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Training report: Toronto BJJ (Toronto, Canada)

Toronto BJJ, Canada

Before moving to Europe from Asia, I decided to take a quick detour to Canada. Although I lived in New York City for a while, I never visited Canada, and this was my chance. With Toronto’s perfect weather in early June, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to visit the city. I stayed with my friends who I met in Laos, and luckily their apartment was only a 10-minute walk from the club.

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City
Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is a major Canadian city known for its skyscrapers and signature landmark, the CN Tower. With its strategic location on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, it’s is the financial and commercial center of Canada. Renowned for green spaces throughout this urban jungle, the city becomes lively when the weather is fine; you’ll find great restaurants and eclectic activities all around the city and waterfront. In addition, its large population of immigrants from all over the world has made it one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

Toronto BJJ

Overview
When you walk down the Bloor street in Toronto near Christie Pits Park, it is hard to miss a bright blue and gold brick building. It appears to be small, but don’t be deceived. Opening its doors in 2006, Toronto BJJ has over 600 students who train in one central location in town. The club is one of Canada’s largest and finest Jiu Jitsu academies. It features a spacious 4,000 sqft mat space and its Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program is headed by Jorge Britto, a 3rd-degree black belt under Saulo Ribeiro and Vini Aieta. He is also a highly decorated competitor as an IBJJF NoGI champion and ADCC European Champion.

At Toronto BJJ, the mat fee was waived as a visitor and an easy option to rent a gi from the academy was available. As a BJJ Globetrotter, I could not be more appreciative of the hospitality at there. Being located in a large international city, the academy seemed very experienced in welcoming and hosting travelers from all over the world. Initially, I was worried about the possibility of losing personal touches during training since this is one of the largest gyms I have ever visited. However, my experience was different from my expectation. Students at the academy went out of their ways to make me feel welcomed and instructors did a phenomenal job of creating a cohesive gym atmosphere.

During my training there, I had the opportunities to attend both beginners’ classes and advanced classes. The beginner’s classes mainly consisted of extensive and repetitive drilling of fundamentals while the advanced classes were focused on cardio and detailed techniques. Despite having a large number of students in a class, the instructors made sure to focus on individuals and provide meaningful feedback. Further, by separating beginner’s classes and advanced classes on different floors and running them simultaneously, the club provided students with options and flexibilities to choose classes that suit their skill sets and conditions without concerning their schedules.

I believe that Toronto BJJ is a well-established academy that can help accelerate your game, and its BJJ Globetrotter friendly atmosphere makes it an ideal academy to visit if you are in town. Also, the facility is attached to a cute café serving healthy snacks, and I was happy to pick up an acai bowl to fill my empty stomach after training. If you happen to be in town, I would highly recommend dropping by for a session. Thank you to everyone there (Especially, David and Nathan)!

Location & Facility
Located in approximately a 5-min walking distance from two subway stations, Ossington and Christie (Subway line 2 — Bloor-Danforth), the club is easily accessible from anywhere in the city. The gym is split into two floors; The first floor is dedicated to the beginner classes, and the training area on the second floor included a large open mat space with a caged octagon for MMA and Jiu Jitsu classes. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
The gym offers classes every day. The classes on the first floor are mainly geared towards beginners while ones on the second floor are for higher belts.

Visitor Pass
There is no charge to visitors. However, it is always courteous to reach out to the gym prior to your visit.

Miscellaneous
Toronto BJJ’s Website

Things to do

  • CN Tower / Downtown — Bounded by Bloor street and Lake Ontario, Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto. The area has the largest concentration of skyscrapers in Canada featuring its iconic CN Tower. Downtown Toronto is also ripe with fantastic dining options and urban shopping experience. You could get lost all day walking around here in Toronto.
  • Toronto Islands — If you are looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of Toronto, you can hop on a ferry to the Toronto Islands on Lake Ontario. The three islands, Centre, Ward’s and Algonquin, offer something unique in Toronto. You can hang out at the Islands’ famous beaches or you could rent bikes to enjoy scenic bike paths around the islands.
  • Kensington Market — This iconic district in Toronto is one of the most diverse and unique areas in the city. The bohemian neighborhood is filled with vintage boutiques and indie shops that draw artists and tourists.
  • Parks in Toronto — From Trinity Bellwoods to High Park, Toronto provides green oases from its urban madness to everyone. More than 1500+ parks in Toronto feature beaches, playgrounds, biking trails, and artwork.
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Training report: 10th Planet Koh Tao (Thailand)

Koh Tao, Thailand — After spending two weeks in Phuket, I hopped on a ferry to explore the islands off the coast of southern Thailand. I started with Koh Phangan, which is infamous for its Full Moon and Half-Moon parties. Then, I eventually made my way to the island. I initially planned to focus on Scuba diving until I reconnected with Javier who I met in Bangkok. Coincidentally, he was attending 10th Planet’s camp with Nathan Orchard in KT and invited me to drop by for training. Although the visit was not in my plan, I was happy to join Javier and others for an amazing seminar on this tropical island at 10th Planet Koh Tao.

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Island
Koh Tao (Turtle Island), a tiny island in Thailand, creates an island trio along with Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. The island is the smallest in size but this serene and magical island is gaining in popularity as Koh Tao’s turquoise waters and white sandy beaches basically remain untouched compared to the other two islands. Koh Tao is almost exclusively known in the world for scuba diving due to its warm and clear water with diverse marine life.

Overview
Next to Sairee Beach, 10th Planet Koh Tao is located within Monsoon Gym & Fight Club. 10PKT is the only 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu affiliate in Southeast Asia. With its affiliation, it focuses on strictly no-gi Jiu-Jitsu and hosts various seminars from 10th Planet black belts including Marvin Castelle and Nathan Orchard. I have heard about the franchise name and its fame, but it was my first time visiting a 10th Planet gym. As you can see from the photos, Koh Tao’s hot and humid weather made the training session extremely challenging, and not having to wear a gi was a bliss.

Nathan Orchard is a 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Eddie Bravo, who has been testing himself in various martial arts disciplines for years. Nathan’s teaching was rather unconventional. With his wrestling and MMA background, he had a unique way of combining his background into Jiu-Jitsu. The class began with wrestling takedowns followed by a variation of back mount escapes and transitioned to various submissions. Traveling along with another 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Phill Schwartz, the class itself was quite dynamic and comprehensive. I was happy to add a different perspective to my BJJ game.

As Koh Tao’s economy is centered on tourism, it is normal to see visitors from all over the world. With the academy’s a week-long Jiu-Jitsu camp in Koh Tao, there were about 15 students from the United States to Australia. Though the backgrounds of students were different, they stayed focused with one goal of learning Jiu-Jitsu at this camp. Besides special 10th Planet camps, 10th Planet Koh Tao offers the opportunities every day to train BJJ on the island. Combining its beautiful nature and scuba diving, Koh Tao remains one of the ideal holiday destinations. I will be back for more diving and training. See you soon, Koh Tao!

Location & Facility
10PKT is under the name of Monsoon Gym & Fight Club near Sairee Beach in Koh Tao. The outdoor area has punching bags and a boxing ring for Muay Thai training, while the indoor facility is fully matted for grappling. The gym is located near Sairee Beach, which is a fairly touristy area so you will not have a hard time reaching the facility (The island itself is already small to begin with). (Google Map: Link)

10th planet koh tao

Schedule
Joined with Muay Thai and HIIT classes, the classes are offered every day. Note that BJJ is offered from Monday to Saturday at 6 pm.

Visitor Pass
The drop-in fee for one group session is ฿300(~$8USD). The academy also offers monthly packages with unlimited access.
<<Exchange Rate: ฿100 =~$3 USD as of December 23rd, 2018>>

Miscellaneous
10th Planet Koh Tao’s Website

Things to do

  • Scuba Diving — If you are in Koh Tao, chances are you probably are thinking of scuba diving. It is known for one of the cheapest diving sites in the world. With its warm water temperature, you won’t even need a wetsuit. I would highly recommend trying Scuba Diving.
  • Sunset View Point — Koh Tao is also known for its sunsets. Various viewpoints will charge a fee. I ended up going to an abandoned house near a radio tower with friends and had one of the memorable sunsets in my life. Do it for Insta!
  • Beaches in Koh Tao — Despite its size, there are countless options when it comes to choosing a beach in Koh Tao. Sairee is the island’s main and longest stretch of beach. At the same time, it could rather be crowded as there is the largest concentration of resorts, restaurants, and bars. If you prefer a peaceful atmosphere from Sairee’s hustle, June Juea, a small bay hidden on the west coast of the island, would be ideal.
  • Nightlife — After photogenic sunsets of Koh Tao, the island gears up for a vibrant nightlife scene. Bars and clubs by Sairee Beach line up to present live music, DJs and fire dancing shows til dawn. With each venue’s unique theme, the street along the coast makes Koh Tao an ideal place for a pub crawl. Don’t forget (or forget) to get a Sangsom bucket when you are in Koh Tao.

Thanks to everyone at 10th Planet Koh Tao!

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A Taste of Training in México City

Hello! My name is Josephine and I train in Toronto, Ontario at Action Reaction MMA, under Team Gringo JJ/Cicero Costha Canada. I hope I got that right. I work in the media/communications/entertainment industry, so I have a lot of pent-up stress to relieve. And all I can say is, I definitely should’ve been documenting my BJJ Globetrotter adventures from the very start. 

I flew to Mexico City over the winter break. It’s about a 5 hour plane ride from Toronto. I have my reasons to believe the pilot was probably speeding. If you’re interested in reading more about my actual trip, you can check it out on my website.

Throughout my time in CDMX, I ended up dropping into two gyms – and yes, I consider this an achievement because this was the first time I’ve done that. I’m so used to staying in a city for a couple days and doing multi-destination backpacking trips crammed into a week or two, so I’ve only ever had time to drop into a gym for one class per city. I can now relate to people who take it slow. Or maybe it also comes with age. My aching back at 23 tells me it’s time to take it slow.

The first gym I dropped into was Top Brother Mexico. They’re located in the Condesa neighborhood and right around the corner from my hostel, too. The coach, Angel, opened up the gym on the morning of the 26th and drilled with me for 1.5 hours just because I asked him about dropping by. This level of hospitality is still so shocking and foreign to me, even though I’ve been convinced time and time again that the BJJ community is one of the most supportive and kindest communities out there. We drilled some knee cut details and moves that’ll help me get past knee shields, drilled triangle set-ups and omoplatas from lasso, talked about the importance of head pressure and the purpose of the de la Riva guard. He told me that I need to incorporate drilling into my training schedule if I want to get better. I do want to get better, compete more and tighten up my technique this year. Nevertheless, this is on my 2019 New Year’s Resolution already.

I also dropped in on the evening of the 27th and attended a class. I was told due to Mexico City’s high altitudes and thinner air, training becomes even more demanding for those who aren’t used to it (… Toronto is so flat). I definitely gassed out quicker even though I wasn’t giving it my all during the rolls… but I cannot 100% confirm whether or not it’s because of the difference in altitude. I could just be severely out of shape, given the holiday season and my incessant devouring of street tacos.

Training @ Top Brother Mexico!

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The second gym I dropped into was Promahos BJJ & MMA. The gym is located in the Narvarte Poniente neighborhood, just south of the downtown core. I found them through word of mouth on the BJJ Globetrotters Facebook group. Everyone speaks highly of this gym. I totally understand why. I dropped in on the evening of the 26th and attended a 2-hour no-gi class with coach Itzel (also the first female black belt in Mexico). There’s something really empowering about watching a female coach teach guillotines to a group of predominantly guys. The drills and exercises were demanding (again, air thinness or excess taco weight?) but the details were eye-opening for me. My schedule doesn’t align with no-gi classes back home, but they are definitely the easiest classes to drop into while traveling. For the last hour, girls and guys were separated and we all rolled in rotation from different starting positions. I rolled repeatedly with this really good 15 year old girl and my training partner for the day, Natalia. I also dropped in for their Saturday lunch class/last class of the year. David from New Zealand taught that class, and we drilled some back takes and different control positions from there. Another thing about this gym- I wasn’t expecting so many girls here! There were about 6 or 7 other girls that showed up on Saturday. It was refreshing to see girls attending class and having female partners my size to roll with.

Training @ Promahos BJJ & MMA!

I was chatting with Itzel and Natalia after the first evening class, and Itzel told me they recently moved to this location- everyone was training at her house before that. That’s incredible dedication right there. She said she barely had any privacy before (again, I can only imagine).

I am now back in Toronto, typing this on my bed. My next stops in the coming months should hopefully be New York in April & then eventually (fingers crossed) Turkey in May. I’ve also started tracking all the gyms I’ve visited since I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu! Please check it out here- it’s just a Google Maps list. ‘Til next time!

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Sydney & Sunshine Coast Australia

Greetings From Sydney & Sunshine Coast Australia (14-25 Nov 2017)!

Here are the last two stops I had in Australia, polar opposites to each other but both packed with adventures. I had my lowest points of traveling through Australia that at one point had me thinking in Sydney “Screw this shitty place I’m never coming back” and then followed it by the most glorious high points that made me think “I love it here, I want to move here now!”. But that is the way of traveling, never in a straight line, always with twists and turns and highs and lows. So let’s get the low points, or most of them, out of the way, there were few and I’d really like to vent about them right now so I’ll understand if you skip to the awesome pictures and gym write ups below.

Low Points of Traveling

The first low point was the hostel in Sydney, the worst hostel I’ve stayed at in the entire Odyssey. First I will say I’ve been really lucky with where I’ve stayed while traveling, all thanks to Booking.com and using the filters and ratings they have. Unfortunately nothing is 100% and sometimes shit holes like the Kanga House Backpackers get through. I’ve experienced places that maybe weren’t nice aesthetically speaking but had everything I needed, if even the showers were shoddy and ugly. I’ve also experienced places that were beautiful and had all amenities but were just not geared to my type of crowd, overrun by college or expat party animals making it more a dorm than a hostel. But the Kanga House Backpackers ended up being so far off from it’s rating and description that I quickly found out I had run into dealing with both problems, a run down cockroach infested shit hole filled with drug fueled party people who were also the staff. The first night it wasn’t so bad and I figured I could put up with it, each night got worse and worse until finally one night the staff were up doing drugs and drinking and blarring music loudly throughout the entire place all night. Then it happened, a cockroach, one of many I had seen skitter across the floors and walls, fell off the ceiling, right onto my face while I was trying to sleep. Fuck that, I was done!

I already wrote about the kitchen spaces being overrun by packs of people living at the hostel while working (il)legally in the past article, this was even worse as they treated it like it was their own place. They were claiming all utensils and pots to cook then leaving a whole mess all over the space for whoever was on duty to clean so the place was constantly a mess and unable to cook in. The owner would drop by each day for about an hour to see how much money she was making then leave again without actually looking after the place, it was a total shit show. I checked out early, used the credit I had on Expedia and only paid an extra $20 from what the night at this hell hole costed to check into a proper hotel. I grabbed some pizza from Dominos across the street from the hotel, had a long hot shower to get the dirty feeling from staying at such a place, and relaxed on the bed watching movies for my last night in Sydney in an attempt to balance out the stress and negativity the Kanga House had inflicted on this stop. I put a very negative review on Booking.com and even had someone like and find my review helpful, but sadly this place is still operational and not getting more negative reviews or lower ratings. Please, if you visit Sydney and are looking to stay at the hostel, not matter how much extra you have to spend, DO NOT STAY KANGA HOUSE BACKPACKERS!!

