Cabin Fever: My First BJJ Globetrotters Maine Camp
It wasn’t until recently that I understood the whole “BJJ on vacation” thing. I noticed classmates who were traveling for work or leisure asking about martial arts gyms in the area so they could drop-in for classes, and I thought to myself, “You’re on vacation! Why would you want to go train when you should be relaxing and enjoying yourself?”
Now I get it. Bitten & infected by the jiu jitsu love-bug, training is now the best part of my daily life. My plans all revolve around prioritizing BJJ–and I even fantasize about visiting academies where I can train with the greatest athletes and coaches in the sport.
I consider myself a travel novice; before now I haven’t had the cash on hand to justify trips solely for my personal enjoyment. When I learned about BJJ Globetrotters Camps, I was not only drooling over the thought of spending all-day every day training jiu jitsu… but they were all hosted at beautiful locations around the world. I now had an excuse to plan an amazing vacation for myself, while knowing there was a jam-packed schedule of activities available that I wouldn’t have to lift a finger to attend.
All-In-One Summer Camp Experience
The ticket price for the USA Maine Camp came in at $725 USD–I had actually booked my ticket in summer of 2020 with a brief glimmer of optimism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Saddened, but not shocked at the news that camp would be postponed to 2021, BJJ Globetrotters allowed me to easily transfer my booking to the 2021 camp with no hassle (even though the ticket price had slightly increased).
Not a small chunk of change on my budget, I was super impressed with the value of the camp experience–the ticket price not only covered the full camp schedule of BJJ instruction, lectures, fun & games; but it included four nights stay in a cozy cabin as well as all meals (including a lobster bake!), and I never missed a meal. The only additional expense for me was the cost of gas to drive up & the extra snacks to bring along!
You’ll notice browsing through all the BJJ Globetrotters camp offerings that each camp offers different accommodations and add-ons. Some camps; including Iceland Camp and Arizona Camp just cover the price of training, so you’re on your own for booking accommodations and meals (though there is plenty of discussion among attendees to share an Airbnb or even rental cars). Many of the BJJ Globetrotters Camps; Austria Camp, Fall Camp (Estonia), Castle Camp (Italy), Zen Camp (Poland), Caribbean Island Camp, Winter Camp (Austria) are designed to be all-inclusive experiences which I find really alleviates the stress of vacation planning. Then there is Summer Camp (Germany), which offers an optional accommodation booking.
On the Road Again
The story of my road trip up to Maine isn’t a particularly interesting one; approximately a 3:45 drive from Providence, RI. I was thankful to have a good friend of mine, Trish, as copilot. She kept me from getting bored out of my mind on the way up & we gushed about all our favorite camp moments on the way home. Note: if you’re making this trip by car, you’ll want an E-ZPass to make your life easier. Or, like me, a copilot with an E-ZPass you can mooch off of.
4 hours of travel is relatively easy for a day trip, but had the drive been much longer, I would have either planned for an early arrival (the cabins were available for an additional night prior to the camp for $75) or to stay & explore in the city of Portland, about an hour from the campsite.
I believe I met the winner for the longest distance driven to camp; Andrew. His trip was around 1,050 miles from Asheville, North Carolina and he had stopped at several academies for training along the way. He mentioned that strategy may not work so well on the way home given the exhausting schedule of camp.
Bunking Together
Staying in a cabin really complemented the outdoorsy and social aesthetic of the camp as a whole. I totally felt like our cabin-mates bonded together and it gave us a natural social grouping to gravitate toward at mealtimes and on the mat, though we of course all branched out to plan our own days based on what we were interested in. I believe there were 8 of us in total–while everyone gets assigned to a cabin, it is really more of a place to throw all your gear in & sleep. There’s total freedom to switch around once you get settled.
There are some semi-private and private rooms available for upgrade if you’re not into the whole dorm-room sharing thing–this won’t keep you from socializing just as much as any other camper; the key is just to be friendly, smile, and keep an open mind as you meet potential new friends from very different backgrounds.
Weather was absolutely beautiful for the entirety of the camp, so having the outdoor real estate was the perfect treat. It was around 70-80°F during the daytime, cooling down to around 50°F at night (so a pair of sweats is definitely a necessity). A quiet few of us preferred to bundle up and sip our morning coffee while overlooking the lake as others slept in. And of course, the evening campfire helped us ease into nighttime while preparing all kinds of roasted treats.
