The knee ride is the most soul-crushing position in all of jiu-jitsu! It puts HUGE pressure on your opponent, which gives you tons of submission opportunities because of all the stupid things he'll do in his desperation to get out. It’s also a tremendously mobile position that allows you to take advantage of his mistakes, jump on submissions, spin to the back, and more. Here’s a FREE … [Read more...]
How to Become a Professional Grappler, with Chris Wojcik
As a first-time ADCC competitor, Chris beat the odds and came in fourth, beating a couple of legends along the way. In episode 410 of The Strenuous Life Podcast with Chris Wojcik, we cover... The qualifying process for ADCC, the Olympics of Grappling Training with a herniated disk How to go from enthusiastic amateur to dedicated professional What natural athletes need to do … [Read more...]
Daniele Bolelli on Fascism
In episode 379 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with podcaster, martial artist, and history professor Daniele Bolelli about the characteristics of fascism. This is a loaded topic for both of us, because both of our families lived in fascist states during World War 2 (mine in Germany, his in Italy). Which is why I almost went with an alternate title, namely A German and an Italian Walk Into … [Read more...]
Half Guard Leg Position Drill for BJJ & Submission Grappling
The Half Guard is a very powerful position from which to sweep or submit your opponent. But just like all other forms of guard, it's really important to know how to move your hips and your legs correctly. No movement = no guard!!! Here's a half-guard drill that teaches you the basic leg and hip movements to manoeuvre into position to apply your techniques and prevent him from passing your … [Read more...]
Tipping the Triangle: A Principle to Make Your Pin Escapes MUCH Easier
If someone is pinning you effectively then they probably have pretty good control over both sides of your body. This can make escape very difficult. Your escapes are made much easier if you off-balance your opponent before escaping, which is an application of kuzushi. If your opponent is off-balance, then he'll be focused on getting back into good position instead of submitting you, and also … [Read more...]
From Underground Bareknuckle Fights to the Biggest MMA Stage in the World, with Denis Kang
In the early 2000s Denis Kang was one of the top MMA fighters in the world with wins over Minoru Suzuki, Murilo 'Ninja' Rua, Akihiro Gono and Marvin Eastman. In this interview, Denis opens up about: The mindset shift that took him to a 22-fight undefeated streak... How he dealt with the death of his fiance while competing for the biggest MMA organisation in the world... How … [Read more...]
The Bridge and Inversion Escape Movement in BJJ
Most BJJ practitioners know about bridging and shrimping. But I bet not one in twenty knows about bridging and then turning into an inverted tripod position. That's too bad because this movement is the basis of my most successful mount escape, hands down. That inversion allows you to build extra height, break your opponent's contact with the ground, and then scoop under him to regain your … [Read more...]
Ramsey Dewey on MMA Training and Self Defense
Ramsey Dewey is an MMA coach now based in Shanghai, China. I really enjoyed our conversation, including How wearing headgear in sparring actually makes things WORSE for your brain His controversey with Master Wong Why China could take over MMA What self defense 'experts' get wrong What happens to martial arts that don't spar Ramsey's experience on The Ultimate Self Defense … [Read more...]
Keep This In Mind If You’re Going to Train BJJ When You’re Tired…
Years ago I used to hang with a bunch of hardcore MMA fighters. They’d party in the clubs till dawn, then still drag their asses in for hard training in the morning. Their ability to go without rest was impressive. Only later did I realise they could only do this because they were young and fueled by a devil’s brew of steroids, stimulants and painkillers. Not surprisingly, all of them later … [Read more...]
What is a Crossface in BJJ
The crossface is one of the keys to a brutally effective side control. You can use the crossface to turn his jaw into a lever to turn his head and limit the directions he can turn. This makes it so much harder for your opponent to escape, tires him out, and kills his will to fight. A properly applied crossface is a tool you can use in the gi, no gi, and MMA to double how heavy you feel on top; … [Read more...]
Three takeaways from the Craig Jones Invitational
I was glued to my computer for hours this weekend, watching every match (and some more than once) in the Alley at the 2024 Craig Jones Invitational in Vegas. (I caught little bits and pieces of ADCC, too, but there was more talent and fewer stoppages at CJI.) The entire competition is available on Youtube... CJI Day 1 CJI Day 2 Anyway, I came away with a renewed appreciation … [Read more...]
How to Reset the Back When Your Opponent Has Almost Escaped
Being on someone's back is the crown jewel of BJJ. From this position, all your weapons are pointed towards his throat and all his weapons are pointed away from you. Life is good! The trouble is that once you're on the other guy's back he's going to do everything he can to escape. He'll try technical escapes like going to the weak side and using the ground to scrape you off of him. And if … [Read more...]
Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo Trip in the Arctic
Earlier this summer I completed a beautiful and difficult 19-day solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic. There's a lot of time to think on a trip like this, and here are the 3 big lessons I learned... You can order my new book "Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic" on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo/Chapters, or your local bookstore! Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo … [Read more...]
Gold Medal Judo Techniques that Work in BJJ
I've previously written about why you probably shouldn’t use the top-scoring judo throw - Seio Otoshi - in your BJJ practice. (To recap, this throw requires a TON of reps, potentially exposes you to back takes, is gi-dependent, and there’s a high chance you'll roll over your opponent to end up on the bottom.) But don't throw the Judo baby out with the bathwater!! There IS a heck of a lot … [Read more...]
DON’T Use This Top Judo Throw in BJJ!
I came across something really neat recently. Someone called DrSeioNage did a TON of data analysis and looked at 5850 elite judo matches to identify the top-scoring techniques. The highest-scoring technique of them all during the time period studied was a throw called Seio Otoshi. This throw involves turning your back to your opponent and is often performed dropping one or both knees … [Read more...]
Revolutionary Omoplata
A Technique that Bridges the Gap between Sweep and Submission By Stephan Kesting Originally published in Grappling Magazine in 2002. The omoplata is all the rage these days: it's a submission, a sweep, and a setup for other submissions and sweeps. If you go to a high-level grappling competition tomorrow, you will almost certainly see it used multiple times. The omoplata is a little bit … [Read more...]
BJJ vs Bears – Lessons Learned on a Solo Expedition in the Arctic
I just recently got home from a difficult solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic where I didn’t see anyone for weeks. Bears, storms, icebergs and exhaustion, this adventure had it all. Since I was alone, I had a lot of time to think. A big takeaway was how relevant some aspects of this wilderness stuff were to jiu-jitsu. Here are the three big lessons I learned from that trip, and how they … [Read more...]
Get My Next Jiu-Jitsu Instructional Free – Seriously!
After 4 years of writing my book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic is now available for pre-order. This is an adventure story about my 1,000-mile solo trip from the boreal forest to the windswept tundra of the Arctic after a life-saving kidney transplant. Bears, forest fires, rapids, storms... it all happened on that trip. Early reviewers have been unanimous in their praise … [Read more...]
How Has MMA Training Changed Since the First UFCs?
I was honoured to talk MMA with Denis Kang, an MMA pioneer with 55 fights in organisations ranging from Pride FC to the UFC. In this conversation, we covered how fighting off the wall, sparring with small gloves, and doing more sparring and less conditioning before a fight has changed MMA training. How Has MMA Training Changed Since the First UFCs? - Audio Only This conversation was also … [Read more...]
Training Isn’t Competition, Competition Isn’t Training
There's a HUGE difference between training and competing, not only in how hard you go, but also in the strategies you employ. The priority in competition is winning, but the priority in training should be learning. That's why if I run into something new in training - a weird grip, a submission, a leg entanglement - my reaction is probably going to be, “Oh, how interesting, let’s see where … [Read more...]