BJJ Globetrotters Camps Part 2: Greenland & Iceland

Greetings From All Over the World, Part 2!

I'm back again to fill you in on my summer of BJJ Globetrotters camps I attended as the 'big bang' finale to the Odyssey. I'm not done writing about the Odyssey itself, only half way really, but I'll return to those adventures shortly. I last left off with telling you all about my adventures at the USA Maine Camp and visiting Toronto, the stop in Toronto happened both before and after heading out on an epic Nordic adventure, one that may be long to tell but also is full of pictures and videos, otherwise called BJJ Globetrotters Camps Part 2: Greenland & Iceland.

Greenland Camp (Nuuk Greenland, 20-22 July 2018)

I originally wanted to go to Greenland and Iceland as part of the Odyssey on my way back to Canada but when the camps were announced I changed my plans to go to them instead and see these places and experience the different cultures with the Globetrotters. I figured going with a group to explore and train and party (re:lots of partying) would be more fun than going on my own. I was not wrong. As I planned out the back to back camps I also decided to get some visiting in at Toronto, which I covered last post. I decided I would show up a few days early to both Iceland and Greenland as the space was open to us all week in Nuuk and I had a friend to visit in Reykjavik. I would have to fly to Iceland from Toronto first before heading to Greenland so I figured I might as well visit friends at each stop. At the Greenland camp we were all staying in a school which the local club uses the gym for their classes. Even though the camp was on the weekend, there were 6 of us on the flight when I flew over on Wednesday and already a few people there from earlier in the week when we landed. Jason, the coach of the local gym, Inuit Martial Arts, and some of his students met us at airport and drove us to the school.

Ready for Greenland!

The plane we flew from Reyjakiv to Nuuk on... 

I got a small tour of Nuuk on the way school as we drove from the airport on the other side of town, pointing out where the grocery store was and the library, where the only WiFi in town was. Although it’s the capitol and biggest town in Greenland, Nuuk is small and everything was nearby where we were staying. The local bar and restaurants were across the street from the school, the important WiFi at the library across from that and the grocery store just down the street from them. There’s not a whole lot to do in Nuuk but it’s a nice view of the Arctic Ocean from the shore and there’s a small village museum and all sorts of Inuit statues throughout the town. As well, driving around to the views, hiking up the beautiful mountain ranges or going on whale watching and iceberg sighting boat trips are the real the attractions.

Flying over the Artic 

The social aspect of the Globetrotter camps really shone through at this particular camp, being smaller in numbers and more relaxed with no set schedule for classes or open mats. We averaged one class of at least an hour a day with a noon time and evening open mat, and even a post bar, middle of the night open mat if you were more adventurous and in, how shall I say ‘in high spirits’. I set up the GoPro to record some of the open mats and classes and put together this video of the awesome time I had training with the 25 or so of us that came to visit this isolated club to help grow the art and sport in Greenland. You can watch the video below or head over to the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel where you can watch this and all my other videos. While there be sure to show some love, like, comment, share and subscribe!

Once Christian and the last of the visitors arrived we got into full swing with some classes and rolling and sightseeing. The locals were very happy to have us come and train with them and eager to roll with everyone, being the only club in such an isolated area they don’t have much outside exposure for comparison and only have each other to train with or roll against. One student was telling me that recently a few of the members left for work so the club was down to half its usual numbers, so classes were slow. They were very happy to have us to roll against, and to have black belts there to teach. The rolls were aggressive, but more in an eager way than any manner of proving dominance. I had a lot of fun hanging out the local members and wish they didn’t have to work during the day so we could have socialized more.

During the days people in groups set up going on whale watching or iceberg cruises and a group of us climbed a mountain, only to be covered in fog and unable to get a cool picture of overlooking the entire city as the view usually is from up there. During the nights we all headed out to the bar, which on week nights was a quiet pub with pool tables and closed by midnight but come Friday and Saturday they open up the dance club in the back that doesn't even get started until after midnight and runs until 4am. We showed off some crazy dance moves (some good, mostly bad) and got away with even crazier antics at this bar, since it's agreed that what happens with Bar Team stays with Bar Team I can't go into any details but it's safe to say the staff there didn't mind us doing almost what ever we wanted. I guess that's the bonus of us being such a large group spending money there on their very expensive drinks. 

This is 2am in Nuuk.

