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Benevento – Pescara – Lucca – Turin – Switzerland

Hey Globetrotters

 

On my way back I stopped at Benevento for a weekend to enjoy the nice food of my grandmother. Then on Monday I drove 4 hours to my aunt in Pescara and enjoyed a nice day at the beach. On the way to Pescara I stopped at a Caseificio to get fresh buffalo mozzarella.

 

 

Unfortunately there was no BJJ, not in Salerno nor in Pescara. There is one thing you need to know about Italy: IN AUGUST EVERYONE IS IN HOLIDAY!

 

On Tuesday I had a 7 hours trip to Lucca, the longest ride I’ve had on my whole trip. I started at 7 o’clock in the morning and arrived at 16:00 o’clock in the afternoon at Ivan’s place. With him I spent the evening walking around Lucca and eating some good Granitas.

 

On Wednesday I went from Lucca to Torino, my last stop in Italy. Fortunately, there was training with 3 guys from the Officine BJJ. Unfortunately, I had an accident on my way back from training, 100 meters before I arrived at home. Nothing happened to me luckily, but the damage on both vehicles was decent, so I let everything do the insurances.

 

The next day I had a 5 hours ride to Switzerland and the whole way to Switzerland was full with cars cause the summer vacations were about to end this weekend. But with my vespa I just went between the queues and tricked my way to Switzerland. Arrived there I organized a training session with a good friend of mine and we talked and trained for hours.

 

On the evening my girlfriend awaited me and we went out to a restaurant with my father and enjoyed a beautiful dinner with my beloved ones. On the weekend we organized a little family party and yeah, that’s it.

 

 

My trip end’s here and my blog as well. I gained much experience about Italy and my trip had everything: breakdown’s, accident’s and beautiful moment’s as well. I learned much about myself while I was concentrating to do just BJJ on my trip.

 

With all this new energy gathered on my trip I will continue to train BJJ in Switzerland and try to give my best in every sparring session with my friends. I want to thank BJJ Globetrotters for the sponsoring package which helped me a lot and for the opportunity to have a blog on this beautiful page.

 

On my next trip I try to visit on of the BJJ Globetrotters Camp, so I can meet some of you guys in person.

 

Till then, keep on training guys!!

 

Oss

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Marsala – Palermo – Salerno – Benevento

Hey Globetrotters

 

I’m feeling a bit better, but I won’t do the whole Sicily trip again (since that’s what I wanted to do at the beginning). With my back I’m not able to ride 4-6 hours a day. The coach from Palermo, Ruben, offered me to stay at his place. I’m getting along so well with him and Hygor and I just couldn’t say no :)

 

So my trip went along to Marsala, but on the way to Marsala I stopped at the “Scala dei Turchi”. That was beautiful to see and I chilled on the beach for the rest of the day.

 

 

In Marsala I was because there was a gym, but with my back I skipped training for that day. And I even skipped the other day in Palermo. But on Wednesday, after just 4 days without training (regarding on how much pain I felt, I thought I won’t be able to do BJJ for the month) I trained. Still having a bit of pain but all in the Jiu-Jiutsable zone. And well, training, eating, sleeping. That was it till Friday.

 

On Friday I took the boat from Palermo to Salerno. A 10 hours ride from Sicily to nearly Napoli. So on the ticket was written: “The LAST (!) possible check in is 2 hours before departure”. Well fuck you. 1 hour is more than enough. Even 30 Minutes. I was a bit pissed because of that, since my alarm started at 6:30 because of that :D

 

 

While waiting in the queue, a elder guy walked up to me asking in swiss german: “Did you drive all the way down from Switzerland to Sicliy?”. Yes, indeed! The next 6 hours on the boat I spent with him chatting about life and Italy (He was an Italian that also lives in Switzerland). And I got a bit seasick. Still better than driving 7 hours back from Sicily to my grandparent’s place. After arriving on 20:30 in Salerno I had another hour to drive, where my lovely grandmother was already waiting with a plate of homemade pasta.

 

The rest of the weekend I spent at my grandparent’s place, eating, sleeping, organizing my University stuff and getting ready for the drive back to Switzerland.

 

The last week of my Italy travel. Can’t wait to finish traveling and arrive at my house, hugging my girlfriend. Hugging… ;)

 

See you next week

Oss

catania-etna

Catania – Palermo – Agrigento

Hello Globetrotters

 

I’m still cruising around in Sicily. On my way to Catania I saw the how some landscapes were burning and I always thought, how beautiful it looks. And I also thought that this Island is some pre stadium of hell. After arriving in my beautiful Airbnb room, I did a nap, some stretching and watched some BJJ videos, before going to BJJ training. In Catania is an American military base, so I trained with many guys from USA and got even saluted at saying goodbye (what an honour!).

 

On the next morning I had a cute little Training session with another guy I met in Mesina, before climbing up Etna. They gave me recommendations where to eat and what I can’t miss. So I went to an all you can eat Sushi/Italian Restaurant and just ate for 3 hours, unfortunately alone. A little company would have been really appreciated.

I climbed up Etna for like 2 hours and then walked down slowly another hour, listening to music and gazing at the stunning view of Sea, City & Nature mixed. I didn’t went to the top, cause I would have spent another two hours and I was so exhausted from doing much BJJ and this night I didn’t sleep well, because the room where I slept had no shutters (so at 6 am I gtt the sun straight in my face).

 

 

After Catania I went to Palermo, where Ruben Stabile, another BJJ Globetrotter and Matsurfer was waiting for me. They did wrestling on 2:30 and because of my injured foot I’m not able to do standup. So, after the wrestling training some guys put the gi on and trained with me and a guy from Stockholm, till 6 pm. And at 20:00 I went to the evening training, where another one hour sparring session awaited me. As well a Brazilian guy called Hygor from Cicero Costha Sao Paolo was staying at Rubens place for 3 months, so the school could develop. Hygor even won the biggest Italian Tournament in Florence, so I was asking questions where I could to improve my BJJ.

 

On Friday then I got injured really bad on my neck. I was stuck with my head on the floor while my sparring partner was putting pression on my hips, blocking me from moving but at the same time nearly breaking my neck. Unfortunately, he didn’t hear it at first (because obviously it was no position to tap) and he raised the pressure, where I screamed to stop. At the beginning I was good, but after 4 hours my spine started to hurt and I couldn’t get any sleep on that night, because every movement was hurting my spine so bad. After a sleepless night I called an Osteopath to cure my backache and after having called 20, one agreed to give me a treatment.

 

On Saturday morning then, he massaged me for one hour. After that he told me to cough and swallow and walk around. In my head I was thinking: “It still hurt’s like hell, my money is wasted and I’m not able to keep on traveling like that” and after 3 minutes I started crying like a baby! Suddenly the tension in my back was relieved and I could move significantly better than before crying. He told me, that my body just experienced a trauma and that with letting my emotion out, my cell started to heal. Luckily there was no damage on my spin and just my muscles are so stiff, that the pull on my nerves and that’s where the pain comes from.

 

So after being half healed, I went on to Agrigento. And it was a hell of a 2 hours ride with my back! Arrived at the hostel all people that saw me offered to help me wherever they could (cause they saw that I was walking like an 80 years old guy). I slept really good the whole night and on the next morning I went to the “Valle dei Templi”, a valley full with temple of the Greek culture.

 

 

The rest of the weekend I spent being on diet, relaxing and hoping that my back heals fast.

 

See you next week

Oss

Sozopol

Sozopol, Bulgaria

Finally, this is officially a travel blog. It only took roughly 44 hours to get from my home in Asheville, to our first BJJ travel destination in Bulgaria. All of my flight connections happened remarkably as-planned, as did our bus connection in Bucharest to get down to the Black Sea coast here in Bulgaria. My sketchy-looking passport got me through all the borders with flying colors, so I’ve naturally grown a little more confident in its powers. My trusty travel buddy had one hic-up, but luckily he wasn’t delayed too long and he’s here with me.

Black Sea coastal town of Sozopol, Bulgaria

We arrived just in time for the no-gi class this morning, fresh off an overnight 9-hour maxi-taxi ride down the Bulgarian coast. Unfortunately we weren’t able to make it for the camp headliner yesterday evening. Now it’s solely up to the Romanians to help us take our BJJ games to the next level. I had fun drilling and rolling with some new people, but honestly the jetlag and overall lack of a good night’s sleep is dragging me down, man. I can’t wait to sleep in a real bed tonight; I’m having a difficult time keeping my eyes open while writing this blog despite doing all I can to get my circadian rhythms in check, like drinking plenty of water and getting some sun exposure.

The beach in Sozopol, Bulgaria

My former student, Sandu, brought 4 of his students down from Moldova with him. I’ve had the opportunity to roll with one so far and he’s really good. It’s been over 4 years since I’ve rolled with Sandu, and he’s a lot better now too; lots of new, good stuff he’s added to his game. I’m looking forward to gi training tonight as my no-gi skills are admittedly sub-par.

Our hotel with the Bulgarian and European Union flags flying high

Our accommodations are fairly basic yet comfortable. The view out our hotel room window leaves a bit to be desired, but at least we’re only a 10-minute walk from the beach. I’ll be doing some hard-core hand washing of all my training clothes for the next week and a half. I’ll consider myself fortunate that I at least have a shower and lukewarm water to work with. I’m not sure I’ll be so lucky in Moldova, but we’ll see. More on that later. Time to put my gi on!