I would love to say that was the only real low point to my visit to Sydney, and really other than it being expensive and having an unpleasant experience at a gym, which I will get into later, Sydney was a fun place to wander about. But leaving Sydney for Brisbane I used a cheap airline, and paid for it. Much like Europe there are some discount airlines where you might find the cheapest ticket but then find out that luggage and checking in and water and every little thing is extra, and they really make you pay. Some times it’s a gamble and you actually find a decent flight that even with the extras it’s still cheaper than a ‘luxury’ ticket. I tend to gamble with this and I had been doing quite well, until I got a ticket with Tiger Airways. Tiger Airways and Jetstar are the cheaper airlines in Australia and the Oceanic region and I had good experiences with Jetstar so how bad could Tiger Airways be? Apparently a lot.

I understand lower costumer service and the staff being just short of unpleasant, after all it’s a budget airline, you didn’t pay for that, the down right underhandedness of entrapping your customers with extra fees is unforgivable though. So I check into my flight, drop off my bag and proceed to the proper gate. While waiting for the gate to open I see the staff standing and talking, then 20 minutes before our take off time, right before opening the gate, they bring out a scale to weigh everyone’s carry on. The woman came over to me and asked to weigh my bag and what do you know, it’s now 1kg (2lbs) over and it will cost me exactly the same as it did to check my entire 25kg bag to carry on my computer bag. She even went as far as to say I could maybe quickly run back to add a few things to my checked luggage, knowing full well check in is closed so I’m now stuck with paying extra for a bag was is now suspiciously just over the weight limit or giving up my non-refundable ticket entirely. She got half the boarders with this, claiming it’s because they’re full and there’s a weight and space limit, then we boarded to see the flight was half empty. I’ve said it before many times and I will say it again, I think less of anyone who works for an airline or airport.

Back to the Awesomeness of the Odyssey

OK now that I’ve gotten that out of the way this go back to telling you about how awesome it is to backpack around the world and explore Australia. I took a train from Melbourne to Sydney which was a smooth fun ride with nice scenery along the way. We even passed a few kangaroos who were just sitting in the shade as the train passed, kind of a let down really when you hear the country is overrun with them roving in packs, I hoped we’d see one of these packs hopping around instead of these lazy guys but we were unlucky. Getting to the hostel  when I arrived and around Sydney while visiting was quite easy as much of what I wanted to see was within walking distance from the hostel and everything else I could use the subway system for, which was quite efficient. Sydney is spread out but all the big attractions are in the downtown area and close together which in the heat of early Australian summer I had no problem walking as much as possible.

As for the Sunshine Coast, I was staying at a gym just south of the city but the easiest way to get there was fly to Brisbane, which is about 2 hours south of Sunshine Coast, and take a shuttle bus up. That seemed straight forward enough but was far more of an adventure than I thought. About half way there the bus pulls into an amusement park, Aussie World, where we split up into smaller groups taking mini vans. This was night time and the park was closed by the time we got there so this seemed a lot more shadier than it really was, I followed the locals and just went with it but part of me was reminding myself this is how horror movies start. As it happens I was the last stop on the list, so I sat back and watched as we zipped around the area dropping the other three passengers off before finally making it to the gym. I’ll get more into how awesome everyone was for setting me up with staying there and taking care of me later. The Sunshine Coast didn’t exactly live up to it’s name as it was raining most the time I visited so there wasn’t much exploring but when I did manage to get out there was a bus straight up to city so getting around was easy. 

The Sights

Between the two spots were was plenty to see, I know I only scratched the surface of what there is to see in Sydney, and you can spend weeks wandering along the coastline in Sunshine Coast, but I saw as much as I could and took as many pictures too. Here’s some of the pics I took, you can check all my pictures from this and all my past visits over on my Flickr account

Meeting with an Old Friend 

Throughout the entire visit to Australia I was hoping to run into some of my old Australian football teammates from Toronto as practically everyone from the original group has moved back to Australia now. Ends up most were busy with work or unreachable, having fallen out of communication with each other over time. One good friend did get a hold of me though, Torrey and I were two for the original first five people to show up for the first ever practice for the Toronto Central Blues. We hadn’t seen each other for years, I left for the military 7 years ago at the time we met up and he left Canada before that, so almost if not 10 years since we hung out, Torrey and I had a lot to catch up on.

Sydney is split in two by a river that has a series of coves and bays all along it, I was on the south end where a lot of the bigger attractions like the opera house were, Torrey lives up north just outside of Sydney and with me not exploring that way yet it only made sense to take the ferry across and meet him there. I got to be shown around and explore the Manly Beach area while catching up with Torrey, it was quite the adventure. It was a hot sunny day over on Manly Beach and there happened to be a beach volleyball tournament going on as we walked around the beach and chatted, making for an entertaining view. It was awesome catching with Torrey, we have had quite the different lives in the past 10 years, him returning and starting a family while I joined the military and got shipped all over. Meeting up in Australia and reminiscing about the good ole days playing football in Toronto was a great walk down memory lane while exploring one of the top attractions of Sydney, hopefully it won’t that long until we meet again.   

The Gyms – Sydney

Jon, of Jon and Daphne the 2016 BJJ Globetrotters of the Year, connected me with many gyms in the Sydney area. I met them in Germany at my first BJJ Globetrotters camp in Heidelberg and we kept in touch ever since. As it happens Jon and Daphne are from Sydney and were more than willing to help me out with some suggestions. Of the long list of the gyms Jon alerted me to in Sydney most were spread out from where I was staying and with the schedule I just wasn’t able to make it out. I did manage to check out two gyms while there though, I’ll have to make it back to check out the others. Thanks Jon for all the help connecting me with everyone for this visit.

Higher Jiu-Jitsu

One of the many gyms Jon connected me with was Higher Jiu-Jitsu. I contacted them and was met with a very welcoming response with the schedule for classes during the time I was in town. The gym was really close to where I was staying, just a 10 minute walk from the hostel. They hold classes inside a community center where they have a nice big room the floor is covered with puzzle mats. The community center actually gave me a bit of a hard time signing in, making sure I completely filled out all personal and contact information, I even had to go back to the hostel to get all the necessary information, good thing it wasn’t far away. After singing in I made my way upstairs to the room where the BJJ club trains and met John the coach who was very happy to have a fellow member of the Pedro Sauer lineage visit.

John is a friendly brown belt who’s teaching style is very familiar to those of the Pedro Sauer lineage, where the focus is purely technique over strength or aggression, a style that focuses heavily on the exploration and refinement of the art of Jiu-Jitsu. This of course made me think of my home gym and miss my good friends there. Throughout class I switched up a few times drilling with different members of the club, all of which were very friendly to have a visitor to train with. After drilling we had a few rolls and all were a lot of fun, most of the class there were blue belts or higher so all my matches were very technical. After class John and a few of the members and I had a small chat about the etiquette of visiting at visiting gyms and a few experiences of mine. It was a great experience and I wish I could have made it back for another class John invited me out to, I think it was an open mat class, to meet more of the gym but it wasn’t in the cards and this was my only time dropping by. Thanks for the great class John!   

Legacy BJJ Academy

Another gym I visited, referred to me by a few people, was Legacy BJJ Academy. I had heard from others as I traveled across Australia that Prof. Thiago Braga, the head instructor at Legacy, was a great coach and definitely a must to check out when visiting Sydney. I spoke with Thiago online about my visit and he was happy to have me and told me which classes to come out to. Unfortunately he and some members from his club were away on a big tournament that weekend, the Australian Open, or Pan Pacs I think. Still, with it closer and easier to get to than the other options, I was looking forward to checking the gym out for a class. I made my way out to the gym, which is in a square space that may have been an old warehouse or garage space originally, being in an industrial area. As Prof. Thiago and a few students were away competing and coaching classes at the gym were small, with only a few white belts there the night I showed up.

As I showed up early to do the necessary paperwork the previous class, a large group training in kickboxing, was just finishing and all the sweaty bodies had made the place a sauna. It was the beginning of summer in Australia so days were starting to get pretty hot, at least for a visiting Canadian anyways, so an even hotter sweaty gym was death to me, but probably normal to the locals. The reason I’m mentioning this is because I had a very unpleasant experience this night over this very topic with the instructor, who was a last minute fill in and not a regular stuff there I was told. As training went on, working different sweeps from De La Riva and other open guards I was finding it hot and humid and needed to take some water breaks between drilling. When it came to rolling the instructor, who had been quite short with me all through class, yelled at me “No water!” which had me confused, if I’m sweating a lot and overheated what am I supposed to do? I asked him so, telling him I’m a visitor and not used to the heat there. “No one else is drinking, no water during class!”

I couldn’t believe it, I know a lot of old school lines of thought are not to drink water while training but modern science on dehydration and acclimatization clearly shows how that’s not a good idea. I understand if I’m training for a competition or a fight then getting used to not being able to re-hydrate until afterwards makes sense, but I’m just a visitor coming in for some friendly training. This fill in black belt teacher and his old school views soured the visit, I sat the rest of class out and then left, not wanting to be around such an negative person. Once I got back to the hostel I sent Prof. Thiago a message about this unpleasant experience and re-calling the events and my reasons for it being such a bad training method. I was assured this was not a usual idea of training at the gym and that the black belt in question was not a usual instructor there who filled in last minute when the usual coach showed up sick, which I did see take place before class. To his credit Prof. Braga even asked me to come back and make it up to me to have a good experience with is gym before I leave, unfortunately I was leaving the next day. I hope to meet Prof. Thaigo Braga one day, he was kind and helpful throughout all our conversations, it’s too bad that this one experience with the fill in coach soured my visit but the training was good so I tried not to let it ruin the image and my memory for the gym but this along with the bad experience with the hostel make me dislike Sydney, at least at the time.       

The Gyms – Sunshine Coast

My connections for Sunshine Coast I also met at the Globetrotters Germany camp. Black belt Chad Wright, otherwise known as ‘Fat Jesus’, and his brown belt student Josh, who was away while I visited but now runs his own gym in the area, both these guys I met in Germany and were amazing and helpful. Actually, while I stayed and trained at their gym both of them were away backpacking but I was connected with the two black belt instructors still there, Robbie and Paul, who took great care of me. In fact this stop was the epitome of what BJJ Globetrotters is about, I had met Chad at the camp, talked briefly about my travels and from that small interaction Chad opened his gym to me to stay and train at, with the guys there needing nothing more than a brief introduction from Chad to accept me in and take care of me. One night one of the students, having talked with me during previous classes, offered me over to his house for supper before the class that evening saying “it’s just spaghetti but it’s better than the corner store food I see you eating” he wasn’t wrong. I was more than happy to have a home cooked meal. Just a perfect kind of stop for the Globetrotter’s experience and how to end my travels across Australia.

Infinity Martial Arts – Kawana Waters

It was late evening by the time I arrived to Infinity Martial Arts – Kawana Waters, Paul had stayed after class to meet me and give me the full tour of the gym and the nearby area. The gym is in a strip mall in a big rectangular space with a wall in the middle dividing it. The wall separates the two big square mat spaces, with the washrooms and showers in the back space which also had a couch and fridge and kitchenette counter along the back wall so it was a perfect spot for me to set up camp. Paul even set me up with a mattress and pillow that I would stow away every morning before classes started so that my camping out wasn’t in the way.

I met Robbie the other black belt later on that night, he and his wife were training at another gym they were friends with when I showed up. They had just moved there to run the gym and were staying in the office for the time being, with the head instructor showing up later in the week the gym was a full house of travelers. Paul would teach the evening classes and Robbie during the day, I got to train and roll with both of them and had a blast the whole time. Robbie was a killer with some great drills and Paul had a more sneaky game and was great at keeping the classes captivated and entertained. The students ranged from pure killers to more friendly hobby rollers, all of which were happy to have me and interested to hear my stories. I can’t say I attended as many classes as I’d like to or rolled with everyone in the classes but any time on the mats with this gym was a great time.

One student had a match on the weekend, part of a MMA event that had matches and tournaments during the day before the main show that night. During the week I let him use me for drilling and honing in his game. It was pretty cool to be part of that, helping a team out and then going and watching the matches, being a part of a gym again. The head instructor had come down in time to watch the matches as well, he was going to be in town for a while and there were belt gradings the next week that the students were preparing for so it was a very active week of drilling. I wish I had more pictures to show you of my time with everyone there but they got corrupted and I lost most of them. I still have the memories though of the great times I had on my last stop in Australia, thanks again Chad, Josh, Paul, Robbie and all the crew at Infinity Martial Arts!

And with that last awesome stop finished it was time to say Good bye to Australia and head off to the next destination, Auckland New Zealand.

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

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Autumn in Tartu, Estonia

Reasons to go: Peaceful small town charm, bike/pedestrian friendly, extremely safe for solo female travelers, budget friendly, fast wifi, many English speakers

Tartu (Estonia) was actually the destination of my first longer-term stay upon leaving Belgium, from mid-September to mid-October. I debated for some time whether or not to include this post, as many months have now gone past since that first trip. I much prefer to write about a place while actually in the city or very shortly upon departure, so that all the impressions are still fresh in my mind. But I wasn’t yet blogging at that time, so wasn’t in the habit of taking notes or high resolutions photos. Still, it seemed too important a destination to leave out entirely.

Tartu, Estonia

Why Tartu?

The first question after having decided to leave Belgium to become a full-time nomad was: where to go? I had a criteria in mind and could already think of a lot of cool places, but wanted more ideas from people who’d actually traveled and lived there, so posted up on the BJJ Globetrotters FB group explaining my situation and asking for recommendations.

One of the many people who replied with suggestions was Jorgen, instructor of Võimla gym in Tartu, who I’d met some weeks previously at the Globetrotters 2018 Summer Camp in Leuven (I had attended his presentation on food/nutrition there).

I’ll go ahead and admit that I’d never actually heard of Estonia at this point, and didn’t really know where it was or anything about it. But, having already been to many bigger, more traditional tourist cities on past vacations, I was interested in trying some smaller, lesser-known destinations. After some Google research, Tartu did indeed meet all my criteria and overall seemed like a pretty good choice.

Jorgen probably doesn’t realize it but was a HUGE help to making this trip possible, from finding lodging and making recommendations on transportation to making me feel very welcome to come train at his gym. Being so new to nomad-life travels and longer stays, it was also just immensely reassuring to know someone who could answer questions, or potentially offer advice if anything with the trip went wrong.

Riga to Tartu

My first challenge was actually getting to Tartu. Unfortunately, none of my usual favorite budget airlines flew to Tartu directly from Belgium, making the best options flying to Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) or flying to Riga (Latvia), then taking a long distance bus over to Tartu. I chose the latter (I don’t remember why, probably just because it was cheaper).

I arrived in Riga around noon and took a couple buses to get to my hostel (I had a private room with a shared kitchen/bathroom that time) to drop off luggage. I then spent most of that afternoon touring city center, which was actually really nice and very pedestrian friendly. Tall pretty buildings (many in the art nouveau style) lined wide brick and cobblestone streets with restaurants on every other block. Here, I had an exceptionally good and incredibly cheap meal of Latvian food which consisted of fresh bread, hearty meat/veggie soup, and salad.

Since Flix Bus (my usual long-distance bus of choice) didn’t have routes in Latvia or Estonia, I used Lux Express instead, which actually turned out great. The 4.5 hour bus ride over was comfortable and uneventful, and included free coffee. I spent most of the time listening to music and watching the scenery, which consisted mostly coniferous forests with a scattering of villages, fields and smaller clusters of houses along the way.

Riga, Latvia

Tartu

Tartu is full of small town charm and is possibly one of the safest cities I’ve ever been to. Here, it’s not uncommon to see even fairly young children walking or biking around solo, which would be entirely unimaginable by American big city safety standards.

The city center is clean and pretty, with medium sized classical buildings, paved stone and brick streets, and many unique sculptures. The size of the city, plus many spacious, well-maintained walking and bike paths make Tartu very easy to transverse without car. I didn’t even bother getting a bus pass while here but simply walked and biked everywhere instead.

