In this conversation, Mike Lady and Matt Guffey explore the intersection of grappling and life, discussing the application of ecological dynamics in sports coaching, the transition from hockey to jiu-jitsu, and the importance of strength and conditioning for grapplers. They delve into load management, injury rehabilitation, class structure, and the creativity required in jiu-jitsu. Matt shares insights on building a strength and conditioning business and emphasizes the importance of being presen...
Jul 06, 2025•56 min
In this conversation, Mike Lady and Doug Ancey explore the intersection of grappling, mental health, and community support. They discuss the importance of recognizing mental health stigma, the role of medication, and the significance of community in jiu jitsu. The conversation also touches on navigating political views within the sport and the need for empathy and understanding in a competitive environment. Takeaways Mental health is a crucial aspect of grappling and life. There is a stigma arou...
Apr 22, 2025•56 min
In this engaging conversation, Mike Lady, Cesar Clavijo, and Ryan Scialoia explore the profound connections between Jiu-Jitsu and life. They discuss unique teaching philosophies, the importance of health and longevity in martial arts, and the ethical responsibilities of instructors. The dialogue also delves into the biomechanics of movement, the role of hypnosis in performance, and the healing aspects of Jiu-Jitsu. Throughout the discussion, the trio emphasizes the need for a holistic approach t...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 9 min
In this conversation, Mike Lady and Brad Congram explore the intersection of grappling, life, and personal growth. Brad shares his journey in Jiu-Jitsu, the challenges of balancing life as a new parent and a black belt, and the insights gained from both competition and professional life. They discuss the importance of community, the role of failure in learning, and the resources available for new parents. The conversation highlights the continuous journey of learning and the impact of Jiu-Jitsu ...
Mar 31, 2025•58 min
In this conversation, Mike Pabua shares his journey through Jiu-Jitsu and healthcare, exploring how grappling has influenced his life and career. He discusses the challenges he faced in both fields, the importance of resilience, and how Jiu-Jitsu provides perspective on life's difficulties. Mike also highlights his training philosophy, the significance of skill development, and his experiences training in Austin. In this conversation, Mike Lady and Mike Pabua delve into their experiences in Jiu-...
Mar 25, 2025•55 min
In this conversation, Eric Robinson shares his extensive journey in Jiu-Jitsu, from his initial introduction to the sport to his evolution as a content creator. He discusses the challenges and joys of building a community through social media, the importance of crediting creators, and the philosophical aspects of training. Eric reflects on his experiences living in the Caribbean, the dynamics of ego in training, and the significance of balancing life and Jiu-Jitsu. The conversation culminates in...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this conversation, Mike Lady and James Wilson explore the intersections of mountain biking and Jiu-Jitsu, discussing James's journey from fitness training to becoming a Jiu-Jitsu black belt. They delve into the principles of mastery, the importance of biomechanics, and the evolution of training methods. James shares insights on pedal design and how it relates to performance, while also emphasizing the significance of live training and understanding the most important battles in Jiu-Jitsu. The...
Mar 03, 2025•58 min
Welcome back to Humans of Grappling, where we explore the intersection of grappling and everything else in life. We talk about applying grappling to everyday life, and everyday life to grappling. Mike describes how he’s been feeling in 2024 and how it’s different than what he felt in 2022. He talks about how he and a small group of friends enabled him to make it to the round of 16 in ADCC West Coast Trials as a regular software engineer with no professional athletic background beyond high school...
Dec 01, 2024•28 min
Mike describes how anyone can start training ecologically by defining their own games with the elements of: 1. where to start 2. where to end 3. what each player is trying to do 4. how to "handicap" yourself to make things easier or harder depending on your skill level. Mike also talks about his course and community on Sandbox BJJ. If you want to level up your game with a curriculum and community that guarantees results, check out www.sandboxbjj.com ⏩ the fastest way to develop grappling skill �...
Dec 01, 2024•19 min
Mike describes how we can frame ecological Jiu-Jitsu games similar to video game tutorial levels. Mike relates this to his course and community on Sandbox BJJ. If you want to level up your game with a curriculum and community that guarantees results, check out www.sandboxbjj.com ⏩ the fastest way to develop grappling skill 🏖️ creative, iterative, resettable play 🔲 boundary around what we focus on 👇 join a community that cares www.sandboxbjj.com Follow for more on Instagram https://www.instagr...
Dec 01, 2024•29 min
Let’s play around in a sandbox to work on something How do we fuck around and find out? Doesn’t mean that this is directionless, it’s actually very empowering. We don’t have to have a “master” coach to get better. We can just start where we’re having trouble and sit there until we figure some relative truths out. It might not be the most optimal or ideal, but it’s a start. Low level white belts don’t need high level technique. You just need the next increment up to actually get better. Sandbox i...
Nov 23, 2024•25 min
Summary In this episode, Mike reflects on his journey as a content creator and shares his insights on the challenges and expectations of work. He emphasizes the importance of taking action and iterating to figure out one's niche. Mike also discusses the difficulties of college and the transition to the industry, highlighting the compressed timeline and the need for good time management. He advises junior developers to focus on intrinsic motivation and to understand that becoming a senior develop...
Aug 14, 2024•48 min
AI-Generated text: In this episode, Mike interviews Doug Ancey, a black belt in jiu-jitsu and a technical writer. Doug shares his journey in grappling, from starting with wrestling in middle school to discovering jiu-jitsu in college. He talks about the importance of fostering relationships in the jiu-jitsu community and the value of having a third place for kids. Doug also discusses his career in technical writing and how it has helped him analyze and explain jiu-jitsu techniques. He emphasizes...
