Featured affiliated academy: Tropical Squad BJJ, Spain
Where is the gym located?
The gym is located in the city center of Motril, a small town (60,000 people) on the tropical coast of Spain.
How many people train there?
Normally we are between 15 to 20 people. It depends a lot on which period of the year we’re in. For instance, during summertime, because of holidays, there are normally less people coming to train.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yes! We started in November 2021, so we’re still a really young team. Every month someone new comes to try, and normally they stay and join the team.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We have many white belts with the same level (1-2 stripes), two recently promoted blue belts, and a brown belt (me). We often have guests from other academies because we’re in the south of Spain, which is a really touristic area, so many people come to train during their holidays.
On Saturdays we have an open mat where everybody is welcome, so many times members from other academies join us for some rolls.
When did the gym open?
The gym itself opened in 2011, originally as an Aikido dojo. When I moved to Spain in Dec 2020, I was looking for a place to train but couldn’t find any in this area, and had to drive a long distance every time. So I decided to open my own, starting in November 2021.
Some facts about you:
Name: Alessandro Roncali
Age: 38
Belt: Brown
Profession: Right now I’m just teaching BJJ, but I used to work as a mechanical maintainer.
Years in BJJ: I started in 2006, and since 2014 I was really addicted. I trained a lot and competed a lot. Then I changed jobs and started working on shifts, so it became very difficult to train regularly. Also, at that time I had some serious issues with my back, and that made me quit for quite a long period. Once I moved here in 2020 I decided to start training again, and here I am.
Other martial arts: I did some Karate (Shotokan style) when I was a kid for a couple of years. I also did a martial art called Yosekanbudo, which is like a mix of different martial arts. There I had my first approach to ground fighting, but of course still really soft compared to BJJ. I did MMA in my old gym, but never with the aim of competing, just training to improve skills.
Currently living in: I live in the countryside near Motril, on the coast of Granada province in the south of Spain.
Originally from: I come from Cividale del Friuli, a small town in the deep northeast of Italy, near the Slovenian border.
Please tell us the story of how Tropical Squad BJJ, Spain came into existence
Hope you’re not in a hurry! Ahahah!
When I moved here from Italy, I was a few years out of training seriously and I was really bored and out of shape. One day my wife (she is from this area) told me: why don’t you search for a BJJ gym around here? I started searching on the internet and asking people, but no one was doing it in my area. When every hope was gone, I casually found on the street a flyer of a gym in a town far from here… so I decided to go there and give it a try.
The gym was also really new (they were basically training in a garage) but I had the chance to train and that was the important thing. After a while, they moved to a better place and opened a real gym. I trained there whenever I could, but it was so far away, so I talked to the coach and owner, who is a really good friend, and told him that I would try to open something in my area. He agreed and supported me.
Then I started looking for a place, but the main big commercial gyms weren’t interested. Everytime i said Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, they used to answer me, “Oh yes, I know it! It’s something like a dance (capoeira)…” LOL
After many attempts, I found the dojo where we currently train thanks to a friend of mine that was teaching yoga there. I spoke to the owner and we got along so quickly. From that point everything evolved really fast… flyers, social media… some people called telling me that they had been waiting for BJJ for a long time…
And here we are.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
Some of them are people that have no previous experience in martial arts. Some are police officers, but mainly normal people that try BJJ and get addicted. We also have people coming from other martial arts like Karate Kyokushin, Thai Boxing, and Judo.
Why do they train in Tropical Squad BJJ, Spain?
Different reasons, like learning self defense and getting in shape, but I think most of them train because they like the atmosphere. We’re more like a group of friends. Rolling is a better way to get to know people than talking, I think many people don’t expect the feeling you get when you’re doing BJJ, so they simply get addicted.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Since there’s still no culture for it around here, many people just see the violent part of the sport and are reluctant to give it a chance. The town is quite big, but if you search for martial arts there is only Karate,Taekwondo, Aikido… nothing related to BJJ.
However, I think that things are changing… slowly, but they are changing.
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We hope to grow more. In a few years, I would like to be able to open a bigger academy with BJJ and other activities/disciplines that can grow together.
What’s the best thing about Tropical Squad BJJ, Spain?
The fridge is always full of beer. Ahahah! It’s not simple to say just one thing, but if I have to say one, the best thing is the people who train here. There is a good atmosphere.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
This area is absolutely incredible for the weather. We have less than 30 rainy days a year, and we enjoy a subtropical climate, so the average temperature during the winter is 19ºC. Here you’ll find avocado, mango, papaya, and every kind of vegetable and fruit you can imagine, plus being right by the sea means a very rich gastronomy.
The cost of living is really low compared to other areas, so there are many things to do and try also on a budget! Every type of outdoor sport is possible all year! There are many sea sports you can also practice in winter. We have a 3500-metre mountain just an hour’s drive from the coast, so you can ski in the morning and surf in the sea in the afternoon.
If you like history, we have the beautiful city of Granada 40 minutes away by car, where you can visit many many amazing things.
I’m sure that organising a camp here would be absolutely great! The chances to embrace many sports and the guarantee of sunny weather makes it the perfect place for it.
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