Moose Testicles

Last days in Canada Part1

So the time has come for us to depart the sunny shores of Canada!

The last few weeks have seen us fit in so much but I will try to cover it all here.

We managed to get some rafting in Calgary. A great little day trip that sees you throw a rented inflatable boat in the river and just go all the way until you either get tired and get out of the water or continue a couple of weeks until you get to Saskatechewan. We chose the former and got out somewhere downtown. 

We had a visit from one of the instructors from the 2018 Globetrotter USA Camp. Devin Powell was up in Calgary with his lovely wife Carol-Lynn. 

He was fighting on the card for UFC in Calgary. To say that I was nervous while watching it is a massive understatement. It was like watching Ireland V England in the Six Nations and the result was similar! Devin managed to dispatch his opponent with a devastating combo of liver kicks. You could literally see the poor fella’s soul exiting his body. 

What made this whole experience better was that I managed to score some decent tickets for Prof. Gigante and I. So we went and grabbed some Brazilian BBQ (I mentioned the place in an earlier post) and then headed to watch the show. 

To see a a team or fighter that you support win is always such a good thing. In this case it felt very different. Devin and his wife are such good, down to earth people. This win is part of one of their much larger goals and you got the feeling that so much was riding on this performance. Being a relatively stoic sports fan I don’t usually celebrate too much. In this case, having a brief glimpse of how hard Devin worked and what it meant, I was literally jumping from my seat in the crowd and went berserk when he landed the finishing blows! 

The celebratory drinks were excellent!

The next day we headed to the mountains with Devin, Carol-lynn and one of their friends, Trevor.  I managed to have a good training related chat with Trevor (who teaches at 2 different BJJ schools) over breakfast and his insight was very much appreciated!

We hiked up Johnston canyon and had a nice chilly dip in the waters of the falls. Turns out they are only 3 hours removed from a glacier and were absolutely baltic. We had a great fondue dinner at a spot in Banff and a few drinks to boot. It was genuinely one of the best weekends of our time in Canada and both Sarah and I genuinely wish the best upon the Powells and Trevor in the future! I also look forward to getting to Maine to visit Nostos MMA to get some training in at some point!

A few days after later I got a call whilst on the way to Gigantes BJJ gym. One of the blue belts wanted to make sure I was attending class that night. A bit strange, but it was one of my last nights in town so I figured there would be some photos to be had. 

Much to my genuine surprise, as the end of the class came around, Prof. Fernando pulled my up in front of everyone to say goodbye and handed me my Blue Belt! 

It was genuinely an honour that was not expected. At the end of the day, he is one of the toughest coaches I have trained with and he strives to keep the quality of his school’s jiujitsu up to a ridiculously high standard. I have seen a 15 year old green belt from Gigante BJJ take out adult blue belts in competition!

I will definitely do my utmost to make sure I keep my end of the bargain and to represent Gigante BJJ’s standards as a blue belt on my future travels!

Moving forward, we started packing for our 1700 KM drive from Calgary to Jasper, Jasper to Kelowna and then Kelowna to Vancouver for the Holiday weekend in August. 

Everything was going to plan until I got a massive smack of Sinus Tarsi Syndrome. Completely took my right foot out of action for a week and then the left foot start acting up aswell! You have not lived until you have seen an otherwise fit and healthy Irishman trying to use crutches without a single working leg. The surprisingly large amounts of pain aside, it has been a very humbling and educational experience. Sarah has been doing everything for me. All the driving, cooking, packing.. you name it. She is genuinely a saint of a woman!

The pain will subside but the memories of this amazing road trip across Canada will remain!

This week we are staying with some friends in Vancouver. I am hoping to get back on my feet and to get out to visit a couple of gyms. The lovely folks at Alliance and Checkmat have invited me along for a session, so hopefully later in the week I can go see how large the target on my back has become!

I will close out the Canada adventures later this week when I jump the plane to Australia!

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Blog 3 — Beaches and Boondocking

Recently we visited a town named Kingsville for my cousins wedding, an Italian wedding. This meant we were able to indulge in filet mignon, stuffed chicken, pizza, wine, and even a bit of soccer. Located on the property of a winery, it was a beautiful location and a fantastic night with friends and family. There was about 400 people in attendance. So after almost defying physics with the amount of food and wine I was able to consume, we then drove about 10 hours north to spend time with some of Sarah’s family at a cottage located on St. Joseph Island.

Mastronardi Winery. They allowed us to stay overnight right here!

On the ferry to Manitoulin Island which is on the way to St. Joseph Island

 

This was my first time visiting St Joseph Island. I discovered that aside from spending time with friends and family and of course having fun with the standard cottage activities — drinking, fishing, beach, stand up paddle board — there really is not anything else to do here. Really. There’s nothing lol. There are essentially no coffee shops, no grocery stores, no gas stations, nothing. Now of course that didn’t deter me from hopelessly searching google, more than a few times, for a BJJ gym in the area. Big surprise, I could find none.

The cut-off jean shorts are basically a prerequisite to slacklining
Great location to wake up in

 

Luckily, there was a Gracie Jiu Jitsu about 40 minutes north, located in Sault Ste. Marie. Great. After about one week of the cottage life we headed to the Sault to explore and get me some training. Gracie Jiu Jitsu SSM was very welcoming. There was a handful of guys out each time and I was able to get some good rounds in. The purple belt instructor here, Chris Giallonardo, was a great guy who kindly opened his doors to me. We had some good training and good conversation. Thanks Chris. 

Walk around the Sault Ste. Marie Harbour

 

After a few days in the Sault we then made our way to Toronto so I could spend some time training at Action Reaction MMA/Gringo Jiu Jitsu. On our way there however, we happened to come across one of the nicest beaches we’ve seen in Ontario. It was very private and very clean. Crystal clear water and a monster sand bar. I’m reluctant to even mention the name so as not to popularize the location and inevitably have ignorant visitors disrespect these types of gems but it is called “Fourth Sand Beach”. It was so nice we had to stay a couple nights. (as if we haven’t had enough beach time).

Worked for a couple hours here one morning
No litter at all :)

 

Onto Toronto and Gringo Jiu Jitsu. This is one of the best gyms in Canada and still one of my favorite places to have ever trained. I used to drive approx. 6 hours per day (3 hours each way) to train here regularly. That amount of driving eventually became unsustainable as I needed that 6 hours to be productive in other areas of my life but I am grateful for their head instructor Fernando. He’s a fantastic instructor and runs a great program. Always top notch training here. We also found a fantastic parking lot to stay at right beside the gym which only cost us $6 per 24 hours! This is unheard of for Toronto parking, especially in one of the nicer areas. So we were able to stay here for a week and I could stroll in and out of training everyday with a 30 second commute lol.

Professor Fernando Zulick “Gringo” 

 

After about one week here we returned to London so I could continue to train with my team at Gracie Barra, and help some of our guys prepare for the upcoming Worlds Masters tournament. I wish I could be competing as well however I’m preparing for my admission into bi-lateral hernia surgery next week (sounds so serious lol). I’ll be having it done at the best location in the country, Shouldice Center, who specialize in hernia surgeries. It’s located on what used to be a golf course and apparently might as well be a resort. Say what you will about Canadian health care, I’m glad I have it right now. This should keep me off my feet for a couple days, and off the mats for a few weeks. I’m thinking one month and I’ll be back to 100%. Fingers crossed. Hopefully my next blog entry will not be about surgery complications lol. 

Robert and wrestler

BJJ and Sustainability: Sandu’s Story

I think that when people hear the word “sustainability,” it typically conjures up images of dreadlocked, stinky white folk putting in a marginal level of labor on a half-hearted “urban farm” that everyone forgets about when June hits. Or, perhaps you might be thinking of a good farm-to-table restaurant in town that serves organic food? Sustainability, bro! And while I’m certainly not knocking sustainable initiatives in any form, I think that people aren’t aware that the idea of sustainability can be applicable to a plethora of aspects in our global society.

In Moldova, EVERYBODY is a farmer. Whether you’re a mechanic, veterinarian, teacher or even a hair stylist, I can almost guarantee that you probably have your own small organic farm in your backyard. The wages in Moldova are so ridiculously low, and the land is so ridiculously rich, that this kind of lifestyle is an absolute must for everybody living outside of a large city. But what happens when everybody is trying to sell carrots to people who are currently growing way too many carrots? Enter a remittance economy.

The central market in the capital of Moldova, Chisinau

I have never met anybody in Moldova who doesn’t have at least one person in their extended family who works abroad. Moldovans work abroad in almost any country imaginable, both legally and illegally. While the EU (especially Italy), Russia and Canada are popular places for young, working-age Moldovans to try and make a living, I would bet my left body part that there is a Moldovan on every continent in the world. That Eastern European guy doing repair work on heavy machinery? Probably Moldovan. The young woman who comes by to take care of your grandma while you’re at your office job? Solid 50% chance that she’s Moldovan.

So, how do you create a way for good, hard-working people to keep doing good, hard work in the place where they grew up? Well, jiu-jitsu of course.

