BJJ in South America

Clear

Hey,
Just wondering if anyone has done any BJJ training in South America. I`ll be heading there in a while and would be interested in doing a few classes. Haven`t specifically decided where I`ll be going, so anywhere anyone can recommend would be appreciated,
Thanks.

dlofnep

Brazil is the obvious choice. There are lots of academies to go to. I'm sure a handful of boardsies have been training in brazil to give you some insight on training there.

Tim_Murphy

Whilst on the subject (not trying to highjack thread), bit of a long shot I know, but does anyone have any idea if there's any MMA/BJJ/Muay Thai or anything else in Colombia? Heading there in a day or two and actually doing a bit of physical exercise would be cool for a change.

gymrabbit

Not trying to highjack your highjack TimM but how come you're going to Columbia?

Clive

Clear wrote:

Hey,
Just wondering if anyone has done any BJJ training in South America. I`ll be heading there in a while and would be interested in doing a few classes. Haven`t specifically decided where I`ll be going, so anywhere anyone can recommend would be appreciated,
Thanks.

Yeah I was in Rio for two months last summer, I trained at BTT, I think judomick trained at Gracie Humaita and there are some lads at Gracie Barra (they may be back?).
If you're in any city there's bound to be BJJ close by.

Tim_Murphy

Not trying to highjack your highjack TimM but how come you're going to Columbia?

Why? Why not!!;)

Everyone I've talked in Peru/Ecuador who has been there told me it rocks...
caribbean beaches, say no more...
the miss colombia pageant is apparently starting in a few weeks...

That's three pretty good reasons but I could do on all day!

Millionaire

I was in Rio, and I trained in the HELP Disco....but it was a very different kind of bjj....ahem!!!

Clear

Thanks Clive,
Just been doing some google searches and not really coming up with much, but i suppose it`ll be easier when i`m actually over there.

Where you trained, did they have any english speaking instructors or do you just learn by watching- my spainish is not the best?

Tim_Murphy

my spainish is not the best?

Thats not really likely to make much difference one way or the other in Brazil

Clear

Tis true portugese would be much more appropriate for brazil! however I was thinking about south america in general, but thanks for pointing that out smarty.

Black Swan

Clear wrote:

Tis true portugese would be much more appropriate for brazil! however I was thinking about south america in general, but thanks for pointing that out smarty.

BJJ=Brasil. Have been to Rio, Sao Paulo, and Porto Alegre, and you can get by with Spanish somewhat, as well as a little English (or German in some quarters of Sao Paulo). It goes without saying that you need to be cautious while traveling alone in Brasil, as kidnapping of unsuspecting tourists is a national pasttime.

Clive

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

kidnapping of unsuspecting tourists is a national pasttime.

Uh .. no it's not. Tourists who are victims of crime are generally just robbed. It's more likely that prosperous Brazilians would be kidnapped, but kidnapping rates, especially in Rio are in decline.

Francis Galvin

i managed to dig this up from an old post, hope it helps some.

the below would apply for most gyms in rio, apartment prices vary greatly depending on where u decide to stay. Generally the closer u are to the beach, the more expensive it is. Everywhere u go there are plenty of places to train, it's just a matter of whatever takes ur fancy. One piece of advice though, don't try to train with a number of different teams at once. They get pretty pissed over this everywhere.



"it costs around 55 euro per month for unlimited training at gracie barra and there are many apartment complexes near by where u can rent monthly.Barra beach apartments for example where myself and many of the foreigners who train at gracie barra stay costs about 690 euro per month which is only a 5 min walk from the academy which is ideal if u intend training twice a day every day while ur there,but if ur willing to stay a bit of a distance away from the academy u can find places much cheaper than that.

Dec,jan and feb is a lot more expensive for rent as it is their summer time and canival is also on in jan/feb so all prices go to a premium at this time so i wouldn`t recommend going there then if u have no interest in seeing carnival.A lot of the brazilians themselves also do not train during dec as it gets incredibly hot especailly at gracie barra.Imo the best time to come is just after the mundials in sept as the weather is more tolerable then and the price for training at gracie barra during this time returns to normal.Training fees in a lot of academys ususally rise in the weeks running up to the mundials in brazil every year due to the huge influx of foreigners at this time."

Tim_Murphy

Managed to find a BJJ club here, so was rolling in Bogota last night. :cool: Shockingly enough after about 2 and a half months of not training I was bolloxed after about 5 mins!

gymrabbit

what's the general standard like tim? is there a range of abilities? novice? intermediate advanced? is it traditional or more SBG like?

Roper

Tim, while you're there will you pick up a package for me? Its a large teddy bear for my niece that my friend Montero bought for her. If you could bring it back through Irish customs without detection that would be great. If anyone asks just say you don't know me.

Thanks.

Tim_Murphy

what's the general standard like tim? is there a range of abilities? novice? intermediate advanced? is it traditional or more SBG like?

I´m not really sure what ´traditional´BJJ looks like TBH?!

It was a small club, the guy who ran it was a blue belt. There was a few beginners and a few guys who were probably just off blue belt. Cool gang of people all the same, the same chilled out welcoming attitude I´ve found in most of the BJJ club I´ve been to.

Tim, while you're there will you pick up a package for me? Its a large teddy bear for my niece that my friend Montero bought for her. If you could bring it back through Irish customs without detection that would be great. If anyone asks just say you don't know me.

Thanks.

No bother Barry!

BTW, I hope you are not implying that certain illegal substances are easily available in this fine country?! :eek: