Tim Rogers's Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) team won three gold medals, three silver medals, and one bronze medal in the recent Guangdong International Jiu-jitsu Championship. The team's outstanding performance should be credited to Tim, the only BJJ black belt in Hainan.
Tim, a BBJ coach from California, studied Jiu-jitsu during his twelve-year stay in Brazil. The wisdom and complex techniques of Jiu-jitsu really attracted him.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is a martial art involving more on-the-ground fighting and less standing techniques. Unlike Kung Fu and other combat sports, the ultimate goal of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is more focused on self-defense than attacking opponents. "You are not trying to hurt them, fight them, just control them with your technique," said Tim, "it's passive-aggressive."
"Teaching Jiu-jitsu is a rewarding job, it's a process of building people up in an encouraging way. And if I can teach people to defend themselves, it might save their life which is great," Tim explained. Having been a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu coach for five years in Haikou, Tim finds himself most fulfilled when he sees his students' progress.
Anchor, Tim's Jiu-jitsu school, welcomes over 70 students of several different nationalities every week. Kids and adults from China, Europe, and other parts of the world gather at Anchor, sparring with their partners, polishing defense techniques, and learning how to cooperate with each other.
Members of the Anchor community, including Tim himself, tend to form close bonds. "Anchor makes me feel like I'm part of the local community," he said. It is easy to strike up a friendship at Anchor, and the students and teachers can be found hanging out together after class, and celebrating Christmas and other holidays together like a big family.
"Tim is like our older brother or a father uniting everyone. We are also willing to help each other out and we enjoy spending our free time together, just like brothers and sisters," said Eve, Tim's teaching assistant. It's common in Anchor to see students giving up their free time to help take care of the school merely out of love.
Tim moved to Hainan in 2012. Regarding Mandarin as "the language of future", the Rogers decided to move to China so as to be more involved in a Mandarin-speaking environment. Of all the places in China, the inviting weather and environment of Hainan outweighed the prosperity of the mega-cities and won Tim's heart.
Of the many reasons why he picked this tropical island, Tim highlights Hainan's “laid-back culture". The relaxed pace of life here in Hainan reminds him of his days in Brazil and allows him to enjoy the essence of life. "In a laid-back culture, people have more time to learn something new and enjoy friendship. That's amazing," said Tim.
Although it wasn't easy for Tim to set Anchor up in Haikou five years ago, Tim is looking forward to a bright future for Hainan as the Free Trade Port develops. "Hainan is now developing the Free Trade Port and it is trying to be very open for foreigners. Things will be much easier and there will be more opportunities happening in Hainan," said Tim.