Jiu-Jitsu Traveling, Visiting Schools, and Getting Unleashed

A little while ago I wrote an article about how to travel and train JiuJitsu (Check it out here!). As life and luck would happen, I received a new job that temporarily moved me last week from North Carolina to Oceanside, California. Just an hour away from LA and San Diego and the mecca of modern Jiu-Jitsu. I have wanted to visit this area for 3 years, and it was almost unbelievable to be able to able to be paid to be relocated here. With an unknown amount of time to enjoy my stay here, I set out to maximize it as much as I possibly could.

One week, five schools, 15 hours of mat time and a beach visit later I was able to put my own advice to the test.

The first thing that I have to say is that the Jiu-Jitsu community is amazing. At every school I was welcomed in with open arms and felt like I was a long time training partner at every one of them. One of the school's that I visited had more black belts on the roster than my home school has blue belts!

As a visiting student it is important to be friendly. A school never knows what your intentions are until they get to know you. When it comes time to roll, you can always tell that the instructor and students are observing you to see how you will act. That requires rolling in a more technical, tempered manner. I have learned so much already and have even been able to add to my game. I missed Cornerstone's Tough Tuesdays and the "going to war" rolls with my teammates. That was why I was stoked when one professor told me in our conversation before class "Don't feel like you need to hold back when you roll with my guys. You all have an opportunity to learn from each other and it will be more fun for everyone that way."

The leash got taken off, mat savagery was fair game and it was time to roll!