Upcoming Competition Events:
This year has been very eventful! 8 countries visited and being awarded my brown belt definitely top the lists! Here is what I have coming up next for travel and events as budget permits (* = confirmed)
 Travel Plans:
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Here is the list of trips I am currently planning! My trips are all built around competitions. My home base is Nashville, TN – so if you ever come visit, I would be happy to point you to some of the cool places in town! | I’m always up for meeting new people as well when I am out and about, so contact me if I will be in your area! |
*October 30 – November 8: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Main Points of Interest: UAEJJF Rio Grand Slam, training, food – first time to Brazil!
*November 9: Nashville, TN
Main Points of Interest: IBJJF Nashville Open – cutting Brazil trip short in order to defend my home turf.
December: Bogota, Columbia
Main Points of Interest: UAEJJF Columbia National Pro – first time to Columbia.
January: UAE, Morocco, Portugal
Main Points of Interest: UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, IBJJF European Championship, and exploring Marrakech in between.
*February 1 – 7ish: Mexico City, Mexico
Main Points of Interest: UAEJJF Mexico National Pro, visit/train with friends, all the food.
*March: Los Angeles, CA
Main Points of Interest: IBJJF Pan Am Championship
*April: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Main Points of Interest: UAEJJF World Pro Championship
*June: Los Angeles, CA
Main Points of Interest: IBJJF World Championship
July: Japan, Taiwan, Thailand
Main Points of Interest: UAEJJF Tokyo Grand Slam, longer trip to travel around and train in various places.
Travel Expenses:
I’ve gotten quite good at traveling on a budget. In 2015, I spent a week in Tokyo for the grand total of $450 – including airfare and tickets to the Sumo National Championship tournament. I did a trade with one of my massage clients for the air miles to get the plane ticket, and then stayed in a capsule style guest house for the week I was there.
I spent two weeks in Europe at the beginning of 2016 for a total amount of just over $1,000.
My first visit anywhere is usually a bit more expensive, but each time I visit I figure out how to shave off a little bit of what was unnecessary. Since I don’t travel in order to sit in a nice hotel all day, I just focus on finding a safe place to crash after the adventures of the day. I can live quite happily for a month or longer out of just my backpack.
At home, I don’t own a car or a smart phone. I consider them to be luxuries and rather than spending several hundred dollars per month on these things, I would rather save for my next competition/training trip.
I work hard running my own massage therapy business. It is a trade off as it allows me flexibility of time in order to train and also take off to go on trips. I tend to take shorter trips than I would like however since I don’t want to leave my clients high and dry for too long. In the end, I am continually working to keep it balanced so I can keep doing what I want to do.