The abandoned Soviet gym in the village of Burlacu, Moldova (Sandu's hometown and Robert's home for 2 years during the Peace Corps)

Alexandru “Sandu” Birlea was born in the Soviet Union in 1990. These were increasingly uncertain times for people all around the USSR, but especially in the Moldavian Soviet. The state was no longer able to provide for the people in a multitude of different ways. Winters in Moldova were (and still are) brutally cold – you literally don’t see your toes for at least 2 months of the year. A crumbling infrastructure brought months of mud to the previously-paved streets, paths and trails in the villages. Absolutely nobody was looking out for you. Many people fled this type of lifestyle. Some were able to capitalize on the situation thanks to years of gradual, rampant corruption, yet there were those who stuck around.

Sandu's father, the gym teacher

Sandu’s father is the gym teacher in the village of Burlacu. He’s kind of an intense, yet well-meaning dude, but he always seemed very territorial about his work and “his” gym, so we unfortunately never collaborated during my two years (‘05-’07) in the village. Sandu, on the other hand, was very willing to participate in pretty much anything I had going on at any given time. Baseball? Sure! Basketball? He was there. Fortunately, he didn’t have to rely on my basketball coaching skills to find a path for himself in life, and he was there for practically every jiu-jitsu class I had scheduled.

Sandu and Robert

I came to Burlacu as a former wrestler who had been fortunate enough to have been training with some of the best grapplers in the world: Saulo and Xande Ribeiro. Even though I was a white belt at the time, my grappling skills were far beyond anything the village had ever seen, so I was the de facto BJJ instructor. By the end of my 2-year stint as a volunteer in Burlacu, Sandu, a 16-year-old boy, was giving me a run for my money and had even submitted me a couple times. He had gone from being a hard-working student to a respectable training partner in about a year and a half.

When I eventually ended my stint as a volunteer, everybody in the village informed me that my newly-minted BJJ team would fail for sure. Moldovans are very forward, honest and predictably pessimistic people, but I couldn’t help but acknowledge that they might be right.

The first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team in Moldova - Team Burlacu

After spending 2 years in the US, I ventured back to Burlacu to see what was going on with the mats I had finagled for the village. Much to my surprise, the kids were still getting on the mats from time to time, and Sandu had taken up judo in the nearby town. Eventually, I introduced him to Tudor Mihaita, a BJJ coach in Bucharest, Romania. Sandu had been accepted to the military academy in Romania and continued to train BJJ in his off time with Tudor at Absoluto BJJ. At this point I officially handed the baton to Tudor, and the rest is history (more on this later).

During my 4 years in Romania I continued to make trips out to Moldova and to help put on seminars and co-organize tournaments with Sandu. He had his own vision for the tournaments and for how things needed to work out for him and his future, so I happily took the back seat during the last couple years I was there.

The first "Moldovan Cup" BJJ tournament in 2011, hosted in Burlacu

Thanks to years of hard work and dedication on his part, on top of making the necessary connections and networking that is part of Moldovan culture, Sandu now has 2 thriving BJJ schools in Cahul and Chisinau Moldova. Now he’s using jiu-jitsu to pay the bills and otherwise make a life for himself in his country. The likelihood of Sandu having to slave away in Moscow or work under the table in Ireland is almost non-existent. He’s using the skills imparted on him by so many people in the BJJ community to make a living for himself and to thrive in a place where others constantly want to leave. More importantly, there is a small army of Moldovan BJJ practitioners who can, in turn, use their BJJ skills to do the exact same thing that Sandu is doing.

A current picture of Sandu's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team in Moldova. Sandu is seated in the middle, 5th from the left.

This, my friends, is real sustainability, and I’m glad to have been a small part of it in Moldova. Real sustainability is more than just a gesture. It’s a lot of hard work on the part of so many different groups of people, but when it works out it’s a beautiful thing.

Sandu teaching a kids class in Moldova

It wasn’t uncommon for me to run across second-hand American clothing being sold by old ladies at the market. Sure, they were able to make some much-needed cash from selling used clothing, but what happens when they lose their source of goods? It makes much more sense, if you actually would like to help someone out, to “teach a man to fish”, and help create sustainability. It’s much more difficult to actually accomplish this, but it can be far more rewarding for everyone involved.

An image posted on Facebook, translated: This is how Team Burlacu prepares for a tournament.

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BJJ Bali training report: Synergy Academy

BJJ Bali, Indonesia

I am certain everyone has heard of Bali as a tropical paradise. So why not go? My buddy, Sebastian, and I booked our one-way flight from Macau without any hesitation. Despite our lack of knowledge of Indonesia, we ended up spending over a month. There I found Synergy fulfilling my dream of surf & Jiu-Jitsu.

bjj bali

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

Region
Bali is an island in Indonesia with popular tourist destinations such as Ubud and Canggu. Also, it is also adjacent to Lombok Island, which includes its notorious Gili Islands. Although it is known for its beautiful beaches and mountains, certain areas (i.e. Kuta) are overly crowded with tourists. However, with relatively affordable prices and unforgettable sceneries, the island remains one of the most famous international tourist destinations in the world.

Overview
Synergy BJJ Bali was founded by a Rickson Gracie black belt, Niko Han. He previously traveled to the U.S and Brazil to dedicate himself to martial arts, and now he is spreading his knowledge to his home country, Indonesia. Currently, there are approximately 35 academies under Synergy’s banner in Indonesia with top current MMA contenders training and fighting under his guidance.

Professor Han’s teaching philosophy was to teach more practical and realistic techniques to students. He chooses to teach all types of submissions to students of all levels apart from IBJJF rules. He believes that students should not only be informed of the “forbidden” techniques but also be able to escape properly in order to protect themselves. His classes are full of intriguing techniques I’ve never encountered before including twisters and heel hooks.

The classes are all taught in English, and the gym is geared towards BJJ Globetrotters as the gym is located near the popular tourist district in Bali. While training at Synergy, I had an opportunity to meet a fellow Globetrotter who I shared our traveling and training experiences around the world (Hope you’re doing well in South America, Adam!)

After surfing in Seminyak and eating Indonesia’s famous Nasi Goreng, Synergy is a must visit. Thank you for making my dream of surf & Jiu-Jitsu a reality!

Location
Synergy Academy is located near Seminyak / Kuta, which are known for tourist hangouts. Since we are now in Southeast Asia, the easiest way to get around is to rent motorbikes (~$5 a day) or to take a motorbike taxi, which cost less than $1 from Kuta. Once you arrive at the building, Synergy Academy is located on the second floor of the building. (Google Map: Link)

Facility
Synergy BJJ Bali is equipped with everything you need for training including a spacious mat space with an MMA octagon and heavy bags. The gym also has a basic weight training equipment for the strength training.

Schedule
Synergy Academy offers no-gi classes on Monday / Wednesday / Friday evenings and gi classes on Tuesday / Thursday mornings. The academy’s most recent schedule is posted below:

Visitor Fee
The drop-in fee is Rp 150,000 (~$10 USD) per class.
<<Exchange Rate: Rp 100,000 =~$7 USD as of July 26th, 2018>>

Miscellaneous
Synergy BJJ Bali has an English website that you might find helpful.

Tourist Attractions

  • Kuta / Seminyak —  With their luxury hotels and spas, these beach resort areas draws tourists from all over the world. Beaches in these areas are beginner surfer friendly as well. Also, don’t forget their infamous nightclubs and bars if you like to party!
  • Lombok — The Island is located 150 km east of Bali (2-hour ferry ride). Since this island is less known to tourists, beaches and mountains are basically empty. Lombok is what most people would expect Bali to be. If you are looking for a relaxing vacation in Indonesia, Lombok is what you are looking for.
  • Gili Islands — Gili Islands (Trawangan, Air, Meno) are smaller islands off of Lombok. I would highly recommend visiting these islands for their clear white sand beaches. Gili T is known for its crazy beach parties while other islands are more geared towards couples. You can also scuba dive with turtles in Gili Islands.
  • Canggu — Located in 20 min North of Kuta, this small village is a haven for surfers and foodies. Recently, the area is gaining its popularity with expats.
  • Ubud — Ubud became famous after the movie Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts. Despite Ubud is filled with beautiful waterfalls, temples and rice paddies, it has become crowded with tourists due to its increased popularity.

Hyperlinks
Google Maps
Website (English)

Source
Indonesian Map

Greg

My Last-Minute Travel Buddy

Meet Greg. Greg showed up at our gym a few months back with absolutely no grappling experience whatsoever. Greg kind of wandered in and out of the gym on an irregular basis for a few weeks before he decided he would accompany me to a Clark Gracie seminar down in South Carolina. On the way down to the seminar, Greg asked me what he thought Clark Gracie would tell him he should do to get better at Jiu-Jitsu. Lol. Of course I told him that Clark would probably tell him that he needed to train way more often, keep coming back and all the standard Gracie propaganda everyone has heard ad nauseum already.

I’m not sure if Greg ever got the chance to ask Clark his question, but all I know is that Greg started showing up and training. Despite only having a few months’ experience under his belt, he’s by far one of our more seasoned white belts, and has entered at least 3 different tournaments already.

When I first bought my tickets I announced my trip to my team. Greg said that he really wanted to go and he would start looking at tickets as well. I didn’t hear anything from him for a while, but just the other day he up and actually bought round-trip tickets to Bucharest. So now I’m stuck with this crazy guy, haha. All the slots for the camp in Bulgaria were taken already, but Tudor from Absoluto found a spot for Greg after all. Nice!

Coincidentally, Greg is scheduled to leave for Madagascar in September with the Peace Corps. I think it will be really cool for him to see the evolution of the BJJ program I helped set up over 10 years ago, and hopefully he can do something similar in Madagascar. Regardless, I’m looking forward to having a travel buddy, last minute or not!