Food was a big part of this camp, not just because everyone wanted to try a whale steak or blubber or seal but mostly because since we all stayed in the school together we also all cooked and ate together. Throughout the time visiting Nuuk we would all chip in and pick up needed groceries to make the agreed supper or breakfast, lunch was usually on you own as we were usually out and about or just not waking up til noon anyways for some people. All in all we worked quite well together making meals and getting fed. One particular night and morning stands out, where a camper made a boast of being able to make us all 'Spanish omelettes' for breakfast. This camper then preceded to get quite drunk, which concerned all of us wanting a tasty omelette for breakfast. I woke up at some point late in the night, our self acclaimed cook was at his usual post bar open mat with no sign of being able to wake up in the morning. I walked into the kitchen to grab a drink of water, to find the place was a disaster!

No pictures of food, or the disaster, but here's some of the cool statues and sights from around town.

It looked like a hurricane ripped through the kitchen, dirty utensils were all over the place, there was a giant mess on the stove and all over the counter. It looked like all the would be breakfast food was used in a food fight, and then I opened the fridge. Right there sitting in two big pans was some sort of beautiful, perfectly cooked egg and vegetable and various meats concoction. I couldn't believe me eyes, I shut the fridge door and went back to sleep, stunned at what I saw both in the state of the kitchen and of what waited in the fridge. When I woke most of the mess had already been cleaned and the egg dish already sampled and approved by all those awake. I had some myself and it was great, I don't think it was actually a Spanish omelette, in fact I believe the quote was "It's not Spanish and it's not an omelette but it's something" I still don't know how he pulled it off in his state, or how the kitchen got so destroyed, but Stevie you are one beautiful pain in the ass, hell of a guy. I both immensely enjoyed and hated every minute with you, thanks for all the laughs and the great breakfast. I hope I never have to room with you again, or until the next camp. 

The local dishes of cooked seal or cured blubber weren't my thing so I passed on them but the idea of whale steak did intrigue me. Unfortunately the day we decided to have the camp BBQ there were no whale steaks available at the grocery store so we all just settled on normal steaks instead. I'm not complaining but it did feel wrong to come all this way just to eat an ordinary tender loin steak. While wandering the city some of the other campers tried some of restaurants, I heard good reviews for a pizza place and a Thai or Chinese restaurant but I tried the local burger joint. They had a 'monster burger' challenge that included 5 patties, each topped with cheese and bacon, that had to be eaten within 15 minutes. I will post the pics to let it speak for itself but I just want to say it looked a lot smaller and more manageable on the posters than when I served this monstrosity. I gave it a valiant effort and regretted it later during the mountain hike that happen to be on the same day and right after eating this thing. 

The burger is bigger than my large drink.

 This was as far as I could get in the 15 minute time limit.

As the object was to help the Jiu-Jitsu community grow in Greenland and it’s quite expensive to get so such an isolated place Christian only charged a reservation fee as opposed to selling camp tickets. The reservation came with a condition though, the only way to get it back wasn’t just to show up and have fun but also to agree to jump into the arctic waters with the rest of the group. While this may have frightened some of the other visitors I was actually really excited to take the plunge and test my frozen Canadian blood. Although I couldn't feel my legs by the time i got out of the water it wasn’t that bad, I thought anyways. Here’s a video of us make the run in and out of the ocean while locals looked and on and took their own pictures and videos of us being crazy stupid visitors. You can watch the video below or head over to the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel and watch it and all my over videos I’ve uploaded.

The shore where we ran into the water.

How could I pass up posing on a waterfall?!

Iceland Camp (Reykjavik Iceland 23-28 July 2018)
  
One aspect of the Greenland camp was that it was back to back with the Iceland camp, another place I’ve wanted to visit since starting the Odyssey. When the camps came out I had to re-shuffle my budget and schedule for the Odyssey to make it out to both, there was no way I could pass up this chance. Flights are limited both from Canada to Iceland and to Greenland in general, so I worked out stopping and visiting a friend so I wouldn’t have to rush or stay in the airport for long time and it allowed some time to get out and see some of Iceland and hopefully train before the crazy schedule of the camp. I met Halldor back when I was in Hamburg Germany and flew over to London for the weekend of Prof. Keith Owen’s seminar to surprise my head black belt with a visit, which you can read about Here. That was an amazing weekend and can’t believe I pulled it off.

The view flying into Iceland.

