I'm a huge believer in the importance of doing pull-ups if you're a grappler. Regardless of whether you're doing BJJ or Submission Grappling, Judo or Freestyle Wrestling, Sambo or Catchwrestling there's a lot of pulling, clinching and holding in grappling. There's no better exercise to develop your pulling that pull-ups, and you can do them anywhere: the gym, the park, on … [Read more...]
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Should You Compete in BJJ Tournaments?
I often get asked whether competition is essential to BJJ, and if you need to have competed to get promoted to black belt. (If you prefer to watch or listen to me talk about this this topic then just scroll to the bottom of this blog post and look for the video called "Do you need to compete to get your black belt"). The quick answers are: no, you don't necessarily need to compete. And no, … [Read more...]
7 Reasons Martial Artists Should Do Cardio
Today I want to share 7 reasons that all martial artists should do some form of cardio. This article actually started on a great run up my favourite local mountain. During that run, while dodging roots, rocks and puddles, I also spent a lot of time thinking about the direct martial arts benefits people get after they start working on their cardio. After the run, while cooling down and … [Read more...]
Stephan’s on Snapchat
Hey, I'm now on the social video app Snapchat! I'm sharing some BJJ tips there almost every day, plus a little bit of behind-the-scenes footage of what goes on at the Grapplearts Evil Schemes Lair (TM). Most of what I've posted on Snapchat disappears within 24 hours (it's the nature of the platform). If you're interested in BJJ and the martial arts in general then follow me on snapchat! … [Read more...]