Training Jiu-Jitsu While Traveling: Dubai, Rio, Beirut and Nassau
I found Team Nogueira Dubai on a trip before I ever lived in the city. I paid the drop-in fee, trained, and liked it enough that when I moved back during COVID, it was the first gym I looked up. I tried one other place, but Team Nogueira seemed like the most established, so that's where I stayed.
I've trained jiu-jitsu for over ten years, and when I travel I try to find a place to roll, or spar, while I'm there. I can't remember every gym at this point, but I remember the basement in Beirut, the long rounds in Rio, and the people I trained with in Dubai. Those visits have made packing a belt worth the space.
Dubai: a drop-in that became my gym
I lived in Dubai for two years. I arrived at Team Nogueira as a blue belt and left as a purple belt.
The guy behind the Dubai gym is Sheikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qassimi. He's from Sharjah's ruling family, he's a jiu-jitsu champion himself, and he's on my Instagram if you want to see what he's up to. He got into jiu-jitsu taking lessons from a Brazilian who had trained at Team Nogueira. Then on a trip to Brazil he visited the Team Nogueira gym in Rio and decided Dubai needed one, so he brought the franchise over. The gym's own history has it starting in 2013, with Rafael Haubert, a two-time world champion and longtime training partner of the Nogueira brothers, running the mats and the Sheikh backing it.
If the name Nogueira sounds familiar, that's Minotauro and Minotouro, the twins who were legends in Pride and the UFC. In late 2021 Big Nog himself came to Dubai to open the new 24,000-square-foot gym, billed as the biggest martial arts center in the region.
Team Nogueira Dubai
Purple belt day
The Dubai gym is a Checkmat affiliate. Checkmat is a jiu-jitsu team, one of the big ones, so every now and then somebody serious would just walk in. If you're not familiar with Leo Vieira, he's one of the Checkmat co-founders and a two-time ADCC champion. He came through, and so did Adam Wardziński and Jansen Gomes.
If you don't know those names, Adam went on to win the 2024 black belt heavyweight world title, and Jansen won his first black belt world title at middleweight in 2023.
With Jansen Gomes
No-gi at Team Nogueira Dubai
Rio: more time working the position
I've trained at Alliance in Leblon and with the Ares affiliation in Rio. I love training in Brazil, and the class structure I experienced there stood out.
We'd spend about 15 minutes on a technique and then an hour and a half, sometimes two hours, doing situational rolling from that technique. Back in the States, I've often seen an hour and a half of technique followed by 30 minutes of rolling, or a class split roughly in half. I liked the Brazil way. You get a lot of reps on the one thing you just learned.
I thought it felt a little less formal, too, with people chatting before class. Then I remembered we do that here as well. I stand corrected.
Alliance Jiu Jitsu Team in Rio
With Tiago Traveck at Alliance
Alliance goes back to 1993, when Romero Cavalcanti, Fabio Gurgel and Alexandre Paiva put the team together, and it's been one of the big names in the sport ever since. Ares is younger, and Alan Moraes, one of its founders, runs the Brazil side.
This is a short clip from a class at Ares in Rio. You can see the Ares and Alan Moraes logos on the wall.
Left to right: Daniel Azevedo, Diego Bispo, me and Itua Sales, under the portraits of Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie and Carlson Gracie
Watching Diego compete at the Brasileiro
While I was in Brazil, I got to watch my friend Diego Bispo compete at the CBJJ Brazilian No-Gi Championship, the Brasileiro Sem Kimono, in 2023. Diego is a black belt from Brazil, and he took silver.
The Brasileiro Sem Kimono, 2023
Diego's silver medal
The podium at the 2023 Brasileiro Sem Kimono
Small world: Diego came up under Alan Moraes too, back at the Carlson Gracie headquarters, and Moraes gave him his black belt right on the podium in 2014. Later that year Diego moved to Virginia Beach, and in 2015 he opened his own gym. He's won the IBJJF Master Worlds several times in both gi and no-gi, plus the Europeans in 2020.
If you're on the Virginia coast, Diego Bispo Academy is at 509 Viking Drive in Virginia Beach. Experienced guys can drop in to any class for $20, which is a steal for a room at that level. Shoot them a message first.
At Alliance they wanted you in an Alliance gi, so you rent or buy one. I own two now, because I've been back a couple of times.
Beirut: never judge the basement
In Beirut, I trained at a basement gym near the Corniche. We rolled for two hours, and then the guys took off their gis, put on MMA gear and asked if I wanted to train MMA. I'd traveled pretty much all day a couple of days earlier, and after those rounds I was tired. I told them, "Man, you guys got lots of energy."