REGGIO-CALABRIA-Veduta-del-lungomare

Reggio – Mesina – Rosolini

Hey globetrotters

 

After Matera, I had a 4 hours ride to Sporevato, where I should have been able to train on Monday. Sporevato was just a stop in the middle of Lecce and Reggio, because it would have been an 8 hours ride, which is too much for one day. I spoke with the owner from the gym 2 weeks ago and he confirmed me there was training on this day I arrived. But asking him again on that day if there was training, he declined and said, the professor was not in town and there won’t be any BJJ. Oh how I hate this irresponsible Crossfit guys for confirming me something that won’t happen!! Yeah well, I just chilled in my room, phoning with my parents and texting with my girlfriend.

 

On the next day I drove to Reggio, where a family from couchsurfing hosted me. We ate lunch together everyday and the mother, Eleonora, showed me the city on one day. Her husband was a street musician, which fascinated me a lot. He played harmonica and sometimes he tours with his son, kind of a family thing and earning in average like 100 dollars per hour!

 

 

In Reggio there was the best elected Gelateria from whole Italy, which is called Gelateria Cesare. I didn’t like it that much, cause the ice was not ice cold and more creamy and I prefer it cold as ice, but from the taste it could convince me in a positive way. The best thing about the gelateria was the service, the guy was talkative and nice, showed me which ice he preferred in which combination and even gave me a spoon of Nutella to eat my ice with. I took it the legendary way with a “brioche” (kind of sweet bread), which Italians sometimes eat even for dinner. Just Ice cream with brioche. And some Italians wonder, why they become fat, wtf…

 

 

In reggio there opened a gym 3 months ago, the first BJJ gym in Calabria and already listed on BJJ Globetrotters. The owner was a girl with his boyfriend, both really lovely and we spent so much time together outside the gym, that I was a bit unhappy to leave. I think this gym will have a bright future, since more people are going to their BJJ class than their Crossfit Class! Oss BJJ Reggio di Calabria!

 

On Friday I went to Messina with my vespa and I’m reaching the end of my trip: Sicily. Enrico di Luise, a fellow BJJ Globetrotter and Matsurfer awaited me there for the Friday evening training. Luckily they had a seminar on that day with the graduation and a long sparring session (in total I spent 4 hours at the gym), ending it with a nice dinner with the whole team and the professors.

 

 

After Messina I went to Rosolini, all down to the south to the family of my aunt’s husband. On Sunday the usually do horse races, but exactly on this weekend there wasn’t a race. But they took me with them for the training. We woke up at 3:50 (I never woke up so early in my life before) and the whole procedure took place till 9 o’clock in the morning. We went to sleep till the afternoon and chilled the rest of the day on the beach. Note: These horses are doped and it’s illegal, but in Sicily the do it anyway. I don’t support it, but it’s their culture and it was fascinating for me to see it.

 

 

On Sunday evening I chilled with the parents of aunt’s husband’s outside and we talked for a long time about life and it’s troubles. They are both really old, but the conversation was so nice & deep and on the next day when I left, I felt like leaving my family.

 

See you next week

OSS

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Bari – Lecce – Matera

Hey globetrotters

 

After leaving my grandparents house I headed to Bari.

 

 

It was a long 4 hours ride under the burning sun with 35 degrees. In the south in Summer it barely rains, which is beautiful when you’re chilling at the beach and can be really exhausting when you’re doing a vespa trip to the south.

 

After arriving in Bari I took a little tour through the old city, just to get to know the city a bit. Nothing especially beautiful in my opinion, since I already saw many Italian cities. On the next day I went to the beach that my host from Airbnb recommended me, it had a beautiful natural pool and the waves in Bari were pretty strong. There is to add, that Bari has really delicious Panzerottis (fried mini calzones).

 

 

On the evenings I drove to Bitonto, a place near Bari, where Roberto awaited me in his huge Crossfit Box. On the way to Bitonto there was a garbage incineration plant which made my drive there really unpleasant, my face always turned like a was biting in a lemon. The guys were really welcoming and on Tuesday night I joined them for the Teamdinner, which was a lot of fun and they gave me the feeling being part of the team. On one sparring session we listened to Italian music which I really appreciated (mostly in Europe you get to listen to Oldschool, new school or pop songs).

 

I also visited a gym in Bari itself, a tribe jiu jitsu school, led by a brownbelt.

After 3 days I drove to Lecce and well, it happened. My. Vespa. Broke. Down. In the middle of the highway. On 3 o’clock in the afternoon. No shades anywhere. At first I was like: okay, deal with it. After 2 minutes when I sat down to the ground I thougt: This trip is so damn tiring and difficult, I just join my girlfriend on her “Camino de Santiago” and fuck this shit!!

 

 

After 15 minutes I reached the first Mechanic on the phone, tellin him my situation and after 1 hour a guy came to take me with my vespa and drove me to the mechanic. Apparently, a cable landed on the exhaust and burned down, nothing fatal luckily. After 4 hours I was again on my way to Lecce.

 

 

So after the recent event’s, my motivation was really down and then I saw on facebook the words from BJJ Bitonto, saying that what I’m doing is hard, but you cannot think, that HE IS A GREAT MAN! And that I inspire them for doing my vespa trip and that “I am Jiu Jitsu”. After reading this, I was so thankful and more motivated than ever to finish my trip and take the last hop.

 

In Lecce I was being hosted from a dutch/Bulgarian couple from couchsurfing. At the beginning I didn’t know what to think about them, but after continuous talking with them for 3 days I really started to love them. We went to the beach together and on the last day they even drove me to the openmat and have a look at what this jiu jitsu thing actually is.

On my second day in Lecce I did a trip to Galipolli, Otranto & Leuca, the 3 last villages in Puglia. The vespa trip took me 4.5 hours & I ate raw seafood for the first time in my life. The fish was delicious, but I like the mussel & oysters rather cooked than raw.

 

 

I went to training in the evening and after some sparrings I felt the day I had on my shoulders and on my stomach. I was trying not to vomitate and my head felt like it was 50 degrees hot. For everyone who tries raw seafood for the first time in your life: it’s highly recommended to take it easy that day! :D

 

 

 

On Saturday there was an openmat in an outdoor sports festival at 22:00 in the night. After the openmat we went to dinner till 1:30. Somehow it happens many times, that I join the team right in the moment, where the whole team goes for dinner together. Or Italians usually go often to dinner together and I just happen to be around that time, I don’t know honestly!

 

 

After Lecce I stopped one night in Matera. Apparently, Matera is the oldest city in the world, where people still live since 9000 years (I don’t know that, I’m lying to you like they lied to me). Matera is just wonderful, for everyone who’s in the south of Italy, Mater is a must-do! It has also BJJ, but since I was on Sunday there, no training for Christian…

 

 

Oss

Christian

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galway based.

With all the moving now done, we settled into Galway. I had already made contact with the fantastic team at Point Blank Submissions in Galway city, Christmas was just over and I joined in for some of their open mat sessions with the crew from Strange Wolves MMA and Point Blank and the level here was just as high as it has been in all the gyms I have trained in, I was stoked to find a high level gym here in my new home city!

As I stated before, I do my homework. I had already reached out to the head coach of Point Blank Tim Murphy well before I was in Galway as I had looked online and found it to be a highly respected gym and Tim is an active competitor and a world champion! This is a big tick in the box for me, especially as he is close to my size and will really help push me to get better. I have since rolled with him and found that his skill level is well above what I read and have had some great rolling sessions with him, most ending up with me tapping out multiple times but still great fun and plenty of lessons learnt for me! Tim and Kevin Moran (Strange Wolves) have been great in letting me join in on their sessions but due to a travel restriction of 1 car and me being the stay at home dad, I just couldn’t get to any weekday classes that I wanted to – correction, classes that I NEEDED to attend as my jits addiction is a pretty serious one!

Now, when I started BJJ, I never intended to do it only to get my black belt, to be honest, at the time I wasn’t even sure if I would get that far, I was more interested in training and competing and the competing part was rudely taken away when the old ticker got replaced! Anyway, now, 10 years later, I am sitting on my brown belt, 4 stripes, I had been training nearly every class and I am so close I can see it, sheeiit, I can almost taste it! I am very nervous to level up yes but I also did not want to take off 2 years from training and put myself back a couple of years. I had to find an alternate option that works with my family commitments and so when I return to New Zealand I can hopefully look to the realization that I may be in line for the elusive Faixa Preta!

I reached out to the local towns to see where else I could train. I initially hoped to find a gym that had classes during the day but the day classes I did find were too late in the day for me to get back in time to pick up the kids! Plan C, alternate training. I had always wanted to work more on my standing game and I have trained a lot with the team in Christchurch at Premiere Equip Judo, namely Jason Koster and crew so I thought that would be a good option as they also work newaza (ground fighting) into their training as well and I will still get a chance to work ground game. I found the Athenry Judo gym about 8 minute drive away from my new home and thought I could give it a whirl. I quickly found my judo is more like me waiting to be thrown! I really enjoyed the first class and after talking to the coach Ben Clayden, it was going to be a great fit for me and my situation. Ben is a great coach and the team there are super helpful, I would also say patient as I am quite the beginner! It turned out to be quite a good decision as out of it all, we ended up adding in a Saturday BJJ class to the team schedule with Ben and I and it has been great for me to get another chance to work BJJ, especially so close to my house as a couple of times I have had to bike to the training and race back before the kids finished their pottery class!
I was now able to cross train in judo and slowly (emphasis on this lol) my confidence in the standing game has improved a lot!

