No-Gi Weekend in Montréal
Happy March! Here’s a quick little post. I haven’t been able to travel out of Toronto ever since coming back from Mexico City. My life is now a little less hectic, so hopefully this means I can leave the city more often.
Montreal is only a 5-6 hour drive from Toronto and I normally find myself visiting twice a year. I’ve got good friends over there and it’s important for me to see them. I’ve gone enough times to not have to do the usual touristy activities anymore, so after starting this BJJGlobetrotters adventure and discovering Carlson Gracie MTL, that has been my go-to gym in Montreal.
I highly recommend dropping in if you are looking for challenging rolls and a variety of training partners. Everyone I’ve met so far has been nothing but kind. This time around, I had time to drop in both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, making it a very no-gi weekend. On Saturday, I joined a no-gi class and had over half an hour of good rolls. I met someone who recently moved from Hawaii, which I immediately asked, “why??!!” because I can’t imagine giving up the beaches and warmer weather. But the novelty of moving to a new city and starting from ground up is definitely exciting as well.
Every single time I’ve dropped in, I’ve managed to bring a friend to see what the world of BJJ is about. This time, my friend Mina joined me for the Sunday no-gi open mat. I showed her a couple of drills and essential moves (shrimping, break falling) but I think she’s going to stick with savate.
Oh well, I tried.