Anyways Halldor is a big guy and of course since big guys gravitate to one another in class, we trained a little, made a bunch of jokes at Mr. Keith’s expense and become good friends instantly. I have kept in contact with Halldor since the seminar and had talked to him about different ideas for visiting Iceland and his gym. When the camp came up we worked out me coming for a day or so before heading to Greenland. I can’t compliment Halldor enough, he was always willing to help and host any time I threw any ideas of coming to visit Iceland, picked me up at the airport at an ungodly early hour in the morning, showed me around in between his shifts and taught me the hot tub sauna culture of Iceland, and most importantly taught me how to master the water slide (you have to go to Reykjavik and meet Halldor to find out). It was a short time we hung out together but an awesome time, and although we didn’t get to train together there that just give me a reason, not that I need one, to return to Reykjavik.

Halldor, what a great guy, thanks again my friend!

Pretty much all of my sight seeing happened during the short stay with Halldor as the camp was a whirlwind of training, socializing, eating and sleeping. I didn’t get a chance to get out of Reykjavik to see the great attractions Iceland has like the hot springs, black sand beaches or waterfalls, but there's still tons to see in the city itself. I've added a few of the shots I taken but you can see all pictures, including some beautiful panoramic shots of Greenland and Iceland, over on my Flickr Account.

Views along the shoreline.

Leif Eriksson Statue and the Hallgrimskirkja Church

Reykjavik prime minister house

When I returned for the Iceland camp it was non-stop action until I left. Between the camp classes, socializing after the day’s training, socializing with my hostel roommates and trying to fit in meals and proper sleep I was so burnt out by the end of the week. In fact with the culmination of the Greenland and Iceland camps back to back, added with visiting and training in Toronto before and after the camps I was so socially over stimulated that I basically just stayed in my room for a week to decompress and prepare for the Germany Camp. I don’t know how I managed to travel at the rate I did for 18 months straight but after 2 years I finally found my social stimulation limit: 2 non-stop weeks of Globetrotters. During this hectic week I managed to take a few pictures with everyone, or as many people as I could.

Ger, met his brother Graeme at the USA camp, both cool dudes. 

Good friend Steph who I met last year in the Germany camp.

My hostel room mates, out dipping our toes in the water and watching the blood moon, or sunset at least. 

Hot tub life in Iceland 

The Iceland Punk Museum with Giles and Cristiana from Glasgow. 

Garrett is always the life of the party. 

Making new friends after a long day of training.

On top of the usual all day full of classes packed with cool black belts teaching all kinds of awesome techniques the Iceland Camp was held in Mjolnir Gym, home to UFC fighter Gunnar Nelson, who also taught a class for us during the camp. Apparently in the start of his MMA career Gunnar fought in an event Christian ran and they’ve kept in contact throughout the years. When Gunnar showed up to teach it was with an all star entourage of his and Connor McGregor’s trainer John Kavanagh and non other than BJJ legend Master Carlos Machado! That is one way to make an entrance, and did it ever blow away the camp meeting these guys. Gunnar’s class on pressure passing in an MMA format defending strikes and his tricks for baiting his opponents for underhook control was very interesting to watch and digest. This was not the first time I’ve had a class taught by a UFC fighter, or even a class directed to defending strikes but the games of strikers in grappling are just as varied as the submission game itself and it’s always cool to see how people, especially an athlete at his level, defend and attack.

Thanks for having us at your gym Gunnar! 

Attending a class by Master Carlos Machado, who just so happened to train the one and only Chuck Norris to be an even more lethal ass kicking machine, was something I never thought would happen and certainly not while at a BJJ Globetrotters camp in Iceland. As luck would have it, Carlos was vacationing in Reykjavik with one of his student he was preparing for World Masters and when they dropped by for the weekend open mat they found out about the camp happening that week and decided to stick around for it. Not only that but another black belt who has supposed to teach had to cancel last minute and so Christian approached Master Carlos who was more than happy to jump in and take over.
“I see you all doing 1 hour classes, I have a problem with that, you need least 2 hours to see and drill a technique to really learn it” and so Carlos ran his class into the open mat time and we all had 2 hours of learning some incredible details from one of the highest ranked Jiu-Jitsu masters.

Learning from Master Carlos was an amazing experience, you could easily see the years of experience in not only teaching but also keeping a large group interested and captivated with how he described all the details and used jokes and stories between techniques. He kept to the basics and every technique started off with me saying ‘OK, I know that one” then quickly turned to “Wait, how is he doing this?" Every technique he showed had an aspect to it I’ve never ever seen before. Most of the details we all took away from Master Carlos was the way of control he used. It was a loose cupping like motion, not tensing up and using hand strength, placed perfectly so that if you need to apply pressure it was a simple muscle flex. I know it sounds weird and it's hard to describe, some of us campers talked about it all week, but the easiest way to describe it is he showed us a butterfly sweep where he just hung his hands on the arms instead of griping or wrapping anything, just lightly cupping the triceps. This way he could control any posts with just a pull on the triceps or swing of his elbow, not using any strength and the partner feeling they still have free range of movement but unable to post. Hard to describe but mind blowing to watch.