We had a lot of help from the BJJ community here in Galway to get the Athenry based Groundworx BJJ Ireland classes going which has been great to see the community working in well together, I still hope to get out to some Point Blank classes if I can get to them! I have managed to attend a grappling Seminar that Tim Murphy held with the judo school and another at Point Blank with 5th degree black belt Rodrigo Medeiros which to this day, is one of the best seminars I have ever been to! He taught closed guard and just small tweaks to the position and attacks that made me feel like I was learning jiu jitsu all over again, it was an amazing opportunity and hopefully there will be more like this! It’s very good when teams work in together like this, it is a small BJJ world out there and the more we help each other, the bigger we grow the community and ultimately the number of people training!

All in all, I have really enjoyed moving to train here in Galway, at first I was a bit worried that I was only going to be getting to roll at open mats but after a bit of groundwork (pun intended) I have made some great friends, I am now learning judo, teaching BJJ and getting to roll on the mats at least 3 days a week and things can only get better right!

Jitsu 1 – Hurdles 0

“Nothing good ever comes from worrying or sitting there feeling sorry for yourself… Keep positive and keep pushing on and things will turn good.” – Conor McGregor

 

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Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu (Kowloon, Hong Kong)

Kowloon, Hong Kong — After spending about two months in South Korea, I decided to take my journey to new countries in Asia. My first stop was Hong Kong. There I had a chance to reconnect with Hayley who I met while training at Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Osaka, Japan. She personally invited me to Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu where she currently trains.

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

City
Hong Kong is an autonomous territory under China. As a former British colony, Hong Kong itself possesses a unique Chinese culture shaped by British influence, not to mention its ability to control the trade and market regulations. Also, as one of the important hubs in Asia, the city attracts tourists from all around the world with its iconic and modernized skyline. To be honest, I felt claustrophobic in Hong Kong which is one of the most densely populated cities in the world despite previously living in New York City and Seoul. Regardless, with its delicious cuisines (Especially, dim sum) and its interesting culture, Hong Kong was a memorable place to visit.

Overview
Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu was founded by Makoto Aramaki who is a Jiu-Jitsu and Judo black belt from Japan. Beside Professor Aramaki, classes at Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu are led by six other Jiu-Jitsu and Judo instructors who have proven themselves in recent Asian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. With instructors’ backgrounds, the academy offers not only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but also competitive Judo classes.

The classes are all taught in English, but Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu’s multilingual instructors are fluent in various languages including Cantonese and Japanese. As diverse as Hong Kong itself is, students and instructors at the academy also come from diverse cultural and national backgrounds which create an exceptionally interesting training environment for us BJJ Globetrotters.

Unlike other gyms I previously trained around the world, Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu is not located near the city center. Instead, you will find the academy in the “real” part of Hong Kong surrounded by worn down buildings apart from high rises and tourists. It was rather relaxing (?) to train in such a friendly environment and be away from other tourists after a hot and humid day in crowded Hong Kong.

Location
Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu is located in Kowloon in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong itself is not massive, the academy can be easily accessed via public transportation. It is approximately 10–15 minute walk from Mong Kok or Prince Edward station. Please note that locating the entrance to the gym could be tricky. The picture of the entrance is posted below, and Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu is located on the second floor of the building. (Google Map: Link)

Facility
Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu has a rather compact mat space, which is understandable given Hong Kong’s real estate market. The facility includes men’s and women’s locker rooms and showers. The academy offers gi rentals for your training while traveling. 

Schedule
Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu’s weekly schedule is posted below:

The detailed daily schedule is posted on the website: Schedule

Visitor Fee
The drop-in fee is $200 HKD (~$25 USD) per class. 
<<Exchange Rate: $100 HKD =~$13 USD as of July 10th, 2018>>

Miscellaneous
Hong Kong Jiu-Jitsu has an English website that you might find helpful.

Tourist Attractions

  • Victoria Peak — The Peak is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island which offers a scenic view of Victoria Harbor and Central. I would highly recommend taking a tram ride up to the Peak.
  • Tian Tan Buddha (Ngong Ping 360) — Tian Tan Buddha, which is commonly known as the Big Buddha, is a major center of Buddhism and tourism in Hong Kong. You can ride a Ngong Ping 360 cable car, which provides a panoramic view of Lantau Island on the way to Tian Tan Buddha. 
  • Lan Kwai Fong —This party district packed with nightclubs and bars is located in the heart of the Central Business District surrounded by skyscrapers. This area is known as one of Hong Kong’s loudest hangouts. Brace yourselves before going out in Lan Kwai Fong!
  • Macau — Macau, a Portuguese territory until 1999, is another special administrative region one-hour speed ferry ride (or a short helicopter ride if you can afford it) away from Hong Kong. Macau is known for its casinos, which generate 3 times the gambling revenue as Las Vegas. Besides gambling, there are historical tourist attractions influenced by Portuguese culture. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to train Jiu-Jitsu in Macau due to time constraints, but it is worth a visit. 

Hyperlinks
Google Maps
Website (English)

Source
Hong Kong Map
Lan Kwai Fong

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Alberta, Canada

Calgary

Have you ever been to Calgary? It is awesome!

The people are incredibly nice the food is brilliant and the Rocky Mountains are on your doorstep.

Sarah and I are here until August 4th and have been taking in all of the sights and sounds!

We were in Calgary at the tail end of the winter and, at the time, I considered the place hell on earth. Minus 28 celsius when I arrived early in the year. Now we have been having 23-29 degree days and have definitely started to enjoy the place.

To begin with, I have found a killer BJJ gym to train at. Gigante Brazilian JiuJitsu is absolutely amazing. Professor Fernando is old school Brazilian and he makes us suffer through every class.

In my time there I have improved considerably and gotten my ass kicked by some of the nicest guys in Calgary.  

So far in Alberta we have managed to visit some super touristy places.

Drumheller seems to be the home of every Dinosaur ever found. It even has the world’s largest fibreglass dinosaur that you can climb to the top of.

We were given good advice by the tourist attractions lady, learned how to properly pronounce the word “diplodocus” and managed to get at least 1 speeding ticket on the trip.

TOP TIP: Canadian Police officers are the nicest in the world when it comes to Irish people. You can go considerably faster than the speed limit and still get off with a fine that the rental company will never charge and zero points on a European licence. You just have to make sure you can offer good recommendations of where to visit when they go there next year!

We took a helicopter ride over a canyon, which was brilliant, and also learned what a Hoodoo is. (see pics for that)

I lied. Still not sure what a HOODOO is

Calgary is also home to the Calgary tower, which is less impressive than a lot of it’s newer and flashier cousins, but still cool in it’s own way.

Calgary has a whole heap of other fun stuff to do while visiting. A few great viewpoints, archery tag, 1000 escape rooms to name a few.

The pub scene is also pretty good with 17th ave having some genuinely good cocktail bars and some excellent American-Irish style pubs.

We have been incredibly fortunate to have some visitors here. My brother came over and was welcomed by everyone in Calgary. The guys a Gigante BJJ have accepted him as one of their own and we have been taking in the Rocky mountains as often as possible. It is trips like this that remind me how fortunate we really are. Some people wait their entire lives to get 1 glimpse of this ridiculous scenery and we have been taking day trips out every weekend!

We also had an old Alabama friend come and visit from Denver Colorado.

John O’Brien is a Black belt from Triad Martial Arts in Cullman, AL. HE popped up for the weekend to help Ger and I train. He got in Friday, we drank until 5am and managed, do NOT ask me how, to get to the 9am open mat. Albeit 28 minutes late.

John literally destroyed my hungover self and made it look like a tiger tossing around a kitten. It was bad.

The guys at the school enjoyed it and, I believe, took some lessons from John along the way.

We then headed to the best Brazilian BBQ joint that I have visited. Minas in Calgary. Go there. You know it is good when most of the clientele are actually from Brazil. The weapon that is “Gigante” even showed up for his lunch while we were there.

We headed back uphill to Banff to get some Rocky Mountain Jiujitsu classes and photo ops in with the best backdrop that you could ever think of.

Next up we have the Calgary Stampede. It is an epic festival that has all kinds of events- Both styles of music too – Country AND western!

In this week I have seen so many men, women and children wearing denim hot pants paired with cowboy hats. I wasn’t sure if I had been transported to the deep south of the USA in the 1850’s.

We managed to get some quality food – steak on a stick, see some interesting music – (Sheryl Crow who’s guitarist looks suspiciously like Christian Graugart in double denim) and learn how to line dance like the best of them!

CHRISTIAN GRAUGART PLAYS WITH SHERYL CROW!

From here we have headed north to Edmonton for a weekend where I managed to fit in a session at the Hyabusa training Centre. A great bunch of guys and girls who were happy to exchange tips on how to strangle another human.

Another academy was fit in on Sunday with the Rodrigo Resende academy. This is the largest matspace in Canada from what I understand! Ridiculously friendly and I genuinely can’t wait to get back to see them in the future.

While up here we managed to see roughly 6 million Bison, 3 Moose and a few coyotes. It definitely ticked a few names off our list of “must see” animals for Canada.

