Chris Q’s trip to Korea

Chris Quenault from Lotus Club BJJ talks about his recent trip to Korea:

Buddhist Temple in Korea

Well I’ll begin by saying that I got married on July 1st in upstate New York. My wife is Korean but grew up in the United States. After spending a couple of days in New York we flew to South Korea. I’ve been to Mexico and France (my parents are Mexican and French respectively), and this was my first time traveling to Asia. We planned this trip for a long time, so I made sure that we included some time for me to go check out one of the local BJJ gyms.

John Frankl's BJJ School in Korea

BJJ in Asia is still new. With the exception of Japan, it’s hard to find legitimate BJJ gyms in Asia. I found reviews for John Frankl’s gym on Sherdog.com and decided to check it out. I brought my Keiko Raca GI with me and it was well worth the space in my luggage.

Before I go any further I’d like to talk about John Frankl. Frankl recieved his PH.D. from Harvard and while attending school he got his Black Belt from Gracie Barra in Boston. I believe he started training in California, but ultimately got his Black Belt in Boston. He is now a Professor at a University in Seoul. Here is a video of one of his BJJ classes. Note he speaks in English and Korean.

Anyways, after spending several days in Seoul, I got on the Subway with my wife and brother-in-law and headed to Frankl’s gym. As a courtesy I showed up about 45 minutes early. When I walked in the first thing I noticed was how humid the interior of the gym was. All the windows were open, but I had never been in a place (indoors) that was so humid. I was greeted by a Purple Belt and through translation from my brother-in-law I was informed that I should come back in about half-an-hour.

I came back and put on my GI. There were several Korean students at this time at the gym and everyone started stretching. Since I only know about 5 words in Korean I wasn’t able to introduce myself. I nodded my head and greeted everyone with a smile. After stretching for a few minutes I was approached by a guy and he began speaking English with me. I immediately was relieved, I was afraid that no one would know English. He had an American accent and he told me he grew up in Boston, but moved out to Seoul after college for business purposes. He told me that John Frankl wouldn’t be coming in today, but a purple belt would be leading class.

Class started and I felt like I was back at home. All the warm-ups, drills, and exercises were the same. The purple belt taught some variations of the brabo choke and then we started rolling. To be honest, once I started rolling I forgot I was in a foreign country. I had the chance to roll with a couple guys at the gym and all I can say that this gym is legit. I didn’t get a chance to roll with the purple belt assistant instructor, but I got to roll with the blue’s and their level of technique is comparable to blue’s in the U.S. All the guys I rolled with are super humble and none of them were spazzy. Each guy was very technical and were very friendly towards me. No one tried “smashing” me because I was the new guy. I felt like they respected me, and I respected them for allowing me to train with them.

Korean instructor demonstrating the brabo choke

My wife took pictures while I was training and after training I was told (through translation) by the purple belt assistant instructor that I was welcomed at their gym and they hoped to see me again. I then told them that I was on vacation and the next time I go to Seoul I will definitely visit their gym again.

Anyways, If you get the opportunity of traveling to Seoul, check out John Frankl’s gym.

John Frankl Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | Seoul, Korea

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