The guys were amazing. If you'd walked into that basement, you might have taken them for ordinary hobbyists. They were top-notch.
After class in Beirut
Nassau and Florida
I've also trained at Fight Sports in Nassau, Bahamas, and at a gym in Florida. Nothing crazy to report from either visit. It's honestly been a pleasure everywhere I've trained.
If you go looking for it now, the Nassau gym goes by Bahamas Combat Academy. Same place, new name.
Fight Sports in Nassau
Finding a place to train
I start by asking friends if they know a gym in the area. Then I look online, mostly on Instagram these days, along with Facebook and Google Maps. I check whether the gym is active, look at the pictures and do a little reconnaissance on the people. If I'm down with it, I go train.
If your home gym is part of a team with schools elsewhere, that can make the search easier. Start there and ask your coach for an introduction.
Before you pack, send a message with your travel dates, belt and the class you'd like to attend. Ask about the drop-in fee, payment, waivers and uniform requirements. Some schools require a particular gi color or sell and rent their own gear; others accept outside gis. Don't assume a class on an old social post is still on the schedule.
Every gym does this a little differently. At Jean Jacques Machado's place, book ahead, show up early for paperwork and bring your own clean gi and rash guard. Any color is fine, but they don't rent gear. Gracie Barra schools have their own set of visitor customs. A quick message saves you a wasted ride across town.
Being a good visitor
Don't go in with a chip on your shoulder. Be humble, be respectful, and most importantly, look to have fun. You're a guest in someone else's gym.
Introduce yourself to the instructor and follow the room's lead on where to sit, how rounds are organized and whom to ask for a roll. Tell a partner about an injury or a preference for a lighter round before you start. If the pace is getting too hard, say so. Tap when you need to and give your partner time to tap as well. Nobody needs a vacation injury because a casual round turned into a final.
Bring clean gear and keep your nails trimmed. If you aren't sure about shoes off the mat or the school's rules for a particular class, ask.
Packing light and washing on the road
I travel as light as possible. I've gone to Turkey and Brazil with just a carry-on because I don't like waiting for my bags. My usual jiu-jitsu kit is a belt, a light gi and a rash guard. When a gi takes up too much room, I've left it home and bought one at the gym. It doubles as a souvenir.
Before relying on a purchase or rental, check that the school has your size and that it's available to visitors. For a carry-on trip, also check your airline's current bag dimensions and weight limit; rules can differ by ticket and airline. A rash guard takes less space than a gi, but check the class schedule before packing only for no-gi.
Laundry deserves a plan, especially if you want to train more than once. Ask your accommodation about a washer and dryer or find a laundry service before class. Keep used gear separate from clean clothes while you get it washed, and allow time for it to dry before the next session. Don't count on a damp gi being ready by morning.
Mats are where staph and ringworm go to make friends. Shower right after class, and wash your gear and run it through a dryer every time. Hang drying doesn't cut it. Cover any cuts. If something on your skin looks weird, stay off the mats and get it checked. Nobody wants to be the guy who brought ringworm to a gym in another country.
A few kit tips
A light gi is easier to pack, but a thin fabric can take longer to dry in a humid room. A rash guard can serve for no-gi class and as a layer under the gi where the academy requires one. Sandals keep your feet off public floors between the changing area and the mat. A small mesh bag or separate packing cube gives used gear somewhere to live until laundry day.
Keep the belt with the training clothes instead of checking it in a suitcase. The same goes for any mouthguard, knee sleeves or braces you rely on. If an airline loses a bag, replacing a gi is possible. Replacing the one piece of equipment that makes you willing to train is more annoying.
Two hard classes right after a long flight sound ambitious when you book them and less clever when you wake up.
If you're a veteran thinking about trying it
Relax and have fun. If you're looking for camaraderie, you'll find a lot of it on the mats. You don't have to be a world champion or prove anything. You'll meet some cool people.
If cost is what's stopping you, look at the We Defy Foundation. They pay for a year of training at an approved gym for disabled combat veterans who are brand new or still white belts. You need combat-zone service and a disability rating, but they'll look at exceptions case by case.
You'll hear people say jiu-jitsu helps with PTSD. There's a small study of service members and veterans where the guys who stuck with five months of training reported fewer symptoms. Only 9 of the 23 who started finished, though, and there was no comparison group, so it's encouraging but not proof. Think of it as something alongside real treatment, not instead of it.
Visit a local class and talk to the coach about what you're comfortable doing. You don't have to solve everything on the first day. You can just go train.