I took some nice, hot showers… and one extremely cold one (right after the final open mat, when I imagine the whole camp population was also choosing to shower). Our cabins weren’t completely full, so none of us had to hoist ourselves up onto a top bunk, and I was delighted by the deep, restful sleeps I got in (big credit to having an eye-mask & earplugs handy). Overall, I really loved the whole feel of re-living summer camp with a bunch of fun-loving adults in rashguards.
Overpacking
As a traveler by car, I had the luxury of jamming as much junk in my car as I felt inclined. Of course, some items proved more valuable than others during camp. Here’s my assessment…
Stuff I packed and REALLY needed:
- MUSCLE BALM. By day 3 I strained a muscle in my lower back that could have totally wrecked the last few training sessions of camp. Aside from no-brainer pain remedies like Naproxen, having some kind of topical muscle relief gel will be a game-changer for lasting through the week.
- Fingernail clippers. I only had to trim my nails twice over the duration of camp, but it’s safe to say you’ll lose friends if you forget this crucial tool.
- Body wipes. With back-to-back lessons taking place on the mat, wiping down between breaks was essential to feeling refreshed after mopping up each other’s sweat. I changed into fresh, clean rashguards approximately 3 times a day for optimal comfort.
- Energy drinks. We all have our vice of choice, mine is a steady supply of caffeine. While there was coffee available all-day at the dining hall, I didn’t want to risk going without an energy boost before open mats.
- Power strip. While I didn’t really end up using any devices besides my cell phone, there’s a fair chance someone in your shared cabin will want to use the same outlet as you for charging.
- Eye-mask & earplugs. As mentioned above, you’re in a shared space and everyone has a bit of a different plan for their daily schedule. While we all definitely respected each other’s space, having these items were pretty important if you wanted to sleep through morning yoga (or dip out from the party).
Stuff I packed and didn’t touch even once:
- My laptop. Seriously, checking email was on the absolute bottom of priorities this week. Let it go.
- Extra gi. It is actually entirely possible to spend the entirety of the camp training in no-gi gear, except for a couple lapel-based classes. Many of those partial to the gi also commented that spending all-day in the gi would begin to feel like sandpaper against your skin.
- Running shoes + workout bands. While it was cute that I had intended on staying on top of my cardio & strength routine at camp, I got way more than I bargained for in terms of exercise without venturing off the mat space. There is an attractive fitness room attached to the main hall used for the dojo… but I couldn’t even dream of an additional workout.
Stuff I kinda wish I had packed:
- Hammock. During down-time around the campgrounds, there are plenty of trees by the lakeside perfect for strapping a hammock to for premium relaxation.
- Lawn chair. As above, rather than retreating to the cabin bunks, hanging outdoors is ideal for appreciating the beauty of the camp as well as opening the door to socializing off-the-mat. There are some benches & tables around, but they aren’t particularly comfy.
- Snacks. Mealtimes are set during specific hours that you will NOT want to miss. I demolished my supply of granola bars in-between meals and also wished I had brought along some variety… something salty like crackers or sweet like trail mix.
- Drawstring bag. I saw several wise people who just brought along those fabric gi bags to use to carry supplies from the training hall, to lectures, and to the dining hall. I got pretty lucky with my cabin placement being super-close to the training hall, but it would have been extra convenient to have a small bag to throw my water bottle, notebook, and body wipes in.
Mixing & Mingling
Moreso than learning techniques from the impressive roster of coaches, a reason to attend the BJJ Globetrotters Camp is for the social experience. Unless you’re traveling to a large tournament, you won’t find any other opportunity to gather with people who all participate in this unusual hobby (and at a competition, you’re likely too wound up to make many friends).
Camp kicked off with a “speed-dating” exercise that had me exchanging names & home gyms with 20 or so brand-new connections, and I already was fatigued at trying to memorize the faces. But not to worry, there are endless times where you would find a new friend–whether it was drilling together in class, sitting together in the dining hall, sharing a late-night beer by the lake, or bunking together in the same cabin.
After dinner, there were a few activities perfect for relaxing and continuing to bond with other campers. I participated in the Yankee Swap game where we traded (or stole) unique gifts from our respective hometowns, and went home with an appropriately themed “Campfire” cocktail infuser. I skipped out on movie night in favor of a long nap (thanks to muscle balm), but went all-out on the final night cheering on my new friends at the camp talent show/comedy night/breakdance battle.
