Home on the Mat

What does it mean to have a "home" in jiu-jitsu?
For many, it is a single academy, a team, a place where the faces never change and the walls carry the history of their journey. A true home base.

My story is different. I never stayed in one place for too long. I trained in different countries, rolled with people from many backgrounds, and learned that belonging can take many forms. Sometimes I was welcomed as family, sometimes I remained a visitor. For a while, I believed this was a weakness... as if without one gym, I had no roots.

But over time I discovered something else. A home is not always fixed in bricks and banners. A home can be carried within yourself: in the discipline of tying your belt, in the ritual of stepping onto the mats, in the small moments of connection with a training partner. My home is built from practice, sweat, and shared knowledge.

To be a traveler in BJJ is to find home in movement. Wherever I roll, I carry my own foundation with me. And in that way, I am never truly without a home.

My home is not built from walls, but from mats, sweat, and shared knowledge. 

© 2025 Tine Scheldeman. All rights reserved