Next week we have some fun with some white water rafting, a UFC to attend and a few more mountain trips before we leave Alberta.

On our next road trip we will be attempting the drive from Calgary to Jasper, Kelowna &Vancouver before finally flying on to Australia!

I hope to keep you all posted if not eaten by the wildlife.

G

every person you meet is a possible friend for life.

I was listening to a Steve Maxwell Podcast recently and he talked about Dean Lister, how he’d only met him for a short time but that small meeting had a huge impact on him and the way he approached jiu jitsu. This is also said about Dean Lister by John Danaher, it is amazing how one person in the world can influence so many but only through fleeting interactions. It reminded me instantly about a trip I had made to Melbourne in September 2015 to visit my very good friend Cam who ironically was the one who had said the title line of this piece. Cam was a dude, I looked up to him so much from the day we met at High School, back in 1994, he was super cool, funny as heck and just an amazing example of what humans should be. He influenced me in a way I think will not be rivaled, everybody he met became his mate and in turn, the circle of friends for all involved overlapped and enhanced. This is what life is all about.
The downside was this trip was not a chance to hangout like we had over the last 20 odd years, but a chance to say goodbye as Cam had a brain tumour and was dying. While Cam was having treatment I caught up with another mate from back home, Ash. Whenever, I had gone to Melbourne on my previous trips I took the opportunity to train at his club – Peter De Been Academy and this was no different to him. I had not intended to train this time but Ash made a good point that it would help. All of you who train can agree that whenever you feel down or you have a million thoughts racing through your mind, getting on the mats is the best medicine as you literally can think of nothing except the roll situation in front of you. I wanted this now more than anything, I wanted my mind free if even for an hour. I met Ash down at the Academy for an 6am early morning roll with him, a couple of others and a black belt there by the name of Graham Johnstone. Ash supplied me with a gi to use and a purple belt he had spare. I was sorted.
Graham was an amazing jits player, effortlessly stopping guard passes, sweeping me and also helping me out with tips along the way. We did not go through specific techniques, more working on our games as we went, ways to improve and tweak attacks. As a purple belt at the time, I was like a sponge soaking this information up . At the end of the session, I was getting ready to go and catch the tram back to my accommodation, it was an early around 7:30am and I had to meet my friends to come back to see Cam. Graham said no way, we’re going for a coffee. We had great conversations, shared laughs and after coffee, he offered to drop me back at the accommodation. I took him up on this. We ended up detouring to pick up some supplies for his business, as I helped carry stock, we laughed a lot more, had more yarns and then after dropping all his gear off, he shared his life story with me about how he had built his business up. Graham is the owner of Kapai Puku which makes great products aimed to help people improve their health and diet, something that I have always agreed with and wanted to promote to some level.
I was in awe. I hear this man speaking with such enthusiasm, excitement and life, it brought me back as well. It reminded me about how Cam would talk and how we all should be, passionate about what we are doing. This man had a huge impact on my life, it was a 1 hour lesson in jiu jitsu with a real one on one lesson feel. It was followed by an act of compassion and selflessness in the form of coffee and transport. This made me remember I was here to celebrate Cam, no other reason. I found myself full of energy that day, we had a great day hanging out with Cam, talking about past adventures, Cam entertained us with jokes, for a short time it was like the old days.
We had another couple of days in Melbourne, we said our goodbyes and I have not forgotten any part of that trip. It was one of the best things I have ever done in the worst times. I went there to show the love and respect and thanks to a man who has impacted me my whole life and I ended up meeting another person who managed to make a big impact in a short time. We need to value the relationships we have, the time we have to make new relationships and the most of our limited time on the planet. Time is the best thing we can give to any situation.

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“Every person you meet is a potential friend for life” – Cameron McLeod Ward

 

 

 

 

 

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Training report: BJJ in Bangkok Thailand

Greetings From Bangkok Thailand ! (3 – 8 Oct 2017)

I left the gorgeous island of Koh Tao in another long day of traveling. I loved the island life but was also really excited to finally see Bangkok, meet Vara and visit the gyms. It was a windy day on the waters so I took some Gravol to make sure the waves didn’t bother me too much but I must have taken them too late as they didn’t kick in until after the ferry ride was over.  As it happens that wasn’t much of a problem since the ferry ride wasn’t too rocky and actually quite comfortable, for this ex sailor anyways. Of course with the Gravol taking affect after the sail meant that I was now drowsy for the rest of the trip. I had to keep wandering around and not sit down for too long, scared I would fall asleep and miss the bus. It was a long bus ride to Bangkok, about 8 or 9 hours, but I was so drowsy from the Gravol I slept most of it, this time without a seat that falls apart every time I lay back.

I was refreshed and awake once we pulled into the station in Bangkok, ready to find my hostel in the busy city. The bus dropped us off in a busy area, with many Tuk-Tuk and Taxi drivers begging for your fare. I ignored them and continued walking, having looked up the city transit options and knowing my route without overpriced taxis. It was a bit of a walk to the bus stop and then I would transfer to the subway system, or BTS  as it’s called, and just a few stops later I’d be at my hostel. As per Vara’s instructions I found an affordable hostel that was both close to the BTS and not too far from the gyms as Bangkok is a big and very busy city. The thing about catching the buses in Bangkok is that they are not very reliable and the traffic in the city is horrible. The alternative was walking for almost an hour to make it to the closest BTS station and I wasn’t up for that with my backpack and the sweltering humid heat of Bangkok, even in the evening. In the end it all worked out but it was an interesting experience.

No pictures to go along with my adventure finding the hostel but here's random cool looking door I found, I wonder if it's the entrance to secret full contact fighting tournament?

I made it to the bus stop, or rather around the area for it, there were several bus stops down the street and it was hard to make out which one was for the bus I was looking to catch. I saw a few people waiting around a stop so I showed them my directions I had on my phone, pointing to the bus number, they pointed to another stop just down from them. At the proper stop I confirmed I was at the right stop by again showing the locals the directions and pointing to the bus number, they nodded. So lucky to have tun into friendly and helpful people in Thailand. Also lucky I read up on the practices of catching a bus in Bangkok while looking up the transit system routes. Having been traveling for almost a year now I was getting used to different countries and how they worked their transit. For Bangkok you can get in either through the front or back door but first have to wave the bus down, run out and jump on as they just slow down rather than actually stop for people. When the bus I was waiting for was coming down the street a few locals motioned for me to go catch it. I walked out into the street, put my hand up to motion to the bus and jumped in the back door as the bus slowed down and stopped for just long enough for me to get my big back pack through the narrow doors. The same locals who motioned for me to catch the bus used the time to run in through the front door. I felt like I they used me to catch the bus they might have missed.

While on the bus and watching it slowly creep through the busy streets as we got more into the downtown areas I was checking my route on my phone. Just then a local who spoke English asked me if I needed help getting to my destination, he also helped a few other travelers on the bus, proud to show off his English skills and happy to help. It always cool to run into nice people looking to help those around them whatever the cause but I do wonder how many visitors to North America would be helped as much or as willful as I have been on this trip. I would be OK on my own, but not everyone is as independent a traveler as me and for some people different cultures and the city life they’re visiting can be overwhelming. It was just a few stops on the BTS and a quick walk down the street and then I was finally done. I checked into the hostel, which was an icebox with the AC cranked so high (seriously it’s a big problem with visitors in Bangkok, 40C outside, 16C inside and everyone ends up with a cold by the end of the week, always) and then walked around the area to find my bearings. There was a 7-Eleven down the street and a Starbucks nearby, with all kinds of restaurants around. As it happens, I was also nearby the red light district and there were all kinds of street walkers at the corners. The amount of old white tourists walking down the street with Lady-Boys hanging off their arms was comical. Only in Bangkok.

Staph Infection!!

During my stay in Koh Tao I ended up with a staph infection, not from training but rather from my hike up Viewpoint Hill. If you read my last article you’ll remember my trip up the hill for the awesome pictures. During that trek I got bitten by bugs and ended up in the torrential downpour on the way back, with the dirty street water splashing all over my legs. That’s how I figure I got it anyways. It all happened at the end of my stay and it wasn’t until the morning of my travel to Bangkok that I knew it was a serious problem that required some antibiotics. It was too early for a pharmacy in Koh Tao and it was too late when I got to Bangkok, there was nothing I could until next morning. During the whole day traveling to Bangkok, for the time I was awake anyways, my leg throbbed and was hot like I had a giant muscle cramp in my calve and a sunburn at the same time. First thing the next morning I headed to the pharmacy around the corner from the hostel and showed them my leg. “I think I may have a Staph infection” I told them “Probably, here take this” the pharmacist said nonchalantly while handing me some cream. I couldn’t believe how everyday circumstance he seemed, like Staph is the common cold in Thailand.

the infection, before getting antibiotics, looks small but totally deadly.

A recent picture of the scar the Staph infection left behind. It's the size of my pinky finger nail and was a pretty keep wound from the infection.

