Experiences dropping in while traveling?

[SC MMA MD]

I was in San Diego today as part of a vacation with my family. I had some time this afternoon and was able to drop in to Victory MMA and catch a nogi class with Dean Lister and a gi class with Jeff Glover. I had a fantastic time. The gym was big, clean, and everyone was very welcoming. Great training and hard rolls. I have not had a bad experience dropping in somewhere yet.
How about you guys? Where have you dropped in and how did it go?

 

[SAJ]

I was in San Diego today as part of a vacation with my family. I had some time this afternoon and was able to drop in to Victory MMA and catch a nogi class with Dean Lister and a gi class with Jeff Glover. I had a fantastic time. The gym was big, clean, and everyone was very welcoming. Great training and hard rolls. I have not had a bad experience dropping in somewhere yet.
How about you guys? Where have you dropped in and how did it go?

Nice! Dean lister seems like a great coach.


I haven't travelled since I started bjj but I am going Turkey in August and have already been looking for places to train while I'm on holiday. Don't know if I'll find anywhere but I'm hoping I do.

I'm guessing you had to pay for a single class?

 

[SAJ]

Whenever I travel now in the UK or abroad I definitely will be dropping into some BJJ academies. The thought of walking into a random gym and rolling with people is intriguing lol

 

[SC MMA MD]

I'm guessing you had to pay for a single class?

Victory has a visitor fee for the day that was only $20. It's an absolute steal.

 

[Filthy]

I was in San Diego today as part of a vacation with my family. I had some time this afternoon and was able to drop in to Victory MMA and catch a nogi class with Dean Lister and a gi class with Jeff Glover. I had a fantastic time. The gym was big, clean, and everyone was very welcoming. Great training and hard rolls. I have not had a bad experience dropping in somewhere yet.
How about you guys? Where have you dropped in and how did it go?

Only two places where I dropped in where it wasn't great, but I won't name them specifically.

Great times with the folks at:
Studio 540
Gracie Academy
Eric Hemphill (Nemesis BJJ PDX)
The MMA Lab (PHX)
Gustavao Dantes (PHX)
Henry Akins (Dynamix)
Kurt Osiander (Ralph Gracie SF)
Paulo "Coehlo" Brandao (Gracie Humaita Austin)
10P (West LA, PDX, Oceanside)
Gokor Chavichyan (Hayastan MMA)
Matt Darcy (Guerilla BJJ in San Jose)

maybe some others if I think about it...

 

[SAJ]

Only two places where I dropped in where it wasn't great, but I won't name them specifically.

Great times with the folks at:
Studio 540
Gracie Academy
Eric Hemphill (Nemesis BJJ PDX)
The MMA Lab (PHX)
Gustavao Dantes (PHX)
Henry Akins (Dynamix)
Kurt Osiander (Ralph Gracie SF)
Paulo "Coehlo" Brandao (Gracie Humaita Austin)
10P (West LA, PDX, Oceanside)
Gokor Chavichyan (Hayastan MMA)
Matt Darcy (Guerilla BJJ in San Jose)

maybe some others if I think about it...

You guys are so lucky to train at these gyms lol

 

[SC MMA MD]

I am in Las Vegas for Masters Worlds, and just dropped in to Cobra Kai with a buddy of mine who is friends with one of the black belts there. It was an awesome experience. Good rolls with a bunch of their students, and a great group of guys. I highly recommend dropping in if you are looking to train when visiting Las Vegas.

 

[GSPTrainingInAPool]

@SC MMA MD do you travel with a gi?

 

[SC MMA MD]

@SC MMA MD do you travel with a gi?

Always, but I travel for fun 99% of the time, and when I do travel for work it is for a conference so there is lots of spare time- particularly in the evening. I am here to compete in Masters Worlds, so my buddy who competed yesterday brought me to Cobra Kai to break a sweat and move around a bit. I don't normally do that 24 hours before competing (at least not with guys I don't know), but so am really glad I did that today.

 

[GSPTrainingInAPool]

Always, but I travel for fun 99% of the time, and when I do travel for work it is for a conference so there is lots of spare time- particularly in the evening. I am here to compete in Masters Worlds, so my buddy who competed yesterday brought me to Cobra Kai to break a sweat and move around a bit. I don't normally do that 24 hours before competing (at least not with guys I don't know), but so am really glad I did that today.

That's pretty sweet!!

When you travel for fun do you base your destinations off of bjj gyms?

 

[SC MMA MD]

That's pretty sweet!!

When you travel for fun do you base your destinations off of bjj gyms?

No- there are just so many good gyms now that it is common to run across one or more during a trip. The hard part is convincing the family to let me stop and drop in during our vacation.