You’ll get exactly the level of social interaction you want to have–every activity at the camp is optional, and if you prefer to retreat to your cabin for a nap or chill out on the docks, there is zero pressure to participate in every training session (and in fact, I dare say it’s about impossible to do so).
Slow Your Roll
I cannot stress this enough. Veteran campers will tell you to pace yourself, and you may even try to pace yourself. But you won’t. You will get overly antsy to play with new friends at open mat and go to all these fun new classes to pack as much in your eager brain.
You must prepare for a newfound level of exhaustion. I took refuge in every morning yoga class that was offered, relishing in the opportunity to slowly wake up my muscles before a full day of running myself ragged. One part of camp I especially loved were the workshops on topics like financial planning for a gym, refereeing, running a martial arts event, and lesson planning. Not only was it the perfect opportunity to retreat from training, but I picked up some wonderful insights from gym owners, coaches, and pros in the martial arts industry.
Most importantly of all, I approached each roll with playfulness and put a damper on intensity. Rather than seeing each new face as an opponent, I saw this as a game to try out the new moves I had learned during class time, as well as to discover the intriguing ways each new partner felt as we moved together. There were no round timers on the clock, so as I entered the mat I lost all sense of time. Here’s where the tough part comes in: at a certain point… you do have to stop. Even when I really didn’t want to. Just call it & take a big gulp of water, because there is no shortage of time to roll again throughout the week. Missing the final open mat would have been a real tragedy–it was truly the highlight of my camp experience.
Pairing Off
A question commonly asked of me prior to heading to camp was the overall demographic of the training group in terms of age, experience level, and location. Of course, given the unique circumstances created by COVID, this was an almost entirely American bunch.
While every experience level was represented on the mat, I noticed that blue belts & purple belts certainly were the majority–this makes perfect sense; with brown & black belts being a far smaller subset of the overall grappling population, and white belts likely hesitating to jump into a BJJ camp without having much mat time.
I can say for certain that the concept of hierarchy seemed to disappear at this camp; with every single student receiving the same amount of attention & respect on the mat. Black belts leading lessons and giving lectures on coaching & competing were all down-to-earth and accessible–at the end of the day, the common denominator was that we all wanted to roll together. By the way… as I chatted on the sidelines with others, we shared a deep respect for the white belts who came out to camp this year. I think that I would have been nervous to participate in an experience like this as a relative newbie to the sport… but there is undoubtably plenty to be gained from all-day BJJ lessons, no matter what knowledge you have going in.
During instruction, finding a partner was no issue–just look around until your eye hits someone without a partner & you’re all set. Sometimes, coaches would even encourage switching up drilling partners mid-lesson to encourage students to train with new people. I had opportunities to help guide others as well as ask plenty of questions about techniques. Ultimately, even though I came into the week knowing just one other person, I had trained with dozens of brand-new partners by the time camp came to a close.
One of the stand-out characters of camp was Marion, a 68-year old woman sporting her brown belt. A solo traveler who probably got more mat time in than I did over the course of camp, I found her to be an inspiration and an example of how the BJJ Globetrotters camp experience is accessible to everyone. I also found myself admiring her rainbow unicorn onesie during the camp “pub crawl” one late-night.
Debauchery
I will keep this section brief to protect the identities of the rowdy… but by signing up for this camp, you’re inviting yourself to one wild week of festivities. The cabin “pub crawl” is just one example–those who opted to stay in a late-night cabin agree to host their own version of a theme party, and the entire camp comes through with beers in hand, music blaring, and costumes on display (and for the quieter crowd, there are designated quiet cabins if you’d like to turn in early).
It seems it’s a shared dream of adults across the country to relive the summer camp experience as an adult with no pesky curfews. My most cherished moments were the final open mat (with live DJ!) and making s’mores by the campfire.
See Ya Next Summer?
I was blown away by the positive atmosphere created by BJJ Globetrotters. I felt so welcome on the mat and truly look forward to reuniting with the lovely people I met the past week. So, does that mean I’ll be back next year?
I will definitely need to check the wallet (and my work schedule), but I feel confident that this will not be my last time hitting up the BJJ Globetrotters Maine Camp. My next adventure happens to be less than a month away… in Iceland!
