Lithp,
The most meaningful comparison I'm able to make is that between Germany and the States. The grappling I did in England and Switzerland was only brief and at seminars, which limits my ability to make broad, accurate statements.
In Germany there is very little wrestling or BJJ, and very little grappling outside of judo, which is *huge* here compared with the States. There is also jiu-jutsu, but what I've seen is traditional japanese with a strong emphasis on wristlocks and not as much heavy sparring. I'm somewhat disappointed with the judo here because even though it's world class (one of the places I train has several former olympic medallists in house), it's entirely focused on sport applications. If it's not allowed in the newest edition of the rules, it isn't discussed outside of belt training. Couple this with the fact that sport rules are rapidly evolving today to reward crowd-pleasing acrobatics with limited self-defense value plus minimal groundwork, and you get limited training if you also want to do BJJ, work on your streetfighting, or your crosstraining in general. Judo people here are running around with blinders, and it's very difficult to meet anybody who is willing to think outside of the sport mindset. This is very different from the attitude I found prevalent in judo in the states.
My feel for judo in the states is that people (on average) are less-refined technically, but they are much more friendly to cross-training outside of sport rules -- provided everybody agrees to behave! They are also much more willing to go to the ground, and I think that BJJ has done lots to make people rediscover the judo that used to be practiced before the rules sterilized the sport. But that's judo. As for grappling in general, the states also has BJJ and *insane* amounts of wrestling, so the grappling subculture among adults is stronger and larger (esp. in the midwest) and much more fertile for "cross-pollenation" and experimentation.
I've met some people here in Germany who crosstrain on the ground, but the teachers are poorly-informed themselves. I'd say the workouts in the states are longer. Oh yes, open mat sessions are unheard of here. A couple of buddies and I are just not able to get acess to mats so we can do our own thing.
My understanding is that in Holland, the UK, and Scandinavia grappling (esp MMA grapling) is much easier to find, and taking off fast!
Hope I'm doing a good job saying it like it is, and hope I don't come across as too biased...
Oh yes,one more thing: people here like to sauna after sports -- MIXED. I can attest to the fact that the judo women here are not iron lady d*kes.
