Steve Kwan, a BJJ black belt known for cohosting the most excellent BJJ Mental Models podcast, joins me to discuss cult behaviour in BJJ, good and bad club cultures, and the big picture behind effective jiu-jitsu training.
This is a really important topic given the long history of less than stellar behaviour of some of the big names in the jiu-jitsu community.
To give you a taste, here are some of the zingers from the podcast…
“I consider cults to be any organization that uses unscrupulous tactics to manipulate the members for the benefit of the founders or the people higher up in the chain.”
“People always tell you that jiu-jitsu builds character and makes you a better person. That is not true. Jiu-jitsu gives you confidence and makes you a bolder, more assertive version of the person that you already are. And whether that’s a good person or a bad person is up to you.”
“In a time when things are as uncertain as they have ever been in our lives, we crave certainty. If someone can promise you certainty in an uncertain time especially if they can confirm what deep down you’ve always believed to be true, you’re going to gravitate towards them and it shuts off part of your brain.”
How to Listen to the “Cult Behaviour in Jiu-Jitsu” Episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast
I have released this conversation with Steve Kwan on my podcast (The Strenuous Life Podcast) as episode 290 which you can listen to on all podcast players, including the following popular platforms and apps…
If you don’t have a preferred podcast player you can can listen on the Grapplearts BJJ Master App which you can download for free for iPhone and iPad in the Apple App Store here or for Android devices in the Google Play Store here.
Or you can stream the audio without leaving this page by clicking play below…
I hope this helps you surround yourself with good people in your training!
Stephan Kesting
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