In just a little over a week, I will be taking off for yet another adventure!

New York Open

I will be leaving on the 13th of July for New Hampshire where I will spend a few days with my family before we all make a trip down to New York on the 15th so they can cheer me on while I compete in the IBJJF New York Gi and No Gi Open Championship. The last time they saw me compete was in the 2104 Boston Open. They will drive back to New Hampshire after the competition, and I will be boarding a bus to Washington D.C. to get a week of training in with my TLI team mates. I will take a bus back up to New York to fly back home to Nashville on Saturday the 23rd.

After that, I will have almost 5 weeks back home in Nashville before the Master World Championships in Vegas.

Master World Championship

This trip took a bit of figuring in order to make the budget work. Since to date of this writing, the tournament schedule is very broad and is listing blue belts as competing any one of the three days of the event. I could have gotten an amazing deal on a flight in and out of Las Vegas, but I would have to fly back home the morning of day 3 at the event (possibly missing my matches altogether!) – and the price doubled to fly out the day after the event.

So, long story short, I am flying in and out of Los Angeles. I will get into Los Angeles the day before the competition begins, and then take an overnight bus to Vegas. I will reverse the process in order to catch my return flight back home. The bus was just $5 each way, and also saves me two extra nights in a hotel – I sleep pretty well in transit as long as I have my memory foam neck pillow.

I booked my hotel through my airline. It is less than a mile from the venue and was 50% off – making the price comparable to the airbnb options I saw nearby, plus I earn air miles. All together, I managed to cut my original budget projections in half, which is why the trip is doable. Added bonus, my hotel has an indoor roller coaster for the win!

Asian Open Championship

I was going to skip the Master World Championship because it is just three weeks before I leave to compete in Japan.

I will be leaving Nashville on September 6th with an overnight stop in Los Angeles before continuing straight to Tokyo from there on the 7th. I will arrive on the 8th and the competition is the 10th and 11th. I did not have any problems really with jet lag last year on the way there (the way back was HORRIBLE), so I am trying to cut short the amount of time I have to wait before competing.

If I am competing on the second day of the competition, as I was last year, then I will be setting out to climb Mt Fuji on the 9th. I have to squeeze it in beforehand because the last day of climbing season is the 10th of September. It is a non-technical climb that really just consists of an uphill hike with rapidly thinning atmosphere. (I have climbed mountains before and know what to expect) My plan is to climb partway up on the 9th and then catch some sleep in a mountain hut and strike out in time to catch the sunrise from the summit on the 10th. I would then have time to climb down and make my way back to Tokyo in time to rest and get some sleep before competing the next day. Granted, the trail dates all depend on the weather, so I am trying to keep my options open. If I compete on the first day… well that just gives me (another) excuse to come back to Japan again!

After the excitement of competition and Fuji-san, I will have a week and a half left to spend in Japan. I plan to train while I am out there, as well as visit Kyoto. Beyond that, I’m still making plans! A trip to Korea is possible as there are some pretty cheap flights available. I will be flying back home on the 22nd of September, and will likely start planning my next trip on the ride home.

And Then

I won’t be making it to No Gi Pans this year since it will be held the week after I get back from Japan. Experience has taught me that the week after getting back, I will be completely useless as a human being – thanks to adjusting to the 14 hour rewind. I want to go to No Gi Worlds, but we shall see how much I manage to stress the budget while in Japan.

Granted, after all that flying, I should have earned enough miles for a free flight to L.A. by then… so maybe No Gi Worlds would be possible after all?