Our week long camp in Arizona has quickly become a staple for the BJJ Globetrotters community in the United States. Come enjoy the desert air, BBQ, and some proper frontier rolls with us! There’s a huge Globetrotters community in North America, and this is really turning out to be an ideal gathering point for them. If you’ve ever been eager to try one of our camps, but haven’t been able to due to the time or distance involved, this could be the one for you. Consider it your gateway to the Globetrotters camp experience!
Our week long camp in Arizona has quickly become a staple for the BJJ Globetrotters community in the United States. Come enjoy the desert air, BBQ, and some proper frontier rolls with us! There’s a huge Globetrotters community in North America, and this is really turning out to be an ideal gathering point for them. If you’ve ever been eager to try one of our camps, but haven’t been able to due to the time or distance involved, this could be the one for you. Consider it your gateway to the Globetrotters camp experience!
FACILITIES
Jay Pages Jiu-Jitsu Academy is a dedicated professional BJJ and MMA gym, with a huge mat space that we’ll have all to ourselves during the camp. We’ll also have full access to all the weights and fitness equipment.
We’re going to put the gym to proper use as the bustling social center of the camp, so regardless of whether you’re looking for rolls, new friends, or sizzling BBQ – you’ll find it right here.
We’ll also have an extra, separate mat space available for all-day open mat, drilling, stretching, etc.
BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU TRAINING
We’ll be running classes (both gi and no-gi) every day from morning to evening, all taught by a variety of highly experienced instructors who bring their own perspective on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, sometimes incorporating concepts from other grappling arts such as wrestling, judo, and luta livre. We’ll also schedule frequent open mat sessions at which you can roll, drill technique, or just chat with the instructors and pick their brains. It’s entirely normal to see 10-20 black belts sitting around during open mat, chatting with everyone, answering questions, and swapping ideas and experiences. You frequently hear instructors say that even if they weren’t here to teach, they’d still come just to participate in the uniquely helpful environment of learning and sharing.
Basically, there’ll be more training and input than you can possibly handle over the course of the camp, so make sure to bring your notepad!
All of our camps are renowned for their open and welcoming atmosphere. They’re full of enthusiastic, friendly people from all around the world, who enjoy training in a fun, relaxed, and open-minded environment. So regardless of whether you’re there with a group or traveling solo, you’ll always find someone to slap hands with.
BEGINNERS WELCOME!
BJJ Globetrotters is built on a foundation of treating everyone equally, both on and off the mats. We understand that signing up for a week-long training camp as a beginner in the sport can be a very intimidating thought. People often ask us if they are even allowed to join as beginners or if they would somehow be a burden to the instructors or other participants. However, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. We are most happy to have beginners of all levels join us, both for the training and social aspects of the camps.
At many of the camps, we even host a “White Belt Appreciation Hour,” which is a closed event where white belts can have “alone time” with the black belt coaches and ask all the beginner questions they might have.
So, if you’re still inexperienced in BJJ and on the edge about coming, just do it! We’ve all started where you are now, and one day you’ll probably be able to beat us, so we better be nice to you now
ONLINE VIDEO LIBRARY OF CAMP CLASSES
We’ll be professionally filming many of the classes and then hosting them online at our video library: BJJ Globetrotters in Action. They’ll be entirely free to access (as will the videos from all our other camps), so if you want to refresh your memory you can go back and check out the technique as many times as you want.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
We’re going to hold BBQs in the gym’s backyard and we’ve got plenty more stuff like that in the works too. Our goal is that you’ll never have to go too far from the gym into order to find your next best friend or new cherished travel memory! If you want to head out into Tempe, AZ itself, there’s a great selection of bars and clubs as befits such a bustling university town. And if you happen to have more time on your hands, grab a car and head out for a day trip of hiking / biking / rafting in the Sonoran Desert, or further on to the Grand Canyon – a 3.5 hour drive away.
WORKSHOPS
Off the mats, we’ll be holding a series of workshops taught by a selection of instructors and highly knowledgeable camp attendees. These will all take place in the camp venue. Generally they focus on Jiu Jitsu and sport-related topics, but we’ve also had presentations on things like First Aid, getting ideas and making stuff happen, and beer brewing – basically anything cool that we think might be interesting!
MORNING YOGA
Regardless of the colour of the belt around your waist, several days of 8+ hours on the mats is tough on the body! In order to keep us as limber and loose right until the end, we’re bringing in an instructor to run morning yoga sessions throughout the entire camp.
FREE PHOTO BOOTH
Once again, we’re offering a free photo booth run by a professional portrait photographer during the camp. Grab your finest gi, favourite accessories, and nearest liftable friend, and get that Facebook profile picture you’ve always wanted!