Throughout the Odyssey and my Jiu-Jiu life I’ve been very fortunate to make many good friends that are also educated in medicine, either from their own experiences or that work in the medical field. Only getting an antibiotic cream didn’t sit well with me so I took a picture of what it was and posted it on Facebook with the full story. It wasn’t long before my inbox was full with comments from friends telling me to go back and ask for the pills just to be safe. I finished my Starbucks Matcha latte and croissant (don’t judge me!) and went back to the pharmacy, where now a young woman and an older one were behind the desk. I assumed they were the previous Pharmacist’s family. I told the younger woman my story of coming in earlier and asked for antibiotic pills to be safe and she didn’t hesitate to pull a couple boxes out saying “The cream should be good enough but sure, do you one 1 weeks worth or 2?” And like that I was set to fend off this infection easy and cheap, I even went back again and picked up an extra box of pills for later as a just in case. It’s easier to get antibiotics in Thailand than it is to get cheeseburgers in America.

Remembering the King

The King of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, had passed away a year ago, almost to the day of me visiting Bangkok. As the custom in Thailand for remembering royalty, a year later the month of his passing is a commemorative time. Lot of forms of entertainment were put on hold for the month (Actually, it’s gambling that was banned for the month but it’s easier to stop events than hold them and stop gambling) as well as the major temples  like the Grand Palace itself, Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho, were closed to foreigners, like myself. Because of this my plans for checking out the temples and going out to watch a kickboxing event were cut short. I headed out one night to walk around the temple area to see the crowds of locals dressed in black to pay their respects. I tried to dress appropriately and put on my black pants even though it was way too hot for it but didn’t have a decent black shirt so wore the closest thing, which was my gray BJJ Globetrotters shirt. No one seemed too concerned with my clothes and I wasn’t stopped but I didn’t press my luck or try to get into the temples, instead I just walked around the area to watch the masses pay respect. I’ve never seen any leader in North America shown so much respect by so many of their people, it was like the entire country had made it way to Bangkok to pay their respects. I had been told as much from locals that many families from the far rural areas closed their farms to make the trek. That is a lot of respect. Many of the locals didn’t show up to pray, or rather that wasn’t the only reason, most were there to take pictures of themselves in black with portraits of the late King. My feed on Facebook was full of these pictures by the local newsfeed and friends in the area. The cities throughout Thailand also had big decorated portraits of the late King posted all over like the picture below.

In honour of the late King.

Pictures from walking around Wat Pho.

The Sights

I did manage to get out a little bit and see some places, mostly just the market areas That I found or that Vara brought me too. There were some smaller temples that tourists were allowed to enter, that I took pictures of but arrived too late to see inside. Here’s a collection of random tings I saw and took pictures of while wandering around Bangkok.

As I was around the Grand Palace area I was thinking of heading over to see Wat Arun, a famous temple and popular tourist spot, since it’s near by but timing never worked out. I did find the precarious little wharf to carry the small ferry boat over to the other side of the river where Wat Arun is though.

Meeting Vara 

While in Bangkok I finally met Vara, the one behind all the helpful information you see when people post on the BJJ Globetrotters Facebook group asking about Thailand and the one making sure all of the Globetrotter’s business is running smoothly as Christian’s only full time employee. She’s basically a magical being of organization and information. Vara helped me greatly with planning out my trip to Thailand for both Phuket and Bangkok and I can’t thank her enough for that. The first night we met Vara took me to the night market which is a big area of many tiny booths of all sort of things, food in one area, clothes in another, even some electronics, pretty much everything. Not only did I get to see this cool market but Vara also brought me to the place where the famous picture of the place was taken. The place where all the pro’s go that Vara found is in a multi-level parking lot a few levels up where you can look over the whole market. It’s a cool spot just to lookout and watch the nightlife.

The market, each one of those stalls is packed with things, and there's a stage with a band on the far left.

Vara! Finally we meet, such a fun hang out!

I also took my first Tuk-Tuk ride with Vara and friend who meet with us. It was beneficial having someone who spoke the local language to barter and good price for us as I would have paid a price several times over what Vara managed. They brought me to a great restaurant that was also really cheap that I have no idea where it was but it was an great time. Way better then the various bugs and things on sticks that was at the night market. That’s not my thing to eat. Anyways, we had some great conversations about traveling  and training at different places while eating some great food that we all shared. Thanks again Vara for the fun night showing me some of Bangkok I would have otherwise missed.

I blame the humidity for this blurry pic, but here's my first Tuk-tuk ride!

Bangkok Fight Lab

With the Staph infection there was no possible way I was training BJJ in Bangkok. I was sadly left on the sidelines for the week with my leg bandaged up, but I did come out to meet the gym Vara trains at, Bangkok Fight Lab. I looked up the gym on Facebook and sent a message about coming to visit and saved the address on Google Maps, along with Vara’s directions I found the place no problem. As Vara was running late and I showed up early I was alone in my introduction. I walked through the front doors to the front counter area and watched everyone training Muay Thai on the mat space. I was greeted by people quite quickly, some students, the kickboxing coach and then Morgan the head coach. Everyone was very friendly and happy to have me come visit, and of course saddened to hear I was out of commission and unable to train. It sucked to sit on the sidelines and just watch the whole time but at the same time it was fun to watch a gym I’m not familiar with and see what they were working on and the different details Morgan focused on in his teaching.

bjj in bangkok

Meeting and talking with Morgan was a big surprise and another example of how small the world and the Jiu-Jitsu community really is. During class I noticed that the Bangkok Fight Club banner said they were a Pedro Sauer Associate so I asked Morgan if he got his black belt from Master Pedro himself or one of his students. Morgan confirmed that he indeed received his black belt Master Sauer and inquired why I had asked so I told him of my lineage. His eyes just about popped out of his head when I told Morgan I came from a Pedro Sauer line as well with Kieth Owen as our head black belt. “You train with Kieth?! I know him well, we trained together ever since our blue belts!” Proving that even across the world I will run into close members to my Jiu-Jitsu family, no matter where I am. Probably also why I noticed all his details were very similar to Mr. Keith’s since they’re both students of Master Sauer.

I wish I could have trained with everyone instead of sitting on the sidelines with my leg bandaged up but as I had learned by now you can’t always get want you want, and sometimes just being a spectator for the show is good enough. Morgan was teaching some great techniques that reminded me of some smaller points I had been skipping over as of late, watching him was like going over study notes, getting stronger before a test. The rolls were really energetic, not stiff or rough but also not slow or lazy. I don’t know haw they had the energy for it in the the heat, especially while wearing gis the entire time. I’m sure I would have been dead had I trained with these guys. Despite the set backs for training and sight seeing I had a great time in Bangkok and because of the set backs I now have a good reason to come back and do it all over again. The visiting for sight seeing and training part, not the Staph infection part. Thanks for all the help and good times showing around Vara and thanks for such a warm welcome to your gym Morgan, until we meet again!

Even the kids were getting their reps in!

After resting and healing for a week I was ready to take off to my next stop, flying half way around the world to meet the Free Rollers and my Australian brother from another mother Luke for a week long training session in San Diego, the Disney World of Jiu-Jitsu! I wrote about my Adventures in San Diego and the 100th Gym Milestone (training with Kurt Osiander) already so my next stop in this blog is the home of those crazy Australians from Free Rollers, Perth Australia!

Until next time,

see you on the mats!

OSSS!!

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melbourne straya.

In 2015, I went over to Melbourne on a couple of occasions and had the joy of catching up with my old friend Ashley Taylor. I have known Ash for quite a while now, we did karate together and he was one of the first people to show me any form of vale tudo/ground game techniques! Like I stated in one of my first blogs, I did not see the jiu jitsu light back then but now, we are rolling around on the tatami’s whenever we get a chance.
The first time I went over was in January, I was over for a concert and to visit a good friend with my wife, plus it was Superbowl Weekend! I actually have friends outside of BJJ believe it or not so my friend Bez was heading to watch the Superbowl just near Barkley Street where the Peter DeBeen HQ academy is based. Perfect, we both kicked goals!
Quick background on the gym, the head coach is Peter DeBeen who is a 5th degree black belt, no easy feat to be had by anyone and especially as he is living in Australia! From what I could find in his bio on the gym’s homepage (debeenjiujitsu.com/history/) and Bjjee.com, Pete is recognised as the first non Brazilians outside of Brazil to get graded to black belt directly by the Gracie family (Carlos Gracie Jr)! He was promoted not long after the original dirty dozen and this is an amazing achievement! His teachings and skills are very well renowned throughout the world and Ash had told me how good it was and I NEEDED to experience this for myself.
I had been to Melbourne for the Pan Pacific champs BJJ competition in 2012 (another post for another day!!) and had met Pete there and found him to be a top quality dude and that is how I measure how “cool” people are. I mean he runs one of the biggest schools in Oz, Koral Australia and he runs the Pan Pacs tournament and I was working as one of the officials there, doing scoring on the mats (best view in the house) and he came over and sat with me just yarning about NZ in general, life and whatever. Down to earth and very easy to get along with. Top bloke.
Anyways, back to my story, you can read about the Pan Pacs another day when I post that! I went along to meet Ash, I left my mate Bez at a bar so he could watch the NFL and my wife and I walked in to the gym. Wow. It was recently upgraded and it was amazing. I had been once before and it was a cool gym then and now it was all brand new Zebra mats, full showered changing rooms, reception, store, the works! Awesome set up and Ash was there waiting for me. We got into it straight away, Pete took the class and it was uber hot, like I was sweating bullets. I was there doing a sober trip so I wasn’t hungover or anything and I am really glad, that would have probably topped me off! I am not sure why or how but I am blessed with a gift of being able to recall almost every lesson I have taken in BJJ, regardless of the time, date, location etc. I may not remember every specific detail but I can almost bring up everything i have been taught and what I cant remember, I have written most of my lessons down so I can review! It is a gift but oddly enough it is only in BJJ this applies. I cannot remember what my wife told me 2 seconds ago but I am writing this post now off the top of my head and can literally picture the whole class and details! We warmed up with specific positional sparring (guard passing) before the technique was covered. Now this was different to any other training I had done as we only covered one technique, it was closed guard and an arm bar from a lapel grip which got their arm isolated between our legs and the lapel grip and using the hip clamp pressure, the same side foot would go on the hip and bringing the knees together, it put a lot of pressure on the elbow. It was class. I use it to this day and it either brings a sub or creates good angles to move to a sweep, use the loop choke and so many other transitions. How cool is jiu jitsu!!!!
I rolled so many people that day after the class, Chris Burns was there (Bones who draws all the Tatami images) and Ash and Bones are good mates, they were both brown belts at the time who both are now black belts and holy moly, I have never rolled a person like Bones. He was so relaxed, it was honestly like we had already rolled and gone back in time so he could do it again but knew everything I was going to do well before I did! Amazing technical knowledge and no energy, it was the jits I needed to learn! He showed me some good half guard stuff after he wiped the floor with me and after about 2 hours or so of training, I was super drained of sweat and energy!
I could actually write another huge and hilarious piece about how I found Berry after the Superbowl and the state he was in but cannot due to various legal reasons lol!