Despite its relatively small size, Tartu does include a major University and huge student population. The campus isn’t centralized but rather comprised of a series of buildings scattered throughout town. It’s common to see young people and students going to and from class anytime of the day.

Near city center in Tartu, Estonia

A river runs through the center of Tartu, crossed by a handful of bridges lit up with colors at night. You can sometimes see people fishing off the bridges or from piers along the shore. There’s a lot of graffiti around and under the bridges, but mostly artistically done. Instead of making the city appear shabby or sketchy, it gives the landscape a creative, crafty, almost hipster vibe. 

On the outskirts of the city along the river are a couple small beaches with sand, playground equipment, and some outdoor workout equipment. I saw a guy swimming bare-chested in the river once, on a day where I was cold enough to wear my thickest coat and many layers of clothing. Estonians are so hardcore!

My time spent in Estonia was relaxing and calm. I slept exceptionally well at night, possibly either due to the silence (there wasn’t the usual background noise of traffic ever-present in the big cities) or because the air quality was exceptionally good.

My accommodations consisted of a room in a house with a family that included two (adorable!) kids. My hosts were exceptionally kind, and very welcoming – I felt a little like I’d become a normal member of the household by the end of the month.

Besides that, I trained regularly and enjoyed many nice walks, jogs and the occasional longer bike ride through the woods on the outskirts of the city. The people of Tartu don’t consider this to be a true forest, but coming from desert and dense city, it felt like a real enough forest to me. I especially enjoyed the beautiful golden autumn colors towards the end of my stay.

Beautiful nature in Tartu, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia has a long history of basically being conquered and occupied by various other neighboring countries. It wasn’t until fairly recently (1988) that it became independent. There’s still a large Russian population (especially in Tallinn) who are descendants of people who had immigrated over during previous Russian occupation.

The Estonian History Museum in Tartu was especially nice – huge, very modern with many interactive and digitally-augmented exhibits. What’s additionally neat is that visitors are given a “language” card which they can swipe on little panels next to each exhibit to change the language of the text.

Oddly, many of the vegetables commonly found in most European countries came in exceptionally large sizes in Estonia. Someone explained to me that this was because Estonia was very far North so had extra daylight hours in the summer. This, combined with generous rainfall and moderate temperatures, creates ideal conditions for growing giant veggies.

Giant veggies in Tartu, Estonia

Estonian People

Estonian people are very considerate and kind, but (to someone accustomed to American culture) at first glance might seem extremely stoic and impassive. Estonians do not smile automatically and do not make irrelevant small talk (at least, not to strangers). One of my training partners once explained to me that even eyes are considered “private space”, so it’s rude/invasive to look a stranger or in the eyes too directly.

Also, “how are you” is not used as a casual greeting. That’s considered a personal question you should ask only to someone you know well, to which you can expect a very genuine, thoughtful answer rather than an automatic, offhand “I’m good, you?”. Many Estonians dislike the American “how are you” greeting for what they perceive to be insincerity. As a person who grew up in American culture, it was a surprisingly hard habit to break to stop myself from automatically greeting everyone I met with, “hi, how are you?”.

The Estonian stoicism applies more to previous generations than the younger ones though, since more recent generations have been exposed to far more western culture through television and internet. You also just get used to Estonian mannerism after having been there awhile, and begin to notice and appreciate the subtleties rather than expecting more prominent, overt displays of emotion. So, if someone in Estonia isn’t broadly smiling, isn’t asking how you’re doing, and doesn’t seem especially chatty – do not worry or take offense, they’re probably not angry or being rude. It’s just not their custom.

Training

Võimla

Võimla, owned by brown belt instructor Jorgen Matsi, was my “home gym” for a month while in Tartu. This gym was very friendly and welcoming, with an international atmosphere including some students from a handful of other different countries who were attending Tartu University. For the month that I was there, training include a strong emphasis on take-downs as well. Classes alternated between gi and nogi, in a mix of English and Estonian. On the days where the class was given in Estonian, there was never a shortage of students willing to help, who very thoughtfully took initiative and began translating for me before I could even ask.

Group photo at Võimla, Tartu, Estonia

Võimla gym has an exceptionally big group of women as well, probably 10-12 who train and compete regularly (possibly more, since not everyone attends class every day), which is HUGE for a normal BJJ class in Europe!

BJJ Ladies of Võimla, Tartu, Estonia

3D Treening and Tallinn

One very early morning I took the Lux Express up to Tallinn, about 2.5 hours to the North of Tartu to train at Priit Mihkelson’s 3D Treening – future location of the 2019 Globetrotter Spring Camp! Really nice facilities with a HUGE mat space, bean bag chairs and a sauna (which are common in Estonia) in the women’s locker room!

After training, spent the remainder of the day wandering around the adorable city center full of Gothic style buildings, with (again) many cute little paved streets and small cafes/restaurants. I stopped at one for a very good (and very reasonably priced!) meal.

Eventually the cold and pouring rain got the better of me. I spent the last couple hours of the day checking out what turned out to be a really nice (and much bigger than expected) museum, before taking the late evening Lux Express bus back to Tartu.

Tallinn, Estonia

Traveling & Training in Liege, Belgium

Reasons to go: Finest waffles, chocolate, and craft beer of all the world! Modern city convenience, old European city charm, museums, beautiful churches/castles, unique cultural festivals, open air markets, holiday markets, good public transportation, reasonably safe for solo female travelers (there’s a few sketchier areas to avoid, especially after dark), many English speakers.

This Trip

I was only in town for a handful days passing through from Budapest to America on this trip, so spent the majority of the time hanging out with my very wonderful aunts and uncles, tying up a few loose ends, and of course – training! Having lived in Belgium for 2.5 years previously though, I’m quite familiar with the city, so wanted to take a moment to share with you what Liege and beautiful Belgium has to offer.

Belgium

Belgium is culturally split roughly in half between the Dutch-speaking Flanders region to the North, and French-speaking Wallonian region the the South. There’s a very tiny German chunk to the far East as well, giving the country 3 main national languages. One thing to keep in mind when traveling between the three regions is that the city names change based on the language of the region. Take the French name Liege, for example. This city is also known as Luik (Dutch) and Lüttich (German).

Some of you might already be familiar with Belgium from the (now retired) massive BJJ Globetrotters Summer Camp in the small university town of Leuven. When people visit Belgium, they typically see Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp – all of which are quite beautiful and rich in culture, art and history. Liege (a medium-small city with the river Meuse running through the center) isn’t generally thought of as much of a tourist city but despite that, I think, still has a lot to offer!

Out and about in Liege, Belgium!

Liege

Belgium (Liege especially) has a very special place in my heart. It’s the city where I was born and was my first destination upon leaving the US. Most of the days in the 2.5 years I stayed there were like living in a fairy tale, a feeling which never entirely wore off despite becoming quite familiar the city. It’s a medium sized city with a very elegant old European city vibe mixed with the modern. Walking down the pedestrian cobblestone streets near city center though, it’s easy to look at the buildings and imagine what the city was like a couple hundred years ago. My days in Liege were filled with fun times, great food, beautiful strolls, and a million happy memories. I arrived in Liege a stranger with a handful of distant memories from past childhood trips, and left there with a second home city.

Form the beginning, I felt a much stronger sense of community and connection in Liege than I previously had in any other American city. This was, I think, due to a big combinations of things. Part of it my attitude. Outlook towards a place does so much to change your experience and perception of it, after all. I’d dreamed about living in Liege for a very long time, and very much wanted to be there. Another part was my history, knowing this was the city where I was born and the land of my ancestor. Another part was my family. I’d grown up in America with parents and brother, but without any other extended family. Suddenly living in a place with so very kind and welcoming aunts, uncles and cousins nearby was a very cool new experience.

Stronger sense of community in Liege is also due, I think, to the layout of the city (and most European cities) compared to the American cities. Most American cities have a very poor public transportation system, making it excessively time consuming and impractical not to simply drive there yourself. Also, distances to get anywhere are much larger. This results in an immense amount of time spent alone and isolated inside a car. Liege is a very pedestrian friendly city. There’s a very well developed public transportation system and almost everything you need can be reached within a 20 minute walk from city center. Seeing the faces of people in your community and many small interactions helps foster a sense of community which isn’t developed when constantly driving from place to place. You experience a city much more directly when walking or taking public transportation than when driving everywhere.

Logistics

Language

Most people you meet will speak very good English (though they’ll probably very modestly tell you that they speak terrible English).

Public Transportation

Liege has a very good public transportation system, made up mostly of above-ground buses. There’s one major train station in the city (Gare de Guillemins) which connects to a couple smaller stations within Liege, stations in all the nearby villages, and stations in other major cities all throughout Belgium.

The bus system is called TEC. Bus rides can be paid for in cash when you enter the bus. You can also purchase a 10-trip bus card from the Public Transportation Building near Place de St. Lambert (one of the two main city squares). Make sure you you keep your ticket while on the bus as ticket agents do come through periodically to check passengers.

Train tickets are slightly discounted Saturday and Sunday. If you plan on traveling frequently between cities by train in Belgium, purchasing a 10-trip Rail Pass will save you a lot of money. The Rail Pass is a physical ticket with 10 slots for details of each trip which you fill out yourself. Be very diligent to actually fill out your trip details before or as soon as you board the train, as ticket agents come through very regularly checking tickets and absolutely WILL charge you a much higher price if you didn’t fill it out in advance when they come around. You won’t get off the hook by claiming you forgot or get any leniency for being a tourist. This happened to me once as an honest mistake… lesson learned!

Belgian rail pass, train at Gare de Guillemins station in Liege

Business Hours

One thing to keep in mind: many shops in Liege are closed on Sundays. Additionally, many shops in Liege close much earlier than an American person would expect them too. Grocery stores often close around 8pm, for example. No late night grocery shopping trips in Liege! Also, there’s much less of a “customer is always right” attitude. Living in Liege taught me to be a much more patient person, overall.

People

People in Liege have a reputation for being exceptionally friendly, so don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything. A kiss on the cheek is the normal greeting between relatives, friends, and even between casual acquaintances, regardless of gender. Coming from America, it might seem a little odd to have people you don’t know well (and sometimes even strangers at training) greet you with a kiss on the cheek but, you get used to it quickly. And, of course, can always decline if this makes you truly uncomfortable.

Tourist Time

Montagne de Beuren (Beuren Staircase)

Liege Beuren StairsThis is one of Liege’s biggest tourist attractions and isn’t a mountain but is actually a giant staircase. It’s 374 stairs high arranged in a series of flights in a straight line up. The staircase doubles up as outdoor gym for various fitness enthusiasts – you’ll often see people people jogging or sprinting up, or even doing extra push-ups and squats at every flight of stairs for additional workout, solo or in groups. I once saw a really hardcore looking guy carrying a 25kg plate up!

This is the story I heard explaining the staircase…. In the past, soldiers and armies needed to reach the city center from the barracks on the perimeter of the city. Before the Beuren stairs were built, the only way to get to city center was to pass through a labyrinth of smaller streets filled with bars and working ladies, resulting in many soldiers being delayed, arriving drunk, or altogether not reaching their destination. So, someone built the stairs to give the soldiers a more direct access to the city center with fewer distractions. Wikipedia has a different explanation though, so I have no idea if any part of this story is actually true.

Fort de la Chartreuse (Abandoned Barracks)

Tucked away on the North side of Park des Oblats, surrounded by a small park forest in the middle of the city is the Fort de la Chartreuse – a series of giant abandoned army barracks and handful of other buildings. It was built around 1817 by the Dutch (before Belgium was even a country), then used by the Belgians to house troops, then used by the Germans as a prison, then used by the Americans as an army hospital, then at some point abandoned.

This places is HUGE and basically completely opened to the public! It’s a good place for entry-level urban exploration, though make sure to bring good shoes as there’s some broken glass on the floor of some of the rooms. The insides are filled with graffiti, rubble, and nature reclaiming the ruins. Most of the buildings are in amazingly good state, though some of the upper levels are collapsing in a few of the buildings, and I haven’t ventured into any of the basement levels. On the walls in some of the rooms, beneath and among the graffiti, you can still see remnants of some of it’s past lives with much older little paintings of soldiers completing tasks in their everyday life. It feels eerie, beautiful, peaceful and mysterious all at once.

I must have returned here at least a dozen times. Most of my Belgian family and friends don’t understand my fascination with these crumbly, dirty old abandoned buildings. The thing is, this place would NEVER exist in America! First, we simply don’t have much history and older buildings. Second, it would have been fenced off and destroyed a long ago, deemed a safety hazard and eyesore, certainly not left open and accessible to the general public.

The last time I was here (Fall 2018), part of the buildings were fenced off, and I heard a rumor that part of the buildings were going to be rebuilt as housing. Not sure whether or not that’s actually true, or if the plan is to eventually demolish the entire set of buildings. So, there’s a chance this place won’t continue to exist in the future.

Liege Fort de la Chartreuse (abandoned barracks)

Every Sunday: Marché de la Batte (Market)

Through the center of Liege flows the river Meuse. Every Sunday along the waterfront is La Batte Market, where a 3.5km long portion of the street is blocked off and lined with vendors selling wares. It’s one of the oldest continuously running markets in all of Europe! Here you can find fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, spices, fine cheese and meats, an assortment of fresh street food (like giant baguette sausage sandwiches and waffles), cheap household goods and clothing, plants, and small livestock. If you’re there close to closing time (between 2-3pm), you can get some really AMAZING deals on the last of the fruits or veggies! But might end up with impractically large quantities (like many cases of a single type of fruit or veggie). It has a very old-market ambiance, crowded with locals purchasing groceries and vendors loudly advertising their wares.

People say to keep an eye out for pickpockets (like in all crowded places). I grocery shopped here regularly, was mildly cautious, and never had a problem.

Liege Marcher de La Batte (market)

Marché de Noel (Christmas Market)

In addition to the regular Sunday Market, in December the city’s two main squares (Place de St. Lambert and Place de la Cathedrale) are filled with vendor stands for the yearly Christmas market. Here you can purchase winter clothes, craft gifts, snacks and candies, and lots of delicious fresh vendor food.

Four special treats found mainly around the holidays are baked marzipan, nougat, and mulled wine, and fancy boudin. Marzipan is a very sweet almond paste, sold in blocks or small candies. Nougat is sortof like hard marshmallow, with various other things (species, fruits, nuts) mixed in. It’s not especially Belgian, but there’s a lot of it sold at winter markets for some reason. Mulled wine is hot red wine spiced with a mix of cinnamon and orange zest (which I LOVE), great for staying warm on a chilly night. Mulled wine isn’t especially Belgian either, most European countries do have some variation of this. Boudin is a kind of blood sausage. It’s sold all year round, but comes in extra varieties around Christmas.

Liege Christmas market

Gaufres (Waffles)

Waffle aisle of a regular grocery store in LiegeLittle known to Americans, there are actually MANY different kinds of waffles. There’s what Americans called “Belgium Waffles”, which is usually a light dough topped with fruit and whipped cream. There are smaller wafer thin cookie waffles. There are big square fruit-filled waffles. And there are dense doughy Liege waffles, with solid chunks of pearl sugar baked into the dough (my favorite!). Try them all!

Bier!

Beer glasses in a grocery store in LiegeNo post about Belgium could be complete without mentioning the beer: Belgians are the undisputed MASTERS of craft beer! There’s a million different varieties to try, and plenty of cozy little cafes all around town where you can relax and have a drink. One word of warning – most beers you will find here are MUCH stronger than those typically found in America. If you like collectible things, every beer has a unique special glass you can purchase. The breweries change the design of their glass every year, and also release special editions. Around the holidays, you can also purchase “advent calendar” cases of beers and try a fancy new holiday brew for every day of the month!

