This is an in-depth podcast on smashing the mental barriers holding you back from achieving your potential in BJJ with BJJ black belt and certified mental performance coach Erin Herle. Erin is great - check it out! Erin Herle is a BJJ black belt under Cobrinha and is a certified Mental Performance Consultant. She uses an evidence-based approach and has a master's degree in sport and … [Read more...]
How to Become a Professional Grappler, with Chris Wojcik
As a first-time ADCC competitor, Chris beat the odds and came in fourth, beating a couple of legends along the way. In episode 410 of The Strenuous Life Podcast with Chris Wojcik, we cover... The qualifying process for ADCC, the Olympics of Grappling Training with a herniated disk How to go from enthusiastic amateur to dedicated professional What natural athletes need to do … [Read more...]
Three takeaways from the Craig Jones Invitational
I was glued to my computer for hours this weekend, watching every match (and some more than once) in the Alley at the 2024 Craig Jones Invitational in Vegas. (I caught little bits and pieces of ADCC, too, but there was more talent and fewer stoppages at CJI.) The entire competition is available on Youtube... CJI Day 1 CJI Day 2 Anyway, I came away with a renewed appreciation … [Read more...]
Gold Medal Judo Techniques that Work in BJJ
I've previously written about why you probably shouldn’t use the top-scoring judo throw - Seio Otoshi - in your BJJ practice. (To recap, this throw requires a TON of reps, potentially exposes you to back takes, is gi-dependent, and there’s a high chance you'll roll over your opponent to end up on the bottom.) But don't throw the Judo baby out with the bathwater!! There IS a heck of a lot … [Read more...]
DON’T Use This Top Judo Throw in BJJ!
I came across something really neat recently. Someone called DrSeioNage did a TON of data analysis and looked at 5850 elite judo matches to identify the top-scoring techniques. The highest-scoring technique of them all during the time period studied was a throw called Seio Otoshi. This throw involves turning your back to your opponent and is often performed dropping one or both knees … [Read more...]
Training Isn’t Competition, Competition Isn’t Training
There's a HUGE difference between training and competing, not only in how hard you go, but also in the strategies you employ. The priority in competition is winning, but the priority in training should be learning. That's why if I run into something new in training - a weird grip, a submission, a leg entanglement - my reaction is probably going to be, “Oh, how interesting, let’s see where … [Read more...]
Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion
I've previously discussed breathing but have concentrated on unusual situations, like conscious hyperventilation and the Valsalva Maneuver. I should probably have started out by talking about something that is a bit more universally applicable. Let’s talk about this: no breathing equals no oxygen equals total exhaustion. Storytime: I once talked with a very frustrated and discouraged … [Read more...]
Competition Kneebar Breakdown
Rob Biernacki recently won gold at black belt in master's ADCC Canada and in black M4 division at IBJJF NoGi Worlds. In a critical match, he swept the reigning champion, came up on top, got entangled in an X guard situation, and then pulled a kneebar out of nowhere to get the submission. The video below breaks down the unorthodox kneebar and finishing mechanics he used at IBJJF No Gi … [Read more...]
BJJ Competition Preparation and Training Camp Design with Rob Biernacki
Rob Biernacki and his competition team are on a tear. Rob recently took gold in masters middleweight the Canadian ADCC Open, silver at the California ADCC Open, and gold in black belt M4 at the IBJJF No Gi Worlds. In episode 394 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we talk about Designing an effective training camp Dividing your conditioning and skills training Detaching emotionally from … [Read more...]
Rob Biernacki Dominates in Competition
I just wanted to send a shout-out to a friend; Mr Rob Biernacki. Rob recently wrapped up an amazing 2023 competition season. In August he took gold in the 83 kg Advanced Masters division of the ADCC Open, competing with a fractured right hand and facing people 15 years younger than him. Then, just last weekend, he followed that up with another gold medal by winning 4 matches and beating … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Self Defense Championship
The Ultimate Self-Defense Championship was a competition in which six martial arts YouTubers competed against each other in seven self-defense challenges to find out what works, what doesn't and who would become the ultimate self-defense champion. The results were shocking, and the entertainment value was off the charts! On episode 388 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with the organizer … [Read more...]