Jay Pages
- From Arizona, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Aka 'The Filipino Yes Man'
- Aka 'That DILF from Youtube'
- Aka 'ASU Boy' (ask for bookings)
Lisa Pages
- From Arizona, United States
- BJJ Black Belt
- 3rd IBJJF Pan Ams '19
- Gold American Nationals '16
- Most participation medals record holder
Christian Graugart
- From Saint Barthélemy, F.W.I.
- Author of The BJJ Globetrotter
- 2nd place IBJJF Europeans brown belt
- IBJJF London Open black belt champion
- Multiple x IBJJF default bronze medalist
Rob Cole
- From Connecticut, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Instructor at Ascension Athletics
- 30+ years of martial arts experience
- Was once told he had nice teeth by Bruce Buffer
Matthew McPeake
- From Ontario, Canada
- BJJ black belt
- Like to train in garages and basements
- USA Camp OG
- Also known as “Mr. Canada”
Rich Sab
- From New Jersey USA
- BJJ black belt
- Instructor at The Edge MMA, NJ
- NASM Certified Personal Trainer
- Rumored to own multiple rare electric eels
Joshua Janis
- From Wisconsin, United States
- BJJ black belt
- 10+ yrs teaching at White Lotus
- Meditation/guilloutine specialist (not as combo)
- Wim Hoff fanclub vice president
Zakk Miller
- From Arizona, United States
- BJJ black belt
- We Defy Foundation Ambassador
- Icelandic Glima partic. medal (got slammed)
- Built a dog grooming salon empire (retired)
Will Dorman
- From Florida, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Won some stuff, drank a lot of beer
- Golden Croissant Surf Champ 2023
- Once armbarred a moose in Alaska
Gabriel De Los Santos
- From Arizona, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Multiple x NAGA expert champion
- 2x Arizona State Champion
- Master of the inverted inverted guard
Oscar De Los Santos
- From Arizona, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Won a lot of stuff
- Ranked global top 10 brown belt IBJJF
- Has several wins on record by "Cameltoehold"
Kirk Phillips
- From Tennessee, United States
- BJJ Black belt
- Instructor at Shield Systems Martial Arts
- Retired Marine Martial Arts Instructor
- Claims to have invented the berimbolo
Shawn Lupka
- From Pennsylvania, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Won some sparring rounds
- Won some matches
- Has touched John Danaher's fanny pack
Damion Triplett
- From Oregon, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Former div. 2 wrestler Portland State Un.
- 3x silver brown belt Master Worlds
- Will design bling wrestling shoes for you
Michael Demko
- From Pennsylvania, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Coach at Wrecking Crew BJJ
- ∼30 years of grappling
- Ask him how Catch Wrestling is cooler than BJJ
Aaron Esdon
- From Ontario, Canada
- BJJ black belt
- Head instructor at Platinum BJJ
- IBJJF Pans Nogi Bronze Medalist
- Has small shrine dedicated to Royce in his garage
Eric Bydairk
- From San Diego, United States
- Former Collegiate Division 1 Wrestler
- BJJ Black Belt
- IBJJF 2014 European Champ. purple belt
- Often double legs instead of handshake
Michael Currier
- From Arizona, United States
- 3x Submission Underground winner
- EBI Combat World's vet
- Bullpen Series Quintet champion
- Very eager to show you his backflip
Adrienne Santos
- From Georgia, United States
- BJJ black belt
- Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher
- Certified Yoga for Athletes Teacher
- Guaranteed will teach you full split by end of camp
Tempe, AZ is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and as such is easily reachable from almost anywhere in the US. The camp venue is, in fact, only a 15-minute drive from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
Tempe itself is home to Arizona State University (ASU) and a host of cutting-edge tech companies working on everything from biotech to solar power, so the population is young and energetic and there’s a vibrant nightlife. It’s also right in the middle of the 100,000 sq mi Sonoran Desert, so there’s excellent hiking and biking to be had, and no end of scenic drives.
We’re kicking the camp off on Monday and finishing up with an Open mat and BBQ on Saturday evening then an open mat for the brave on Sunday morning. So you’ll be able to fly in, spend a few days training/meeting new people/discovering new beers, and still be back home by Sunday.
Accommodation is NOT included. Tempe is pretty spread out, but here are some places close to the camp venue that you might want to check out.
And of course, it’s always worth seeing what Airbnb has to offer.
Schedule and guidebook will be announced closer to the camp
Click here to read guidebook from last Arizona Camp
* Welcome meeting and first training will be Monday afternoon *
* Daily classes and open mats from morning to evening *
* Last class will be Saturday afternoon/evening, then final open mat and barbecue *
