BJJ in the Czech Republic---where

[Meek One]

I may be moving to the Czech Republic and want to know where to train. Can anyone help? I did some searches, but have come up empty. Thanks in advance.

--Meek

[Britt]

First question...do you speak any Czech? If not, the language barrier will probably force you to find a school operated by an ex-pat from an English speaking country where instruction is in English. These can be hard to find, and the schools sometimes don't last long for whatever reason. Also, are you moving to Prague, or somewhere else?

[Meek One]

I speak a little (plan to take a crash course). I speak German rather well and over there English and German helps. Not sure if I will be living in Prague or not. I've surfed all the sites I could think of but came up empty on BJJ.....

[roku]

Hi Meek,
I'm also moving to Prague this year and was looking for BJJ as well. In fact, I take both Aikido and BJJ at the same dojo, and really enjoy that. If you think finding one was hard, try looking for a dojo where people practice both

Anyhow, I've recently started taking private lessons in addition to my regular classes, and even after moving, I expect to go back to the US monthly. I talked to my instructor about the dojo search, and he suggested that I start a small club in Prague, teach what I can (I'm not qualified to be an instructor, but I've got a fairly strong background in Aikido, wrestled pretty well years ago, would currently classify myself as an avid beginner in BJJ, and have pretty good teaching skills) and groom some practice partners.

Of course, I wouldn't charge as I consider this as much for me as for my partners. Generally, I've planned to invite friends only, but I saw your post and thought I'd mention it. If you have a strong BJJ backbground, so much the better.

Let me know if you'd like to talk more about it.

[Meek One]

Great. I tried to email you, but you are set on block mode. So, please email me at my new, currently spam free email address-- 'blank' to talk about possibilities.

--Meek

[Britt]

That's great if you guys can get the ball rolling together! If y'all are seeking out further instruction or others to train with, I'll offer the following:

I had a good deal of difficulty finding martial arts in Prague while I lived there. There was a teacher of Parker Kenpo for a while and some Tai Chi, but very little instruction otherwise unless you were fluent in Czech, and I mean fluent-the instructors often didn't speak English, and I imagine didn't want to have to learn any for the sole purpose of instructing me. There was a good bit of "you're here, learn the language" sentiment, and often a bit of brusqueness to outsiders participating in their activities (my Canadian friend was on a minor league hockey team and had to prove himself quite a bit before they were alright with him). By the time I was fairly fluent in Czech, I didn't earn enough money to afford any classes!

I don't want to scare you off, the Czech Republic and Czech people are really fantastic, but finding martial arts and martial artists there was a lot harder than opening the ol' yellow pages here. Tell you what, though; I have an online friend in Prague who is very active in Muay Thai there. If anyone would know about BJJ there, he would. If you'd like, I'll email him for you.

[roku]

That's great if you guys can get the ball rolling together! If y'all are seeking out further instruction or others to train with, I'll offer the following:

Thanks Britt. It does seem like my friends and I will be starting a club, but I would definitely be interested in making some contacts and possibly practicing with others who are more experienced.

Also, while I don't practice Muay Thai or expect to this year, it is something I eventually would like to study, so if your friend is willing, I'd be interested in talking to him as well.

I can't speak for Meek One. We're exchanging e-mail now.