Special Events

The city of Liege has many organized many special events for its citizens throughout the year, some with paid entry requirements but many totally free. This includes music festivals, concerts, expos, special exhibits, jogs, organized walks/hikes, theater performances, firework shows, fairs, sports displays, markets, and picnics/breakfasts. Also, every first Sunday of every month, most museums are free to the public.

Nocturne des Coteaux de la Citadelle (October Candle Festival)

On the night of the first Saturday in October, the Beuren staircase and all the neighborhoods surrounding it are closed off to vehicle traffic and lined with thousands of tiny candles in cups for one immense evening block party. There’s live music, drink and food, performers telling folklore stories or wearing elaborate costumes, and huge crowds of people walking around having a good time. The Beuren stairs are decorated with thousands of little candles in an elaborate pattern. Very festive, crowded, loud and lively!

Liege Nocturne, neighborhoods packed with people

Montagne de Beuren in Flowers (Beuren Staircase in Flowers)

Every two years in June, the Beuren Staircase is decorated with thousands of potted flowers arranged in an elaborate pattern. It’s up for a week or so. Once the event is over, citizens from Liege are welcome to take the flowers for their homes.

Liege, Beuren stairs covered in flowers

Enterrement de Matî l’Ohé (Burial of the Festival Bone)

This festival spans from August 15-16 and takes place in the Outremeuse neighborhood, which is on a sort of big island where the Meuse river splits then rejoins itself. The first three days of this festival are pretty standard – lots of live music, food and drink, a parades of the statue of the Virgin Mary, bands, and also parades with giant figures of characters from religious and folkloric stories.

The last day is when it gets really special: the burial of the bone. This consists of a large parade of people wearing black (sometimes very elaborate) funeral clothes, waving branches or bunches of celery (yes, the vegetable you eat), following a procession of official people carrying a giant fresh bone in a casket through the neighborhood streets. Anyone is welcome to wear black, get some celery, and join the parade! The mourners alternately cheers/dances or cry/mourn according to music. The idea is that the previous day’s festival is now over, all the food and drinks have been consumed, nothing remains but the bare bone and people are mourning the end of the party. I have no explanation for the celery though!

I sincerely regret that I can’t find photos of this from previous years.

Other Attractions

For more traditional tourist attractions, I recommend the following….

Church of St. Bartholomew: church with very beautiful exterior and interior, including a baptismal font.

St. Paul’s Cathedral: another big pretty church, located in front of one of the city’s two main squares. The decorations of the main square area changes every couple months. Usually it’s patterns made of plants and flowers, but for a couple months in the winter it becomes a covered ice skating rink.

Grand Curtius: a HUGE museum, often with special exhibits. 

Museum of Walloon Life: offers a great overview into the history of Belgium and Liege, including large collection of black and white photos in slide-viewer glasses which make them appear 3D. The building it’s located in used to be a monastery.

Courtyard of the Palace of Justice: the small courtyard is actually a parking lot but is lined with decorative stone pillars, each with a unique design.

Science Museum: aquariums in the basement with a HUGE ancient taxonomy collection upstairs, including a really impressive whale skeleton!

Parc Boverie: nice park with a rose garden and art museum at the center. On hot days in the summer, it’s packed with people sunbathing and having picnics. 

Liege Cathedral, Church of St. Bart, and Palace of Justice pillars

Training!

Gracie Barra Liege

I trained at Gracie Barra in Liege for 1.5 years towards the beginning of my BJJ career, and take every opportunity I can to drop in when passing through Belgium/Liege. It’s always a pleasure train here, and see how much the group has progressed in my absence. 

There are three main instructors here: Florent Minguet (black belt, gym owner), Jordy Peute (black belt head instructor of Gracie Barra in Maastrict, who also gives class in Liege twice a week) and Valere (brown belt instructor). Valere and Jordy are probably the two individuals who have contributed the most to my BJJ career thus far and helped give me a very solid understanding of the foundations of BJJ. Both compete regularly, with Valere occasionally participating in MMA fights as well. Their classes are very detail oriented, professional yet casual, and fun – I always looked forward to training.

The gym includes both gi and nogi classes, and has evening class 5 days/week with Open Mat on Sunday afternoon. Classes are given in both French and English. Here, you’ll find a huge rage of students from total white belt beginners to very experience, fast, fierce hardcore athletes. 

How to get there: A note on finding the place – it’s actually located in a building called “Le Pole Image de Liege” which appears to be some kind of television and recording station. You need to enter a gate to get to the main building, then ring the doorbell labeled “Gracie Barra” to enter. Once inside, go down the main hallway past the bathrooms and the cafeteria until you see some stairs leading upwards on the left. On the second floor, go down a (much smaller) hallway painted with bright, bold graffiti letters to get to the gym.

Gracie Barra Liege. Small part of the group who trains here, selfies with instructor Valere

 

Budget Flights Overseas

I left Belgium from Brussels, flying to Los Angeles on Wow Air, an icelandic budget airline. I’d already been accustomed to flying on budget airlines within Europe, but this was my first time using one for an international flights. I had more than a few doubts about this after reading terrible reviews for this company online BUT, having found an incredibly great deal on the price of the plane ticket, decided just to go for it anyways.

Honestly – it was totally fine! The airplane was smaller, there were no little TV’s on the back of the seats, no blankets or pillows, and no meals, water, or snacks included, and no checked baggage included (without paying extra) – but those was the only real difference between this and a standard carrier. These differences didn’t make the trip significantly worse and were well worth the money saved, in my opinion. I think a large part of the negative reviews online can probably be attributed to passengers not understanding how a budget airline functions and probably expecting the service and amenities of a standard carrier. Anyhow, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with Wow or another international budget airline again in the future. 

Budget flights overseas

Screenshot (105)

Blog 6 — Death Valley & Las Vegas

We recently found ourselves exploring the states of California and Nevada. One of our first stops here was a mining ghost town built in 1905 called Rhyolite. It’s a combination of the original buildings along with abstract art installations scattered around the area. The town had early success with mining and was able to grow to have hotels, stores, a school, an ice plant, two electric plants, foundries, machine shops and even a miners union hospital. However, there was widespread financial panic in 1906 and within a few years, all of the mines had shutdown and the citizens were forced to abandon the failed town. Interesting note, one of the original houses was completely built using bottles as bricks which actually acts as temperature regulation.

Not sure of the meaning behind this.
The house made completely from bottles in the early 1900’s.
One of the three story buildings still standing.

 

We then made our way into Death Valley. It’s pretty cool that while driving down into the valley, you can hold your hand out of the car window and within a span of a few miles, you can feel the temperature raise 10 degrees due to the extremely low elevation. It’s actually called shaking hands with the devil. I found out that Death Valley is actually quite the desirable tourist destination. It gets so hot in the summer — regularly above 100 degrees fahrenheit — that the winter is peak operating season. There are all kinds of hikes, camping and attractions to see. We hiked around an area called Artists Drive and another called Badwater Basin. Artists Drive gets its name for the wide range of colors found in the geology there, which was truly amazing. Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America — 282 ft. below sea level, which seems odd when you’re standing in it because you’re almost completely surrounded by gigantic mountains. The high levels of salt from the surrounding landscape gets carried and deposited in the basin after a rainfall and has created what seems to be an endless basin of salt.

Hike on Artists Drive
Tough to capture everything in one picture.
All salt.

 

After all of this exploring I was ready to get some training in so we headed to Cobrinha BJJ in Las Vegas. It’s located within a beautiful plaza right next to a NYC-style deli so I very much enjoyed walking around the area with some espresso before class. The classes and training were great. Head instructor Hector Vasquez treated me like a part of the team. A great person who is dedicated to his craft. It was his last week at the academy before flying out to Toronto to corner Claudia Gadelha for her upcoming UFC fight. He was there everyday teaching class until the day he left, with a somewhat serious injury. So grateful for instructors like him. I spent a week here training everyday and met some awesome people. The guys here were all super welcoming, friendly and liked to train hard — just my type. I will definitely be returning in the future. 

Head Instructor Hector Vasquez and I.

Winter in Budapest, Hungary

Reasons to go: Affordable, great food, many historical sites, buildings/sculptures/monuments of breathtaking grandeur, ruins pubs, thermal baths, caves, markets, great public transport, pedestrian friendly city center, safe for solo female travelers, many BJJ gyms

Budapest Parliament building

Budapest is SO grand! Everything about it is on a scale just a little larger than a normal life. The streets are spacious, city center is huge. Concrete buildings span block after block many stories high. The facades of even ordinary buildings are beautifully ornate with carved stone textures and romantic figures. It really seems like you can’t walk 5 minutes in any direction without running into another beautiful monument, statue or city view!

Budapest statues

Budapest was originally 2 separate cities (Buda and Pest) which were combined in the 19th century and now function smoothly as one. The Buda side (which has nothing to do with the Buddhist religion/philosophy) is on the left, the Pest side on the right. The Danube river run between the two sides of the city and is crossed by 8 bridges – massive things spanning many lanes of traffic, with spacious sidewalks on both sides and tram lanes down in the middle. You can feel the vibrations of the trams in the soles of your feet as they pass while you’re walking across. Each bridge is built in a different style and has a unique history about how it was built.

Budapest bridges

The Pest side is mostly flat. Standing on the summit of one of the low hills on the Buda side looking across the river, you see a grid of tall buildings stretching to the horizon in every direction, broken up periodically by the rounded domes churches and pointy castle towers. 

Standing on the banks of the Pest side near city center and looking towards the Buda side, you see low hills covered with building. Depending on where you are, you might be able see Buda castle on a summit overlooking the city, or the tree-covered Gellert Hill with giant statue of lady holding a palm leaf above her head (the Liberty Statue) on the summit.

Budapest (at least near city center, which is huge) is very much a tourist city. Art, history, castles, cathedrals, monuments, museums, markets, city parks, caves, dining, spas, nightlife – this city has it all, and could easily entertain a visitor for days. It’s also a very accessible city due to great public transportation. Wide boulevards crisscross the city in a fairly regular grid pattern making it easy to find your way around.

Budapest

I was in Budapest twice for this portion of trip: for 2 weeks in October on the way to Serbia, and for a bit less than a week returning from Serbia, heading to Belgium. The reason was this was partly logistics – it’s an easy connection from Budapest to anywhere using budget airlines. But it was also due to my desire to see Budapest (again). Despite three visits, still I feel like I’ve only just grazed the surface of what the city has to offer. It’s grandeur beautiful and breathtaking. It never seems to get any less impressive and there’s always new things to discover.

Logistics

Transportation

Transportation consists of buses and trams above ground, an underground metro, and boat (which I didn’t try). The airport is quite far from city center, but very accessible due to buses/metro that run there and back frequently.

Public transportation passes can be purchased from a ticket counter at the airport or from ticket machines at almost any tram/metro stops. The passes are simple small paper receipts, so make sure not to throw them away on accident! Multi-day (unlimited ride) passes work on an honor-system basis – passengers are responsible for having a valid unexpired ticket but don’t swipe or show it to anyone upon entering the tram/bus. You can purchase an unlimited rides pass for 1, 3, 7 days, or a full month which is valid for all means of transportation. There’s also an option single ticket 10-packs of tickets.

Budapest tram and ticket

Alphabet and Language

The main language spoken in Budapest is Hungarian though many people speak English as well. The Hungarian alphabet is Latinic, so most of the letters look similar to the American/European alphabet, though it does include some additional accented letters, trigraphs (chunk of three letters together with specific significance) and digraphs (two letters together with specific significance). Also, Q, W, X, Y weren’t part of the original alphabet in the past but are now often included to spell foreign words.

Tourist Time!

Food

Hungarian food is SO good, and comes in really generous portions! The meals I tried consisted of hearty stews, pasta/veggie/meat combos covered in thick sauce and served with pasta or rice, and street food of veggies and sausage or other meats served on pita-like breads. Hungarians love paprika, make it well, and use it in just about everything.

Budapest christmas market food

Food near the city center is, of course, much more expensive due to tourism. And, have been told everything on the Buda side is about 10% more expensive then on the Pest side, but by chance I didn’t happen to dine there so can’t confirm from personal experience. 

For those who like alcohol, two noteworthy drinks are unicum and tokaji. Unicum made of a mixture of herbs and taste bitter, a little like Jagermeister. Tokaji is a special wine from the Tokay region, which is supposedly very sweet (I didn’t get the chance to try it). There’s also mulled wine (hot red wine with spices) in the Christmas markets (which I personally LOVE), but most European countries have some variation of this so I don’t think it’s an especially Hungarian treat.

And then, there’s chimney cake! It’s a doughy holiday pastry with a slightly crispy exterior, coated with topping of your choice, cooked over coals and served hot. I tried the cinnamon sugar variety, which tasted a little like a cinnamon roll. Very delicious! One cake is probably meant to be shared between a group of people (they’re pretty huge), but I ended up eating the entire thing myself. No regrets! 

Budapest chimney cake

Central Market

Here you’ll find fresh veggies, cheese, meats, drinks, pastries, spices, textiles (lace and pretty embroidered cloths), cookies, many handcrafted goods, and a wide assortment of souvenir items. It’s quite a big space with many rows of shops and two floors, with most of the non-food items upstairs. The atmosphere is colorful, lively, busy yet casual. The customers are a mix of local people purchasing weekly groceries and tourists checking out the ambiance and souvenir items.

Budapest central market interior

Christmas Markets

Christmas markets in Budapest used to be smaller events for primarily local people, but have recently become a huge tourist attraction. It’s a cheerful and lively atmosphere, with many enticing smells of cooking food and pastries as you walk through, holiday lights and music in the evening. Here you can find great street food (warm meals, chimney cake, mulled wine and unicum), an assortment of handcrafted goods, spices, winter clothes (like cozy wool socks), and various holiday stuff (such as small ornaments).

Fisherman’s Bastion

This area consists of Matthias Church, a statue of King Saint Stephen on a horse, and seven towers representing the seven original Hungarian (Magyar) tribes. It’s situated on a hill with one side offering an amazing panoramic view of the city and Danube river below. All the buildings and walls are made of pale tan/grey stone, with brightly colored geometric patterns on pointed church roof – very beautiful.

Be warned, it’s not that big of an area and is a HUGE tourist attraction.  Expect the area to be filled with hordes of people taking selfies and guides leading large groups around – you won’t find much peace and quiet here.

Budapest Fisherman’s Bastion

Shoes on the Riverbank

Along the banks of the Danube near the Parliament on the Pest side you’ll find a memorial that consists of 60 normal-size shoes made of irons in styles that men, women and children. These are a tribute to the nearly 20,000 Hungarian Jewish people that died during World War 2. Here, Jewish people were lined up along the banks and shot so their bodies fell into the river. Before being killed, however, they were forced to remove their shoes, which the soldiers later resold for profit. People today leave small offerings of flowers, candies and money in the shoes.

Budapest monument of shoes, tribute to Hungarian Jews

Pálvölgyi Cave

Budapest has an extensive system of caves formed over millions of years by hydrothermal water. I took an “adventure cave tour” and thoroughly enjoyed the experienced, which consisted of wearing caving suits and helmets then crawling, squeezing and climbing through a network of tunnels in total darkness (except for the headlamps) for a couple hours. The group was quite small (just two others besides myself and the guide). The guide was a passionate caver herself, and knew much about the history of caves in Budapest. At different points throughout the tour, she gave us a couple different options of which paths to take depending on whether we wanted more climbing, crawling, or squeezing through tiny spaces. Good times, well worth the money!

Budapest Pálvölgyi Cave

Thermal Baths

Mineral rich thermal springs underneath Budapest supplies naturally hot water to many baths throughout town. These were first created by Romans (who believed they had miraculous healing properties), further developed by the Turkish and Austrian people who later inhabited the city, and are still quite popular today. Those on the Buda side are Turkish in origin, which doesn’t mean anything significant as far as what you’ll experience there – it just refers to the time period from which they originate.