What an honour Meeting Carlos Machado!

Another amazing class that the camp had, and one of the main reasons I wanted to come to Iceland, was a local giant viking, Gudmundur, teaching the Celtic and Nordic wrestling styles of Backhold and Glima. I was first alerted to Glima a few years back and only starting the idea of the Odyssey when a Facebook friend posted a video about the viking wrestling style. It only took that one video to make me put Iceland on the list of places I have to visit. For the record there are several styles of Glima throughout the Nordic countries I’d like to go and visit Norway, where I've heard it's really big, to learn the differences and details one day. Backhold and Glima have a lot in common, both being a grappling art that focuses on taking the opponent down to the ground with the rule set including having continuous grips on each other. In Backhold you lock your hands together in an over/under hold on your opponent, that is you have one underhook and over overhook and then clasp your hands together on their back and they do likewise. Glima on the other hand you wear a leather belt around your waist and your thighs and while you do the same over/under you are gripping the belts, one on the waist and one on the thigh. Both styles showed me so much about controlling an opponent in the clinch and working different up close takedowns. Fireworks were going off in my head the whole time, like it was finally being showing the proper way to use my body. I played with some of the concepts and ideas I got from training with Gudmundur’s classes and have come up with some great takedowns, controls and defenses from these classes.

Gudmundur makes me look like a wee child!

The camp ended with a final event in the ‘Viking Pit’ behind the gym where we laid some tatami mats for a ‘Vikings vs Invaders’ showdown in a the form of a Glima competition. There were a total of 5 defending Vikings against what seemed like 20 of us 'Invaders'. Gudmundur gave us all a crash course in Glima and then we started the competition, with the Invaders learning as we went along, which seems totally fair. The home team were taking 2 or 3 of us out each before wearing down enough for the Invaders to score a takedown. We had at least 10 of us left when we got to the final member of the Vikings team, the giant Gudmundur himself. He ripped through us like child’s play, throwing full grown men around like dolls, with the average Invader only lasting 10-30 seconds trying to move this massive man before meeting their end. Only 2 Invaders lasted over 30 seconds and into a minute against him, 5th degree Judo black belt and British Olympian Sophie Cox and myself (Yay me for being heavy and too stubborn to go down easy!). We fought hard and tried our best but we just couldn’t move him and the Vikings had successfully defended their land.

Trying my luck against a viking

Impressed with my performance (He complimented me on my strength and defense so I made a Panda’s Odyssey T-shirt to commemorate the whole event) Gudmundur and I talked more about the small details of Glima and Backhold and moving your opponents around. He then mentioned a special open mat that takes place in Reykjavik where all the biggest vikings come in for the Giantroll, an open mat where you have to be over 90kg to participate in that takes place on the first Sunday after a full moon. There happened to be a full moon that week, and not just any full moon but the Blood Moon. This invitation to the Giantroll was extended to rest to the camp online but as it happens no one from the camp or any of the locals I met could make it. I really wanted to go and be in an open mat of giant vikings just smashing each other, and probably be the smallest guy there, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me this time around.

Sophie trying her best against the giant 

Great meeting you Sophie!

Gudmundur and Frosti, such nice friendly guys as you can see. 

I was sad to leave Iceland at the end of the camp, in fact I ducked out of the camp end party early because I got depressed and didn't feel like saying goodbye to everyone. I had one more day in Reykjavik to wander around before leaving and as it happens there were a bunch of campers still around. We hung out at the Lebowski Bar, themed after the great cult hit movie 'The Big Lebowski', where most of the night's shenanigans happened during the camp, for one last night out before leaving the next day. In an attempt to draw my stay out longer I made an open invitation to all those still around to come join me for coffee and pastries the next morning at a coffee shop nearby my hostel. Slowly a small group showed up, we laughed over the past weeks events and shared our plans for the coming weeks and months. For some this would be the only camp I would see them, others we would be meeting again soon. Some were wondering why I was heading back home only to return for the camp in Germany in 2 weeks time, which I'll explain next post. I left with a smile on my face, thinking of all the good times and friends I had made over the past 2 weeks. It was a happy ending to the camp, which was a nice change from the usual sad to go feeling.

When Sean and I party this always seems to happen.

One last night out.