It was such a cool experience, I have been back since and trained with Ash and the Peter DeBeen team and highly recommend that everyone goes there to train. The team has such a high calibre of talent, they win so many competitions but they were all awesome to train with, no egos and the class was great. Learnt a lot from that 1 technique and Pete rolls around with everyone, I missed out but I am going to return to get a roll with him!
Long story short, check out the gym, look up videos on the team and really, you need to head over to Melbourne and train there. The BJJ scene in Melbourne is awesome and this gym was the most awesome-est!

Big Oss to my friend, Ash “Head Dragon” Taylor.

“I wasn’t a good student, even now I never say that I am better than anybody. But I know I love jiu jitsu more than anybody. I love the energy and that it gets deeper the more you study.” – Marcelo Garcia

 

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Open Source Jiu-Jitsu

The Open Source Project

In Moldova I did all of my work as a volunteer, which means I didn’t get paid by my students at all. The Peace Corps gave me a stipend which was based on the average teacher’s salary in the country, and I was otherwise free to try and keep myself occupied through service. Our approach to the creation of our business and teaching models here at Open Source Jiu-Jitsu (OSBJJ) here in Asheville, NC, USA, has been significantly shaped and molded by my experience with the years I put into the Moldova project. In many ways, OSBJJ is just an overall extension of the Moldova project.

The term “open source”, for those of you who don’t know, is a computer term “denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified”… at least according to one open-source online dictionary.

We take this initial software idea and extend it further, modifying, or, if you’d prefer, “open sourcing” it to be in line with our values as responsible business owners and members of the community. Most of our classes offer a “pay-what-you-want” model, which means that we suggest a range of prices, and the student pays that price or maybe nothing at all. This way, we can reach as many people as possible who are interested in jiu-jitsu, regardless of their income, and it forces myself or other instructors to provide the best possible experience for our students. We’ve officially been open for a full year now and this payment model has been working out amazingly well so far.

While we’re a completely unaffiliated jiu-jitsu school, our core values conspicuously resemble those of the BJJ Globetrotters community. Furthermore, we believe that the skill, or even art of teaching, is a different skill than that of BJJ ability/knowledge. Therefore, it’s important that we make a concerted effort to try and teach only what we know really well, and that the people teaching what they know really well are able to do this as effectively as possible, regardless of their belt level or affiliation. For example, if I want to show O Soto Gari as part of our takedown module and I happen to have a judo-based fighter on hand who can create a coherent lesson plan, why wouldn’t we want to tap into that as students/consumers?

The great part about this business model is that it forces us to keep it real; we can’t just phone it in, because otherwise people see right through it and we don’t get paid. Also, since people pay per class, we can’t just decide to cancel classes for the day. In the end, the positive side of this model is that I feel like we get more students on the mat, and it’s great for the consumer. The downside is that we don’t get paid as much per student as some other gyms do. But for real, if we’re really all about “BJJ for everybody”, this is the realest way to actually make it happen!

Well, that’s enough propaganda from me for today. I’m only 3 weeks out from my departure date, so I guess I’d better get posting! It still feels like a distant trip to me; I’m so focused on all the projects we have going on here that I haven’t really been able to contemplate long and hard about this trip.

All right… stay tuned! More posts coming soon!

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Napoli – Benevento – Salerno

Hello Globetrotters

 

After Pescara I took a 4 hours ride to Napoli, that was stretched to a 6 hours ride with a stop at a local restaurant in the mountains and a little stop at a petrol station due to the heat this day. At the petrol station I recognized immediately that I arrived to the south. The guy from the petrol station went out, I looked tired at him and said: “Just making a stop, it’s too hot”. And he said: “Yeah of course, give me your backpack.” He helped me taking me off my backpack and took a chair outside for me to sit on and offered me some water. Guys, this is where I’m from, hospitality and a big heart everywhere. BUT: like the people here have a big heart for good things, they have it also for bad things. I stayed two days in Napoli and I think I could write a book just about this short time.

 

Let’s keep the stories short. First of all, I was hosted by a german girl living in Napoli. The house was a shared flat by 5 or 6 people and there were always some 2-5 people there that didn’t live there. Imagine you go to the kitchen, there stands a girl that I never saw before, she said “Hi”, I said “Hi” and then she asked: “Do you live here?”, I replied: “No, and you?”, “Me neither”. Yeah situations like this happened in this house. And the called themselves all Sowjet’s (I didn’t get why, because I didn’t have the opportunity to spend much time with them).

 

After my long trip to Napoli I went to train, where I met some awesome guy’s. I told to a guy: “I’m bad at takedowns, I usually pull guard” he then asked “Oh, does your boyfriend know that?” He immediately became my friend and the next day he invited me to his home and we stayed out till 5 o’clock in the morning.

 

 

Oh and that’s how I look like in the meantime, cause always training in a different gym as a lightweight you always face sneaky techniques that you didn’t expect or didn’t know they even existed.

 

 

After Napoli I went to Benevento, where my grandparents live. I ate a lot of good stuff from the garden and I helped my grandmother doing the hard work that they can’t do because of their age. 

Why is the food so much better at my grandparents home than in other restaurant’s? Not because of her special recipes, but because they work hard day for day in the garden, to make their own stuff rather than chilling in front of the TV and buy the stuff at the supermarket (for anyone who asks himself, how he could become a great cook like my southitalian grandmother ;))

 

Regarding bjj, I needed to drive for 1:10h to the gym in Salento. I met there Giulio, one of the first Blackbelts in Italy. He explained me, how BJJ evolved in Italy, who the first person were and how they did progress. Giulio had his academy and taught there in his school, for now nearly 15 years. It was a pleasure to meet an italian BJJ-Legend

And that’s how it looks like, where my father comes from. These are my ROOTS

Next Stop is Bari & Lecce. Hopefully my vespa doesn’t get stolen (South of Italy is beautiful and not so dangerous, but they steal car’s and bicycle’s).

 

Kind regards

Chrisian

oude-haven

Pescara

Hey guys

 

I took some vacation from my travel, meaning that I went to visit my Uncle and my Aunt in Chieti and just hanging at the beach all day. It’s not the most beautiful beach, especially the last 10-20 year’s the beach changed in a bad way. I remember when I was 8 years old and staying 4-5 Weeks on my summer vacation in the clear water.

 

Even though I’m on my holiday’s I can’t miss BJJ. I went to train in Chieti, where the Instructor Marco welcomed me very warmly. Eventhough he was a purple belt, I felt like he was teaching on a high level: stretching, warm up and techniques were showed in a proper manner and the guy’s were some strong sparring partner’s. After chilling the whole day at the beach, the first day all my cardio stayed at the beach and I felt like suffocating. Slowly my body took got used to the hard-chilling at the beach and I found my old me 2 days later. On the last day of training we went to a restaurant and spent a fun night together till 1 o’clock in the morning ending it with a stop at a local gelateria.

 

 

I took another trip to Pescara, which was like 30 minute’s with my vespa away from my uncle’s home. The instructor was Pino, a blackbelt which just recently won the absolute category in blackbelt (master 3 or 4) in the big tournament which took place one week ago in Florence. He couldn’t roll anymore, because he’s back was destroyed after the tournament. Good recovery Professor Pino!

The training was good and the gym location was beautiful, had also some good sparing partner’s & Pino was happy to have me there, letting me roll with his 17 year old son, a 4-Stripe white Belt. I think, that’s one that every BJJ Practicioner dreams of: getting his son involved into BJJ and seeing him breaking through the limit’s that oneself couldn’t break through. How to manage that? One mystery of life that I will hopefully resolve once!

 

 

Now let’s have another look on a speciality of the Abbruzze: Arrosticini. spit-roasted sheep, a local speciality. For every Person, that goes in this region, this is a must do!! My girlfriend tried them the first time two years ago, and she’s going crazy about this stuff.

 

 

Well and that was it more or less from this week, what should I speak more about? The sounds of the waves were really relaxing when I was taking a nap under the sunshade :D

 

Sunny regards

Christian