Last Saturday (4th of July) BJJ practitioners from Southern Poland gathered on the 7th BJJ Picnic that took place on the beautiful beach by the Pogoria lake (Dabrowa Gornicza, Upper Silesia). Hot and sunny weather and a nice, sandy beach drew BJJ fighters alongside with their friends and families from almost all major academies from across the region.
Apart from the sea of white, blue and purple belts, quite a few BJJ celebrities showed up on the mat with Marcin Held (BJJ black belt, Bellator and Polaris star), Jaroslaw Ogieglo (brown belt 2015 Polish champ, 2015 Polish BJJ Cup winner and Ragnarok competitor) and Robert Henek (2015 purple belt Polish BJJ Cup winner, currently a brown belt) on the lead.
The event was organized by the charismatic BJJ Factory Gliwice leader – Pawel Banczyk (2015 European Jiujitsu Newaza champ, 2015 NAGA Germany brown belt champ) who decided that this year’s edition theme is fruit party – everyone willing to roll on the mat had to bring fruit, fruit salad or any other food or beverage that is fruit-related. This turned out to be a hit as the tired and thirsty jiujiteiros constantly occupied the fruit stand as well as flirted with girls by inviting them for a slice of watermelon or a glass of juice.
The heat, sandy beach, BJJ mats and beautiful girls in bikini made an impression of rolling on the Copacabana beach in Rio, but minus the costly trip and just a few kilometers from home. It was also a great chance to roll and socialize with the BJJ crowd from this huge region of Poland. The rolls were demanding and hard, but enjoyable and friendly. I am sure that everyone who attended the picnic had a great time and is looking forward to the next edition. Everyone’s invited!
Photos by Karolina Blazejczyk
Here’s a video clip of this year’s edition:
