Train with Ffion Davies: What to Expect at a World-Class BJJ Retreat
- Clarence Villaroman
- 16 hours ago
- 9 min read
A once-in-a-lifetime invitation to train, heal, and transform in the heart of Costa Rica.
What if your next training camp wasn't just about drilling techniques — but about becoming a better version of yourself entirely? Imagine waking up to the sounds of a Costa Rican jungle, stepping onto the mats alongside one of the world's most decorated grapplers, and ending each day with farm-to-table meals, restorative yoga, and the kind of deep, honest conversation that only happens when you train hard together.
That's the vision behind Beyond the Mat Jiu Jitsu — and it's exactly what awaits you at The Journey: Costa Rica, our signature all-inclusive retreat in partnership with ADCC World Champion Ffion Davies. This is not a seminar. This is not a vacation. This is a complete immersion experience designed to sharpen your game, reset your nervous system, and reconnect you with why you fell in love with Jiu Jitsu in the first place.
Whether you're a seasoned competitor, a passionate hobbyist, or someone who trains to stay grounded and centered, this retreat was built for you. Read on to discover exactly what you can expect — and why practitioners from around the world are calling this the most transformative BJJ experience available today.
Who Is Ffion Davies? The Athlete, The Teacher, The Inspiration
Before we talk about the retreat itself, it's worth pausing to appreciate just how rare this opportunity truly is. Ffion Davies is not simply a well-known competitor — she is a generational talent who has reshaped what's possible in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
A black belt under Darragh O'Conaill, Ffion made history in 2022 as the first British ADCC World Champion — a feat that sent shockwaves through the global grappling community. Since then, she has continued to dominate on the biggest stages, collecting multiple IBJJF World and European Championship titles in both gi and no-gi competition.
But her credentials on paper only tell half the story. Here's what truly sets Ffion apart:
Her game is built on relentless pressure, technical precision, and a fearless mindset that refuses to settle for safe or predictable.
Off the mats, she brings genuine warmth and humor to her teaching — making complex concepts accessible without ever dumbing them down.
She has built a global community of practitioners who don't just admire her athleticism — they are genuinely inspired by her authenticity and commitment to the art.
Her teaching philosophy merges elite-level tactical instruction with an emphasis on the mental and emotional dimensions of high-performance sport.
At The Journey: Costa Rica, you won't just watch Ffion demonstrate technique from across a crowded mat. You will train directly with her. You will ask questions, receive corrections, and absorb insights that most practitioners never get access to — no matter how many YouTube videos they watch or seminars they attend.
The Setting: Why Costa Rica Is the Perfect Training Destination
The environment you train in matters. Stress, humidity, altitude, beauty, community — all of it affects your nervous system, your recovery, and ultimately, the quality of your learning.
Beyond the Mat deliberately chose Costa Rica, and once you arrive, you'll understand why.
Costa Rica is one of the few places on Earth that earns the title of "pura vida" — pure life — and actually delivers on that promise. This small Central American nation boasts more biodiversity per square kilometer than almost anywhere else on the planet. Lush rainforests, volcanic mountains, pristine coastlines, and warm tropical air create an atmosphere that naturally slows you down, opens you up, and invites you to be fully present.
For a Jiu-Jitsu retreat, this environment is ideal for several interconnected reasons:
The tropical climate supports faster muscle recovery and deeper sleep — two critical factors for absorbing high-volume technical training.
Disconnecting from your everyday environment removes mental noise, allowing you to be completely present on the mats and absorb technique more quickly.
The natural surroundings foster a reflective mindset that accelerates both athletic and personal growth.
The culture of Costa Rica — warm, unhurried, grounded in community and gratitude — mirrors the values we cultivate on the mats.
You'll be housed in a stunning, resort-quality facility that blends seamlessly with the natural landscape — giving you all the comfort and luxury you need to recover and recharge between sessions.