Things to know: In some smaller, less touristy places, certain sections of the pools or certain days are restricted to either men or women only. Also, the water is often a little murky. This is because of the high mineral content, not because it’s dirty. You should plan to bring your own swimsuit, towel, and sandals (though you can pay to rent one if not). 

Széchenyi Baths (on the Pest side) is the biggest and grandest of them all, featuring 15 indoor thermal pools, 3 outdoor pools, and a spa/massage place upstairs. It’s a very impressive space in size, architecture and decorations. One word of warning though – it’s a very popular tourist hotspot and can be quite busy/crowded.

On my most recent trip, I tried a much smaller bath called Veli Bej (on the Buda side), off the tourist path, to see what a more local, authentic experience was like…. and also because my hostel gave me a coupon for 20% off, making it less than half the price of any of the others. Cheers to the budget life! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a real hidden gem. 

Veli Bej bath house consisted of one large hot central pool, 4 smaller cold water pools (which I didn’t touch because I hate the cold), and a handful of very small (3-4 people) sauna rooms. The decor was simple but elegant – rough stone walls and a glass ceiling showing the night sky in the exterior hallway, large arched doorways encircling the central main pool, and dome ceiling high above punctuated with a geometric pattern of holes. Small lights at regular interval give the space a cozy, dimmed atmosphere. It was moderately busy, but not to the point that it was obnoxiously crowded, with a very local vibe. 

I think the Romans’ belief that the water has mythical healing properties might actually be true. One of my fingers has the cuticle all roughed up and damaged from training, which had been painful and irritated for the last two weeks. But actually looked and felt MUCH better after my evening in the thermal water!

Around Hero’s Square

This area (on the Pest side) consists of a very large park crisscrossed with walking paths, a small lake, Vajdahunyad castle (small but very pretty, with a handful of nice sculptures), and Hero’s Square. It’s a nice area to go for a walk/jog.

At the center of Hero’s square is a huge pillar with sculpture of archangel Gabriel on top, ringed by the seven chiefs of Magyar on horses at the base, looking SO majestic and fierce! Behind them are a series of columns with more statues of important historical figures, all beautifully rendered with great detail.

Budapest, Hero's Square

Gellert Hill and Liberty Statue

Gellert Hill (located on the Pest side) consists of a large tree covered hill with meandering paths and many splendid lookout points providing great city views (especially at sunset). The summit features the Liberty Statue, a larger-than-life statue of a lady holding a palm leaf symbolizing freedom, liberation and prosperity dedicated to the soldiers who gave their lives in World War 2. Besides it are two smaller (but still huge) statues of figures holding flames in dramatic poses. It’s a really nice place to go for a walk/jog, though be warned – the summit is another huge tourist attraction and often very crowded.

Budapest Gellert Hill

Training

Partly due to the large number of gyms throughout the city and partly to the shorter periods of time I was here, I didn’t have a “home gym” in Budapest but took the opportunity to visit many different locations instead.

Carlson Gracie is the biggest team in Budapest, with an incredible 14 locations throughout the city! Oddly, most of these don’t show up on Google Maps when you search for BJJ, but you can see a nice map of their locations throughout the city here: https://carlsongracie.hu/globetrotters/

CG Titan Team
One of the smaller locations a bit further away from city center, but super welcoming and friendly atmosphere! The gym had just moved to a new location so the facilities were very modern and bright. Besides BJJ, the gym offers personal training and fitness classes. Instructor Körmendi Dezső was one of the first people I talked to about training in Budapest. He and introduced me to the instructors of a couple of the different locations around town, I had the opportunity to join him for the advanced class at the Headquarters location as well. Giant thanks!

CG Headquarters
This location was the largest in terms of facilities and number of students, and had the greatest number of higher belts. Upon invite I joined for their advanced class expecting some very challenging, tough and technical rolls – and they certainly did deliver on that!

CG Warrior Team
The location of this gym actually doubles up as an archery gym and shop by day! When it’s time for class, the students roll up the floor in the archery shooting range to reveal mats underneath, which I thought was pretty unique.

CG Blackout Team

CG Casca Grossa

In addition to the Carlso Gracie gyms, I had the opportunity to train at the following two ZR gyms.

Pit Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ZR Team

ZR Team Hungary

Logo

Phuket Top Team (in Phuket, Thailand)

Phuket Top Team, Thailand

How would you like to train 3 times a day, devour $3 local dishes, receive inexpensive massages, relax at the beach, and repeat? If this sounds appealing to you, this is where you should visit. After a long road trip in Australia, I was back in Southeast Asia. However, this trip was different. I wanted to focus on training, and Soi Ta-iad in Phuket was the perfect destination. MMA and Muay Thai fighters from all over the world pour into this street, which is commonly referred to as the “Fighters street” in Phuket. The street consisted of various gyms, healthy restaurants, fitness supply stores, and guesthouses. Among a few options, I decided to train at Phuket Top Team. I ended up staying longer than I initially anticipated and had absolutely no regrets training there!

Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for recent updates: @jwwseo

Region
Phuket, one of the southern provinces in Thailand, includes the main island as well as other 32 smaller islands off its coast. Since it is known to have Thailand’s most popular beaches and islands with blue waters and white sands, the island is home to high-end resorts and restaurants. However, Soi Ta-iad is different. This district is solely dedicated to the fitness fanatics offering healthy dining options, affordable accommodations, and various gyms including Phuket Top team, Tiger Muay Thai, and other CrossFit and yoga studios. Compared to other parts of Phuket, the street itself falls silent after 9 pm as everyone is preparing for the next morning’s training sessions.

Overview
The club is one of the renowned academies in Southeast Asia that breeds Muay Thai and MMA fighters. The academy attracts everyone from elite athletes who are training for their upcoming Muay Thai and MMA competitions to beginners who recently started their fitness journey.

Phuket Top Team’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program is led by Professor Olavo Abreu, who is a 4th-degree Black Belt under Carlson Gracie Jr. His teaching style is similar to that of a drill sergeant. The majority of warm-ups and drills were high-intensity with minimal breaks. In Phuket’s 30+°C scorching and humid weather, everyone was huffing and puffing within 10 minutes of the class. Then, the intense drilling session was simply followed by positional sparring and rolling. The academy’s no-gi and wrestling programs were led by Coach Eric Uresk, who has a credentialed grappling background as a Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt combined with Greco-Roman and catch wrestling. With his diverse combat sports background, the classes mixed various grappling arts and their applications in a unique way.

Despite Phuket Top Team’s intensity, all of the instructors were approachable and friendly and I instantly felt like part of Phuket Top Team’s family. Also, Coach Eric used to train in Long Island in New York, and we connected over my old coach, Loro Galvao. It never ceases to amaze how small the world can be. Another reason I loved training at PTT was its diverse student base. The duration of every student’s stay at Phuket Top Team varies from one week to a few months depending on their goals. However, it is common to see students return in the future. During my 2-week training at the academy, I had the opportunity to meet people with diverse nationalities including Israel, Norway, Netherlands, and Portugal. It was a total BJJ Globetrotter experience without traveling to another location.

A typical day for me at Phuket Top Team started with a 2 hour morning Muay Thai session at 7:30 am, followed by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at 9:30 am. I then refueled at a nearby restaurant and recovered by the pool until the afternoon session. Finally, I’d return to the gym in the early evening for a no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu session to finish off the day. The classes might vary depending on the day.

I absolutely enjoyed every minute of training at Phuket Top Team. It was incredibly worthwhile dedicating myself to something I love. Training 3-times a day for an extended period time is definitely not for everyone, but I would recommend pushing yourself with top athletes at PTT if you have a chance. I will be back soon enough for more. Thank you, PTT!

Location
The academy is located on Soi Ta-iad in Chalong along with other fitness studios. The street is about 1.5km long so it is not difficult to locate the facility once you are in the area. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
Classes were offered every day except Sunday. With PTT’s endless class offerings, it is somewhat challenging to choose which classes you want to attend for the day. However, from no-gi grappling to dutch kickboxing, you will not run out of the options.

phuket top team

Visitor Pass
From one-day to 3-month visitor passes, there are a few options that suit everyone’s training need. If you wish, you could also book accommodation and meal plans through the academy. The details for pricing can be found on the academy’s website.

Miscellaneous
Phuket Top Team’s Website

Tourist Attractions

  • Big Buddha — This 45-meter-high white marble statue that sits on top of the highest peak in Phuket is one of the iconic tourist attractions. When the sky is clear, the 360-degree views from the hill is simply breathtaking
  • Beaches in Phuket — If you are looking for a packed beach with endless bars and nightlife, Patong Beach is where it is at. Patong Beach is especially popular with young backpackers due to its party atmosphere, and people either love it or hate it. On the other hand, if you are looking for more of a private island feel and staying away from committing a sin, Kata Noi Beach might be a better option. Besides, Phuket has countless beaches all around the island that you can choose from, and you will have to decide it for yourself!
  • Street Markets — One of my favorite parts in Southeast Asia is: Street Markets. Phuket offers a variety of markets to shop counterfeit goods, funky souvenirs, and incredible street food. Among Phuket’s street markets, my favorite one was Chillva Night Market. Chillva Night Market is a trendy and modern night market with bands playing live music at an amphitheater when the market is in full swing. After training and spending time at the beach, it is the perfect place to end the day in Phuket.

November in Belgrade, Serbia

Reasons to go: Very affordable, many BJJ gyms, many English speakers, great food/pastries, grand churches, very friendly/kind people, safe for solo female travelers, big city convenience, fast wifi, good public transportation, open air markets

It’s a challenge for me to describe Belgrade. It certainly has an Eastern European vibe, but beyond that is a combination of many thing not too extreme in any one specific direction. Belgrade isn’t so much a tourist city as a living city. It has all the modern conveniences you’d expect from a big city, but also a rich cultural heritage, many historical sites, and more than a handful of very well maintained churches of various sized with grand interiors still in use throughout the city.

Many of Belgrade’s more ancient buildings and tram cars are still fully functional and active today, as if the city took an overall “if it’s not broken, keep using it” approach to their infrastructure. Tall modern buildings with spotless glass windows and ornate facades aren’t far from much older structures of plain concrete and stone, sometimes a little shabby and in need of renovations, with a fair amount of graffiti.

Out and about in Belgrade!

Throughout all of that is a liveliness, warmth and rich vibrancy that comes from the people. It’s felt in the bright markets full of shoppers, packed tram cars crowded with pedestrians going about their everyday business, and groups of friends relaxing in cozy cafes. Serbian people are SO kind! They’re open and welcoming, smile and start conversations easily, don’t hesitate to volunteer information if you look lost, and are happy to tell you about their city and to share their culture. Despite the occasionally gritty appearance of some neighborhoods, Belgrade overall is a very safe city. Even late at night there are women and people of all ages moving about, I felt perfectly at-ease exploring the city as a solo female traveler.

 

Arriving in Belgrade

Giant Belgrade sign.I arrived in Belgrade on a long-distance bus from Budapest. The route about 7 hours long (including a ½ hour break at a roadside restaurant and gas station, and the border crossing). The bus ride was good and uneventful, with the added bonus of free juice boxes (the type you find in kid’s lunch boxes) and chocolate bars. I arrived in Belgrade around 7pm.

This was the first country I’d been to solo outside the EU and as such was the first situation where my phone’s data plan didn’t apply. And, let me tell you – you don’t realize just how strongly you rely on wifi-related services until they’re suddenly not available anymore!

Knowing I wouldn’t have wifi, I’d smartly looked up the tram route ahead of time, but had forgotten about the currency differences. Vendors wouldn’t accept euros or forints (Hungarian currency), so I needed to find an ATM or bank to withdraw Serbian currency (dinars, abbreviated RSD) to pay for the bus ride to my Airbnb lodging.

That seemed easy enough, except that I now didn’t have access to Google Maps or any of my usual translation tools to facilitate communication. The first FIVE people I asked for directions from didn’t speak ANY English – I could not manage to successfully communicate my question. To complicate things a bit, one of the wheels on my luggage had just broken, making it extremely difficult to move around. I had a slight moment of panic when it dawned on me that I had no cash, no way to get info online, no way to make phone calls, and couldn’t seem to communicate with anyone in person.

Everything worked out just fine, of course. Turns out, plenty of people actually DO speak English, it was just odd chance that the first handful I approached hadn’t. I eventually found an ATM and withdrew some dinars. I accidentally rode the tram without a ticket, having mistakenly understood that I should pay for a ride on the tram. Fortunately, no harm came of it – the tram driver let me ride for free. Then, I accidentally took the wrong tram, not realizing there was a “long” and “short” version with the same route number. But again, no harm came of it – some friendly local students helped me find a new correct route. So, couple hours later than expected, finally reached my destination!

Belgrade, main boulevard near my place.Image: Main boulevard near my place.

 

Logistics

Sabine written in Cyrillic! Translated by Ivana.Language

Serbians use two alphabets – Latinic (which English is written with) and Cyrillic, both of which are used on signs throughout the city. The spoken Serbian language can be written using either alphabet. You’ll find a big range of English proficiency spoken in Belgrade.

Public transportation

If using public transit, you’ll need to purchase a card in advance as it’s not possible to pay in cash when you board the buses/trams. Public transit cards are sold at little kiosks along the street, they’re very easy to find. You can purchase an “unlimited rides” pass for a number of days, or purchase and put money on a “rechargeable” card. The bus/tram stops are very well labeled in Belgrade with a symbol and bus/tram numbers on a sign. Super convenient!

Serbian public transit pass

The Serbian public transportation system is a combination of above-ground trams and buses – the transit card allows you to use both. You’ll need to swipe your card on the little machine near the door when you enter. If not traveling with an “unlimited rides” pass, you have 90 minutes to make as many bus/tram changes as you’d like after the first card swipe. No need to re-swipe your card for every new bus/tram you enter afterwards, just keep track of time and make sure you’re still within your 90 minutes.

Oddly, Google Maps (which I’ve relied on for public transportation in all other cities so far) doesn’t entirely work in Belgrade. It’s possible to see the bus/trim routes, but not information about time or best routes between two locations. Fortunately, there’s another app which does exactly that called MoovIt. Technology to the rescue once again! I ended up using a combination of both for navigation. Google Maps was more helpful searching for destinations in English, but MoovIt was needed to show me how to actually get there.

What’s interesting about the buses/trams in Belgrade is that there’s a huge mix between very modern and pretty ancient vehicles, both of which run on the same rails and wires.

Belgrade, old style trams!

SIM Cards

This was the first country where my EU phone plan didn’t apply so I ended up getting a local SIM card. The process was amazingly fast and easy! There are many, many shops selling phone related stuff all over Belgrade, so finding a place to purchase one wasn’t difficult. I chose a data-only pack (without a phone number) since was planning on using my phone primarily for map, public transit schedules, and (let’s be honest) social media amusement. I also knew that I could use the data to make calls using apps such as Skype. I paid about $5 (USD) for 10GB of pre-paid data which expired in 2 weeks, which by US standards is just insane!

Weather

I arrived in November and stayed for the entire month. The first two weeks were sunny and warm-ish (light sweater weather), which everyone said was very unusual for November. Midway through the month and again towards the end it became true winter, complete with freezing temps, overcast skies and even a little snow. I hate the cold, but having lived in the desert for so long, was delighted to see the falling snow! Christmas markets don’t seem to be a thing in Serbia but there were white, red and blue holiday lights all along the main boulevard of my neighborhood. Downtown was also filled with cheerful holiday decorations, lending a cozy winter ambiance to the city.

Belgrade, downtown pedestrian shopping area

Food

Belgrade has a lot of great restaurants of many different kinds of food for VERY cheap, considering the great quality and generous portion sizes that you get!

