It’s not uncommon to hear people claim that it’s no problem to travel the world and be greeted with open arm as long as one is a black belt but that it is impossible for lower belts to do the same. Martin Victor Thrane is living proof that this is not the case as he has now been on the road on-and-off since December last year. A white belt from Copenhagen, he has now visited several countries to train, among them Brazil, El Salvador, Hawaii and Iceland. He’s trained with legends such as Rodrigo Vieira, UFC fighter Max Holloway and many others.

We sat down with Martin and asked him a few questions about travelling as a white belt, and what advice he would give others in a similar situation.

Hey Martin, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Let’s start at the beginning – tell us a bit about yourself. When did you start training and why did you originally start?

Thanks for having me.

I’m Born and raised in Copenhagen, 27 years old. I pretty much stumbled across BJJ, the summer of 2013, I decided I wanted to begin boxing again, as I had been boxing for the majority of my teenage years, I had heard from my old coach, that he’s old trainer, trained at CSA and recommended it therefore. A couple of months went by, and I noticed the “funny and playful”-stuff they did on the other mats, both Gi and no-gi. I finally took the leap, and went to a no-gi fundamentals class and was amazed from the first second – I found muscle that I didn’t knew existed, was sore in places I couldn’t imagine and the tempo and finesse that was required took me off guard, I was hooked. Instantly.

A few weeks after, I bought my first Gi and attended my first Gi class a late afternoon in October, with Christian. The start of a wonderful adventure!

You’ve been tearing it up on the BJJ travelling front lately, tell us a bit about your recent journeys. Any favorite destinations?

That’s right, I kind of decided, while attending some online courses to improve grades for university acceptance, that I would do some excessive travelling, as I hadn’t really done much travelling, outside of Europe in my younger years.

I’ve been on the road for 67 days, travelling on/off from 26th of December last year until the 24th of august this year, around North-, Central and South America, Italy, Spain, England, Iceland – I could go on, it’s been an adventure of a life time. Even attended the BJJ Camp in El Salvador, which is an extremely recommendable experience.

If I had to point out any favourite places, it would be Brazil, Hawaii and Iceland, Brazil because it was my first trip and I hold the people there very close, amazing culture and a must-see for any BJJ traveller, The holy grail so to speak. Hawaii, doesn’t really need an introduction, but then again, I’ve met friends for life there (that has actually just visited me here at my place in Copenhagen) – It’s surfers and a BJJ practitioners paradise and they have soooooo much lovely food and things to see, a tropical scenery which is amazing!
Last, but not least Iceland – again, the people there, I’ve come across is someone whom I can visit any day and vice versa, the jiu-jitsu, which there isn’t a lot of different clubs of, but a high level! And the scenery, oh boy DON’T miss out on this place… It’s like landing on another planet – it’s amazing, I can’t find words to describe it. It’s a must see!

What advice would you give people who would like to see the world through BJJ?

I started out, by reading Christian’s book, and kinda thought that it was a little too good to be true. Nevertheless Christian encouraged me to give it a go and I got in touch with a friend of mine, whom is Brazilian at the gym and he made the arrangements to visit his childhood friend in Rio de Janeiro – I’ve visited him twice now and I would dare to call him one of my very good friends, he took me in with more than open arms and I’ve gotten so many friends there.

My best advice would be to… DO IT!

With open arms, greet people with respect and curiosity, never say no to the adventures you get offered by the people you either visit or come across, and you’ll get a life time worth of experiences in return, The BJJ Globetrotters community is an amazing place to start, I’ve come across ZERO douche-baggyness and been greeted with nothing but open arms, at the people I’ve trained with or lived at! – of course it was a bit scary to go half across the world, to live with a guy in three weeks, that could barely speak English and you’ve only talked to twice on facebook, nevertheless the best decision in my life.

Do you think it’s more difficult to do BJJ travelling as a white belt (as compared to say a black belt). What’s the reception been like?

The simple anwser is no, I came in with a open-mind and a smiling face; it’s all about respect and how you treat others. I’ve trained at very few places, where I’ve been looked down upon, because of my rank and none outside of the gyms, as long as you are polite, treat people and their culture with respect. We are all human beings, who are in it for the same thing when it comes to jiu-jitsu. I’ve met and befriended people from white to multiple degree black belts, rolled with top competitors every where I’ve gone. Rodolfo Viera, Theodore Canal, Leticia Ribero, Max Holloway, Adamson Bro’s and Chris Haeuter just to name a few! All of them have treated me with respect, because I’ve met them with respect and curiosity. Nothing more is needed in general.

Do you have future travelling plans?

Well, “unfortunately” I just started University, so my travelling for longer durations have been limited to Christmas and the summer period – I’m travelling a lot at the moment for competitions around Europe, so extended weekends trips in England, Spain, Sweden and France is in the cards for the next few months. Got to have a little fun while studying eh?