Here’s something different: in November of 2011 I answered questions from my newsletter readers (sign up for free here) on the first ever Grapplearts Q & A Podcast.

Find out how how to taper for competition, what to do when you’re getting crushed all the time, what to do when your wrestling coach wants you to stop doing BJJ, and how to remember all these bloody techniques…

You can listen to, or download the audio by doing one of the following:

1. Hit play in the middle of the black bar (the audio player link) at the bottom of this list, and/or

2. Right click on this link and select ‘save as’ to download the mp3 file to your computer, and/or

3. Subscribe to the Grapplearts Podcast in iTunes (and also listen to previous audio interviews).

Wait for it, wait for it… A black bar with a play button should appear right below this text in just a second or two…

We had a great conversation about Crossfit, fear management, adrenaline dumps, and his recent ‘immersion’ in BJJ…

This is pretty relevant stuff!  Everybody (who’s not insane) feels fear, whether we’re freaked out about sparring somebody new, entering our first BJJ tournament, fighting MMA, or defending ourselves on the street.

So find out what to do about it!

You can listen to, or download the audio by doing one of the following:

1. Hit play in the middle of the black bar (the audio player link) at the bottom of this list, and/or

2. Right click on this link and select ‘save as’ to download the mp3 file to your computer, and/or

3. Subscribe to the Grapplearts Podcast in iTunes (and also listen to previous audio interviews).

P.S. For anyone who wants to attend Tony’s annual Combatives Camp on August 6th and 7th in Las Vegas, my readers will get a huge price break! Just email “karen (insert ‘at’ symbol here) blauertactical.com” and ask for the “Grapplearts Discount.” You’ll get $120 off the regular price.

Click here for more info about the camp:
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2b2f231492dc2fd5aa7953559&id=fb8f574968

She’s been involved in the woman’s competition circuit for a long time, having competed both with and without the gi, and in MMA overseas. Her ability as a teacher of jiu-jitsu – to both men and women – is proved every time she steps on the mats at her BJJ Academy in Princeton, NJ.

In this interview she shares survival strategies when you’re always the smallest person on the mat, how women should deal with inappropriate situations they encounter during training, how to pick a school that fits your needs, and much more.

You can either read the interview below or listen/download the audio by doing one of the following:

1. Hit play in the middle of the black bar (the audio player link) at the bottom of this list, and/or

2. Right click on this link and select ‘save as’ to download the mp3 file to your computer, and/or

3. Subscribe to the Grapplearts Podcast in iTunes (and also listen to previous audio interviews),

4. Read the transcript of the entire interview by clicking here

P.S. If you like the interview then also check out Emily’s 5 DVD Set, ‘How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent’ with the techniques, tips, drills and strategies that she uses every day while training with, and competing against, bigger stronger opponents.  They’re really good!

7th degree black belt Marcus Soares takes us to Rio in the 70′s and 80′s on a narrated stroll through BJJ history.

It’s a fascinating 35 minute interview: find out about the legendary Carlson Gracie, the fighter, the teacher and founder of the strongest BJJ team of the era. Get the inside scoop on the toughest tournament in town, and the friendly rivalry between Carlson and Rolls Gracie students.

There’s at least three ways you can listen to this interview:

1) Hit play on the video below, and/or
2) Right click on this link and select ‘save as’ to download the mp3 file to your computer, and/or
3) Subscribe to the Grapplearts Podcast in iTunes.

He’s also my friend and a mentor.

Recently I asked my newsletter readers if there was something in particular you wanted to ask Erik.  (Hey, if you were signed up for the FREE Grappling Tips newsletter you’d have been able to ask questions too!).

Anyway, within 5 minutes the email floodgates opened and the deluge of questions started.  At last count there were more than 500 questions in the queue…

We just finished getting the interview ready for you!  Here’s just a bit of what Erik shares:

• What training with the Gracies in their ‘garage days’ was like
• How wrestling can improve your BJJ, and visa versa
• The theory of the jiu-jitsu wheel
• The strategic and tactical differences between catchwrestling and BJJ
• The key to rapid-fire submission attacks
• Erik’s philosophy on training with and without the gi
• What’s the best time to attack with leglocks
• Leglock safety tips
• How to develop a fighter’s gameplan
• Tips for defeating larger, stronger opponents
• What training with Brock Lesnar is like
• The best conditioning exercises for fighting and grappling
• A glaring weakness (and fantastic opportunity) in today’s MMA game

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There’s at least three ways you can listen to this interview:

1) Hit play on the video below, and/or
2) Right click on this link and select ‘save as’  to download the mp3 file to your computer, and/or
3) Subscribe to the Grapplearts Podcast in iTunes.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

I think I owe ESPN an official apology!

2 weeks ago I released my second-ever podcast and it shot up the charts, eventually making the Grapplearts Radio podcast the number four podcast for the entire sports section of iTunes.

I mean they probably spend tens of thousands of dollars producing these podcasts. Then along comes some little upstart, talking about pajama wrestling of all things, and threatens to upset their apple cart!

I’m very sorry, I never meant to cause the upper level management of ESPN this much stress

(If you missed it the podcast can be accessed at
www.grapplearts.com/2009/08/bjj-submission-grappling-competition.htm)

That’s a strong statement, but it’s almost even true. In my latest podcast I talk extensively with David Meyer, author of Training for Competition: Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Submission Grappling.

We cover a TON of ground in this interview, ranging from why you might want to compete at all, to physical conditioning for competition, to specific strategies you can use against certain types of opponents.

This is one of the best interviews I’ve ever done. There is so much good information here that it’ll be very useful for anyone who trains in BJJ or another grappling art, even if they don’t compete.

And you can listen to the whole interview right here using the player embedded at the bottom of this post.

If you want to download future episodes of my podcasts and interviews automatically then click here to sign up for Grapplearts Radio in iTunes – it’s completely free and totally simple.

Click the player below to listen to the whole 1 hour, 20 minute interview on BJJ and Submission Grappling Competition (or right click this link: http://media.libsyn.com/media/kesting/BJJ_Competition.mp3 and select “Save Link As…” to save the mp3 file to your computer)

I can’t guarantee that I’ll use every single question, but I’ll do my very best!

Jon has worked with many top Mixed Martial Arts fighters, including Georges St-Pierre, Denis Kang, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, David Loiseau, Keith Jardine and many others. Here’s a circuit he put together for Denis Kang, and in a second clip he’s working with GSP, Loiseau and Kang.

I wanted to get to the bottom of why so many top MMA fighters hold this guy in such high regard and make him a central part of their fight preparation.

Recently I took the bull by the horns and called him up. We talked for almost a whole hour, and I asked some very detailed and specific questions about MMA conditioning. Jon pulled no punches and shared much of his approach for working with fighters.

We talked about specific exercises, periodization, crossfit, aerobic vs. anaerobic work, program design, overtraining, initial assessment of an athlete, and a whole lot more. You might be surprised to hear what he had to say about the mistakes that some big name fighters make in their conditioning program.

And you can listen to the whole interview right here, in the brand new Grapplearts Podcast!

I plan on creating other episodes and adding other interviews to the podcast periodically (alas, not at predictable intervals though).

If you want to download future episodes automatically then click here to sign up for Grapplearts Radio in iTunes – it’s completely free and totally simple.

Click the player below to listen to the whole interview

Podcasts and portable mp3 players have totally changed my commute and significantly increased my quality of life. Certain time slots, which used to be mind-numbing and boring, are now interesting and intellectually stimulating.

I listen to a wide variety of podcasts covering topics from MMA to history to science to current events shows.

You can listen to all these shows on your computer, but if you have an iPod or other mp3 player then you can upload these files to it and listen to the the shows at any point.

Here are some podcasts to get you started. You can check out hundreds of thousands of categorized episodes using iTunes or other podcast aggregators.

SHERDOG RADIO

Grapplearts was featured last weekend on the Sherdog Radio Network (which consists of several different shows).

In the MMA Sunday School segment I chatted to Scott Holmes and Rodney Dean about the genesis and inspiration for the Grapplearts iPhone application. If you’re interested, my segment is at about the 31 minute mark.

FIGHTWORKS PODCAST

I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Fightworks Podcast, at least partially because they’ve had me on the show a couple of times.

The first time was a Stephan Kesting feature interview, and the second interview was specifically about leglocks in BJJ, MMA and submission grappling.

MMA RING REPORT

Arnold Lim from MMA Ring Report has conducted some great interviews with MMA fighters, promoters and trainers.

TVO BIG IDEAS

I don’t only listen to MMA podcasts. In fact, I’d say the majority of what I listen to is only indirectly related to MMA. One of my favorites is TVO’s Big Ideas program, which broadcasts some really good lectures too on a variety of topics.

In a recent Big Ideas podcast, for example, I really learned a lot about the science of stretching, stuff that’s directly applicable to improving my grappling skills and remaining injury-free.

As we’ve discussed before, it turns out that the benefits of stretching aren’t exactly as cut and dried as your High school football coach would’ve liked you to believe.

Stretching probably only improves performance in sports that require flexibility; the classic example being gymnastics or figure skating. However our sport – grappling – also requires a lot of flexibility and thus stretching is probably a very good thing.

HARDCORE HISTORY

I’ve also got to mention Hardcore History by Dan Carlin. This podcast has nothing at all to do with grappling or MMA (other than having a strong focus on military history).

I like it so much that I’ve been trying to think of a clever angle to talk about this show in my newsletter, but I couldn’t come up with a plausible connection. For now I’m just going to tell you that it’s really good.

My favorite episode in that series is Episode 12 – Steppe Stories, which takes a look at the long and bloody history of the Scythians, Mongols, Huns, Turks and other peoples who came rampaging out of the Central Asian steppe

ONE MORE

Do yourself a favor and check out some TED Talks on a topic that interests you (they include science, arts and design, politics, education, culture, business, global issues, technology and development, and entertainment).

You can download TED Talks either in video or audio-only format.

YOUR TURN!

I’m interested in finding out what you guys are listening to – maybe I’ll discover something new.

So if you have a favorite MMA, BJJ or submission grappling podcast then send me then link. I’ll post reader favorites in a future newsletter.