Featured Traveller: Agnes Lisik – BJJ Globetrotters
Agnes Lisik – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: Master 2
Belt: Blue, Icon BJJ (Pablo Cerino’s team in Brussels)
Profession: I’m a translator by training, but I worked in different jobs in my life, including fishmonger, journalist and currently, policy advisor in an environmental NGO.
How many years in BJJ: 3
Other martial arts: My first martial art love was Capoeira. I trained it regularly for about 3 years. I love how expressive it is, and how deep its cultural roots are. Now, I’ve just started historical fencing (HEMA) and picked up a sword thanks to having met a brand new bunch of martial art fanatics.
Thanks to that experience, and Ruadhán MacFadden’s podcast about our common grappling heritage, I start to discover how martial arts influence each other, and that everything is connected: wrestling, boxing, fencing… I hope to live long enough to take up boxing, and maybe even some MMA in the future, inshallah!
Where do you live: Brussels
Where are you originally from: Poland
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: Originally, I left my country for a mere five-month Erasmus student exchange in Spain. Now, it’s been 14 years living abroad and counting. I’m a migrant by default.
Agnes Lisik BJJ
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
Travelling is a way of life these days, be it for work or leisure. The world has shrunk so much! So far, I’ve lived in 3 countries, and visited around 30, mostly in Europe, which I love.
BJJ Globetrotters taught me to bring the gi with me wherever I go. I’ve visited different BJJ academies in Poland (Lodz, Gdansk), USA (Baltimore, Miami), Iceland (Reykjavik, Keflavik), Belgium (Brussels, Leuven), the Netherlands (Oss -sic!), Portugal (Ericeira), Spain (Vigo), the UK (London)… I usually travel solo and often I’m the only girl training in the club (never had an issue because of it).
Recently, I found out that a BJJ club is now present even in my home town of 30,000 people in the south of Poland. It’s impressive how much the Gentle Art is expanding.
Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
Almost all my holidays (and money ;) I spend on BJJ or other martial arts. I’ve just been to the BJJ Globetrotters Summer Camp in Heidelberg, Germany. On the first week of September, I organized a boot camp myself for 30 HEMA fencers in Stara Wies Dojo in Poland, the wonderful venue many Globetrotters know from Zen Camp. The HEMA community is awesome, but I think they need more integration and international exchange opportunities, like Globetrotters already do.
I have a Wanderlust syndrome, so I plan the next adventure even before my return journey. And I usually feel relieved only with a new ticket in my pocket and a new travel entry in my calendar. Next on my radar are weekend trips to Lithuania, Malta, and the beautiful Rhine Valley in Germany, full of castles and vineyards that I’ve recently discovered and keep coming back to in autumn.
Agnes Lisik BJJ
What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
I like the initially unpleasant and anxious thrill of stepping out of my comfort zone. It’s getting more and more difficult as time goes by, because with age we get more lazy, cozy, and comfy, but as long as you don’t kill that curiousity and thrill in yourself, you feel truly alive.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
Last year I was in Iceland twice. I couldn’t wait for summer camp, so I visited already in wintertime, as a stopover on the way to the US. In February, I got caught in a blizzard somewhere in the woods between Perlan museum and Mjölnir MMA gym. I thought that if I was going to die there alone and freeze to death in the dark, maybe some Globetrotter would find my body and gi in July. But I survived and got my daily BJJ dose. In that week, I went from training in subarctic Iceland to subtropical Miami.
Another crazy idea was when Robert Barker stayed at my place in Brussels on his Panda Odyssey, and then I spontaneously decided to join complete strangers on a quest to London to roll 24h at a charity Grappleton at Wave BJJ.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
We are one. Whatever our nationality, religion, profession, political views, gender, etc., and whatever they say on the media in this polarized world, we are all just a bunch of naked apes who like to eat, roll, play, sleep, repeat. It’s also surprising how much we underestimate body language, whereas it’s the most natural way to communicate. BJJ for me was a way to reconnect with my own body, and at the same time notice that most of people don’t know their own bodies at all; they only use their most basic functions and fear getting physical in so many ways.
For me, BJJ creates a true community and real sense of belonging: we have the same goal and our own corporal language and common understanding: slap hands, bump fists and roll, then try to submit and not let yourself be submitted. BJJ, like any other serious martial art, I think, teaches a lot of respect and humility. We can potentially hurt our partners or get injured ourselves, so with such a “superpower” comes a big responsibility for the others. The Gentle Art taught me discipline, put a structure and purpose to my messy life, and healthily humiliates my ego and challenges my self-limitations on a daily basis.
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’ve been using Skyscanner.net for years to map the best flight options, although I like travelling by train best and I try to do that more often. For accommodation, I use Booking.com – a very handy app that allows even last-minute decisions, although sometimes you can negotiate better rates if you call the property directly. Airbnb or couch surfing never really worked for me, because I don’t like to be dependent on others and their schedule. I am a highly functioning introvert moving at my own pace, so I appreciate single rooms and anonymity of hotels. I need privacy to recharge and prepare for my exhausting supernova blasts of social activity.
I used to get obsessed with planning my trips, whereas now I only plan “the anchors”: where I fly from/to and where I am going to stay on the first and last night. I like to keep “controlled spontaneity” and improvise in between those key points. I don’t plan what to see anymore – I got too overwhelmed and didn’t enjoy it anymore – except if there are any specific landmarks on my bucket list. I like just to wander around and absorb the genus loci, turn down the street that appeals to me most, and see how the place and me connect, and what mini-adventures spark in between. The cities where I was hit by such magic the most were Zurich, A Coruña, Valencia, and Zadar. I have a good sense of orientation and a radar in my head, so it’s difficult for me to get lost, but I try to make the path curvy enough to discover sidetracks.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Don’t listen to others’ advice, check it out yourself ;) But if you really have to:
Always go full mental and don’t bother what others would say. Notice the beauty around you, even the little miracles, and let yourself be amazed, absorb, and appreciate it. Don’t miss the opportunity to do new stuff, because it may never present itself again, whether it’s a chance to train Icelandic wrestling (Glima), Irish Collar & Elbow, or try new dance, love, food or drink. The worst thing is to regret not having done something.
Thank you Agnes Lisik BJJ for doing this interview!
