Featured Traveller: Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: Chronologically speaking 44, biologically speaking will depend on my life choices at the time. My social age will range from behaving like a 12-yr-old during Ninja Assassin Game shenanigans at Zen Camp, or 105 after a full day of training and open mats š
Belt: A happy brown belt now (which wasn’t always the case)
Profession: Short answer – Nurse. Long answer: I am a trained paediatric nurse (RN), but hardly worked as one. Instead I ended up working 10 years in geriatrics (one of the hardest things I’ve done), first as an RN, then qualified to be a Quality Manager within geriatrics, then a Charge Nurse, then became the equivalent of a Nursing Director for nursing homes. However, I gave up on all that to become what I had dreamed of becoming since my apprenticeship: a specialised OR Nurse. I like āopenā people! I love my job.
The hardest and most rewarding job, however, is being a lone parent to my daughter since she was 6 months old. On top of that, since 2023 I also take care of my mum, who has been quite ill. I basically run a household where no one listens to meā¦ apart from the dogā¦ sometimes haha!
How many years in BJJ: 13 years, since October 2011. Ask me what happened at my first training session, proper cringe…
Other martial arts: I did Wing Chun for a couple of years.
Where do you live: That’s easy to answer: Bergen, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Where are you from: That’s not easy to answer š I am an ex-military child, so although I was born in Germany, I grew up mostly between England and Germany, with a short spell in Northern Ireland. I’ve lived in Germany for longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. It is my home now.
Other fun or curious information you would like to share:
- Genetically I’m half German/half Polish. If asked, however, I’ll always say I’m English. That is a campfire story.
- I went to boarding school. Started learning German properly when I was 16 and I’m still learning haha.
- I was junior silver medalist in Lower Saxony for small caliber air pistol.
- I used to be in a band called āNo Bordersā, and we had a few gigs around my area. I kinda gave up playing guitar when I started BJJ. I dabble from time to time now.
- For a couple of years now I’ve been on a constant search to discover ways to help myself and others with strategies to help with mindset.
Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp 2024
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I wouldn’t necessarily say I was inspired to travel and train. More like I was forced to. The only training available when I started was 1 hour away in Hannover, where my ex Wing Chun teacher, forever mentor, and good friend had started to train. It took a while for me to grasp what the hell was going on. The long car rides back and forth, training 6 times a week, with him explaining EVERYTHING, truly helped. Later on, however, because of the growing obsession to acquire as much information as possible, I would visit other gyms, go to seminars by myself, and compete as much as possible. I’ve lost count of how many gyms I’ve visited. One thing I do remember though is, wherever I went, regardless whether there were girls’ changing rooms, showers and lockers or not, the vibe of the people on the mats, irrespective of country, was consistent.
This is what inspired me to travel as much as possible, to visit any gym that I could. I always felt we were all in the same boat, trying to get better, trying not to drown. It never mattered that I was often the only woman on the mat. It never mattered that I had to bring my little girl with me to training because there was no one else to look after her. It didn’t take long until roadtrips became our thing. Pretty sure my daughter grew up mostly in the car hahaha.
I love meeting new people. I love the invisible bond there is between people. It wasn’t until my first BJJ Globetrotters camp (which was my first ever camp, and took me 5 years until I could fulfil that dream) that that invisible bond became tangible. I was absolutely completely hooked. It’s kinda like a drug to be surrounded with people who follow the credo of “it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, you are welcome, you are seen, you are part of a big ginormous family”. So it felt completely normal to have post-camp blues and, regardless of the consequences, to book the next camp straight away. Not one of my better life choices, but I’m still glad I did, as that camp turned out to be the best for multiple reasons.
Although there are many more gyms to train in nowadays (even one down the road from me) my time and my capacity to train are much more limited than they used to be. Sometimes just getting to training is a battle in itself, so to be able to go to camps is even harder. But not impossible. Never impossible.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel ā where have you been and where are you going?
As 2024 comes to an end, it has been a great year of travelling. I’ve been to Hamburg, OsnabrĆ¼ck, Munich, Holland, Breslau (WrocÅaw) and via the Czech Republic, which is a beautiful country, I visited the first Spring edition of Zen Camp. Those cherry blossom trees are a must see. I went to Iceland for the first time on a strict budget, which was terrifying, but doable. Lastly my favourite camp, the October edition of Zen Camp again. (I love autumn.)
In December I’m going to London with my daughter and hope to be able to train at one of the infamous London gyms, and I’ll kickstart the New Year in style at the Winter Camp in Wagrain, Austria. In January, I’ll be going to Lisbon. I will always move heaven and earth to be able to go to Zen Camp, mainly because I love messing around pretending to be a ninja and thinking of ways to kill people in the most secretive way. Those who know, know.
Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters Zen Camp Spring 2024
What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
I could start by saying all the things that everyone who loves to travel would say, and I will get to that. First and foremost though, for me travelling is a form of escape. I’m sure many parents, especially the ones doing it by themselves, will agree. In normal day-to-day life you sometimes lose yourself, but once you get in that car to go somewhere (yes I love driving, even with my English road rage) things become easy again. The rules change, there is no protocol to follow, there is just leaving ālifeā behind and the destinationāwith whatever goodies occur on the way.
On the occasions where I travel by myself or with a friend, I find my equilibrium returning to ānormalā person settings. Not the parent, not the caregiver, just me. This is the thing I love the most about travelling.