A Day in the Life: Inside the Retreat Experience
One of the most common questions we receive from prospective attendees is: "What does a typical day actually look like?" The honest answer is that no two days are exactly alike — that variety is intentional. But here's a window into the rhythm of a Beyond the Mat retreat day:
Morning: Rise, Restore, Prepare
Each morning begins gently, with guided meditation or breathwork to settle the mind and wake the body with intention. This is followed by a mobility or yoga session specifically designed for grapplers, addressing the hips, shoulders, spine, and the connective tissue that takes the most wear in training. A nourishing farm-to-table breakfast, sourced from local Costa Rican producers, fuels your body for the work ahead.
Mid-Morning: Train with Ffion Davies on the Mats
The heart of each day is a structured, high-level technique session led by Ffion Davies. These are not generic, beginner-friendly demonstrations. Ffion brings her championship-caliber knowledge directly to you — working through her signature pressure-passing, guard-retention principles, and the nuanced positional understanding that separates elite competitors from everyone else. Sessions are intimate enough for genuine individual attention, and Ffion's teaching style ensures that every participant — regardless of belt level — leaves with actionable insights they can apply immediately.
Afternoon: Recover and Explore
After training, afternoons are dedicated to recovery and optional exploration. Contrast therapy — alternating hot and cold immersion — accelerates muscle recovery and boosts the immune system in ways that rest alone cannot achieve. You might spend this time in a guided journaling session, exploring the surrounding jungle, or simply resting by the pool with fellow practitioners who quickly become lifelong training partners. A chef-prepared, award-winning farm-to-table lunch is served mid-afternoon, providing the ideal nutritional window for muscle repair and energy restoration.
Evening: Train Again, Connect Deeply
Evening sessions vary throughout the retreat — some days it's a live rolling session with Ffion participating directly, other evenings feature Q&A panels, film study, or open mat time. Dinner is a communal experience, served in a warm gathering space that encourages conversation, laughter, and the kind of connection that only forms when people have sweated, struggled, and grown together.
The Five Pillars of the Beyond the Mat Experience
Beyond the Mat Jiu-Jitsu was designed around a clear philosophy: Balance and Focus. Everything on the retreat — every session, every meal, every moment of rest — is structured around five interconnected pillars that work together to produce a genuinely transformative outcome.
Elite Technique — Championship-level instruction that challenges and elevates every practitioner, regardless of experience level.
Restorative Recovery — Structured yoga, contrast therapy, meditation, and sleep optimization protocols to keep your body performing at its best throughout the retreat.
Intentional Nutrition — Award-winning farm-to-table meals crafted from locally sourced Costa Rican ingredients, designed to fuel performance and support recovery.
Community and Culture — A carefully curated group of like-minded practitioners who bring out the best in each other — on and off the mats.
Personal Transformation — Guided reflection practices and an immersive environment that help you reconnect with your purpose, your passion, and your path forward in the martial arts.
Most BJJ camps focus exclusively on the first pillar. Beyond the Mat recognizes that sustainable growth — the kind that lasts long after you return home — requires all five working in harmony.
Why Choose Beyond the Mat Jiu-Jitsu
There are Jiu-Jitsu seminars. There are training camps. There are yoga retreats and wellness getaways. Beyond the Mat Jiu Jitsu exists at the intersection of all three — and surpasses each of them individually.
Here is what sets Beyond the Mat apart from every other option on the market:
World-Class Instruction, Intimately Delivered — You are not one of three hundred people in an auditorium. You are training in a small group environment where Ffion Davies knows your name, watches your rolls, and gives you the specific feedback that moves your game forward.
True All-Inclusive Luxury — Every aspect of your experience is curated and covered: accommodation, meals, training, recovery, and excursions. You arrive, and you train. We handle everything else.
Los Angeles Roots, Global Vision — Founded in Los Angeles, CA, Beyond the Mat brings the high-performance culture of world-class athletics to stunning international destinations, such as Costa Rica.
The Philosophy is Real — Balance and Focus is not a marketing tagline. Every decision we make — from training volume to meal timing to session structure — is made through this lens.
Community That Lasts — The friendships forged at a Beyond the Mat retreat don't end when you board your flight home. Our alum network is active, supportive, and deeply committed to each other's growth.
Unforgettable Memories — We are not just selling training. We are creating experiences that practitioners talk about for years — the kind of stories you'll tell on the Mat for the rest of your Jiu-Jitsu life.