 

[GSPTrainingInAPool]

The hard part is convincing the family to let me stop and drop in during our vacation.

yeah i bet eh!

good luck @ the Masters!!!!

 

[member 603]

I travel quite a bit and try to train in every City I go. Usually I call ahead and talk to the academy owner (if I don't know them), and tell them that I'm a black belt, and I'm visiting the area. Since I traveled for years doing a tournament, I've met a lot of school owners who I've gained a great rapport with. I have standing invitations to those places nationwide, and usually when I go, I'll teach a class (or even better, a seminar), and train with everyone.

 

[member 603]

If you guys ever get to Austin Texas, drop in to Aces Jiu Jitsu... Great place, great people, Mikal Abdullah is an awesome guy.

 

[Filthy]

I can also vouch for the Gracie Humaita in Austin, Paulo Coehlo and Friends are excellent people and training partners.

If I get out there this year, I'll drop in with Aces. No such thing as too many places to train when I'm in town.

 

[SAJ]

Got some training in with Leigh today. Very cool and laid back just as he is online.

Rolling with him is awesome. Great pressure game and control. He's persistent af too lol. I had fun over there and learned a lot from Leigh

Hopefully I get the roll with the rest of you from this forum one day too.

@RedDragonUK is next!

 

[efeezee]

I usually call ahead to check on drop in fees and Gi rules. Some gyms only allow all white GIs.
I travel with a blank white gi with no patches just in case lol

 

[CutmanMatt]

I usually call ahead to check on drop in fees and Gi rules. Some gyms only allow all white GIs.
I travel with a blank white gi with no patches just in case lol

I literally do this exact thing. I travel a solid 30-35 weeks a year and drop in wherever I can. If I cant find BJJ, there's usually a Judo club somewhere. A quick call ahead and a neutral gi have never steered me wrong. I can't honestly say I've ever had a bad experience, just little WTF moments here and there at the little idiosyncrasies I encounter at the different spots.

 

[SC MMA MD]

I had some time yesterday afternoon, so a I finally made it up to Charlotte to Checkmat Charlotte to train with Michael Allen and his guys. It was a 2pm Friday open mat, so there were only 10 people there, but they were fighters and/or pretty serious BJJ guys so it was great training. Michael rolled with me for like 10 rounds, and spent 45 Minutes or so tuning up my half guard when open mat was finished.
It was a great afternoon, and I made it back home just in time for our open mat that night.

 

[Filthy]

looks like I'm going to Israel for work. Anyone in Haifa, Tel Aviv, or Jerusalem I should hit up?

 

[Darqnezz]

I had some time yesterday afternoon, so a I finally made it up to Charlotte to Checkmat Charlotte to train with Michael Allen and his guys. It was a 2pm Friday open mat, so there were only 10 people there, but they were fighters and/or pretty serious BJJ guys so it was great training. Michael rolled with me for like 10 rounds, and spent 45 Minutes or so tuning up my half guard when open mat was finished.
It was a great afternoon, and I made it back home just in time for our open mat that night.

He seems like a great dude. We became Facebook friends through some of my buddies. I've got to get down there to train.

 

[Filthy]

Anybody care to recommend a gym in Israel? Going there for work late next week through the following week.
I'm staying in Herzliya, on the ocean. But I'll be traveling to Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem.

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

Only two places where I dropped in where it wasn't great, but I won't name them specifically.

Great times with the folks at:
Studio 540
Gracie Academy
Eric Hemphill (Nemesis BJJ PDX)
The MMA Lab (PHX)
Gustavao Dantes (PHX)
Henry Akins (Dynamix)
Kurt Osiander (Ralph Gracie SF)
Paulo "Coehlo" Brandao (Gracie Humaita Austin)
10P (West LA, PDX, Oceanside)
Gokor Chavichyan (Hayastan MMA)
Matt Darcy (Guerilla BJJ in San Jose)

maybe some others if I think about it...

Did you get to actually train with Gustavo Dantas? I had a couple privates with him and some regular classes. Really laid back and everything he taught seemed to be a set uo for the triangle.

 

[Filthy]

Did you get to actually train with Gustavo Dantas? I had a couple privates with him and some regular classes. Really laid back and everything he taught seemed to be a set uo for the triangle.

yes - but we just did some easy rolling and he gave me some principles of passing guard. Maybe like 15-20m of total time. But he definitely sets the vibe for the school, everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly. I've heard Gustavo is a little more reserved ("stoic" to "stand-off-ish"), but we hit it off right away. If he was as close as my current school, it would be a coin toss which one I trained at.

 

[member 603]

I'm up in Chicago, and I'm hoping to drop in to Comprido's school on my trip (time permitting)