I was recently dragged through the waves, under the water and then lifted up into the air while trying to figure out the sport of kiteboarding, and figured out that there is one hell of a learning curve in that sport! But many sports and activities worth doing have that same initial hump - a difficult learning curve that makes most people drop out. Ultimately if it were easy to do then … [Read more...]
Flying Guillotine Choke Submission
The flying guillotine is one of the most surprising submissions in BJJ, no gi grappling and MMA. You and your opponent are both circling each other, looking for an angle to shoot or initiate grips, when suddenly you jump for his neck, lock on the guillotine choke and before you know it he's tapping out - it's all over! But it's a little more complicated than that... The best way to attack … [Read more...]
Getting the Underhook in BJJ
Getting the underhook in the guard, especially in positions like the Butterfly guard and the Half guard, is incredibly important. Entire matches have changed momentum just because the guy on the bottom got this one grip! The underhook gives you a huge amount of control over your opponent's body and also gives you a route to his back. But your opponent won't just give you this grip - he'll … [Read more...]
Sport BJJ vs Self Defense BJJ
There are many reasons to train BJJ - fitness, camaraderie, having fun, taking on a challenge, spiritual development, learning to deal with challenges, wanting to compete - but at its core, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art. Martial arts means self defense. Self defense is a very big topic, but it has to include choking an attacker into a unconsciousness if need be. Here are two videos … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 138: NFL Yoga and BJJ with Jessica Huneycutt
Jessica Huneycutt is the yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints football team. Yes, you read that right. A professional NFL team, full of gigantic athletes who make a career of smashing into one another, has it's own yoga instructor! Oh, and did I mention that Jessica also trains BJJ? In this episode we go deep into how Yoga and other techniques are used at an elite level to help … [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...]
Crucifix Defences for BJJ and Submission Grappling
The crucifix is a TERRIBLE position to get caught in, and once you're in it then it's really hard to get out of. But if you stay resolute, study these defences, and get a little lucky then maybe, just maybe, you can escape and prevent yourself from getting armlocked, choked or neck cranked. First, here’s a video of on how to escape several variations of the Crucifix. Or scroll down to see … [Read more...]
A Simple Adjustment That Shuts Down the Kimura from Guard
When it comes to attacks from the guard, the Kimura armlock is one of the heavy hitter submissions used by a huge percentage of grapplers. And so if you're on top you need to have ways to prevent, defend and escape the Kimura or you're going to be tapping out a whole lot! Fortunately I have a very simple tweak, learned years ago from BJJ pioneer Roy Harris, that can save you a TON of grief … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 134 – Conditioning for Combat Sport with Jason Kapnick
In this episode I talk with elite powerlifter, kettlebell instructor and BJJ practitioner Jason Kapnick about optimal exercises, program design, building a balanced body, functional movement screening, injury prevention, and training for optimal athletic performance. It was a great conversation, and I hope you come away from it having learned as much as I did! If you want this same … [Read more...]
12 BJJ Black Belts Give Their Best Tips for Starting BJJ {Video and Podcast}
Today you're going to get 12 BJJ black belts give their best tips, strategies and advice for people just starting out in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. White belts looking for help getting started and organising their training will really benefit from watching this. Although there are a few themes the fascinating thing is how diverse the advice is. There is no one path, no one BJJ tip to rule them all, … [Read more...]
Kneel Or Stand to Pass the Guard?
I once drilled technique with a big, strong rock climber who had a grip from hell and tenacious isometric strength. I noticed how much he liked controlling my gi, breaking my posture and attacking with collar chokes. Since I knew we were going to spar soon I formulated a simple sparring strategy: I told myself that as soon as I ended up in his guard I would stand up and not go back down onto my … [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 http://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...]