I asked my AirBnB host for a recommendation of where to try traditional Serbian food. She told me that the only way to truly experience this was with home cooked meal, and returned a couple hours later with freshly-cooked food: sarma (cabbage wrapped meat) and rolled pastries with a nut filling. I had the opportunity to try many more of her home-cooked meals throughout my stay, all of which were amazing! One of my favorite was stew made of white beans, beef on the bone and veggies – the perfect meal for staying warm on a chilly winter day!

Desserts!

Serbian desserts consists of a variety of thin filo or breaded dough pastries with nut and/or fruit filling. My two favorite desserts were Bundevara and Zapečene palačinke. Bundevara is a pastry made with flaky layered filo dough rolled with a squash filling that tastes like pumpkin. Zapečene palačinke is a cake made of many rolled up thin pancakes (similar to Belgian crepes) with a sweet nut and cinnamon vanilla sugar filling. SO GOOD!

Serbian pastries!Images: (left) Bundevara (middle) pastries with a fruit filling I couldn’t identify, possibly fig? (right) Zapečene palačinke home cooked by Ivana, one of my training partners Kimura Academy! I was touched her thoughtfulness, and thrilled to have gotten the chance to try so many authentic home cooked Serbian foods during my stay!

 

Tourist Time!

Belgrade Fortress

Not far from the city center is the Belgrade Fortress. This area consists of the Kalemegdan Park and the ruins of the walls and towers of what used to be the Belgrade fortress, on top of a cliff overlooking the city. There’s a great view of the city and two rivers (the Sava and the Danube) converging.

On the warmer days I went here it was quite lively – people walking dogs, families with kids out for a stroll, vendors selling popcorn and roasted chestnuts, old men in groups playing games of chess on stone tables, and other sightseers taking photos of the panoramic view and posing with their friends and sweethearts.

This area also includes a very nicely maintained collection of tanks from different time periods (free to look at!), a military museum, a natural history museum (with collection of really nice life-sized dinosaur sculptures), a small church, a playground, some nice outside sculpture, and a zoo. Probably a great place to bring the family, if you need something that will satisfy a wide range of interests and ages.

Belgrade fortress area

Market

There happened to be a medium sized fruit market within a 10 minute walks from my place which offered a very nice range of fresh fruits, veggies and nuts locally grown. Here I discovered that Belgrade has exceptionally great pomegranates, which initially seemed odd to me because I’d (incorrectly) always thought of these as a tropical climate fruit. In the side streets next to the food market were little shops selling fresh breads, meats and cheeses. There was also a section where vendors sold a variety of non-food items, mostly household products and items, but also some clothing. So, instead of going to one giant grocery store for shopping – here was one big area where you could purchase everything from many different little local stores/stalls!

Belgrade market and close-up pomegranate seeds

Park Forest Zvezdara

I went for a stroll here hoping to catch a glimpse a fire salamander, slow worm (a kind of legless lizard, which is not a snake), or one of the protected northern white-breasted hedgehog but unfortunately did not see any wildlife, probably because it was winter. This forest might seem quite bland and ordinary to people who live in wooded places but to someone as myself who’s lived a long time in the desert, in a city of eternal summer – any trees with falling leaves and seasons are pretty great! It was a nice break from the concrete and noise of the city.

One word of warning – there are some stray dogs here. I ran into a pack of six which fortunately didn’t attack, but were rather intimidating barking and following along for a bit. Unlike strays I’ve seen in cities in the past – these were not small malnourished animals, and seemed like really healthy and fit dogs. I was later given the tip that bending down like you’re picking up a rock will scare off stray dogs anywhere, as they’re used universally accustomed to having things thrown at them. I haven’t put this to the test myself, and certainly hope not to end up in a situation like this again!

Belgrade forest park

Beautiful Churches

There are many beautiful and very well maintained churches throughout Belgrade, most of them Orthodox Christian as that’s the dominant religion of the city. The insides are calm and quite, the walls and ceilings densely filled with beautiful brightly colored paintings of saints and scenes from the bible.

There are a couple differences between Orthodox Christian churches and churches of other branches of Christianity which I’ve seen in the past. The main room is empty instead of being filled with rows of chairs or benches, as people stand instead of being seated for service. There’s often a large open book or painting toward the center front of the main room, which followers can kiss, pray, or make donations to. And, there’s a large very ornate crown chandelier hanging over the center space, lit with candles and sometimes also decorated with pictures of saints. Long stemmed candles can be purchased as offerings, to be lit and placed in alter boxes of sand and sometimes water.

I also learned that Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6-7 instead of December 24-25. This has to do with how dates are arranged in the Gregorian calendar vs. older Julian Calendar.

The Church of Saint Sava is actually very new – construction began 1935 and is still ongoing today. The crypt section is open for visitors already, and is absolutely magnificent! While I’ve seen a great many beautiful churches in other countries throughout my travels – it’s rare to me to see one so modern with stone work and paintings so vibrant and crisp, not yet having weathered and faded by the passage of time.

Image: An assortment of different churches/chapels.

1999 Nato Bombings

In 1999, Belgrade was bombed by Nato. Some of the buildings that were destroyed have been completely rebuilt and replaced by new buildings. Others remain abandoned and neglected in their partially ruined state, big gaping holes exposing the interiors where the bombs landed.

I won’t get into the politics behind it, why it happened, and whether or not it was justified (you can research that yourself and find much better, more details explanations that I could possibly provide, then draw your own conclusions).

What I will say is that walking through the city, so modern and lively, full of people not unlike myself – it’s astounding to think that it happened here, really not THAT long ago. When you seen news of war and conflict on television happening in far off countries – it’s sometimes easy to feel removed and disconnected, especially if it it doesn’t impact your own world in any meaningful way. Seeing the ruins and hearing the firsthand accounts of people who lived in the countries where these events happened makes them real in a way that they weren’t before.

The more I travel, the more I realize how similar people of all parts of the world are, with the same basic hopes, fears, worries and dreams. That is, perhaps, one of the positive effects of traveling – it makes you better able to relate to the rest of humanity.

Image: Ruins of two of the buildings that were bombed in 1999

Training

Though BJJ is still fairly new to the Serbia – there is certainly no shortage of places to train in Belgrade! I had the opportunity to visit the following 5 gyms in the time that I was here. 

GIANT thanks to everyone who welcomed me to come visit and train at their gym – to the instructors and to my training partners! I leave with many great memories of the city, and of the BJJ community here. 

Kimura Academy

This was my “home gym” in Belgrade for the month I was here, very conveniently (intentionally) located just 10 minutes away from my AirBnb place by foot! It’s run by Guillaume Huni (1st degree black belt) and is a BJJ Globetrotters affiliated gym.

I really can’t say enough good things about Kimura Academy! Super friendly and welcoming atmosphere, great level of technical skill, physical strength and general enthusiasm for BJJ. It’s a very international and traveler friendly gym – in the time that I was there, a handful of other visitors from neighboring countries dropped in as well.

Through amazing good luck, there was also a seminar by Clark Gracie hosted here the second week of November while I was in town! It was a great seminar, with students attending from many of the neighboring gyms as well. I was unfortunately too shy to ask for a photo with Clark Gracie, so… missed opportunity there!

Kimura Academy, trainers and group picture

Image: Guillaume Huni, me, Ivana, instructors Nikola and Mirza. Ivana was my most regular training partner, and also led the group in yoga-style stretches after class some days, which I thought was a really nice way to wrap up a BJJ class. Her bright cheerfulness and ability to quickly pinpoint what adjustments were needed in my technique made her a pleasure to train with! This may have been one of the last photos taken of Ivana as a white belt, since she receive her (much deserved) blue belt shortly after!

Gracie Barra Srbija

The building itself where this gym is located very interesting history. It was constructed around 1940 as a printing press for the National Printing Institution of Yugoslavia. It fell into disuse and became abandoned for awhile when the economy tanked, then later became used by artists, designers, musicians and nightclubs, then some time later declared a national monument by the state. Currently, the inside spaces are rented variety of different businesses… like BJJ!Great class with the Gracie Barra Srbija crew!

Lutador BJJ

Zarlock BJJ

Old School BJJ

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Galeb Brothers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Gold Coast, Australia)

Gold Coast, Australia — After Byron Bay, we kept driving north along Australia’s east coast. We had opportunities to make stops at various scenic beaches along the way, but I, unfortunately, had no chance to train. After a few days of sleeping and camping in our lovely van, we reached the Gold Coast. It was the first metropolitan city since Sydney, and, of course, my first google search was “Brazilin Jiu-Jitsu Gold Coast.” This led me to Galeb Brothers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for recent updates: @jwwseo

City
Located 80 km south of Brisbane, the Gold Coast is a city in Queensland renowned for its pristine beaches that stretch for almost 60 km. Combining its high-rise skyline with a subtropical climate and epic surfing beaches, the Gold Coast is regarded as an iconic holiday destination in Australia. In addition to its beaches, the city is equally famed for its theme parks and nightlife that attract high-school graduates on schoolies and families on vacations. Shopping malls, golf courses, white sandy beaches — the city has it all.

Overview
Galeb Brothers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is headed by Professor Fabio Galeb who is a third-degree black belt and a former professional MMA fighter. After moving to Australia in 2007, the professor competed in BJJ and MMA to establish his competition records in Australia. Although he is still regularly competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, his focus has shifted to coaching for UFC fighters such as Mark Hunt and Michael Bisping.

The Academy is located near Mermaid Beach, which is about 8 km south of Surfers Paradise. Luckily, I was able to drive my lovely van/current home to the gym. Though the gym seemed close, the Gold Coast’s notorious traffic made the drive longer than expected. Prior to my arrival, I called and received a welcoming response from the gym. They also offered the possibility of renting a gi, which is tremendously helpful when you are traveling and staying in a hostel. Since it was a low season for the Gold Coast, the majority of students were regular rather than visitors. I can only speculate that, during the summer times, the academy is filled with BJJ Globetrotters from all around the world.

Just what I expected from a beach town, everyone I interacted with at the academy was extremely friendly. Due to a long drive along Australia’s coastline, my body was stiff, and it was quite challenging to get back into training. That said, the Galeb Brothers BJJ community created a welcoming atmosphere for me. During training, I had the opportunity to share my traveling stories and interact with students; I immediately felt included in the community although I was just visiting for one day. The class consisted of intensive conditioning and drilling followed by a positional sparring and rolling. The intensity and level of the academy were notable as multiple students regularly competed.

It is easy to fall into the trap of partying and procrastinating in such a city like the Gold Coast. Whether you are enjoying the sunshine all day on Broad Beach or having a night out near Surfers Paradise, I would recommend visiting Galeb Brothers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu if you are in the Gold Coast. Don’t miss out on a top-notch training in this restless city!

Location & Facility
Galeb Brothers BJJ is only a few streets away from the highway near Mermaid Beach. Although the facility looks like a former warehouse, it has a clean and spacious open mat for training inside. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
The classes, mostly focused on gi, are held Monday through Saturday with sessions in both the morning and evening. Galeb Brothers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s most recent BJJ training program is posted below:

Miscellaneous
Galeb Brothers BJJ’s Website

Tourist Attractions

  • Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary — The sanctuary is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Gold Coast. The very origins of the park were to conserve Australia’s indigenous and extraordinary wildlife from Koala to wombats. With exciting shows and hands-on encounters with Australia’s wildlife, the sanctuary provides you with a unique experience. Plus, I got to hold a Koala and pet Kangaroos here so why wouldn’t you go here?
  • Beaches in Gold Coast — From Surfers Paradise, one of the busiest and most popular beaches on the Gold Coast, to Burleigh Beach that is renowned for its spectacular surfing breaks, the Gold Coast has countless beaches that you can choose from. Besides its white sandy beaches, the proximity to the nearby shopping and dining options provides a unique experience to your vacation.
  • Other tourist attractions — From its popular SkyPoint Observation Deck to Dreamworld theme park, my friend and I deliberately chose to skip some tourist attractions as our priority was to spend time by the beach and relax. It would not hurt to check out what the city has to offer.
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Melbourne-Bali

Sorry for the tardiness on my posts lately.

I have been travelling across the world and trying o sort visas out for the beat part of the last 4 months.

I arrived in Melbourne in August and have been flat out since then.  Going in to Australia with two strapped up ankles due to some Canadian injuries meant that I had to start every roll with “PLEASE PLEASE DON’T ANKLE LOCK ME.. IF YOU GET A HOLD OF IT THEN YOU WIN”

Absolute MMA was just ridiculously welcoming and I didn’t have to worry at all. This meant that I didn’t get to visit as many gyms as I would have liked.

I got involved with Absolute MMA as much as possible in my month there. they have classes literally all day every day. I cant recommend them enough for fellow travellers.

Melbourne as a city is amazing. It seems to be the closest to a European city that Australia has to offer and it is hard to put down the main touristy hot spots. The best way to describe it is that it is a “living” city. There isn’t one thing that makes it stand out but the overall lifestyle seems to be what appeals to people the most.

Great food, great coffee, great training, great bars and an overall great life style. I can honestly say that I will be excited when I finally land and settle there at the end of the year!

So after my trip to Melbourne I stopped by Bali for a week while en route to Europe. I met a lot of friends and  a couple of family members there.

I was still suffering from an ankle injury so getting out to train at my original destination of Synergy MMA didn’t happen. Instead, my brother saw fit to bring his Gi along so we got to do some of the most scenic rolling ever at our villa overlooking the ocean.

35 degree celsius heat was rough but a quick jump into the pool sorted that out before we hit a few more rounds of sparring.

We managed to do the usual touristy stuff and even swung some VIP treatment at some very nice spots. I recommend Omnia, the RockBar at sunset and the Four Seasons Boozy brunch if you ever go that way.

Melbourne-Bali

It was great right up until I broke the cardinal rule of Irish People in Asia.. Don’t eat anything that was washed with the local water. Bali belly took me out for the last 2 days and the 14 hr direct flight to London was hell. I suffered but I reckon the other people on the plane got the worse end of the deal.

Next up was a trip to Europe for a few months and I will cover that in the next post next week :)

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you’re getting sleepy

Lately when rolling, I have been trying different types of attacks and trying to use them to either setup the submission or attack from the get-go. I was looking at loop chokes which have long time been a favorite starting move for me as they lead into great transitions and the submissions are always there. It made me recall a time quite a while back, I rolled against Forrest Goodwin and hit a great rolling loop choke from the open guard, Forrest tapped and I was stoked, more so because I had already tapped about 300 times in the roll to him but I let go of the choke and he said “That was a great move, it came on…” and before he could finish the sentence, he passed out for a split second. This scared the shit out of me at the time but having worked on these more and more, I now see it was a true blood choke which as most of us know, these are on before we realize and this is quite a common thing that can happen! It has also been a great running joke for both of us, well this was until I got used as the partner for Karl Webber’s brown belt grading way back in December 2013! Karl was going through the techniques under Stacey Wilson’s instruction on Hayden but it was deemed a better idea for Karl to do these on me so Hayden and Stacey could discuss the results. I was happy, being a super heavy 70kg and Karl being…..somewhat more than me, I was not overly unused to being the smaller person in a roll but here, it was knee ride attacks being discussed and the baseball bat choke was the move in deep technical breakdown. If anybody has had the privilege of rolling with Karl, he has extremely good grips, weight distribution and really, all around jiu jitsu skills! Here, in this situation, he was asking about variations he could use. I was happy, just watching from the “uke” position when all of a sudden I was lying on my side, ears ringing with that familiar sound, drooling and had gone to sleep from the deep grip already being a blood choke! From what I recall, I was trying to tap but ended up kind of rubbing my hand on Karl’s shoulder with him asking if I was ok! Obviously I was not and was just really lucky to have a high level grappler putting the submission on me! It may not feel deep when the attacks are put on you but the more you know about jiu jitsu, the more you know in yourself when the technique is sound and they will be going to sleep!
Always apply chokes carefully and check on your training partner like Karl did, be like Karl.