The opportunities that arise whilst going from A to B are just the cherries on top. Often I’ll stop the car at a random place and just revel in the beauty of the moment, feeling grateful for the chance to have that for myself. If I have a road trip buddy with me, the deep and meaningful conversations are always the apex of the journey. Throw in some hiking, waterfalls, forests, history, food, like minded people, BJJ and something I have never seen or done before and BOOM… perfection.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
I find this extremely difficult to answer, because something that makes it worth it for me may seem extremely banal for someone else. Mostly, however, it has been the echoes of the personal connections made. Getting to know someone on a deeper level is a byproduct of traveling and training. When training we learn to trust people with our bodies, and when spending time with certain special souls you learn to trust them with your thoughts and feelings. This leads to friendships that withstand space and time.
Any experience I’ve had whilst traveling and training has been a memorable one, regardless whether it’s been traveling to a competition or a camp. The inside jokes that are made, the craziness that happens, that even 10 years later we still laugh about. The more time I spent with my team or fellow Globetrotters, the closer we got.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
I have never been one to remember things. The most surprising thing for me was, once you’ve left, there’s no going back. No do-over. Just gotta keep going. So even if you forget XYZ (unless it’s your passport/ticket) it just isn’t that important. There is no going back to collect, so make the best of what you have, and be surprised by the outcome.
As I previously mentioned, doing Iceland on a budget was scary. It was at the hardest, lowest financial moment of the year (maybe my life). It got to a point where I had no way to get back to the airport. I thought I had money on my card, but a surprise booking went through and I was left with nothing. The caring, sweet, financial help of someone I had just met a couple of days ago meant I got to get my flight. Something I will never forget. A truly humbling emotional experience.
I guess if you put your faith in the humanity of others, you will be constantly surprised.
During my early days of training, I was constantly surprised by the amount of people willing and able to help with my daughter. As the years progressed she went from being held, fed, changed, and rocked to sleep, to being played with, entertained, and looked after whilst I sparred. To then having help with schoolwork, held when upset, and heel hooked for being cheeky. It was always very touching to have people spontaneously willing to help.
Conny Genko – BJJ Globetrotters Iceland Camp 2024
Are you a budget traveller ā and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
For a few years I was forced to work part time to be more present at home. This obviously also meant half the pay. So although I love the finer things in life, they were (are) just not an option. I work more now, but still not to my full pay. So I’m constantly on a budget.
I am not a very organised person. However, something that has helped in that regard is to plan and research in advance. I don’t mean one or two months ahead. I mean more like two or three years into the future. It starts with an idea of wanting to go somewhere. That’s when the saving up starts. Also this is when I will start looking for accommodation, just to get a feel for the prices and make sure I research the area for better options. All the search engines are used. Every site you can imagine. Air BnB, Booking.com and even using Globetrotter matsurfing are viable options.
I now have a system that works for me. I plan out the yearly calendar by putting in the school holidays and all the BJJ Globetrotters camps or any other events that take several days. I see where the correlations are in regard to getting time off work (during school holidays it’s harder to get time off) and if there is organised child care available that I could book (this also needs to be done well in advance). So either I go to a camp where my daughter can go with me (during holidays) or I organise somewhere for her to stay, mainly her paternal grandparents. I make sure my mum has all her medicine and that my dad has no plans to go away.
I will mostly go to places that I can drive to. This means I also have accommodation in case worse comes to worst; then I’ll sleep in the car. Thankfully I have friends all over Germany and have always had a place to stay. One of the perks of having trained for so long. If you’re a relative newbie and would like to travel around, there is no harm in asking the people where you visit for the opportunity to either sleep in the gym (those big puffy gymnastics mats are awesome to sleep on) or for the possibility of a couch. There’s always gonna be someone who can vouch for you, providing you’re not a serial killer.
When staying somewhere, I’ll usually bring as much food from home as possible. If I’m travelling by car, the limit is endless. I will scope out offers for big packs in the weeks leading up to departure. If I’m flying then noodles, rice, oats, protein power, and soup bags are crammed into my hand luggage so that my main luggage is not too heavy. Also I will try to wear as much as possible so there’s more room for training gear. This is what I did for Iceland.
I will always be social, and being social isn’t defined by drinking and eating big meals in restaurants. So I save a heck of a lot by refraining from doing those things if necessary.
Using the WISE Card has been a godsend. You can create multiple currencies and that way save losing money from a bad exchange rate.
Keep the change!!! By that I mean all those little coins that inevitably find their way into your pocket. Keep them. Use them next time. Especially good for buying little things at the airport, or if you need to pay for the use of a toilet. I have lots of different wallets for different countries.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Go. Do the thing. Why wait. There is no better time than the present moment to enjoy your life to the fullest. If you struggle financially like me, then trust the process and know that you will be okay. You have survived being stuck in mount for what felt like hours on end, so yeah, having a little less money for the next few months will also be a lesson learned on how to do it better next time.
Always have something to look forward to. Why else do we work so hard? You deserve to be kind to yourself. For all those experiencing mum or dad guilt, trust me when I say your travelling and training experiences will make you a better, stronger person, and therefore a better parent. The kid/-s may not like or understand why you want to go somewhere by yourself, but they will reap the benefits of your mental batteries having been recharged.
The more effort you make to get to know people and to get out of your comfort zone, the more you will learn. Like Jiu Jitsu, you don’t get better by doing the same thing. Test the waters, discover new sides to your capabilities, surprise yourselfāyou will be better off for it. Trust yourself.
I for one cannot imagine my life without the Globetrotters camps now. From going to my first camp all by myself, to now having a solid group of people I look forward to seeing. Thank you to all who I have had the pleasure to connect with. Thank you Christian for being a legend on so many levels. And lastly thank you to those brave souls attending their first camp. Be brave. I cannot wait to see you!
