Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Budapest

Note: Peter is in Hungary for the next several weeks as a visiting Senior Fellow at Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Before he left Portland, he located a gym in Budapest where he could continue his jiu-jitsu practice.

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My experience doing jiu-jitsu in Budapest has been extraordinary. The gym where I trained last night is a small rectangular room where members practice archery in the day and jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in the evening.

Every night, before class, students roll out the mats. There are no dressing rooms, so some people step behind a partial wall and get dressed, or at least I did. Most people change on the main floor. They have one bathroom and a shower that accommodates two people at once. It’s a humble facility that provides a remarkable BJJ experience.

I signed no waiver, release, or other paperwork. I just changed and got on the mat. As students entered, they shook everyone’s hand and said hello, even mine, though I’ve never met anyone. I was instantly welcomed. There were about 35 people in class, all blue and purple belts.

The instructor is a BJJ black belt who speaks English well. He put me with a student who also spoke English, and that helped me quite a bit as my partner translated what the instructor was saying.

We began with basic guard passing drills. It was difficult for me to do some of these as I have a bad knee, but my partner was very patient. Then we slow rolled, which I always enjoy.

After that, we broke into groups of three and practiced guard passing at full speed. I should have conserved my energy as I thought it was an hour class and not 90 minutes, so I was exhausted at the end of the segment. It was interesting that the person on the bottom could “choose your guard,” and I was advised to choose closed guard as I could attempt to rest there. I chose closed guard, obviously.

Then we rolled to submission. Again, I misjudged the length of class and was exhausted so I sat out many rounds. But when I did roll, I was genuinely impressed with the students. Everyone was not only very good, but very relaxed, extremely technical, and kind. They really helped me improve by offering specific suggestions as to how I could get better.

It was interesting that they taught a specific style as opposed to my home gym, SBG, where they don’t teach a style. For example, it seemed like every member was proficient at the step through pass, which I’ve always been terrible at defending. (My friend Amanda Loewen would pass my guard with impunity via the step through). It didn’t take them long to figure out that weakness, and they kept passing while I struggled to keep the distance. Everyone was patient and offered valuable tips on my technique.

At the end of the class, we all laid down and rested for two minutes. Then we lined up by belt rank, bowed, and made a circle where we slapped each other’s hands. Afterward another the beginner class came in and a lot of people spoke to me and again welcomed me.

There was something extraordinary about this experience. The humble gym, quality of instruction, patience and high skill level of the students, and welcoming environment were incredible.

I believe that BJJ is unique in the bonds it creates among practitioners. It’s different than, say, cooking clubs or fly-fishing groups or even sports teams. There is a unique combination of factors at play in BJJ. The type of person who becomes proficient has voluntarily placed themselves at the will of others tens of thousands of times. The practice develops a kind of moral muscle that forces people both to keep their cool and to control their movements more broadly. And because proficiency cannot be faked, it fosters a genuine humility.

I can’t wait to go back tonight.