growing up, I never wanted to live in my home country–so traveling has always been a big part of my life.

Doing Jiu Jitsu and Judo while traveling felt very natural, and honestly is one of the ultimate travel hacks–instantly connect to locals, cut past all the caricature reality of the modern default travel experience, make some real friends.

In this era, travel is so weirdly commoditized and provided as a Disney-like experience. Every travel destination is oddly self-conscious and presents itself as a pre-packaged experience–postcard highlights to repeat for every tourist. It can take some effort to escape that experience. Jiu Jitsu can be a bridge to that authentic world; I rarely travel without trying to connect to a gym, and it’s often a highlight of my experience.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I just got back from Zen Camp October 2024, where I (finally) received my black belt from the Council of Traveling Black Belts, 7 years after getting my brown belt at that first Zen Camp back in 2017. I did some matsurfing at Next Level MMA in Frankfurt, under the kind hospitality of Francesco Fonte. Also, though, a coach under him (Aris) generously spent hours with me every day, sharing stories and theories with me, discussing the origins (and limitations) of ecological theory and the history of pedagogical techniques in Judo–definitely a highlight, something I didn’t really plan, just invitations and happenstance that landed in my lap through traveling in the Jiu Jitsu community.

On my way back, I was hosted by another globetrotter who showed me (again) that good German food actually does exist, among many other deep and beautiful truths.

For better or worse, I accidentally left a painting and my travel guitar behind… so I guess I have to return. We’ll see what that journey brings.

Next is a short jaunt to Peru… and then, honestly, I’m still fairly new to Colorado, so experiencing the seasons here in the mountains still feels like somewhere new and beautiful every day to me.

Kyle Baker – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
There’s something very special about traveling when it comes to creating relationships. Perhaps it’s a bit like the internet–you’re almost anonymous, you’re leaving soon, so the openness to going deep and creating a real connection feels higher. I think at this point, this might honestly be the thing that motivates me to travel more than anything else.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
I mean, the easy first answer is that as someone who hasn’t had an instructor for more than 10 years, I got my brown and black belts at Globetrotters camps, both in ways that were very special moments for me.

Beyond those “mountaintop” experiences, there has been a lifetime of meaningful experiences for me on the road. I’ve been invited to teach and made close friends for life. I’ve become connected to a global web of travelers and jiu-jiteros that I encounter over the years. I’ve fallen in love, experienced heartbreak, learned languages I never planned to. I’ve accidentally been to the border of Ukraine while lost in 12 hours of deep conversation with a stranger. I’ve competed, given seminars.

One stop that was supposed to be 6 weeks ended up being 2 years, with me co-leading a gym and bringing Judo back to a town that had seen the last dojo close years before. My 2nd degree black belt in Judo came through those local competitions, too, from an old 8th dan that saw me and took an interest out there–but that’s a story for another time, ask me when we meet in person.

When I got my black belt in jiu jitsu last week in Poland, I received kind private messages of recognition from instructors and training partners and students at gyms I had trained with from all over through my many years of training. I haven’t had a home gym in a long time, but I had friends and fans who had followed my journey in some way all along the way who shared their recognition and celebrated with me.

I could have just kept down the corporate path and have more money saved in the bank, trained less on the side. And… I am so glad I didn’t do that. That’s fine for many, but it just wasn’t the life some of us were made to live, and I found so much value and meaning living this way.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
How it always just works out, one way or another. You don’t need to stress, just take everything as another story in the making.

Other than that, maybe I’m most surprised by how little surprises me. In this era, traveling is so accessible. The world has never been smaller. The travel opportunities available to us now would have been the wildest, unimaginable dream of our ancestors even a hundred years ago.

Kyle Baker – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?

• If you’re an American, and you have good financial discipline, learning the credit card sign-up bonus game can make a lot of flying free, which is crazy. Feel free to reach out for a primer on the subject if you’re interested, I studied this way too deeply this year and wish I’d done it sooner.
• Use “Wise” while abroad to manage currency conversion–can save you a few percent otherwise lost to just changing your money into the local form, and that really adds up.
• Find the cheap major transport hub airports, and then use BlaBlaCar or Flixbus in Europe, or other cheap ground transport to get to your final destination, and just look for gyms along the way.
• Go cheap, but not so cheap that your sleep is ruined. Good sleep is worth paying a little extra for, this goes for flights, hostels, bus rides, etc. Bring earplugs, bring an eyemask, take magnesium and melatonin as needed. Sleeping well is the cheapest way to stay healthy and enjoy everything in life more–what good is a day of travel where you’re miserable and groggy? Priorities!
• I wasted the potential of some of my early travels by being too frugal. This is the time to enjoy! Make it count!
• Carry-on-only is the way to go if you’re doing a longer trip. Get a 60l backpack (I swear by the Patagonia Black Hole duffel) and a deceitfully spacious shoulder bag (I use a bag I’ve had for 20 years from Timbuktu) for the ‘personal item’, you can live out of them if you’re careful. Less is more, you can always buy what you need on the road. No matter how efficient I try to be, somehow it seems there are always some things at the end of a trip that I realize I never touched.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Travel now, not later. Old age comes faster than you realize. You can make up the money later, but youth and time are passing you by. You never know what doors will open and how your life will change.

I leave the reader with two quotes that have guided me on my way:

“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”

“The secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and greatest enjoyment is — to live dangerously.”

 

Thank you Kyle Baker – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Where is the gym located?
The gym is located in the city of Manacor, Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, Spain. It is in a unique setting, located inside a hilltop country villa, with an orchid and animals.

