Reverse Culture Shock

[Survivor]

I was actually thinking of this thread when I was walking along today.

An advantage of not living in a "porker" culture:

Spring has been late this year. Today was the first warm, sunny day of the year (had snow last weekend), and a holiday to boot (May 1) so people are running to the parks in droves. Gotta say that I loooooooove the slim girls here! The fashion is tight-tight-tight tops -- the kind with the spaghetti straps.... *drool* !!! And not an eyesore to be seen! The pay in the US is the best, but the cultural fringe benefits overseas can be substantial....

[E1am]

Yeah, but German girls are ugly butch d!kes.

E

P.S. The US does not have the highest average pay in the world.

[aseepish]

Originally posted by E1am
The US does not have the highest average pay in the world.

True, but nothing beats getting paid in US dollars...

[Karlinhos]

Yeah, but German girls are ugly butch d!kes.

Hmmmmmmmm....

[Lithp]

Getting paid in UK Pounds (US$ X 1.4306)

[Survivor]

>Yeah, but German girls are ugly butch d!kes.
Yes. Yes. Yes they are. Tell all of your friends. I'll just do my solemn moral duty and keep them busy over here so they don't escape and traumatize the rest of the world...




> True, but nothing beats getting paid in US dollars...
Depends. I know hispanics whose dream it is to work for a US company in Central/South America; with a fraction of a regular US salary you can live like a king w/ servants, nice house, etc... On the other hand it can also be a stronger function of where you live and what the exchange rate is. Right now with the weak Euro I take it up the buttt every time I try to send money stateside. A couple of years ago I would been singing in line waiting to change my Deutschmarks to green.


Let's see if I can make this thread even longer --


How many countries have people on this forum grappled (trained) in?
States?

I have 4:. US, UK, Switzerland, and Germany.
3 for the states: IN, MO, CA

I'm wondering if we can get any really exotic answers. BTW: Nooo-- Texas does not count as a country!

[aseepish]

ArAi,

I'm training in Wing Chun right now (I've trained in BJJ in the past), but my instructor has been adding in the odd Muay Thai and grappling class every now and then. Even with my low degree of skill I completely outclass 90% of the other students there in the ground game (I say 90% because I haven't rolled with everyone yet) - none of them have much experience.

Please invite your friend to get in touch with me. I've sent you email.

Tony

[Lithp]

Originally posted by Survivor
>

I have 4:. US, UK, Switzerland, and Germany.
3 for the states: IN, MO, CA

I'm curious to hear about your experiences and descriptions on the differences in training between the countries.

Thanks,
Lithp

[Survivor]

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.

[Mr. Miyagi]

America does have the highest obesity percentage, I don't know the exact figure but I've seen it on the news and read it in magazines many times. Also interesting is that the percentage of obese people gets higher as you get lower down the economic ladder; the poorer people eat lots of fast food, fried stuff, drink soda (loaded with sugar), etc. I eat at a McD's sometimes out of convenience at an airport or something and it does taste good, but think about how bad it is for you to get one of those combination meals: A Big Mac (loaded with fat, cholesterol, calories), an order of french fries (loaded with the same), and a soft drink (lots of sugar to slow down your metabolism as you digest that crap). If you eat like that even once a week you're asking for trouble. Even if you eat at a healthier place and they bring you a large portion, you don't have to finish it all. If you don't eat enough nourishing meals sevaral times a day then you will gorge yourself when you have the chance.

[E1am]

Karl,

Of course there are exceptions.

Survivor,

You find female judo players attractive !? Yikes!

[Survivor]

Um, E1am:

I don't go particularly for female judo players..
However as you say, there are exceptions, and at this particular school they are *FIT*.

Then again, I've always had this thing for non-Americans

[Lithp]

Survivor, thanks for the reply. Very well written and informative! I love hearign how different cultures do things.

[LEGION]

Actually Samoa has the highest percentage of obesity, but as far as i know it is a status symbol to be overweight there.