Shane Adams is the star of Full Metal Jousting and has been featured in the New York Times because is the godfather of modern full contact jousting. In full contact jousting two knights wearing 150 lbs of armour ride on charging horses and try to unhorse each other using 11 foot long solid wooden lances that deliver 2,000 lbs of force. Yes, this is an actual sport: there are rules, … [Read more...]
Competition
Sim Go and the Legacy of Cobra Kai
Simpson (Sim) Go is a BJJ blackbelt and owner of Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas. He is also a 14 time Grappler's Quest champion and competed at ADCC 2007, so he know his jiu-jitsu inside-out! In this podcast we chatted about many things, including 00:54 - How they decided to use the name 'Cobra Kai' for a jiu-jitsu school 06:16 - The influence and training of Marc Laimon 08:20 - How … [Read more...]
Seph Smith on Sambo, BJJ, and Performing Under Pressure
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I was thrilled to talk with the articulate and knowledgable Seph Smith. Seph is a prolific competitor, was awarded his BJJ black belt by UFC fighter Ryan Hall, and has a black belt in Combat Sambo. He has competed with and without the gi and in MMA as well. We covered many topics including How to train leglocks safely, Competing in … [Read more...]
Emily Kwok Interviews Me About BJJ School Culture and More – Podcast Episode 154
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 … [Read more...]
How to Manage Fear and Adrenaline in Competition
My friend Shane Fazen has fought Muay Thai in Thailand, competed in boxing, and has even challenged himself in some MMA smokers. In this conversation he and I talk about how to manage fear and adrenaline when you're competing or in a fight. Specific topics include What happens to your body when you experience the fight or flight reflex, How to use an adrenaline dump to your … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 74 – Analysis of Leglock Game with Rob Biernacki
An 80/20 analysis of the leglocking game based on high level no gi competition, leglock safety, how to learn BJJ efficiently, best practises when teaching jiu-jitsu, and a ton more with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki, my co-author of The Modern Leglock Formula available now at Grapplearts.com/leglocks https://youtu.be/jMMDD2EVn0w To hear this podcast episode in full, you have a couple of … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 105 – Interview With Matt Thornton
Matt Thornton is the founder of Straight Blast Gym, the organisation that produced Conor McGregor. He's also a skeptic with many harsh words for traditional martial arts and traditional training methods. Don't listen if you're easily offended! 00:51 - Matt's martial arts background 10:26 - The concept of "Aliveness" 20:41 - The "I" method of teaching and training martial arts 26:14 - John … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 49 – Interview with BJJ World Champ James 300 Foster
I think you'll like this one! In this episode I talk to 280 lb BJJ Masters World Champion James '300' Foster, fresh back from a pre Pan-Ams California training trip. We discuss getting kicked our of Karate after starting BJJ, the process of finding the correct mix of training that works best for you, cutting weight in BJJ, how to train successfully with smaller and/or less skilled students, … [Read more...]
The Red Line in Jiu-Jitsu
I once flew in through the mountains in a helicopter with my friend Kevin at the controls. He was not only a commercial pilot but also fellow whitewater paddler. We had commandeered a helicopter for 'a maintenance flight', but the real reason we were airborne was to scout a remote river in northern British Columbia, almost at the Yukon border. The idea was to fly over the river and down its … [Read more...]
Self Defense vs MMA with John Hackleman
The intersection of MMA and self defense has always been interesting to me, so I was thrilled to have a chat with John 'the Pitmaster' Hackleman recently. John is well known for coaching Chuck Liddell to the UFC light-heavyweight title, but he has mentored many other successful MMA fighters as well. But despite his success as an MMA coach the reason he started training martial arts was very … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 137 with Riccardo Ammendolia, BJJ Ambassador
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! To listen, go to your favourite podcasting … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 131 – Kirik Jenness of The Underground Forum, the Fighter’s Notebook and More
In this episode I have a great talk with Kirik Jenness who is mayor for life of the underground forum at https://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." This man is one of the founding fathers of MMA in North America and had a TON to share! Here's just some of … [Read more...]
How Vinny Magalhães Survived Fabrício Werdum’s Armbar to Win ADCC
In the heaviest weight class of the 2011 ADCC submission fighting championships there was a fascinating matchup between accomplished grappler and MMA fighter Vinny Magalhães and the two time ADCC champion, Fabrício Werdum. After an initial exchange on the feet Vinny caught Fabrício in an omoplata sweep and got ahead on points. Fabrício escapes, they get back to the feet, there's another … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 125: Reilly Bodycomb on Sambo, Leglocks, MMA, Jiu-Jitsu and No Gi Grappling
I loved doing this interview with Reilly Bodycomb. Reilly is a Russian sambo and leglock expert who has competed in a TON of different rulesets including BJJ, no gi submission grappling, MMA, Russian Sambo, and Chinese San Shou. He is the Pan-American Sport SAMBO Champion (2016), USA Sport SAMBO Champion (2016), Dutch Combat SAMBO Champion (2016), recently competed in Japan and is a BJJ black … [Read more...]
How to Coach at BJJ Tournaments
by Jeff Meszaros I’ve played all the big roles at Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments: The stressed-out competitor sweating in the bullpen, the furiously screaming coach who is in obvious need of anger management counselling and the referee who seems to be daydreaming rather than watching the match. I’ve done it all, and quite badly. I’m just kidding, of course. I actually was never stressed-out … [Read more...]
Podcast: 8th Degree BJJ Coral Belt Carlos Machado!
I loved talking to jiu-jitsu pioneer Carlos Machado about all things BJJ in episode 115 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. He shares stories about growing up training with Rickson and Rolls, the importance of universal principles in Jiu-jitsu, pushing the tables aside to train with his brothers Roger, Rigan, Jean Jacques and John, competing in ADCC with a broken foot and more. I hope you get as … [Read more...]
Older Grappler Training Q & A
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I answer lots of questions by older grapplers about continuing to train and make good progress when you're in your 40's, 50's and beyond. Can you still train hard as you get older? How often should you train? How can you recover faster? Should you also do weight training as an older athlete And more! The questions came from an … [Read more...]
How a Judo Olympian Takes the Back
Travis Stevens is a 3 time Judo Olympian, an Olympic silver medalist, and a BJJ black belt. So he's deadly on his feet but is also really slick on the ground. In fact his ground attacks were a huge part of his very successful run at the 2016 Olympics. He shared 3 really cool ways to take the back while passing the guard with me, and I was fortunate enough to get it on video for you. All … [Read more...]
Podcast with Clint Davies, the 10 x New Zealand Wrestling Champion Who is Also Legally Blind
Clint Davies is an amazing human being. Legally blind since age 2, he is also a 10 time New Zealand national champion who competes against sighted opponents. He also has multiple Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu national championships under his belt and has competed in the world championships. His goal is to be the craziest blind guy you've ever met, and this podcast may just convince you of this! To … [Read more...]
New podcast with Travis Stevens, 3 x Judo Olympian, Olympic Silver Medalist, and BJJ Black Belt
In this episode of the Strenuous Life Podcast I go deep with 3 x Judo Olympian and BJJ black belt Travis Stevens. We go DEEP into his training regimen, including Why he does 5 or 6 workouts a day What the strength benchmarks are for effective judo Why mental fatigue is often just as much a limiting factor as physical fatigue How he uses his groundwork skills to force his opponents … [Read more...]