How many people train there?
At the moment we have 80 members who train with us, and we are constantly growing.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We’ve only been open since November 2023 and seen our gym grow from 12 initial members to 80 within 10 months. This has been a huge achievement.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We have all levels at our gym, from white to black.

When did the gym open?
November 2023.

 

Some facts about you:

Name: Scott McGuigan
Age: 36
Belt: Brown
Profession: Educational researcher
Years in BJJ: 8
Other martial arts: Muay Thai, wrestling, and BJJ
Currently living in: Manacor, Mallorca, Baleàric Islands, Spain.
Originally from: Scotland

Please tell us the story of how The Farm Association, BJJ Spain came into existence
Having previously lived in Asia and having travelled around the world training at different gyms, I experienced many different learning or training styles, along with making lots of connections with awesome people in BJJ. After 7 years of travelling and working abroad, I eventually settled in Mallorca, Spain. We wanted to create something completely unique. By choosing a countryside setting, we allowed ourselves to train in the middle of nature. Having access to all that natural light makes a huge difference to your emotions and enhances your training experience. You can smell the freshness of the garden as you enter the gym.

We also wanted to create an academy with a unique methodology for training which we just did not have access to on the island. We structure all of our lessons around a task-based learning approach, with a focus on consistent movement and problem solving in every lesson. This has been inspired by my personal research into educational methodology and the effectiveness of hyper focus in learning. We encourage all of our students to learn through movement and play, with a focus on more intensity when the time comes for a more competitive element. We have seen a significant improvement of skill retention and understanding since implementing these methods of training.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We are a family orientated gym, with most of our students having full time jobs. We have a significant number of guardia civil and police officers that train with us, they make up around 50% of our student population. We are really blessed with a fantastically positive learning environment, where everybody can have a laugh and a joke, whilst getting down to business when the time comes to get more competitive.

Why do they train in The Farm Association, BJJ Spain?
Most people train with us to enhance their everyday lives. We are seeing more and more people having an interest in BJJ and acknowledging the benefits it can have on your quality of life. It pleases me more than anything else to see these people grow. We do also have a good record in competition, having success at European level as well as grappling industries and local Spanish competitions, but again, our students are achieving this whilst working full time and with families, so the focus will always be on personal growth and development as opposed to solely competition. As a coach it pleases me more than anything else to see someone who has never done any sport before come in, try for the first time… enjoy it! Because that is important and becomes extremely resilient through training. The sense of achievement they acquire is like nothing else they have experienced.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
I have actually been extremely blessed as I have grown at a rapid rate. This however, can come with the challenge of “keeping up”. I have a planned extension of facilities to increase our 70m2 of Fuji tatami to 110m2, as well as previously building changing, toilet, and shower facilities. This all costs a lot of money for initial investment and it can be hard as the money you make might not be so high at first. It is also a challenge to keep the gym grounded and maintain your initial close community values and keep your pricing to an affordable rate with significant extension work. But all of this I have made it my objective to achieve. I always want it to be as affordable as possible for my students.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
The future is bright, I believe Mallorca has a growing community of gyms and students and I hope they can all work together to enhance the community on the island and use BJJ to teach positive human values and morals and not just focus on the competitive element. I see our gym and myself continuing to develop, create and reinvent effective ways of teaching and learning to make BJJ more effective and accessible to all.

What’s the best thing about The Farm Association, BJJ Spain?
The environment for sure, in more than one aspect. The friendliness of our team is just awesome. The people who train here really make this a special place, so to me… this is number one! The second is the way we teach. Tourists and visitors of all levels (some very high level) always comment on the effectiveness and uniqueness of our lessons. And lastly, of course, it’s in the countryside, which is just a nice thing to experience when training.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
My dogs!

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit The Farm Association, BJJ Spain you can contact them here.

Mathieu Paquet – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 40
Belt: Black belt
Profession: I’m commercial on telecommunication and real estate manager
Started training (year): Practicing BJJ since 2010
City/country: Chalons en champagne, France

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

Multiple HBI and undefeated champion HONOR BATTLE INVITATIONAL 

Multiple first loser (silver medal) on IBJJF, London, New York etc.

Champion Naga Europe in Amsterdam

Double gold grappling industries Brussels 

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

Zen Camp oct 2019

Austria Camp Jan 2020

Iceland as a coach June 2023

St. Barth as a coach Jan 2024

Mathieu Paquet – BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

I really enjoy each camp. All of them are full of high energy, magical. 

However, St. Barth is my favorite, we are litteraly in paradise (maybe more than..) at every moment. Find again my old friends, meet new, sun, beach, surf, and of course BJJ.

It seems that what binds us is BJJ, but it is the desire to create strong connections, to share and build unforgettable memories, to savor every second smiling.

I love each person. We all have something to receive, to offer, to share.

Mathieu Paquet – BJJ Globetrotters Caribbean Camp

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

Zen Camp: The place is wonderful, full of dreams. The decor so beautiful!! The detail that makes the difference: all in white gis!! Such a wonderful picture in my mind.

Iceland: The Vikings tournament: Christian had brought a huge speaker and was playing Celtic music.  We thought we were in the Viking’s time.

St. Barth: The moment when all camp participants cooked for the last dinner. Emulation was at its peak, everyone was eager to do the best of themselves. I appreciate all the details that make this camp so special. Even the music during the open mat. The hammock never too far from the tatami mats.

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

For all of this : I love you BJJ Globetrotters

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Mathieu Paquet – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

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.