BJJ Globetrotters USA Camp 2027: A Week of Jiu Jitsu in the Maine Woods

Training runs every day from Monday afternoon to Saturday evening, with gi and no-gi classes taught by a rotating group of black belt instructors. The camp advertises 60+ hours of Jiu Jitsu classes, 20+ hours of open mat, 10+ hours of workshops, and daily practice sessions on a second mat. Open mats are the part people talk about most: it is normal to see 20 to 30 black belts sitting around during open mat, rolling, answering questions, and swapping ideas. Classes are in English and cover gi and no-gi, with instructors sometimes pulling in concepts from wrestling, judo, and luta livre.

Off the mats, the camp runs a series of workshops in the theatre, usually on Jiu Jitsu and sport-related topics, though past years have included sessions on photography and fight analysis. Evenings are full: a bonfire by the lake every night with s'mores and Viking campfire bread, a pub crawl competition on the first night between staff, camp staff, and the late-night cabins, a beer tasting where everyone brings a bottle from home, a dodgeball match of USA vs. The World, a Yankee Swap gift exchange, board game night, karaoke, and a midnight barbecue under the stars. On one evening there is a pro wrestling show, Forest Fisticuffs, with slots for roughly 10 to 15 matches; professional wrestlers run a training session beforehand so first-timers can take part safely, and the audience votes for Match of the Night.

What separates this from a standard BJJ camp is the setting and the fact that everything is handled. Camp Manitou is a purpose-built summer camp in the Maine woods with a large sports hall a short walk from the cabins, a canteen, and a lake with a private island. Laundry is included: staff collect your training gear from your cabin each morning and return it clean later the same day. There is a free photo booth run by a professional portrait photographer, and many of the classes are filmed and posted afterwards in a free online video library.

All camp participants get access to a custom camp app used for chat, the schedule, rideshare coordination, activity sign-ups, and camp announcements. The organisers, Christian Graugart and Vara Poorisrisak, are reachable directly through the app, by email, or by phone, and there is also an independent contact, Laura Mallene, a violence-prevention educator, for anyone who would rather raise something outside the organising team.

Accommodation is in rustic wooden cabins beside the lake, with a limited number of upgrades to smaller rooms and private houses. The base ticket is a spot in a 10+ person shared cabin; 6-person rooms, 2-person rooms, private rooms, and private houses are available at extra cost, and several of those categories were already sold out at the time of writing. The camp is open to everyone regardless of experience or affiliation, and the minimum age is 18.

What's included

- Seven days of unlimited training camp - Six nights of accommodation - Three meals a day - Full laundry service - 20+ black belt instructors - 60+ hours of Jiu Jitsu classes - Daily practice sessions on second mat - 20+ hours of open mats - 10+ hours of workshops - Morning yoga sessions - Free use of kayaks and paddle boards - Pub crawl - Wrestling show - Yankee Swap - Beer tasting - Board game night - Bonfire every evening - Midnight barbecue - Dodgeball championship - Access to the camp app - Free online video library of camp classes - Free professional photo booth

What's not included

- Transportation to camp - Flights - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Food and drink from the nearby convenience store, Walmart, or local restaurants and bars - Optional accommodation upgrades (6-person room, 2-person room, private room, private house) - Camp gi and rashguard pre-orders