The 10 Second Rule for Effective Choking
How many times have you been trying to choke out a training partner, straining and straining, then give up in disgust only to have him say, "Man, I was SO close to tapping out!!" Or what about those times when you've been caught in a choke, see no way out, and your only defense is to hunker down and hope that your opponent will give up before you run out of air or blood to the brain? The … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 129 – Dan ‘The Wolfman’ Theodore
Dan was bitten by the MMA bug after watching UFC 4; soon he was training with Dan Severn and learning all he could about wrestling, jiu-jitsu, fighting and MMA. Many miles and multiple black belts later he's on the podcast. In this conversation we focus on the fighting aspects of jiu-jitsu, 'friendly' sparring sessions gone bad, catch wrestling, Systema (yes, systema), training with hundreds … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 128: Can Kung Fu and BJJ Coexist, a Conversation with Randy Brown from Mantis Boxing.
Can Kung Fu, BJJ and MMA coexist? Maybe they can, and maybe they can even learn from each other. This is a conversation I had with with Kung Fu stylist (and BJJ brown belt) Randy Brown in which we touched on the history of Chinese martial arts and what made them less effective over time, what traditional martial arts look like when you start training them with resistance, and much more. I … [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 127: Why Techniques Never Work on the Day They’re Shown
OK, so you've just learned a cool new technique - a sweep, a pass, a submission - that you're pretty sure is the Kryptonite you need to defeat your hardest sparring partner. It's the missing piece you've been looking for. But then you crash and burn when you try it out in sparring. Your opponent ignores your move, passes your guard, smashes you flat and taps you out. What's going on? In … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 126: Staying Calm in Killer Waves and Night Time Saves with Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Donald Lipscomb
Really enjoyed this chat with Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Donald Lipscomb. We went into detail about rescuing people from capsized ships, the selection process with a 90% attrition rate, and the training required to jump from a helicopter into stormy seas with nothing more than a pair of fins to push yourself through the water. We also talk about how jiu-jitsu and wrestling helped give him the … [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...]
3 Guard Passes vs Flexible Guard Players
Every club has one of those long limbed, super flexible gumby guard players who can put both of his own legs behind his own head without using his hands. Passing the guard of these kind of guys sucks. You fight, fight, fight to get past the legs and then, just as you're about to solidify your pin, a leg pops out of nowhere and - BAMM - you're back in the guard where you started. Nothing has … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 124 – My Interview on the Cody Jitsu Show
This was a fun episode of my podcast (The Strenuous Life) because the tables got turned; instead of me doing the interview I got grilled by Cody from the Codyjitsu podcast. We covered tons of stuff including my martial arts background, how I got my black belt, my favourite moves and techniques, specific strategies to train around injuries, the role of competition in training, and much … [Read more...]
Sitting is the Devil – Go and Sweat!
Sitting is the new smoking my friends - it's really, really not good for you. So if you're doing a lot of travelling, otherwise known as sitting on your ass, then you've got to offset it with some exercise. So go to your hotel, check in, and before you go for dinner and before you dive into your emails... GO GET A SWEAT ON! It doesn't need to be an epic workout, immortalised in poetry and … [Read more...]
Police Combatives with Lt. Kevin Dillon on The Strenuous Life Podcast, Episode 121
I found this conversation with Lieutenant Kevin Dillon (ret) about police combatives training super interesting. Kevin served for 25 years as a police officer, SWAT team member, and detective commander before moving on to become a full time trainer for police departments so he speaks from authority on this topic! In this episode we talk about his closest calls on the street, how police … [Read more...]
The 5 Steps to Training A New Technique
Most of the videos I post online are from my main Youtube channel which focusses quite heavily on BJJ, no gi jiu-jitsu, MMA and other forms of grappling. But what a lot of people don't know is that I also have a second youtube channel called 'Self Defense Tutorials' which - as the title might imply - focuses more on self defense and martial arts training. Here is one of the videos from that … [Read more...]
BJJ Breathing Tricks When You’re On the Bottom, Getting Crushed by Your Opponent
One of the very worst things is to be trapped on the bottom with all your opponent's weight on top of you and be unable to breathe. This is usually followed by exhaustion, panic and surrender. But it doesn't need to be like this - there are several approaches to breathing in BJJ that can make sure air gets into your lungs, oxygen into your blood, and keep you in the game, even when you're … [Read more...]