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“One day, somebody gonna try take something from you and you gonna hafta choke that motherfu^&er. It’s that simple”. – Ralph Gracie

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The Amazing Mat Spaces of the BJJ Globetrotters Camps

Designing unique mat spaces and rolling experiences at the BJJ Globetrotters camps has become some what of an art form as well as a drug for me. I crave these rare, pure moments of beautiful scenery and beautiful Jiu Jitsu coming together.

Over the last 5-6 years of camps, I think we have managed to pull off some pretty amazing mat space setups; some of them you can see below.

Hold on for many more in the future!

The legendary Beach Camp in El Salvador that ran for four years. 

Rolling under a starry sky in a lush garden like this, was a very unique experience

Intruders vs. Vikings challenge in Glima (Icelandic Wrestling) at the Iceland Camp.

Zen Camp in Poland with a panoramic view over the forest.

Rolling in our private, 1300-year old church at the Castle Camp in Italy.

Our second mat space of the Castle Camp.

Morning rolls with fresh air from the beach in Sardinia, Italy.

Early Caribbean Island Camp outdoor open mat in Saint Barth.

Our most recent set up for the opening open mat at the Caribbean Island Camp in Saint Barth.

An early exotic mat space attempt in Boracay, Philippines during my trip around the world in 2011.

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The Academy Byron Bay (Byron Bay, Australia)

Byron Bay, Australia — After Sydney, my friend and I drove up north making various stops along the east coast of Australia in Port Stephens and Port Macquarie. Each coastal city had its own unique color, but our ultimate destination was magical Byron Bay. After a few days of driving, we finally arrived in one of my favorite destinations in Australia. Byron Bay is known for a relaxed beach town with its hipster surfer vibe. After a long drive and sleeping in a van, I was itching for some training, and I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to train at the Academy Byron Bay.

Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for recent updates: @jwwseo

City
Byron Bay is located about 2-hour drive south from Brisbane and 9-hour drive north from Sydney. This mainland Australia’s easternmost town is home to picturesque beaches and trendy dining scenes. Spectacular beaches along the coast with reliable surf breaks offer various activities such as surfing and dolphin watching while Byron Bay’s town center presents laidback dinings and lively bars. There is something about Byron Bay’ vibe that captures every visitor passing by.

Overview
The Academy Byron Bay offers a wide range of combat sports and fitness classes ranging from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to MMA. Its Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program is headed by Daniel ‘Jacaré (alligator)’ Almeida who is a 3rd degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and an active MMA fighter. From Australian Championships to Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, his competition records in the Heavyweight Division leaves no doubt about Professor Daniel’s Jiu-Jitsu. In his recent MMA wins at Diamondback FC (won by knock out) and Eternal MMA (won by submission) also vouches for his well-rounded skill set as a martial artist.

The Academy is located 5-minutes from Byron Bay’s town center, which attracts BJJ Globetrotters who want to get some sneak BJJ training in while their family members are occupied by beautiful Byron Bay. The Academy Byron Bay created a welcoming atmosphere for visitors as it is not uncommon to host outsiders at the gym. When I walked in, Professor Daniel and friendly students welcomed me to the Byron Bay’s BJJ community. It is fair to assume that coaches are often not as attentive to visiting students compared to the regular ones. However, Professor Daniel’s instructions proved me wrong with his insightful advice as if I were one of the members of the Academy.

Fun fact: 6 months later, while I was training at Alliance in Frankfurt, Germany, someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I rolled with him in Byron Bay. Yes, we did. What were the odds that Rajan and I cross paths with each other again by coincident on the opposite side of the world? This is why I love Jiu-Jitsu.

With Byron Bay’s renowned beaches and relaxed lifestyle, training at the Academy Byron Bay will complete your vacation in this remarkable town. Thank you for perfecting my unforgettable stay in Byron Bay! In hindsight, maybe I should have done my working holiday in Byron Bay fulfilling my dream of surf and jits instead.

Location & Facility
The Academy is located 5-minutes away from Byron Bay’ town center. The facility has a spacious open mat for grappling on the first floor and heavy bags for striking on the second floor. The gym also has a weight training area that is open to all members. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
The gym is open Monday through Saturday offering morning sessions at 7 am and everyday evening classes at 6 pm. The classes are well-balanced between gi and no-gi classes. The Academy Byron Bay’s most recent BJJ training program is posted below:

Miscellaneous
The Academy Byron Bay’s Website

Tourist Attractions

  • Cape Byron Lighthouse — Built along with the most eastern point of mainland Australia, the lighthouse can be reached by following the walking track along the beach. The loop track is about 3.5 km, and the view is simply breathtaking.
  • Byron Bay Beaches — From Main Beach that is conveniently located adjacent to Byron Bay town center to the Pass, which is extremely popular with surfers, Byron Bay has a beach for everyone. You can enjoy turquoise water and white sand beaches while watching dolphins surf the waves. If you prefer being more active, you can jump into the water and join surfers and snorkelers from all around the world.
  • Night Life in Byron Bay — Once the sun goes down, the main street of Byron Bay becomes lively again. Byron Bay offers plenty of options for a night out depending on what you are looking to do. From “Cheeky Monkeys” and “the Sticky Wicket” filled with backpackers to “Beach Hotel” with live bands, you can easily steer your night where you want to go.

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Lighthouse

Out and about in Sao Miguel which is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world!

Introduction for Sabine

Hi Everyone! Some of you already know me from camps, training and seminars but for those that don’t – just wanted to take a moment to introduce and tell you a little bit about myself.

The Beginning

From Alaska to Arizona!I was born in Belgium, but grew up in USA – first Alaska then Arizona. I think I’ve always had a bit of an adventurous streak. I can remember, from a very early age, reading with awe and admiration the stories of other travelers, and imagining what it would be like to go explore unfamiliar places myself.

In 2015, I decided I wanted to get to know Belgian culture and my Belgian extended family firsthand. So, I quit my job, ended my apartment lease, sold most of my things, gave my car to my parents and moved to Belgium on a one way ticket!

It sounds so simple and fearless when stated like that, but the truth was – this was a HUGE first step for me! It wasn’t without planning though – I spent almost the entire previous year saving up funds for the upcoming trip. Having family there was immensely helpful and reassuring as well. I’d been to Belgium a couple of times before on family vacation trips, so it wasn’t a completely unknown destination.

Still, this was more than just a short vacation. There were many moments of extreme doubt when I questioned every aspect of the decision to move. It’s difficult to leave the security and comfort of a familiar and stable routine in favor of the unknown. But, it’s also very exciting. And, a part of me felt that I just had to go. Even if it ended disastrously, I knew without a doubt that the regret I’d feel for not having had the courage to pursue this dream would have haunted me for the rest of my life.

I look back on it now as one of the best decisions ever made.

Pretty pretty Belgium!

BJJ Begins!

For the previous 10 years or so, I’d been a somewhat athletic person, trying a variety of sports from yoga to indoor rock climbing to jogging to power lifting, all of which I enjoyed to some extent.

I first heard about jiu-jitsu from a friend who was practicing the sport, and talked about it constantly. It piqued my curiosity enough to look up a gym in my city and try an intro class – I was instantly hooked!

Shortly thereafter, I booked my first Globetrotter Camp (Leuven 2017) which through pure amazing luck was located just an hour away by train from my home! I had some second thoughts about the wisdom of attending a multi-day training camp without knowing anyone, being a somewhat shy and introverted person, and still being so new to BJJ. But, I ended up having the BEST time!

Those Summercamp Days!

I really can’t say enough good things about my experience at the Globetrotter Camp. The training, organization, and venue were wonderful, but what made the biggest impression on me was the people involved. From the moment I arrived, participants and organizers were friendly, welcoming, and excited to train regardless of age, gender, rank, gym affiliation, language or nationality. It made me realize that BJJ was much more than a casual sport – it was a passion that connected people from all paths of life, an entire community!

First patch I ever sewed onto a gi, while sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean in Malta!In regards to traveling, BJJ is one of the big unifying factors of my trips. With every new location, everything might change – my home space, the neighborhood, the people around me, the food, the language, the currency, the climate, the culture etc. but despite all this – the experience of training BJJ remains very much the same. Every new destination only feels foreign until I step on the mats then, with a fist bump and a smile, it suddenly feels like home again.

A New Adventure

While living in Belgium, I had the opportunity to visit many of the neighboring countries in Europe for short trips, sometimes solo and sometime with friends. These countries included France, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Malta, Cyprus, and Ireland – all of which further increased my love of traveling and desire to experience different cultures.

Towards the end of 2018, I took the very big step of leaving behind a fixed location in favor of slowly traveling the world for the upcoming year, relocating every couple weeks/months.

The world is full of such beautiful places!

The Plan

I’ll be returning to USA to visit family December/January (as I do every winter), then plan to begin exploring the Asian countries early 2019. My past travels have been largely restricted to Europe, so I expect this to be quite different than what I’ve experienced before. I’m still in the process of researching logistics, but will probably start with Bali then country-hop from there, returning to Europe for the big BJJ Globetrotters Germany Summer Camp in July/August!

My criteria for choosing a location is loosely as follows (not in priority order): good public transportation system, has stable fast wifi, reasonably cheap, reasonably safe, has at least one place to train BJJ, and has decent weather/climate (I hate the cold). Of course, not every destination will meet all of these points, but these are my general guidelines.

As I’m budget traveling, great deals on flights and accommodations might mean choosing some unexpected locations, which I think is a great opportunity to visit a place I possibly wouldn’t have otherwise considered. Of course, I’ll be training in every city, with the goal of visiting 200 BJJ gyms around the globe! I’m still very much in the process of learning the ropes of traveling and living this way, so will undoubtedly learn a lot in the upcoming year. Besides BJJ, my interests include art/graphics, nature, beautiful spaces, animals, and desserts. Therefore, you can expect future posts to touch on some/all of these of these topics to some extent.

So… cheers to the adventure, new experiences, and to the ongoing BJJ journey! Hope to see you on the mats :)

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Legacy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Sydney, Australia)

Sydney, Australia — Let the road trip begin! After Vietnam and Cambodia, I returned to the land of kangaroos and koalas. My friend and I rented a van for two weeks and planned to drive up the east coast of Australia, and our initial point was Sydney. Before picking up the camping van and spending the first night at the Mcdonald’s parking lot on the way to the next destination, I had an opportunity to train at Legacy BJJ.

Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for recent updates: @jwwseo

City
Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and the largest city in Australia. It is commonly referred to as the Harbour City as it is known for its harbourfront Sydney Opera House and iconic Harbour Bridge that illuminates the city every night. With its setting next to sandy surf beaches and modernized skylines, Sydney possesses its own unique color.

Overview
Legacy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy was founded by Thiago Braga who is a 3rd-degree black belt under Paulo Guimarães. The academy initially started with a few classes a week in a small space in the Sydney suburb of Glebe, and now Legacy BJJ has multiple branches under its flag around Australia including Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast with its headquarter in Chippendale, Sydney. The Academy has competition-proven black belt instructors leading 3–4 sessions of gi and no-gi classes every day, and its program is catered for all levels from beginners to competitors.

Although I wanted to train a few times before living out of a van and driving all the way up to Gold Coast, I could only squeeze one no-gi session. The gym’s proximity to the Sydney Central station made it easily accessible, and the surrounding area was lively with restaurants and shops next to the University of Sydney. The gym entrance made the facility look like a fire station. However, as I stepped in, the spacious white mat caught my eyes.

At Legacy BJJ, I was welcomed by Professor Caio Tamura and the Legacy BJJ family. The session was led by Professor Caio Tamura, a 2x Australian national and 3x Pan Pacific champion, whose BJJ competency has been proven by his competition records. As bright as its white mat, the academy has a vibrant atmosphere. Everyone was friendly and approachable, and Professor Tamura created a cheerful environment for training. I was pleasantly surprised to be in such a large class for a lunch session, and I could only assume that the academy would be full of students for evening sessions.

Sydney is a city that has a lot to offer, but I would recommend you to drop by Legacy BJJ and receive a top-notch Australian BJJ training from friendly and expert instructors. Thank you, Legacy BJJ family. Until next time!

Location & Facility
Legacy BJJ is located between the Sydney Central station and the University of Sydney campus, and the academy is within a short walking distance from the Sydney Central station. The facility includes a clean white mat space with a boxing ring. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
Legacy BJJ’s most recent training schedule is posted below:

Miscellaneous
Legacy BJJ’s Website

Tourist Attractions

  • Syndey Opera House — This architectural masterpiece is the most iconic landmark in Australia and one of the busiest performing arts centers in the world. The famous urban sculpture sets on beautiful Sydney Harbor next to the Sydney central business district. If you are in Sydney, you cannot skip visiting the Sydney Opera House.
  • Bondi Beach — Located next to the Icebergs pool, Bondi Beach remains one of the most iconic beaches in Australia. The white-sand beaches and curling waves draw surfers and visitors from all over the world, and the beach is surrounded by trendsetting cafes and laid-back pubs. You should go grab fish and chips and head out to Bondi Beach for a nice picnic!
  • Sydney Harbour Bridge — Connecting between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore, The world’s largest steel arch bridge provides a panoramic view of Sydney Harbour. If you are brave enough, you can climb to the summit of the bridge.
  • The Blue Mountains — The region gets its name from the distinctive blue horizon created by droplets of eucalyptus tree oil mixed with water vapor and sunlight. It is located about 2 hours west of Sydney, and it is known for its dramatic scenery with cliffs and forests. The views from the Three Sisters sandstone rock formation is simply astonishing. 
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Melbourne Australia

Greetings From Melbourne Australia (8-14 Nov 2017)!

Moving from Geelong to Melbourne was the fastest and easiest travel between two stops on the Odyssey, it was literally just an hour or so train ride to downtown Melbourne, Geelong is really just next to Melbourne after all. This stop was my first time staying in a hostel in Australia, which I can say looking back I’m not a fan of them overall, but I’ll get into that shortly. I made my to the hostel, checked in and found my room without any problem after getting used to the transit system and finding my bearings. I had to quickly find my way around downtown and the area surrounding the hostel as when I checked in my one and only pair of shorts I’ve had since Paris decided to blowout and ripped practically in two. I bent over to pick up my bags after checking in and, in front of a packed lobby, my shorts ripped open showing off my ass to everyone, good thing I was wearing underwear that day. Finding my bed I dropped my bags off and changed into something that didn’t leave my ass hanging out and headed out to find a clothing store. While searching for a new pair of shorts, which I found easy enough, I was able scout out various interesting places to eat and stores of interest. This ended up actually being a really good turn of events since I later realized there was no way of being able to use the kitchen during my stay if I wanted to also make the class times.

As I mentioned before I did enjoy staying at the hostels in Australia. This stop was one of only two places I stayed at a hostel in Australia but I have heard that what I experienced is similar all or most of the hostels there. I had no problem with the bed or the room itself at this place, I was quite comfortable sleeping there, my problem is more with the kitchen. Not only could I never use the kitchen to cook but there was no space in the fridges to keep any food either. The reason for this is that in Australia getting temporary work visa is apparently easy, or a lot of work places seem to be lax for paperwork. I overheard people talking about spending a weekend to pick up a white card to work general labour but nothing about getting a work visa, in fact a few even said it wasn’t needed. So the hostels are packed with people all working, mostly illegally, living and eating in packs together taking over the entire kitchen space as if it’s their own place. I was unable to cook or keep food in either hostel and I don’t think anyone staying there for a short stay was either. I was forced to eat out the whole time and I went really over budget because of this. At least Australia is beautiful and has awesome Jiu-Jitsu. 

