Jessica Cox was born without arms but she didn't let that stop her from becoming the first woman to get her pilot's license using her feet to fly the plane. And she has a couple of black belts as well. Check out this episode; I'm sure you'll come away super-inspired and ready to smash your own limits! You can listen to the conversation below in the Youtube video player, or as episode 282 of … [Read more...]
The Cheapest Grappling Mat
I've trained on a lot of different types of mat in my day: wrestling mats, foam core mats, puzzle mats, and rock hard old school Judo straw tatami, just to name a few. And I've also rolled around on a lot of non-matted surfaces including concrete, wood and carpet. (Of all those surfaces, carpet is the WORST by far!! The carpet burns you can get on your head, back and elbows are … [Read more...]
Training BJJ Outdoors
In this episode of my podcast I talked to my friend, black belt, and school owner Jeff Shaw about 2 two main things: the history of BJJ, and how BJJ can survive in a time of coronavirus. When it comes to BJJ and covid I particularly like how he's started having outdoor classes with dedicated training partners (essentially small training pods). This is something you can set up as well with just … [Read more...]
An Amazing Triangle Choke Setup from Open Guard
The triangle choke submission is one of the most powerful attack from the open guard. Your opponent should be continuously about this technique when he's in your guard. However too many people just 'shoot' the triangle time after time without any kind of setup and hope for the best. Yes, a setup-free triangle can work if your opponent is inexperienced or asleep at the wheel, but it's not … [Read more...]
Do Masks and Face Coverings Work to Prevent Coronavirus Transmission?
I'm a jiu-jitsu black belt with a strong background in biology (BSc and MSc) who has been working in emergency response and hazmat for over 20 years (currently a captain in the fire department) and have been a strong advocate of taking COVID-19 seriously. Back in March I went on record saying that COVID was a huge concern for jiu-jitsu practioners. Since then I've published tips for training … [Read more...]
World Champ Robert Drysdale on the Early History of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil
Robert Drysdale is one of the most highly decorated American grapplers in history. He remains the only person not born in Brazil to win both the IBJJF World Championships with the gi and the ADCC Open Division without the gi. Today we talked about his research on the early history of jiu-jitsu in Brazil, his upcoming documentary called, “Closed Guard: The Origins of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil”, and … [Read more...]
Mental Practice In BJJ
How to Use It to Boost Your Learning and Performance, by Itamar Shatz Have you ever gone over a certain BJJ move in your head, because you felt that doing so can help you learn it? If so, then you’ve engaged in something called “mental practice”, which is the act of visualizing actions in your head in order to improve your ability to perform them in reality. Research on the topic suggests that … [Read more...]
The Open Guard System In App Form
I recently released the The Open Guard System with Jon Thomas. And today it's available in app format for your phone!! The open guard is the most complicated position in BJJ, so this best-selling instructional is designed to completely overhaul and vastly improve your open guard. This instructional gives you a step-by-step plan to dominate your opponent sweeps and submissions while keeping … [Read more...]
The Ball and Chain Sweep
The Ball and Chain Sweep is one of the highest percentage attacks from the de la Riva guard. This sweep has been used again and again by many high level competitors, and is one of the favorite techniques of BJJ World Champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins. In simple terms, to do the ball and chin sweep you start in de la Riva Guard, kick the guy's back leg away from you, sit up, feed his near … [Read more...]
An Interview with Adam Shoalts, Canadian Explorer
Adam Shoalts, author of "Alone Against the North" and "Beyond the Trees" is a professional adventurer and explorer. He has completed a 4,000 km solo trip across the Canadian Arctic, explored unknown rivers in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and is a fellow in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. I was thrilled to have him on my podcast, and I hope you enjoy his tales of adventure as much as … [Read more...]
BJJ Training Pods
The 'training pod' concept is one possible way to keep yourself and other people safe during the coronavirus pandemic. It's clear that most coronavirus super-spreader events have certain commonalities, including Being indoors Being in close proximity Heavy breathing, loud talking, or singing Extended periods of contact It's incredibly unfortunate that BJJ checks all of these … [Read more...]
Train Hard AND Train Smart!
There's a saying in the British army that goes, 'Proper Preparation and Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance.' This is called The Seven P's, and it applies just as much to BJJ as it does to military matters. The truth is that any great accomplishment, from winning a tournament to getting your black belt, requires a TON of preparation and planning. Think of the training, the drilling, … [Read more...]
