I'm STOKED that Survivorman Les Stroud came on the podcast today!!! We talked adventure, survival skills, navigating in the wilderness, the closest he's come to death while filming, work-life balance, music and more. I hope you enjoy listening to his episode as much as I did recording it for you! Go to http://www.lesstroud.ca to find out more about Les, his appearances, shows, and concerts.
How often and how hard to train are tricky questions. Too much hard training and you'll grind yourself into a pulp. Not enough hard training and you'll never reach your potential or expand the limits of what you think you're capable of. In this episode I dive into the topics of over-training, under-recovery, and the single most important legal supplement for recovery! To support the podcast and allow us to bring you more episodes with more amazing guests consider contributing a buck or two a mon...
This was a neat interview I did with Emily Kwok from Princeton BJJ and star of the first How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent series. We focused on creating positive learning environments in BJJ, looking at the roles played by the students, the teachers, and instructional technology. We also covered whether I would do anything different if I was starting my BJJ training all over again, competition vs training, and breaking through plateaus. I hope you find this interesting!
How to improve your BJJ almost instantly. No, this isn't hyperbole; microdrilling is a training method that will have immediate effects on your game by finding ways around the sticking points in your techniques. Give it a try and if it works for you then please share this episode with someone you train with who might also find it useful.
This is an important episode because it's all about managing the adrenaline dump and the fight or flight reflex. Shane Fazen from Fight Tips and I talk about what fight or flight feels like, what you can expect in your first few competitions, how to use adrenaline to your advantage, exactly how to use visualisation and meditation to lower your heart rate, stay calm, and actually fight the way you train. If you compete or are interested in self defense don't miss this episode. Find out more about...
How do you know when to attack? It's actually pretty simple math!! In this episode I share the "what's the score" concept that I learned from Rob Biernacki. At any given point in time both you and your opponent have a score, determined from your base, posture and structure. The relative score tells you whether an attack will succeed or fail. This is a very useful idea and it will allow you to create and recognise opportunities for your sweeps, submissions and guard passes! Videos referred to in ...
In this short rant I talk about 3 or 4 training methods you can use when sparring someone significantly smaller than you so that you BOTH come out winners! These methods also apply, to some degree, to sparring people who are less experienced and not as good as you are. Training time is a limited commodity wo you really want to maximise what you get out of your sparring sessions!
David Brown has spent many decades studying and teaching martial arts, including Muay Thai and Wing Chun. He's also a clinical neuropsychologist which gives him a unique insight into the mindset at work within martial arts cults. Then we also went down some major rabbit holes, including the science of sticking people's brains into scanners and the elimination of disease through new genetic technologies. I hope you like this one as much as I did! 01:02 - A journey through the martial arts 04:15 -...
In a self defense situation you have to have a high level of environmental awareness to keep track of multiple attackers, improvised weapons, escape routes, etc. Today I'm joined by classical Japanese Jujutsu practitioner Alex Kask to talk about how this important aspect can be incorporated into your training. We also talk about gun grappling, multiple-opponent MMA, 'dirty' fighting techniques like eye gouging and biting, and more! In other relevant news, check out the brand new Grapplearts inst...
If you're doing any kind of martial art - be it BJJ, MMA, Kickboxing, Taekwondo or whatever - then your game needs to evolve every decade to accommodate the changes in your body. I got this from the legendary Dan Inosanto who started training at age 11 and is still practising martial arts in his 80's.
A little trip down memory lane today. In my twenties I did an 82 day, 1600 mile solo canoe trip across the Canadian north. This is an account of the last 3 days of that journey, traveling along the dangerous shore of Hudson Bay. The written form of this account is available here: https://www.grapplearts.com/belugas-bears-and-an-offshore-tide-on-hudson-bay/# and the Blood, Sweat and Sparta piece I refer to early in this episode is available here: https://www.grapplearts.com/blood-sweat-and-sparta...
Sparring for the first time is always a shock, but especially for traditional martial artists who may have spent years perfecting their techniques in the air or against a compliant partner just to watch it all fall apart against real resistance. No sparring, no miracles folks! A lot of listeners know that http://www.grapplearts.com is my main site, but did you know that I also have a second, self defense oriented site? Check it out at http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com for more self defense tip...
I really enjoyed this conversation with Rokas Leonavicius, the European Aikido instructor who became famous on Youtube trying to make his aikido functional against resisting opponents. Find out about his journey into Aikido, BJJ, Aikido and Boxing in this fascinating episode. 02:05 - Rokas's background in Aikido 04:21 - Wrestling in Eastern Europe 05:43 - What attracted him to Aikido? 14:20 - How long should you train before Aikido is applicable? 20:20 - Testing Aikido on Youtube 23:55 - The Aik...
Can you still train if you have an injured knee? Well, it depends... Here are some solutions, tips and tricks for dealing with a bum knee in a BJJ or grappling setting.
In this episode John Hacklemann discusses the Conor McGregor bus attack, training Chuck Liddell, differences between MMA and self defense, the single most important thing you can do to stay safe on the street, sparring vs drilling, and more. This is an incredibly informative episode, especially if you're interested in self defense and/or MMA! Follow John on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePitOnlineDojo and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThePitMaster...