The Iceland camp was an amazing experience of a lifetime and I will go as far to say it’s at the top of the best BJJ Globetrotter camps, not that there’s any bad ones. Reykjavik is very expensive, one of the most expensive cities I’ve ever been to (campers posted their credit card bills from the bars after camp and it was scary), but Christian and the Mjolnir Gym were able to get us all sorts of discounts at restaurants and even free sandwiches for the day at the gym, you had to be quick on those though. The fact that most of the camp, a much higher percentage than at other camps, was visiting Iceland for the first time also meant lots of group socializing, the Facebook group was constantly being flooded with people posting to fill up cars and go exploring as a way to save money, or inviting everyone out for food or evening drinks and take up the local businesses on their discounts and not be going out alone. Also, the gym had a sauna, a hot tub and a cold tub that we all made good use of at the end of the day after training and that alone was a great spot for socializing and meeting new people. I had such a great time in Iceland I have said this many times already, it has moved to the top of the list of places I want to go back to and even find work at when I’m done schooling. I just hope there’s another camp there next year and I’m able to attend.

The last gathering for breakfast before finally leaving.

And with that I was on my way back to Toronto, as you read in Part 1. After a short rest and recovery I was back on the road, or plane, again to my last stop outside of Canada. Next time I wrap up my camp reviews with BJJ Globetrotters Camps Part 3: Return to Heidelberg!

Until next time,
see you on the mats!
OSSS!!

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BJJ Globetrotters Camps Part 1: USA Camp & Visiting Toronto

Greetings from all over the World!

It’s been a while since my last posts, so long in fact I wouldn't be surprised if you thought I gave up on writing these or fell off a cliff or something. I promise I’ll get back to the Odyssey and finish telling you my story of traveling around the world, but first let me tell you about the adventures I’ve had recently and the reason I haven’t been posting lately. Over the summer I’ve been to several BJJ Globetrotters camps, 4 to be exact, as well as visited a few friends in between. In the last few months, between May and August I’ve been to 5 countries, knocked off some items from my bucket list, met some awesome and amazing people and also got to visit old friends to catch up with on this past year's events. Also I recently held a couple seminars for the first time ever, but I'll cover that story another time.

I figured as the Odyssey was coming to a close I should finish it off with a bang and what better way than to do it by hitting several BJJ Globetrotters camps in a row. There were a few places I wanted to visit that I could have done at another time and probably done it in a cheaper fashion. When the 2018 schedule for BJJ Globetrotters camps came out last Nov/Dec with camps at those same places I made a decision to re-arrange the Odyssey. Now labeled version 5 but most likely closer to version 50 in reality, the plan was made to visit these places with the camps for maximum fun training and visiting. I was not disappointed. Since attending 4 camps and visiting friends in between is a lot to write about and try to fit into one post I have broken up all the adventures into 3. Let's begin with being back in North America, the USA Camp and visiting Toronto!

US BJJ Globetrotters Camp (Maine, USA May 30 - June 3 2018)

The first camp I attended after I finally got back home in Canada was in the USA, a summer campground in Maine, just a few hours south from me. I got back to my home town I grew up in of Petawawa, Ontario, Canada at the start of May. It was four weeks before the first camp and although it was great being home, seeing my parents and friends and resting it was also weird being in one place for four weeks straight. Before then the longest I had been in one place in the past 18 months was 10 days. I had time to rest up, heal some injuries I had and try working on getting into a routine and sorting out my life and again. All and all the four weeks went by pretty quick.

Brock, Valerie and I about to start our trek to the Maine camp.

The BJJ Globetrotters USA camp has become a staple in the yearly schedule, with it being at a kids campground of log cabins next to a lake with bonfires and S'mores every night it’s easy to see how it’s so popular. It’s always been a camp I wanted to attend, being so close to me, but timing has always been an issue before. This year around with a few fellow Canadian friends making the trek and me being closer to it than ever I had to make it out. We quickly planned out a fun road trip to get there and back from Montreal. My teammate Brock flew in from the west coast and we both met with Valerie, piled into her car and headed south to the US. A few hours later, and many, many American flags sighted along the way and we were at the campgrounds.

The sunset view at camp.

As part of my prize for winning the 2017 BJJ Globetrotter of the Year I was awarded a free camp, but as I had bought all the tickets to all camps I could currently attend Christian and I came up with a different prize. The campgrounds in Maine are on a small slope down to the lake, the cabins are by the lake with the gym on top the hill on the other end of camp, which could make running back and forth throughout the day tiring. In exchange for a camp ticket I couldn’t use Christian got me a golf cart to drive around during the camp. This not only made it easier and more fun to get around the camp also created way to meet other campers. Before the camp I came up with an idea, if I was going to be the only camper, other than staff, driving around on a golf cart I’m going to need to have a cool golf cart driving outfit. This of course will give the image of me being an important person, a persona if you will. All this was of course an ice breaking tool to cause people to ask me why the cart and the outfit and an opportunity to tell my story and meet cool new people at this camp. I think the leopard print robe and captain's hat worked quite well, but maybe the jean speedo was a bit much for some people.

