Featured traveller: MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: “One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything.” -Oscar Wilde
Belt: Blue (BJJ) and Brown (Judo)
Profession: I’m a practicing CPA in the state of Pennsylvania, specializing in corporate tax.
How many years in BJJ: My BJJ journey has been a rollercoaster, but I suppose everyone can say the same when COVID lockdowns threw a wrench on all our training lives. I started BJJ in 2013, training inconsistently, and stopped in 2016 to focus all my martial arts efforts on Judo.
Other martial arts: Judo.
Where do you live: Currently in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since December 2023.
Where are you from: I was born in Manila, Philippines where I also spent my childhood. I moved to Los Angeles, California with my family when I was 14 years old.
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: My other passions in life are cooking and classic literature. If you’re a fan of classic literature, I’d love to hear your favorites!
MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
In 2012, I was stationed in Naples, Italy while serving on active duty in the US Navy. I was not a fan of running but because I needed to be able to pass a bi-annual physical test that included a timed 1.5 mile run, I needed to do some sort of cardio that I enjoyed. At an acquaintance’s recommendation, I tried BJJ. I was addicted.
In the first year, I trained BJJ almost daily. Sometimes, twice a day. Also in the first year, my beloved instructor, Marco Galzenati, passed away. I then turned to bodybuilding, something I can do in solitude. I grieved. I lost the fire that I had when I first fell in love with BJJ. A year after his death, I decided to travel around Europe and train at different gyms while also exploring the area’s culture, history, and culinary scenery. Sometime in 2013, I stumbled upon CSA in Copenhagen, and wrote to one of the instructors (at the time, our venerable Christian Graugart) to ask if I can drop in for a class — at the time. It also turned out to be the same week that he was hosting a multi-day-training event with different instructors. That, my friends, was the very first BJJ Globetrotter Camp. I started to enjoy BJJ again and this began a series of introductions to so many new, lifelong friends made at subsequent camps.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
Exactly a year ago, I spent a month in the Philippines to do some island hopping. El Nido is my favorite place for snorkeling. While Sardinia has pristine, emerald blue waters, El Nido has vibrant, colorful corals teeming with a variety of fishes.
A more recent trip was a week-long, summer road trip and camping through the Adirondacks. We stayed around the areas of Lake George and Lake Placid, host of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.
In January, I’ll be in Hawaii for a week with my family. I no longer train martial arts when I’m on vacation with my family because I want to maximize the limited quality time we have.
MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters
What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
My favorite aspect of traveling is the discovery and experience of something new.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
What makes it worthwhile to both travel and train are the lifelong friendships I made along the way. Other than that, I don’t think too much of it anymore and I just enjoy the present.
MJ De Vega Föhr – BJJ Globetrotters
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I am a budget traveler in the sense that I plan my trip within the bounds of set financial constraints, which doesn’t always necessarily mean the trip will be cheap. There’s a Swabian saying: “The cheapest thing is the one you don’t buy.”
I think that if you would like to go on a cheap trip, then you have to go to cheap destinations or places where your currency has strong purchasing power. This will minimize the risk of finding yourself on social media with the captions “Destitute Foreigner Stranded In [Insert Southeast Asian country].” Jokes aside, luxurious or modest, I think it behooves anyone to set a budget for any trip, or any expense for that matter, to avoid a snowball of debt because interest makes everything more expensive.
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
I don’t like to give advice because I think people should do whatever they want to do, but I’ll say that years ago, I used to travel and train both Judo and Jiu Jitsu when I visit a new place. Now, if I travel with friends and family, I don’t train at all. I spend all that quality time with my loved ones. I used to be selfish and plan trips with friends and family, fly halfway across the globe, only to let them know I’m stepping out for a Jiu Jitsu session. Obviously, this is something I can do at home so I realized it was selfish of me to have people fly halfway across the globe only for me to miss out on potentially the best memories we could have together. While Jiu Jitsu is great, it’s only just one of many aspects of our lives.