I was recently dragged through the waves, under the water and then lifted up into the air while trying to figure out the sport of kiteboarding, and figured out that there is one hell of a learning curve in that sport! But many sports and activities worth doing have that same initial hump - a difficult learning curve that makes most people drop out. Ultimately if it were easy to do then everyone would do it, so the key to doing uncommon things is to grit your teeth and break on through to the oth...
I talk with personal trainer and BJJ black belt Ben Zhuang going DEEP into the supplements, exercises, and conditioning protocols, and recovery procedures to help with Brazilian jiu-jitsu and other grappling arts. Follow Ben and see the exercises he’s referring to on Instagram @coachbz Follow Stephan on Instagram @stephan_kesting
There are many reasons to train BJJ - fitness, camaraderie, having fun, taking on a challenge, spiritual development, learning to deal with challenges, wanting to compete - but at its core, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art and not a martial sport. Martial arts means self defense. Self defense is a huge and diverse topic, but a big part of it means being able defend yourself against an attacker choking them into a unconsciousness if need be. In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I tal...
Jessica Huneycutt is the yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints National Football League team. In this episode we go deep into how Yoga and other techniques are used at an elite level to help athletes recover as fast as possible, prevent injuries, and prolong their careers. We also talk about surviving sexual assault, travelling to India, living in ashrams, doing yoga for improved jiu-jitsu performance, and her own personal BJJ training. This is a really good one - I hope you enjoy it and sh...
In this episode I talk with Riccardo Ammedolia, BJJ black belt under the Mendes Brothers, ADCC commentator, and worldwide jiu-jitsu ambassador. We talked about training in Brazil, rolling with Rafa Mendes, judging and reffing in BJJ, staying well rounded, curriculum development and more. If you train BJJ then I think you'll really like this one! Riccardo trains and teaches in Hamilton, Ontario at http://www.atoshamilton.com . You can also follow him on Instagram at @riccardoammendoliabjj or on F...
In this (likely controversial) episode I argue that the differences between 'self defense' and 'sport' jiu-jitsu have largely been exaggerated. The real magic of jiu-jitsu is in training against resistance and learning to deal with pressure, not learning a set of magical 'self defense approved' techniques. If your interest is in self defense then you should still train at the best BJJ school you can find and then, if necessary, supplement the curriculum with a little bit of additional training. ...
In this episode I discuss the different forms of exhalation and 'kiai' used in various martial arts, ranging from Thai Boxing to Kajukenbo Karate to traditional Japanese Ju-Jutsu. Then I break down the four reasons how vocalising while striking not only makes you more powerful but can also increase your endurance and improve your resilience to getting hit. If you enjoyed this or found it useful then please remember to subscribe to the podcast and, if possible, give it a rating or a review on wha...
In this episode I talk with elite powerlifter, kettlebell instructor and BJJ practitioner Jason Kapnick about conditioning program design, building a balanced body, functional movement screening, injury prevention, and training for optimal athletic performance. It was a great conversation, and I hope you come away from it having learned as much as I did! You can find out more about Jason, or go to him for training, at https://catalystsportnyc.com Finally, if you found this episode interesting or...
Today, should you go to seminars, can you learn from seminars, and the funniest thing I ever saw at a seminar...
This episode is just a little different! Today 12 BJJ black belts give their single best piece of advice for people just starting out in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. White belts looking for tips and help with their training will really benefit from watching this, and if it doesn't fire you up and get you on the mat grappling then nothing will! Here are the BJJ black belts featured in this video: Stephan Kesting http://www.grapplearts.com Bernardo Faria https://bernardofaria.com Brandon 'Wolverine' Mulli...
I loved this talk with Kirik Jenness who is mayor for life of the underground forum at http://mixedmartialarts.com , the author of The Fighter's Notebook, the official records keeper for mixed martial arts, and has "done every job in MMA except for being a ring girl."
In this short episode I share a tip I learned from Elliott Bayev that'll simultaneously allow you to finish way more people with your chokes but also stop you from completely burning out your arms, legs and/or grips in the attempt. If you're looking for help with a specific area of grappling have you checked out the search bar at the top of my site http://www.grapplearts.com ? Tons of videos, tips, articles, and drills there just waiting for you to find them!!...
Dan was bitten by the MMA bug after watching UFC 4; soon he was training with Dan Severn and learning all he could about wrestling, jiu-jitsu, fighting and MMA. Many miles and multiple black belts later he's on the podcast. In this conversation we focus on the fighting aspects of jiu-jitsu, 'friendly' sparring sessions gone bad, catch wrestling, Systema (yes, systema), training with hundreds of MMA fighters, doing MMA color commentary, and the lessons learned from decades of living the fighter's...
A conversation with Kung Fu stylist (and BJJ brown belt) Randy Brown that included the history of Chinese martial arts and what made them less effective over time, what traditional martial arts look like when you start training them with resistance, and much more. I think you'll like this one! Find out more about Randy Brown at http://randybrownmantisboxing.com/
OK, so you've just learned a cool new technique that you're pretty sure is the Kryptonite you need to defeat your hardest sparring partner. But then you crash and burn when you try it out in sparring - he ignores your move, passes your guard, smashes you flat and taps you out. What's going on? In this episode I break down exactly why techniques NEVER work on the day they're shown, and the simple steps you need to make that killer technique functional as fast as humanly possible. Check out my FRE...