Nothing like 3am pizza!

This was my second camp I attended so I knew what to prepare for in terms of schedule and social activities. I had never been to this campground or any part of Maine before I didn't know what to expect for sights or scenery, although I had a picture in my head, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The drive to and from the camp was beautiful and filled with lush nature surrounding the road.  I wish we had more time to explore more of Maine. I had a lot of friends I made from traveling, or met online, since attending the first camp so I was excited to catch up with them here. The first few hours after arriving to the campgrounds was a stimulus overload of meeting everyone and getting settled and ready for everything to begin. Old friends, new friends, bunk mates, friends or teammates of my friends, people who read my blog, or people who are just showing up alone and for the first time, there was about 170 people attending and by the end of the camp you know most all of them. By the last day it's sad to say goodbye but that first day is always an overload as you get into the swing of things. The set up for the cabins was great, Christian made good use of available cabins and limiting the camp number so we weren't absolutely packed. It would be no fun attending a camp where we are all crammed in together using all the beds in the cabins we have available. Christian could have easily got over 200 people and filled the cabins but having 20 people, their sweaty gear and bags to navigate around in and listen snore all night for a week in a cabin with only 2 showers would not be a fun camp. Instead the cabins were roughly half full and that seemed the perfect amount of space and occupancy for the camp. We all got along quite well for the week, I know all things were good in my cabin at least and didn't hear of any problems in the other cabins either, only of the many good times that were had.

The morning yoga classes were, as usual, exactly what I needed to start the day and get ready for hours of Jiu-Jitsu classes and open mats. Being my second camp I now knew more about the importance of pacing myself, after burning out like I did in Heidelberg last year. The goal was 3 hours a days, 2 classes and an open mat. Any extra time spent on the mats in open mat would be bonus but I also didn’t want to go too hard and burn out again. I did quite well although I did have a slow day where the heat and humidity got to me. I hit a morning class then had a few rolls at the mid day open mat and then realized I may have a problem when I was tired and still dizzy after almost 10 mins of catching my breath from a match. I had been good on staying hydrated but had been sweating so much in the first few days I hadn’t replaced enough electrolytes. I went to the corner store and picked up a good supply of Gatorade, the best option I had at the time, and headed back to the camp to watch the afternoon classes. I needed to rest and recharge for the day so I could catch up on rolling and drilling throughout the camp.

Amanda I actually met by chance in Cambodia over the holidays, was great catching up!

Carissa I met last year in Germany, we missed you this year! 

As the camp went on I turned my sights from training to rolling. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to learn from the many teaching black belts, quite the opposite I wish I could train in their classes all day, but I realized I had been using most my energy on learning and drilling and missing out on rolling with everyone. After rolling with Kyle, a Canadian brown belt I finally met after a year or more of following each other online, he gave me advice on recovering electrolytes (add salt to your meals and water) and keeping hydrated when I started to get dizzy. We also had a talk about the opportunity these camps bring, we have the opportunity of training and rolling with people from all over with all sorts of different techniques levels, body sizes and different competitive games. As much as it’s great to learn from all the black belts and gain as much knowledge from these camps as possible, it’s also equally important to roll with as many people as you can to get used to playing against different body types and game styles and it also is a great ice breaker for socializing.

My teammate Brock, this is what jet-lag while training looks like, hahah!

Jeremy on the left and Matt on the right, two new awesome friends who are also awesome black belts.

A new aspect to the camp that Christian also added to all camps now is the lecture hall. The camp in Maine had a separate theater hall that we used to watch movies, have a comedy night and attend lectures from different black belts teaching at the camp. Christian's speech about his business mindset and the steps he practices to keep BJJ Globetrotters moving and coming up with fresh ideas was both a wonderful look into his eclectic mind as well as inspiring to fellow entrepreneurs. Other instructors hosted lectures on many interesting topics like competitive mindset and training with injuries, they were all very well received so Christian has made it part of the camps. The lectures did run during the day when classes were also on so you had to pick and choose which to do, but it gave those choosing to rest at that time an another option from watching class during their down time. Between the training, rolling and the nightly socializing at the camp fire eating S'mores and sharing stories the US camp was another amazing experience with BJJ Globetrotters, one that I wholeheartedly believe anyone of any experience level should attend, especially if they're in North America and unable to get over to the Europe camps.

