By Mike Calimbas (MMA / BJJ Photographer)
Training in Brazil Made Easy with Connection Rio
Most of us who’ve trained in BJJ for any reasonable amount of time have had that thought cross our minds at least once, if not over and over again. It’s a dream that goes something like this: you wake up every morning without a care in the world other than your morning training session. After putting in a few solid training hours on the mats you head to the beach with a few of your buddies before eating some Brazilian food, relaxing, and then doing it all over again.
Sound familiar?
Seems kind of like a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner’s paradise, doesn’t it?
From speaking to Camron Couch, a native Texan who’s actually been down in Rio de Janeiro in these past few months, that description of what a Rio Training Trip would be like sounds incredibly accurate.
A wrestler since fifth grade, Camron found himself training BJJ for the first time just a few years with the team at Mohler BJJ in Coppell, TX. Immediately falling in love with the sport, Cam has since been on a journey to get as comfortable grappling in the GI as he’s been grappling without it. Taking that challenge to heart and having recently attained his purple belt, he decided to make the pilgrimage down to Brazil this year decided to do so with Connection Rio, a company that provides BJJ practitioners with accommodations and training opportunities should they ever decide to make the trip down to the Mecca of the Jiu-Jitsu world.
Based on the help they provided, Camron says he’s quickly found himself in an ideal situation for training and everything else in Rio.
The Real World – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Style
Being paired with other travelers from all over the world by Connection Rio, Camron best described his living situation as being “kind of like a house from (MTV’s) The Real World but with great jiu-jitsu and people from all over the world.” The company accommodates travelers of all skill levels but he says he found himself in the house at just the right time.
“Right now in the house there are Kazua Misaki, this 2x world champ, and this kid from Poland who just fought and won in Bellator (Marcin Held). My bro from Cali just left so it’s me, a kid from Alaska and another from Montana from the states but really, it’s mostly guys from other countries. There are two dudes from Poland and one from Australia. There are guys here from Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, a Japanese dude, and a hot girl from Germany. There’s also another girl here from Thailand. She’s hot too. It’s a pretty crazy mix of people and cultures but everybody gets along great.”
While references to The Real World can bring about images of debauchery and other unruly behavior, it seems that with this group, the focus has been on the task at hand.
“There’s no TV or anything in the house so everyone is either training, watching Jiu-Jitsu or fighting on the computer, or doing something else that’s active. I haven’t gotten to surf yet since it’s been a bit rainy but I’ve been to the beach at least 3 or 4 times a week since I’ve been here. And when we’re at the house, we all just like to work on stuff. The guys are always down to drill. Some of them talk really fast and nobody can understand them but me but that’s not too big of a deal. We can communicate on the mats. I don’t want to sound annoying or anything but it really is just an amazing environment.”
Training All Over the City
It’s kind of like looking for a gym when moving to a new city but even more magnified considering you don’t have all the time in the world.
For Cam, that was one of the main reasons he decided to visit through Connection Rio instead of just going to Brazil on his own to find his own way. Pardon the pun but their connections really helped him meld right in with the Rio BJJ scene.
” (Roberto “Gordo” Correa) Gordo’s academy is the main place I’ve been training but every week we go to other gyms around Rio – some Alliance, some Nova Uniao, Gracie Barra, etc. Some guys will just go to their own gyms (Alliance team, GB team, etc.) but I go to all of them and everyone has been very nice. It has been great training and rolling. It kind of reminds me of that old wrestling environment but with BJJ. Everyone is training so hard and doing lots and lots drills. Last night we drilled for a little bit then I did two 15 minute matches with a black belt and a purple belt. There’s always good training. There’s definitely more black belts in classes then browns blues and purples and I’ve seen like two white belts since I’ve been here. It’s hard training but that’s exactly what I wanted when I decided to come down here.”
Experiencing Rio Culture Outside of Training
“Luckily for me, I met a girl (Munique) who speaks perfect English and Portuguese,” Camron says about how he’s been able to cope with the language barrier while in Rio “She’s helped me a lot and she’s teaching me so much (Portuguese). It’s like having a tutor. I can go to the market and survive now.”
The story of how Camron met his newfound friend is actually kind of funny since it doesn’t involve BJJ or training directly.
“I actually met Munique in a dance class,” he said about meeting Munique. “I’ll be the first to say I’ve never danced in my life but a bunch of guys from the house ended up going one night. This one guy, our house manager, he goes every week so the group decided to go just to do something new. It turns out it’s just a bunch of cool guys and some really hot Brazilian women in there. I mean, I’ve been to college and that was good but this was amazing.”
We’re assuming he’s talking about the natural aesthetic appeal of Brazilian women and not the dance classes but either way he’s been back taking lessons once a week then along with the rest of the guys ever since that first class. It’s provided a nice change of pace from BJJ at times, he says.
Though the rest of the time Camron has been able to spend of the mats has been scarce, he’s still managed to enjoy some of Brazil’s other pleasures during his training trip – mainly the food and the city’s bustling nightlife.
“The food here is awesome. I eat Acai every day, sometimes twice. The bakery is right next to the house and you can get a decent Brazilian breakfast (juice and a sandwich) for just around two dollars. Of course there are some all-you-can-eat Brazilian meat restaurants(Churrascarias) and the pizza is pretty good too. It’s so laid back here mostly. I’m staying in a pretty decent part of town and I’m usually with my housemates so we don’t have to worry too much about getting mugged or anything like that. At night, the bars all have outside sections with music playing and you just walk up to them like little parties. Everyone is cool and people will just come up to me and start talking. Everyone’s been very friendly. It’s a lot of fun.”
Thoughts of Texas
We asked Camron what he missed most about being home after being away for several months. His answers were a bit surprising. For one, the first thing he mentioned was cold milk. That and peanut butter. There never seems to be enough of either in Rio. He also mentioned wishing he had a scooter to get around but also admitted walking has been good for him. He does miss his family, team, and 4 cats (all of whom he says are awesome) but all in all, he’s just really appreciative to have gotten he opportunity to immerse himself in the BJJ Mecca and awesome travel environment that is Rio de Janeiro.
“Thanks to my dad, Coach Mohler, and Connection Rio for doing their part so I get to enjoy all of this. It’s the trip of a lifetime.”
Must be nice.
Connection Rio
Founded by BJJ Black Belt Dennis Asche, Connection Rio was created to offer a helping hand to BJJ practitioners looking to come to Rio – from accommodation and training to local experiences and expert inside knowledge of the city.
For more on Connection Rio, please visit their website at www.connectionrio.com.
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