Rob Biernacki Double Gold!
Rob Biernacki has been on a tear recently. In 2023 he's competed 4 times. In April, he got a Silver at the ADCC Open... in March, he won Gold at Grappling Industries... in June, he won Gold at the Portland Open... and just a few days ago, he won Double Gold at Grappling Industries! That last victory is particularly impressive because one of those gold medals was in the Masters Open division. … [Read more...]
The Easiest Way to Do the Berimbolo
At the bottom of this post is a Youtube video I just created to show the easiest way to do the Berimbolo. Now if you're a Berimbolo aficionado then you've probably already scrolled down. But maybe you're on the fence about this move. Or maybe you don't even know what it is and why you should care about it. Well, give me a minute to put it into context for you... Over the last couple of … [Read more...]
The Single Leg X Guard – A Surprising Way to Pull Guard…
Should you pull guard in competition? And if you decide to pull guard, then how do you do it correctly? In a certain sense, I am uniquely unqualified to answer these questions... You see, much of my BJJ comes from 8th degree black belt Marcus Soares, and Marcus is very much from the old-school Carlson Gracie way of doing things. The Carlson approach to jiu-jitsu is definitely focused on … [Read more...]
Inclusive Jiu-Jitsu with Erin Wedekind
Erin teaches jiu-jitsu in Appleton Jiu-Jitsu. In this episode we have a great discussion of trans athetes in jiu-jitsu and a little bit of polite debate about trans athletes competing in elite sport. I found this a very informative conversation and gained some valuable perspective on the science of transition. More about Erin at metricsbjj.com Inclusive Jiu-Jitsu (Video … [Read more...]
How to Add Judo Takedowns to Your BJJ Game, with Chris Round
Chris Round is a Judo black belt under Jimmy Pedro. In this episode we talk about How to add Judo throws to your BJJ arsenal, Old school vs new school Judo training methods, Kosen Judo which focuses very heavily on groundwork, The critical importance of gripfighting and how to develop it, Leg grabs, belt grabs, crazy Eastern European throws, And more! To consume this … [Read more...]
Margot Ciccarelli, Travelling the World While Training Jiu-Jitsu
Multiple time World and European champion Margot Ciccarelli joins us take us through some of the following topics... Competing at the highest level while spending much of the year on the road, How to feel invincible on the mats, The importance of tempo changes in jiu-jitsu, Transitioning through different guards, Learning faster vs staying in your comfort zone, Switching from a … [Read more...]
Lessons from Competing in 25 Matches in 8 Divisions in 1 Tournament with Jeff Shaw {Podcast and Video}
Jeff Shaw runs Bellingham BJJ and despite coming to jiu-jitsu late in life fell in love with competition and eventually competed 8 divisions in a single tournament with pretty good results. I particularly love his pre-match psych up routine which you'll learn all about in this episode! Here is the video version of our chat... 00:45 - Covid Check-in at Bellingham BJJ 13:58 - Starting … [Read more...]
How to Learn from BJJ Instructionals (The Strenuous Life Podcast Episode 330)
In episode 330 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we covered how to connect wrestling and leglocks, learn from instructionals, avoid bad seminars, improve BJJ training methods, the Australian MMA scene, trends in grappling, and much more with the eloquent Sonny Brown from the Sonny Brown Breakdown! Here is just a little of what we covered today… 00:21 - The Australian jiu-jitsu scene 05:58 - … [Read more...]
Implications of the IBJJF Legalising Heel Hooks and Reaping
Starting Jan 1st 2021 adult brown and black belts will be able to use heel hooks and leg reaping entanglements at the brown and black belt adult divisions in no gi competition. Long banned, heel hooks are rotational leglocks where the hip and/or the knee is held in place while the foot is bent and rotated. They are incredibly efficient because they attack the smaller ligaments of the foot and … [Read more...]