Got to meet all kinds of cool people here, like UFC fighter Devin Powell. 

And the one and only, BJJ OG Chris Haueter!

Toronto Before the Camps

The next camps I had lined up were the Greenland and Iceland camps, back to back, but first I decided to spend a week in Toronto to visit my brother and get some rolls in with guys I met at the US Camp. I lived in Toronto for 10 years, ironically I wasn’t training BJJ then, being more focused on partying at the time, and missed out on training in the biggest early Canadian BJJ scene with a lot of high level guys who have now all spread out across Canada. Now that Jiu-Jitsu is my life, and Toronto has many gyms throughout the city, I always look to check out clubs I've never been to before while visiting. This time around I had a whole new group of friends to visit and take up their offer to come train with them.

Team Guvna BJJ

I met a bunch of people from around the Toronto area when I was at the Maine camp and one gym that welcomed me out was Guvna BJJ. They have two locations, one in Scarborough and one in Pickering, I was able to make it out to the Scarborough location which is a nice big space with other classes for MMA and Kickboxing with a ring, a cage and a bunch of heavy bags in their gym. Lots of killers putting in hard work there. Although I had met Prof. Adrian at the camp I mostly spoke to Rob, a purple belt who taught kids classes, to figure out a good time to come visit. Training with the gym and seeing Rob and Prof. Adrian again was great, being able to see how they train and hanging out with the club and feel the love they give to a visitor is why I travel. Rob and I met up before class and had a chat about traveling and seeing different gyms and how they train and “living the BJJ life” secret: it’s not nearly as glamorous as it seems but it's still awesome.

Great to see you again Rob, thanks for everything!

After warm up we got into drilling guard passing and then added ending with taking a dominant position. One thing Prof. Adrian focuses on in all his teaching is the importance of flow and moving with a purpose, not stopping until you’ve passed, or swept, and achieved a dominant position and doing it in a realistic manner. We were drilling at a higher, more aggressive pace, not being tough and forceful but moving in a way you would for competition, faster and without pauses for each step or in a slow passive way. As class went on we added more to the chain and then added resistance. I worked with a white belt so he wasn't at the level some were going, and really neither was I, but we worked up to a pace out of our usual drilling comfort zone to simulate competition, it was an interesting drilling session that really showed where I am with movement. At the end we worked Judo entries in the same manner, setting up groups of three with one person working entries between the two others, back and forth in constant movement. It was an interesting way to drill throw entries and added the element of explosiveness to them. I believe in training new techniques slowly to get the core movement down but I also agree with Prof. Adrian: How are you ever going to pass someone or get a takedown if you only ever drill slowly and without resistance?

Prof. Adrian and his team of killers.

Prof. Adrian got straight into running class as soon as he showed up so I didn’t get to chat with him until after training. We did however have a thorough roll after class where I completely fell into Prof. Adrian’s trap. From training guard passing with a purpose all class and with his stiff grips I fell into playing a faster pace than my usual game looking for a pass. It was a fun 2 minutes that quickly became my death. The match turned to me now on bottom trying to defend while Prof. Adrian, who’s not a big guy, felt like a ton of bricks on me, controlling me and giving me just enough to move to the next position in his series of control. This went on for at least 10 minutes as he sapped all the life out of me while coaxing me not to give up and to keep moving. I was completely dead by the end of his show of superior control then I was honoured by his kind words to me as an 'ambassador of Jiu-Jitsu'. It’s funny when people call me that but I guess it is what I do. Anyways I was revitalized to have one last roll with Rob, or so I thought. I worked my usual game looking to use my top pressure to pass, and then quickly found myself in a reverse triangle. I had nothing left to get out or continue so after tapping to the submission Rob and I chatted a bit about training some different techniques before calling it a night and giving me a drive back to a nearby subway station. It was truly a great visit and I hope to return in the future.

Matt’s Garage

Matt is another guy I met in Maine, he was in a cabin next to mine with the other guys, it was the ‘Canadian Cabin’ although they forgot to add Brock and me. Matt has been training for a long time, I think he had his brown belt for 4 or 5 years before being awarded his black belt at the camp by the “Council of Traveling Black Belts” and he really knows his stuff, particularly the mental mindset for the long game of training martial arts. It was great being able to meet up with him again in the Toronto area, meeting his group and training together. Because of club politics Matt doesn’t train at a local gym anymore and instead has mats set up in his garage. I dropped by on the weekend for some rolls with Matt and his group and I must say the garage gives a real old school Jiu-Jitsu feel.

