Featured Traveller: Anton Bulkin – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: 31
Belt: Blue
How many years in BJJ: 6
Other martial arts: Sambo, boxing
Where do you live: Blantyre, Scotland
Where are you from: Narva, Estonia
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I took a silver medal in the Estonian adult boxing championship in 2009 by losing all my matches.
Anton Bulkin – BJJ Globetrotters
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
When I first tried Sambo in 2014 in Glasgow, I fell in love with it straight away. We had a lot of BJJ practitioners coming to improve their stand up and I was invited by one of them to try a BJJ class. I turned up in my red Sambo kurtka and was asked by the coach if my red belt means if I am a master. I found this question bizarre, as in Sambo, as well as in boxing, colour simply depends on a draw. Nevertheless, I had to take my first class without a belt. For the next class I turned up with a brand new BJJ white belt and since then started to combine both sports, which I like equally.
I became close friends with the Sambo guys. We’ve been competing in Highland Games backhold wrestling competitions and then travelling around Scotland together. At nighttime after the long hikes, we’ve been opening a bottle of whiskey and having endless martial arts chats. Experiencing friendship, adventures, and having a common passion opened a new world for me.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
Since I was a kid I’ve always been a big fan of the Balkans. A few years ago I travelled with a friend to Montenegro, which is tiny but has so much to offer to a visitor. We travelled the whole country together by car in three days. It was such a fantastic experience that I decided to come back next year and find a club which has BJJ classes.
I’ve now travelled to Montenegro three times and trained BJJ there – even the strictest travel restrictions haven’t stopped me! Montenegrins are very welcoming people and it is a pleasure to share a mat with them. At the same time it is a very tall nation, and even a round with a white belt with no experience can be super challenging. The gym location is perfect and there is no better feeling in the world than jumping in the sea after solid rounds and then chilling at a rooftop bar with a fancy cocktail.
For the next adventure I’m planning to return to the Balkans and cross the peninsula, travelling from the Bulgarian coastline to the Adriatics with Montenegro being the final destination, visiting as many Jiu Jitsu academies as possible. I’ve also booked two camps in 2022 – Spring Camp in Tallinn and Summer Camp in Heidelberg, where my aim is to meet as many fellow globetrotters as I can.
Anton Bulkin – BJJ Globetrotters
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
After my first BJJ Globetrotters camp in 2019, I went to Malta for two weeks where I had booked the cheapest hotel with the most awful reviews on Tripadvisor. But I couldn’t care less because I knew that there is a BJJ gym in the basement.
I spent most of my day by the pool reading Christian’s book. Every night at 7pm I was putting my gi on and heading down to the gym, proudly passing the girls I’d been hanging out with in the party district after the class.
The gym was run by two Belgian brothers who maintained strict discipline in the gym and turned white belts into killers. The most impressive thing about the club was that it was so diverse that I could not find two persons of the same nationality other than the actual coaches. Every session was tough, but the gym is located in Paceville, Malta’s party district, so I was having my pint straight after washing my gi and often with a person who was trying to choke me out just minutes before.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
In 2016, I travelled with my Sambo coach to Rostov-on-Don, Russia, to see the Cossack national games called Shermicii. This is essentially a celebration of the Cossack culture gathered in the middle of Don River steppe. Part of the games is a belt wrestling competition, which has similarities with Scottish Backhold wrestling.
I never realised that I ended up being a part of the Scottish team. We were met with hospitality I’ve never experienced before. People were so friendly and nobody wanted to miss a chance to take a picture with a man in a kilt! The main event of the festival was a belt wrestling match between a huge kilted Scotsman and a massive Russian lad. A huge crowd gathered to watch the battle of the giants!
Three months later the Cossack team visited Glasgow’s World Bagpipe Championship, where we competed against them in Scottish Backhold wrestling. The decision was quickly made by me and my mates to go back to Russia next year.
When we arrived we felt like celebrities, with local TV channels filming us and newspapers asking us for an interview. We spent just a few days in Rostov and managed to compete and host a couple of events about telling people about Scotland. One of my friends ended up marrying a girl he met during the trip, and another started learning Russian to impress her hot friend. We then travelled on the train for over 30 hours to St Petersburg with a long stop in Moscow, finishing our trip in Estonia.
Anton Bulkin – BJJ Globetrotters
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
Mostly. I travel as a solo traveller, which allows me to have longer holidays by staying in budget accommodation. However, I still like having some fancy experiences.
After the Tallinn Fall Camp 2021, a few guys still stayed in Estonia, so we decided to meet in Tartu and have a night out there. We managed to have a few rounds at the local gym and then checked in a fancy penthouse where we watched The Gentle Art of Travel documentary while having some nice champagne.
In the morning I realised that all the tickets to my next destination were sold out, and I had to stay in Tartu for one more night. I checked into a hostel where I stayed in a 16-bed mixed dorm where I met some cool people as well.
The key for me is to stay disciplined with finances during my travels.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
First of all, you need to be open to the new opportunities which are brought by the people you meet during the trip. New friends can open doors for new experiences.
Secondly, visiting Scotland is a great idea. Feel free to drop me a message if it’s already on your list!