Longevity in BJJ, Stephan Kesting Interviewed on The Old Roller’s Podcast
I was recently featured on The Old Rollers Podcast hosted by Harrison Helterbrand and we dove deep into maintaining your longevity in the sport, skill development, learning styles and taking charge of your own learning process. It was a great chat and so I thought I would share it with you on my own show - The Strenuous Life Podcast. BJJ Longevity Podcast in Streaming Audio Form You can … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Guide To BJJ Solo Drills
by Ritchie Yip The ultimate guide to BJJ solo drills is a quick reference to exercises you can do on your own to help you with your Jiu Jitsu. The guide was designed for the absolute BJJ beginner in mind. However, even advanced practitioners may see drills in this guide that they haven't seen before or perhaps they've forgotten about. BJJ Solo Drills: Guard and Bottom Position The first … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Get a Great Control Grip from the Open Guard
One of the most dangerous times in jiu-jitsu is when you're in the guard with opponent standing above you and no way to control him. In this situation he's only one explosive move away from blasting past your legs and establishing a dominant position. To minimise the chance of him passing here (and to keep yourself safe) you don't need amazing reflexes, you don't need incredible flexibility, … [Read more...]
In Depth Interview with Dominyka Obelenyte, 4 Time Pan-Am and World Championship Black Belt Gold Medalist.
Dominyka Obelenyte was born in Lithuania, emigrated to the United States at a very young age, and became a 4 time Pan-Am and World Championship black belt gold medalist. In this interview we talk technique, injury recovery, mindset, effective training, the use and misuse of 'loyalty' in the BJJ world, mental resilience and more. I think you'll really like this interview and find it very … [Read more...]
A Fast and Easy de la Riva Guard Sweep
The de la Riva guard is an essential position in today's grappling repertoire. It's a very deep position with a ton of different options. But sometimes you just want an easy win; a reliable technique to give you some confidence with a position before exploring it further. To get you started here's the Easiest Sweep from de la Riva Guard that I just put onto Youtube last night. This is a … [Read more...]
New Release: The Open Guard System featuring Jon Thomas!!
As of a few minutes ago The Open Guard System featuring Jon Thomas is now available! The whole idea of this instructional is to give you a connected set of plug-and-play systems for the open guard so that you'll always know how to stay safe, advance your position, and then sweep and submit your opponent. Systems are much more powerful than individual techniques because they link techniques … [Read more...]
Mask Wearing and the Culture War During Pandemics in the USA
If you've followed me at all these last 6 months you'll know that I was early to speak to the BJJ community about taking Covid-19 seriously, helped publish guidelines for safely re-opening academies during and after the pandemic, and have continued to try and engage people about this topic on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. As a trained biologist with 2 degrees and 15 years of experience, and … [Read more...]
Winning the Grip Battle At The Beginning Of A Match
In a match there's a HUGE advantage for the person who gets their preferred grips first. If you have grips but your opponent does not then you have almost all the offensive options and he has none. But if he gets his grips first then you'll be lucky to avoid his attacks. This is true regardless of whether you're both on your feet, he pulls guard, or you pull guard. The first grip … [Read more...]
Near and Far Arm Ambar Attacks from Side Control
When it comes to BJJ the straight armbar is one of the highest percentage submissions, and side control (aka sidemount, cross side, and 100 kilos) is probably the most common pinning position. So you absolutely NEED to have some reliable armbar attacks from side control or you're missing out on some huge opportunities. Fundamentally when you're in side control you can attack the near arm … [Read more...]
Collar Drag from Open Guard, with Jon Thomas
The collar drag is one of the fastest, simplest and yet most effective ways to reverse positions on the ground. This is a very versatile move: it's a sweep when performed from the guard, and it's a takedown when performed on the feet. And this technique been proven in many world championship matches. All you need is a grip on your opponent's cross collar, a bit of distance, and the … [Read more...]
BJJ and Covid 19 Update, with Dr Chris Moriarty
Dr Moriarty is a medical doctor and had a long fierce career as a BJJ competitor who previously published guidelines for reopening BJJ academies during the Covid-19 pandemic (grapplearts.com/openingupbjj). In this followup episode we look at the current state of the epidemic, implications for training, and how to figure out whether cases truly are going up or down in your area. Option 1: … [Read more...]
Feeling Overwhelmed in BJJ?
There are so many techniques to master and so many different areas in BJJ to get good at that jiu-jitsu can seem totally overwhelming. The first step to solving this problem is to use a positional approach to BJJ (click here for a breakdown of what I mean by that). But after you understand the basic positions and how they relate to each other you still need to figure out which techniques - … [Read more...]
How to Finish An Opponent Somersault Rolling Out of Your Omoplata Attack
The omoplata is one of my very favorite attacks and submissions (hey, it was the subject of my first instructional after all). You can hit it from almost any position, and finish it in a huge number of different ways. But just as with any successful attack there are a lot of counters your opponent can use, and you need to know how to react to those counters. One of the most common … [Read more...]