The Sights 

I got shown a lot of Melbourne outside the downtown area one night when I met up with Ian, a purple belt I met on the Globetrotters Facebook group and kept in contact for my visit to Melbourne. We met up to train a few times during my stay and both times Ian told me about the history of Melbourne and the area. My favourite thing about Australia, besides the amazing beaches, is the Australian Football League (AFL) and Melbourne is a big AFL city. Each district of Melbourne has it’s own team and they’re huge fans, it changes the feeling of each area, especially when one of them won the Championships recently. Think of being in New York and walking through Yankees territory who just won and crossing the street into Mets territory who just lost, and there’s six teams in this same city. Driving around with Ian explaining all this to me was awesome, I wish I had pictures of the different team banners and signs in restaurants and bar windows.

Other than checking out another big botanical garden again I did some walking around to some of the different monuments and historical buildings. Here are some pictures of Melbourne and a video I made. Check out the video over on Panda’s Odyssey Youtube Channel. You can also check out all my pictures of this and all my other stops over on my Flickr Account

During my stay in Melbourne Remembrance Day occurred, I almost forgot as there wasn’t much posted for it in the city, not like back in Canada where we sell poppies everywhere and have posters for the various services in the cities. In Australia Remembrance Day seems a smaller affair with Anzac Day being the bigger occasion. As it happens the day I was out sight seeing and filming was Remembrance Day, as you saw above I caught a bit of the service at the Shrine of Remembrance which is greatest monument honouring their fallen I’ve seen so far in my travels.

Clifton Hill BJJ

Melbourne is the Jiu-Jitsu central of Australia, there are many great gyms in the big city and I tried visiting as many as possible. Ian trains at Clifton Hill BJJ which is held in the Collingwood sports center, which closer to the Carlton Football team than Collingwood’s but who am I argue names. I arrived by train and with Ian’s directions I found the center without problems. I was a bit early so I was confused where the classes were held as there was no signs for it and when I looked inside there were no mats. One by one people showed up, greeted me and then started pulling puzzle mats out of the storage room. In no time the hardwood gym floor was matted and the class was warming up. By the time Ian showed up I had already meet Chris, the black belt and head instructor, who introduced me to everyone else.

I think we trained for 2 hours that night, I know we had a full hour of drilling before rolling and we rolled for a while. The gym really made me feel welcome, they’re not a big club but they’re all very kind and open people and most of them travel a lot themselves so we had all sorts of stories to share. Chris especially had a lot of stories. I can’t remember what exactly we drilled in class but I do remember sharing some little details with Chris who showed me an awesome quick shoulder lock from mount that surprised the hell out of me when he suddenly threw it on. It was great, however brief, meeting the Clifton Hill gym and training with them. Thanks for making me feel welcome, the fun chats and the cool sneaky move you taught me Chris!

Melbourne Budo Academy/Jean Jacques Machado BJJ Melbourne

I’m glad I was able to meet up with Ian, who not only brought me out to this gym and showed me around but to also brought me another place for open mat, Jean Jacques BJJ Melbourne. The gym is in a dojo, the Melbourne Budo Academy, which holds other classes.  The dojo is a big open square space with tatami mats and classical dojo tapestries and weapon racks on the walls. I got dressed and started warming up as Ian introduced me to everyone, they seemed welcoming enough, if a bit quiet, I figured maybe it was the traditional martial arts influence creeping into the Jiu-Jitsu culture. Either way we had fun rolling with each other.

It was a small group that showed up but everyone was there to drill and roll. The head instructor Jon wasn’t at the open mat but Ben was, a very skilled purple belt who I believe recently received his brown belt, and he totally destroyed me. I’m glad he has his brown belt now, I’m sure it won’t be long before his black belt either. Ian and I had a good 10-15 minute roll of just flowing back and forth and working on moving and defending, trying new things and seeing where it went. It was lots of fun, Ian isn’t just a great host showing me around and bringing me out to the gyms but also a great partner to train with. Thanks Ian for everything, you really made this stop a blast!

Academy BJJ

Academy BJJ was a last minute addition to this visit. A friend from the UK, Can (Jon) contacted me connected me to a former student of his that is now living and training in Melbourne, small world! I wasn’t able to meet up with the student as our schedules didn’t match up but I did make it out to class to meet and train with the gym. The gym is was easy to find with it being on the ground floor and big signage, as soon as I walked into the gym I met Prof. Dan the head instructor who greeted me openly and welcomed me into his club. I showed up early so while the white belt class was running I watched and spoke with Prof. Dan about the Odyssey between his teaching points to the class. The night I came out to class isn’t a big night for senior belts so most of the class were white belts, which was actually good for me because not only was I tired from the hectic schedule but that meant I can just follow along and work on refining fundamentals without the fear of being tested and crushed by senior belts. In all seriousness it was nice training at Academy BJJ with Prof. Dan’s students, we worked guard passing and retention concepts for different open guards I worked with some senior white and blue belts on their game for passing, I think there was a competition coming up. I felt welcomed and comfortable and would love to visit them again one day.

De Been 100% Jiu-Jitsu

Another gym I checked out while I was in Melbourne was De Been 100% Jiu-Jitsu. I found them on the Free Rollers site list of affiliate gyms that welcome visitors. I was only able to make it out to the noon time class, I think it was the same day I went to the evening class at Academy BJJ, hitting five gyms in one visit while also sight seeing meant some busy days. The gym is in an upstairs space, with the mat area is a long rectangular room, separate from the rest of the gym. The space is really nice, it’s too bad I could only make it out to lunch time class where only a few people come out instead the busy evening classes, either way I had a fun time. As there were only four or five of us we just went over one technique, I believe it was working De La Riva guard, or spider guard, retaining and passing drills. After the drilling for a short while we got to rolling round robin, I’m pretty sure I rolled with everyone at least twice before we ended the session. I wish I could say more but I didn’t connect with anyone online before dropping by like usual and I have no pics from this visit so I’m pretty empty handed other than my memories of having fun training and chatting with the small group who showed up. I know it doesn’t make for a great story to share but it was a good time none the less.

Absolute MMA

The last gym I checked out on this visit I had already been to before, Absolute MMA St Kilda held a seminar the week before and I attended with guys from Geelong. It was an awesome experience and I’m glad I did it as that was the only time I was able to meet Craig Jones, Kit Dale and Lachlan Giles as none of them were around for the only class I attended. Well, Craig Jones was hanging out in class but he wasn’t teaching or training as he was taking off right after for his trip to USA to compete in EBI and hold some seminars. Instead another instructor named Lachlan, who is a celebrated competitor, was teaching the morning class. This class was the only one I was able to show up to, I had plans to return for the evening classes but ended up oversleeping on a badly planned afternoon nap. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body and go with the flow and rest.

Anyways, I showed to Absolute MMA for the morning class, it’s an impressive space with two sizable mat spaces, one with heavy bags, and a weights area for conditioning. The BJJ classes are held in the larger back mat space. I got changed and, with permission of the instructor, set up my GoPro before class to capture the training session. During class we focused on guard breaking and passing then added more details and more moves to the sequence. After drilling we got into positional rolling in a ‘King of the Mat’ format. Pass or sweep, winner stays on the mat and loser goes back in line. A universal favourite drill among Jiu-Jitsu gyms. Of course positional rolling then turned to free rolling rounds that went pretty much until no one could roll anymore. It was a great time, I had some good matches and fun conversations along the sidelines. I wish I could have come back for more but there’s always next time.

Here’s a video of my time training at Absolute MMA, follow the link and you can see all my other videos as well at the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube channel, while you’re there please show some love, like, share, comment and subscribe!

After a really busy and way too short visit I was off to my next visit where I got to see more sun, beach and of course Jiu-Jitsu, Sydney!

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

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Blog 5 — A Few Provinces

Feels good to be on the road again. Currently driving West through Canada towards British Columbia. We’ve done the drive heading into Northern Ontario a few times now. Camping or visiting family. It hasn’t got old yet. Northern Ontario feels very much like a smaller version of British Columbia — a lot of forested mountains, surrounded by bodies of water. It’s a beautiful drive. Once you reach Manitoba however, the next Province over, it’s completely different. By different I mean flat. For miles. Actually for the next two Provinces! Now I do love Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but anyone who’s done the drive can confirm, there just isn’t much to see lol. Needless to say we put in a good few hours of driving each day. 

Heading towards Northern Ontario along Lake Superior

When going through Manitoba however, we did stop for a few days so I could get some training in at the same gym I had previously stopped at a few months ago while returning home from the West side of Canada— Gracie Humaita, Winnipeg. I really enjoyed training here. I was concerned that because it was during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, it may be closed or have little-to-no attendance. Well, not only were they open but on Thanksgiving Day, I walked in to a 2-hour open mat session with about 30 people already rolling. Can it get much better than that? I really don’t think so. They even had another busy open mat session in the evening. So it was great to stay here a couple days and get a lot of rounds in. The weather was beginning to get cold though so we continued West. 

Coach Randal B. and a few of us from the evening class.

In Saskatchewan I was able to spend a few days in Regina at Complete Mixed Martial Arts. Their head instructor, AJ Scales is super nice and brings the pressure lol. He’s a big guy and can move like a cat. Great time here it’s a great team. I also met a fellow Globetrotter, Alvil Tayco, who was super cool. What’s up brother. 

My mulatto brother from another mother AJ Scales

Alvil said he needed a selfie.

By this time, flurries are beginning to accumulate in the small pockets of fallen leaves on the ground. The top layers of puddles on the ground have now frozen over. The wind is beginning to hurt my face. This means we’re likely overdue to continue driving towards BC. We have a furnace, so we’re fine hanging out inside the RV, however the point of this lifestyle for us, is to not have to be this cold at all. So, it was back on the road. 

When we arrived at our next destination, Calgary Alberta, it was 17 C and sunny. I was comfortably walking around in pants and T shirt. We had apparently just arrived after it had warmed up from a recent snowstorm they had. There were still large piles of melting snow along the sides of the roads. We took advantage of the good weather, stayed a few days and did some hiking in the area. It was fun to meet up with some old friends Gloria, David and Leeroy and all train together. We met up and trained at their local gym Josh Russel Academy. This was not my first time here so I knew the training is great and Josh has a killer team.

Heading into the Rocky Mountain range in Alberta.

From Calgary we continued West and arrived in Banff. I could, and will be spending a lot of time here in the future. A resort town located within Banff National Park. Tons of stuff to do and all of it is amazing. The main street, Banff Ave, is lined with boutiques, restaurants and hotels. All surround by mountains and 6500 square kilometers of parkland, that home to animals like elk and grizzly bears.

Our overnight spot in The Tunnel Mountain Village II Campground in Banff.

Took this picture on a walk in the morning. There were 5 or 6 more with this guy who were only a few ft. from me.

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

One of the waterfalls on a hike within Banff National Park

45 minutes from West of Banff was our next stop in Lake Louise. Another amazing place. It’s tough not to walk around awestruck somewhere like this. A vibrant turquoise lake with a beach surrounded by gigantic mountains on all sides. You can watch the water run directly from the glacier down the mountain and into the lake. The melting water carries glacial silt that’s created when rocks underneath the surface of the ice are grinding from the movement of the glacier. The silt is very light and stays suspended in the lake water. The sunlight that reflects off the suspended silt is what gives the lake the amazing color. 

One of the coolest places in Canada.

The famed Lake Louise turquoise water.

Fairmont Chateau, Lake Louise (It’s not a small hotel)
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Ronin BJJ Hanoi (Hanoi, Vietnam)

Hanoi, Vietnam — After Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, I hopped on a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. As a huge fan of Vietnamese food, I cannot describe how excited I was to finally explore Vietnam (Yes, I had pho and spring rolls every day). From what I have heard from other backpackers in hostels, Hanoi and its surrounding cities are among one of the top destinations for backpackers. In this busy city full of motorbikes and tourists, I found Ronin BJJ Hanoi.

Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for recent updates: @jwwseo

City
Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, possesses an ancient Southeast Asian color shaped by the French influence. Within the Old Quarter, travelers can easily find French-colonial architectures and pagodas surrounded by shops and restaurants. With historical structures and delightful Vietnamese cuisines, Hanoi’s unique charm attracts tourists from all around the world. Also, its proximity to Vietnam’s tranquil countryside such as Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh makes the city an ideal destination for travelers to start exploring Southeast Asia.

Overview
Ronin: A samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period  of Japan

Just like its name, Ronin BJJ Hanoi was established by two local purple belts who aim to spread their love of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to others in Hanoi. The academy, affiliated with BJJ Globetrotters, follows the philosophy of BJJ Globetrotters, and it is common for Ronin BJJ to host travelers to train and share their knowledge.

As much as I wanted to train every day in Hanoi, I was only able to attend one no-gi training due to a tight itinerary. When I reached out to Ronin BJJ via Facebook, I received a prompt and friendly response of “ Welcome, Globetrotter” with the academy’s schedule and location. The gym was located about a 15 min taxi ride away from the city center. Initially, I struggled to find the facility since it was located within an apartment complex. As soon as I walked into Ronin BJJ, I felt immediately welcomed by everyone at the academy.

Although the BJJ community is comparably small in Vietnam, it is impressive to see the growth Ronin BJJ is bringing to the country. The students and instructors were full of energy, and the atmosphere was vibrant. During the session, I realized that I was lucky to live in a country with an easy assess to BJJ. It was inspiring to witness how instructors and students at Ronin BJJ continue to travel to sharpen their skills. As a ronin myself with no home academy or affiliation, Ronin BJJ suits me perfectly, and it is always pleasant to know that I can instantly connect with someone via Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you are in Hanoi, you should join these Ronins for a BJJ training session after enjoying an absurd amount of Vietnamese food. Thank you, Ronin BJJ family.

Location & Facility
Ronin BJJ is located just outside of the Old Quarter. The public transportation system is not as convenient in Vietnam, so I would highly recommend using a mobile app “Grab” (similar to Uber). The taxi ride should not take more than 15min from the Old Quarter. Ronin BJJ’s facility includes a spacious mat space with showers and locker rooms. (Google Map: Link)

Schedule
Ronin BJJ’s most recent training program is posted below:

Visitor Fee
Ronin BJJ Hanoi is a BJJ Globetrotters affiliated gym. However, it is always courteous to reach out to the gym before your visit.

Miscellaneous
Ronin BJJ’s Website

Tourist Attractions

  • Hoàn Kiem Lake — The lake is located in the center of Hanoi surrounding the Ngoc Son Temple. With various restaurants and shops around this scenic lake, Hoan Kiem Lake remains one of the most iconic landmarks in Hanoi.
  • Ha Long Bay / Cat Ba Island — Located about 3 hours from Hanoi, Cat Ba island and Ha Long Bay remains the quintessential destinations in Vietnam. This UNESCO World Heritage site will provide travelers with a unique experience of its limestone landscape. You could easily join an organized boat tour, which generally includes food and kayaking.
  • Ninh Binh — Compared to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa, Ninh Binh is comparably tourist-free. Its complex mountains and caves with beautiful religious structures will provide a serene scenery. Also, do not forget to get a peddle boat ride along the river and through underground caves!
  • Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long — Commonly known as the Hanoi Citadel, the Citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty, and it was the political center of the region for 13 consecutive centuries. The Imperial Citadel buildings reflect a unique Southeast Asian culture combining influences from China in the north and the ancient Kindom of Champa in the South.
  • Hanoi Weekend Night Market — Hanoi Weekend Night Market is held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The market runs through the Old Quarter all the way to Hoan Kiem Lake. The market is full of roadside stalls with inexpensive t-shirts and fake Raybans and local food vendors offering iconic Hanoi dishes. Be sure to haggle from the opening price!
  • Pho & Spring Rolls — Self-explanatory. They taste even better when they are only $3 USD!