Our commitment is simple: to deliver the highest-quality Jiu-Jitsu retreat experience available anywhere in the world. Every retreat is evaluated, refined, and improved so that the next group gets something even better than the last. We will not stop until we are genuinely the best.
Who Is This Retreat For?
One of the most important questions we ask prospective attendees is not "what is your belt level?" but rather "what are you looking for?" The Journey: Costa Rica is appropriate for a wide range of practitioners, but it is specifically designed to deliver the most value for the following:
Intermediate to advanced practitioners (blue belt through black belt) who are serious about accelerating their technical development.
Competitors preparing for a major season who want an intensive but holistic training block.
Passionate hobbyists who train consistently and want a peak experience to reward their dedication.
Practitioners who feel burned out, stagnant, or disconnected from their love of the art — and need a reset.
Professionals, entrepreneurs, and high performers who recognize that Jiu-Jitsu is a vehicle for personal growth and want to invest in both dimensions simultaneously.
If you train, if you care, and if you're ready to go all in for one extraordinary week — you belong on this retreat.
Conclusion: Train. Travel. Live Beyond the Mat.
There is a version of your Jiu Jitsu life that is richer, deeper, more connected, and more alive than what you experience on a typical Tuesday night in your home gym. The Journey: Costa Rica exists to show you that version — and to help you bring it back with you.
When you train with Ffion Davies in the jungles of Costa Rica, surrounded by world-class peers, fueled by exceptional food, and guided by the philosophy of Balance and Focus, something shifts. Your technique improves, yes. But more than that, your relationship with the martial arts deepens. You remember what it feels like to be a student. To be curious. To be grateful for every rep, every roll, every hard moment on the Mat.
Beyond the Mat Jiu-Jitsu was built on the belief that the mats are more than a place to fight. They are a place to grow, to connect, and to discover who you are when you are fully challenged. Our retreats are the fullest expression of that belief — carefully crafted, relentlessly refined, and wholeheartedly offered to every practitioner who is ready to go beyond.
You've been looking for something like this. Now you've found it.
Train. Travel. Live Beyond the Mat.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What belt level do I need to be to attend The Journey: Costa Rica?
We welcome practitioners from blue belt through black belt. The retreat is designed to deliver high-value instruction at every level — Ffion's coaching is nuanced enough to challenge advanced competitors and clear enough to be transformative for developing practitioners. What matters most is not your belt but your attitude: a genuine commitment to learning, mutual respect on the mats, and an openness to the full retreat experience.
2. Is the retreat truly all-inclusive? What exactly is covered?
Yes — The Journey: Costa Rica is fully all-inclusive. Your retreat package covers luxury accommodation in Costa Rica, all daily meals (award-winning farm-to-table cuisine prepared by professional chefs), every training and technique session with Ffion Davies, all recovery programming (yoga, meditation, contrast therapy), and curated cultural experiences. You are responsible for your international flights and travel insurance. Everything else is handled.
3. How many people will be on the retreat? Will I get personal attention from Ffion?
We deliberately keep our retreat groups intimate and small. This is a core part of the Beyond the Mat philosophy — we believe that genuine transformation requires genuine attention. Unlike large-scale seminars where you might never be in arm's reach of the instructor, our format ensures that every attendee receives direct feedback, mat time, and personal interaction with Ffion throughout the week.
4. Do I need to be in peak physical condition before attending?
We recommend attending in good general health and with a consistent training base — ideally training at least two to three times per week in the months leading up to the retreat. That said, the retreat schedule is thoughtfully balanced between high-intensity training and structured recovery. You don't need to be a competitor or in peak shape. You do need to be ready to show up fully and engage with every aspect of the program.
5. How do I reserve my spot, and what is the booking process?
Visit BeyondTheMatJiuJitsu.com to submit your application and review all retreat details, including dates, investment, and payment plan options. Spots are extremely limited by design, and retreats typically fill well in advance. Once your application is reviewed and accepted, you'll receive a full welcome package with everything you need to prepare. We encourage you to apply as early as possible to secure your place.
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