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 11 min
One of the first things that blew my mind in history class was when my middle school teacher taught us about how boats were developed in parallel around the same time across cultures geographically nowhere near each other. Same thing happens today between companies, like fitness tech wearable wristbands and other weight lifting tracking devices, or even within the same company like Google spinning up and killing a hilarious number of chat clients over the years. Sometimes there’s things in the z...
Jun 05, 2024•23 min
Mike talks about how we can better use our natural pattern-matching subconscious mind to accomplish our goals, and how ecological dynamics may explain the practice of "manifesting". Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. What "slow parts" of the TV show of your life are you willing to sit through for the big payoff at the end of certain seasons of your life?
May 29, 2024•46 min
Mike talks about recent small changes he's made in his life that are compounding already, such as his back squat working weight for 3 sets of 5 reps moving up from 225lbs to 270lbs in one month, adding 5 lbs to the bar each time. He shows how we can apply this principle to life in general.
May 24, 2024•39 min
Mike talks about how we can have "knowledge about" something, and never really gain "knowledge of" that thing, such as watching someone put their hand on a stove. Pain (discomfort) is the ultimate teacher and we want to leverage safe amounts of it to iteratively develop skills over time.
May 23, 2024•26 min
Mike talks about getting your ego involved as much as possible in the learning process in order to save time and not have to study later.
May 21, 2024•35 min
Mike discusses his recent schedule optimizations and looks to figure out how to further improve and enjoy the things he does every day.
May 16, 2024•24 min
Mike talks your ear off yet again about Ecological Jiu-Jitsu, how it applies to everything, and how he's seen hints of this methodology throughout his life. He reflects on his 1.5 years of thinking about and applying the methodology to varying degrees in training.
May 16, 2024•43 min
Mike returns to talk about his personal struggles with mental health and how he has more or less overcome them.
May 16, 2024•48 min
After reading 37 whole pages of "The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, I try to apply it to my life and go down a 3 hour dividend ETF rabbit hole. I reexamine my life for instances of "Mediocristan" and "Extremistan" and how I can set myself up to take advantage of the positives of both, while covering the downsides.
Oct 01, 2023•42 min
Look at that, a whole year of doing this podcast, only active for 6 months though. Well, I'm back and the only way this is going to be consistent is that it's going to be me rambling about once a week on topics that I'm churning over in my head and relating them to Jiu-Jitsu. I go off here on Ecological Dynamics (How We Learn to Move by Rob Gray) and "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr
This was a fun one! Gabe turned the tables on me and interviewed me for his Youtube series, "A White Belt Experience". We run the gamut of talking about my journey to ADCC Trials round of 16, how I've conceptualized and learned Jiu-Jitsu, how I relate it to Software Development, and of course my favorite buzzword: Ecological Jiu-Jitsu. Gabe's Youtube channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@GiftWrapGabe Gabe can be found on instagram @3rounddesign This episode was sponsored by @ikuzoathl...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Chad Lyman is a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Defensive Tactics coach, 3rd Degree BJJ Black Belt and head coach of Xtreme Couture. We talk about his journey with Jiu-Jitsu and how he's been trying to get LEOs to train since the early 2000's. He has gone on to teach thousands of LEOs through his seminars and affiliated academies. We also talk about some technical "rolls" he's had while patrolling the streets of Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world. Chad is making the world a safer place at s...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Heather Woods is a Black Belt under Andre Galvao from Atos HQ. She is a Masters world champ in the gi, 2nd in nogi worlds masters division. We talk about her time training at Atos HQ and the army of training partners she had there. Heather has traveled, lived, and trained all around the world. Heather offers an online Jiu-Jitsu coaching program at https://linktr.ee/h.woodsbjj She can be found on instagram @heathernwoods @h.woodsbjj This episode was sponsored by @ikuzoathletics, check them out fo...
Mar 16, 2023•59 min
Jimmy House is a multi-sport athlete: Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, powerlifter, bodybuilder, professional wrestler, and possibly more! We talk about lifting for grappling, wrestling, finding Jiu-Jitsu, lightweight vs heavyweight, Nicky Rod claiming natty, and more. Jimmy can be found @jhouse182 on IG, or @JIMMY_HOUSE on Youtube. His links can be found at https://linktr.ee/jimmyhouse This episode was sponsored by @ikuzoathletics, check them out for clean, simple rashies and shorts. Ikuzo… “let’s go!” ht...
Feb 22, 2023•54 min
Returning guest BJJ Fanatics instructor Ryan Scialoia comes back to talk about what he's been excited to learn and teach about in Jiu-Jitsu, content creation, ChatGPT, meaning, etc. It was fun and we got pretty "in the pocket" in this one. Ryan's links Instagram @ryanscialoia YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjWhKKpbVWVjnjTCSqinPOQ https://gofund.me/1e2ccce6 https://bjjfanatics.com/products/law-enforcement-grappling-solutions-by-ryan-scialoia https://bjjfanatics.com/products/welcome-to-s...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Coach Greg Souders is the head coach of Standard Jiu-Jitsu. He teaches a 100% nogi program that takes an Ecological approach to training. This takes the form of strategically planned "games" similar to situational sparring in order to develop robust grappling skill without drilling. Greg is currently accepting 10 black belt, gym owner-coaches who are interested in getting 1:1 guidance on how to coach with the Ecological method he has developed. https://www.standardjiujitsu.com/ He can be reached...
Feb 04, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Martin Lopez is an MMA economist, grappling competitor, and overall BAMF. We talk about our recent match against each other at High Rollerz, his passion for MMA, why he loves Jiu-Jitsu, our shared training history, and more. Martin's links: https://wartape.com/ https://ameriburn.org/resources/burn-survivor-resources/ This episode was sponsored by @ikuzoathletics, check them out for clean, simple rashies and shorts. Ikuzo… “let’s go!” https://www.ikuzoathletics.com/...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min
