Introduction

Hello. I'm Quartz, currently developing the Post Black Belt app. It's already March, the last month of the first quarter of 2024. How is everyone doing? The beginning of 2024 has been full of unexpected events for me, leading to some confusion but eventually offering me an opportunity to have some exciting experiences. Before starting anew, I decided to spend March as a gap month, including two weeks abroad. Those who practice Jiu-Jitsu might dream of training overseas at least once. In this post, I'll share how I came to practice Jiu-Jitsu in Chiang Mai and my experiences from the first two days.

Before Departure

Choosing a Destination

One of the reasons I love my job is that I can work from anywhere as long as I have my MacBook. I wanted to experience working with minimal dependency on external factors and concluded that now was the best time to explore being a digital nomad.

I didn't have a specific city in mind and considered various destinations, but it was not easy to make a choice. There were options to go to a resort to disconnect from civilization or to learn new things, but I decided to narrow it down to two main desires.

• An environment conducive to building a service (Wi-Fi, workspace, etc.)
• A good Jiu-Jitsu gym within walking distance

There are many cities popular among digital nomads for their affordable living costs and excellent coworking spaces, such as Bali, Budapest, Lisbon, etc. Even after narrowing down the criteria, there were too many options. I decided on Chiang Mai, Thailand, after getting recommendations from ChatGPT for good digital nomad cities in March.

The reason I chose Chiang Mai boils down to three main factors: affordability, the abundance of cafes and coworking spaces near the accommodation, and the availability of globally operated Jiu-Jitsu dojos within walking distance. Since the purpose of this trip was more about working on the app and exercising rather than tourism, Chiang Mai seemed like the optimal choice.

After Arrival

1. The Early Bird

Chiang Mai is in a time zone two hours behind Korea. Therefore, even if I wake up at 8 AM Korean time, it's only 6 AM here, turning me into an early bird without even trying. I'm quite pleased with this as I don't need to adjust to a new time zone. In fact, when I go out for breakfast, it's usually quiet with not many people around, haha.

Here, you can see animals resembling squirrels running along the power lines.

2. Preparing for BJJ

I packed two sets of gis, rash guards, leggings, knee pads for both knees, belts, and no-gi pants.

I prefer to travel light, so I use a 20-inch carry-on. However, putting a gi set inside took up one entire side of the carry-on… This was when I realized how bulky a gi actually is. The dojo I planned to attend allows training six days a week, so I initially wanted to bring three gis but ended up removing one with a heavy heart. Despite this, the volume and weight were significant, so I borrowed a lightweight gi (white Adidas) and no-gi pants from the instructor. In fact, I haven’t tried no-gi yet, but I brought them just in case I wanted to practice Jiu-Jitsu and my gi wasn’t dry 😎.

3. Pure Grappling Chiang Mai

The gym where I will be training for two weeks is called Pure Grappling Chiang Mai. If you visit their website, you'll find a lot of information including about the instructors, schedule, etc. So, if you're planning a visit, feel free to consult the site or contact them via the social media links at the bottom of the site.

I registered for the Adult BJJ & Yoga Weekly Pass for two weeks, which allows me to attend all the classes listed in the schedule. The price is 1200 baht per week (about $35), and there are also one-day and monthly plans available. They offer gi rental as well, which could be a great option if you want to travel even lighter. They mentioned that yoga classes might be canceled if not enough people sign up, so it's something that needs to be communicated in advance.

Gis and clothes hanging on the gym wall

4. Working Out

First Day

My first agenda in Chiang Mai was Jiu-Jitsu. Excited, I went to the dojo on a Friday morning to find that, besides me, there were about three other people. I thought the mats were quite unique, but I learned that the workout happens upstairs.

I was worried about Chiang Mai's hot weather, but it was pleasant to find several air conditioners, fans, and air purifiers. The morning class was led by Instructor Mark. Usually, attacks from the side control focus on far arm locks and Americanas, but this class aimed to dive deeper into armbars. It was intriguing because it was a technique I had questioned my instructor about before coming to Chiang Mai. Placing my foot as a wedge under the opponent's back to create armbar opportunities in various situations was impressive. Also, he introduced a surprise submission move called the inside Americana, a technique I was seeing for the first time and found fascinating.

Second Day

Saturday morning's class was conducted by the head instructor, Ryan. It seems that the warm-up exercises depend on the instructor's preference, often favoring stretching over drills like shrimping. Without much thought, I positioned myself at the front of the line and ended up being the leader for the warm-up exercises I was unfamiliar with, sneaking glances to follow along 🥲.

The warm-up exercises were performed along the white lines drawn on the floor.

About ten people attended that day, seemingly a mix of locals and visitors. Chiang Mai attracts many digital nomads, and the class was conducted in English (I'm not sure if this is always the case), so there seemed to be a high ratio of foreigners. Saturday's lesson covered ankle picks and De La Riva knee cut passes, connecting to armbars and reverse triangles. It included standing techniques and the headquarters position, which I don't usually use, causing me to sweat a lot. Trying to listen to and remember the instructions in English almost overloaded my brain, haha 😅.

After attending two classes, it seems the format consists of 10-20 minutes of warm-up exercises, 40-50 minutes of technique instruction, followed by an open mat time for free sparring. It was my first time visiting a dojo abroad, so I was quite nervous, but the instructor and members were all very welcoming, making the workout enjoyable.

5. Digital Nomad

Now, it's time to dive into another reason why I came to Chiang Mai. This place is filled with cafes that are great for working. Most of them serve delicious coffee and beverages. For the digital nomad lifestyle, I purchased a Magic Keyboard and a stand, which I am very satisfied with. Just yesterday, the person sitting next to me commented on how much they liked my stand 😊.

Working on the new Calendar/List tab

During these two weeks, Post Black Belt will undergo developments for better record-keeping. I've almost completed the development of the Tab View, and I plan to make diary writing more convenient, improve the subscription model, and fix various bugs. If you have any feedback or suggestions about the app, please feel free to let me know. Thank you for reading this long post. I wish you health and fun in your Jiu-Jitsu practice.

Reference

• Wiki | Digital Nomad
• NomadList