Good times were had meeting and rolling with the group, we had a round robin of rolls and then went over some techniques afterwards. No one was there to be a local hero or mat bully, everyone was there just to roll and have fun and share knowledge, no drama, no politics, just Jiu-Jitsu. After rolling with everyone Matt went over the smaller details of the Rear Naked Choke (RNC) and some foot lock details. I, with his permission of course, added some variation details I picked up while traveling and it snowballed into some great talks about different games and body types and the basic elements behind the techniques. It’s amazing how many ways you can come up with to finish a RNC. If I lived in Toronto I would drop by Matt’s for the garage open mat every weekend.

great catching up with you Matt, thanks for having me out!

I set up my GoPro to film some of the rolls we had together, you can watch it below or head over to the Panda’s Odyssey YouTube Channel where you can watch all my other videos as well. While you’re there show some love, like, share, comment and subscribe!

Toronto After the Camps

After back to back camps I was very tired when I got back to Canada at my brother’s place in Toronto but also at the same time I was so energized from the experiences and full of stories to tell. I hung out with my old friend James and regaled him with the (mis)adventures and tales of me fighting a giant viking, visiting the isolated town of Nuuk Greenland, and of course all the beautiful people of Iceland, most of which thought I was a local (More on that next post). Sometimes it’s hard not to boast about what kind of a crazy life I lead but I’m so glad my friends take the same interests and love to hear of the stories, actually James is one of the guys I would have my childhood talks with about what places we would go train at to be 'the best fighter in the world'. Other than that I just relaxed with my brother at his place and had a quiet few days before heading back home and staying in my room for a week to decompress and rest for the last camp: the return to Heidelberg Germany.

Can't visit Toronto without dropping by Sneeky Dee's for the King's Crown nachos! 

Body of Four BJJ 

I did manage to make it out to one class while resting in Toronto. My friend Steven, who used to teach English overseas and helped me out greatly when planning out my visit to Taiwan, used to train MMA and even fought smokers on the weekends in the malls in Taipei but since getting back to Canada gave that all up. Recently Steve has gotten back into BJJ after many years off and trains at a local club very close to him and my brother. I remember seeing Body of Four BJJ opening up a few years back when visiting and have always been curious to drop by, now with Steven training there it seemed the best time to make the visit. We talked and decided on the Friday evening No-Gi class, my last night in Toronto. I met Steven outside and we made our way upstairs to the BJJ mats to find out the No-Gi class had been cancelled. Instead the gi class was continuing and there was an open mat session that I was more than welcome to attend. It being a gi session and Steven and I only bringing No-Gi attire we were thinking of declining but the head coach, Prof. Marco Costa offered to lend us gis to wear. Happily I accepted and got changed. There were no blue belts available for me to wear but I didn't care, I wore a white belt with the white gi I was lent and everything fit fine. I was just happy to not have to cancel my only chance training with Steve.

I was tired and aching from the 2 weeks of camps I just got back from and as much as I was happy to finally be able to train with Steve I was hoping for a chill night with light rolls and decided to play mostly defensively. I did not know how much work was awaiting me. Everyone there just did a class on passing with the Prof. so all the white belts sent my way were excited to try their skills they just drilled against new big guy. The only break I got was against the purple belt who was way faster than me, I played a bottom defensive game looking to counter hum, that seemed to get to him psychologically and most of the match was stalled with him over thinking how to get around my defenses for a submission. I was no match for him if I tried chasing him down in his own game so I was happy for this draw. Steve and I also had a few matches were he worked to getting me into a crucifix, several times in fact, I was both surprised and kicking myself to land into it both times. Really though I was happy to see him training again and for us to get to roll in a gym finally, the last time we rolled was years ago on a drunken Saturday night on my brother’s hardwood floor. We were both very sore the next morning. This time around worked out much better for our bodies. Thanks Steven for bringing me out and thank you Prof. Costa for having me at your gym, I’ll return again one day!

Prof. Costa on the left and my friend Steve on the right, good times on the mat, thanks guys!

After Toronto I returned home for a week to rest before heading to Germany, but before that and between my short visits to Toronto I went on one of the best trips in all of my travels: visiting both Greenland and Iceland with the BJJ Globetrotters. I can't wait to tell you about all the adventures we had but you'll have to wait for the next post, BJJ Globetrotters Camps Part 2: Greenland & Iceland.

Until next time,
see you on the mats!
OSSS!!

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