Let's take a look at how to get faster in BJJ. Here's the basic premise in video format, and then we'll break down this idea a little bit further in the text below... https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_wp-WXBVKW4 How To Be Fast There are different ways to be fast, including choosing the right parents so that you've got great genetics, being in shape so you're not hobbled by exhaustion, and … [Read more...]
The Most Dangerous Day {Podcast Episode}
Every once in a while, I step off the mat, into a canoe, and peregrinate about in wild places. There are undeniable dangers associated with this, but in all my travels in the Far North the most consistently dangerous place has been the Hudson Bay coast. Hudson Bay is an extension of the Arctic Ocean that juts down into the continent. The tundra shore is patrolled by Ursus maritimus, the polar … [Read more...]
Two Powerful Armbars from Side Control
Side control offers you many effective submissions, but here are two cool armbars you may not have seen before... Let's break these down step by step... Armbar 1: The Near Side Kimura Control Armbar This is a powerful and very surprising armlock that I learned from watching Rob Biernacki's students at Island Top Team train. The first time I saw it I had no idea what they were doing, but … [Read more...]
Backtake from de la Riva Guard
One can divide the world of guards into inside guards and outside guards. Inside guards are defined as guards that dominate the space between your opponent's legs. Examples might include the butterfly guard, the single leg X guard, and the full X guard. Outside guards dominate the space outside your opponent's legs and include de la Riva guard, K guard, and the closed guard itself. But … [Read more...]
Dual Purpose BJJ Techniques
Murphy's Law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Which is why you need both backup plans and redundant functions. That way, when things go to hell, you're not out of options. Plan A might fail, but you've got Plan B in the wings. This is why the best techniques can serve two functions. For example, the omoplata is a shoulder lock submission, but it’s ALSO a powerful … [Read more...]
Stoicism and BJJ
How your journey through BJJ can intersect with and is helped by stoicism, with Adisa Banjoko. It gets pretty personal as we go beyond the sound bites of Stoicism and dig into the actual practices you can use to develop the four virtues of Stoicism, namely wisdom, discipline, justice and courage. Along the way, we also tackle the importance of character in jiu-jitsu, the recent spate of … [Read more...]
27 Red Flags for Toxic BJJ Clubs and Instructors
In episode 423 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I break down the telltale toxic traits of BJJ schools that you should avoid like the plague when you're looking for a place to train. I'll qualify my choice of red flags by quoting former NYC mayor Ed Koch who said, "If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a shrink." In … [Read more...]
The Macarena Turnover for Wrestling, Judo and BJJ
I've got something new for you... It's called "A Turtle Turnover into a HELLISH Pin." But as we filmed it my friend Ritchie teased me; he said that it should be called The Macarena on account of the hand position changes. Fair enough... challenge accepted! Here's the Macarena Turnover that you can use in multiple grappling arts! Fundamentally, this video is about two different … [Read more...]
The STUPIDEST Thing I Ever Saw on the Mats
Back in the day there was very little formal BJJ instruction. Rather than train with a blue belt who had learned two mount escapes and had paid a large affiliation fee to a Brazilian blackbelt I decided to find another way. My solution at the time was to train at the UBC Judo. Unlike most clubs that club spent half the class on newaza (groundwork). That meant I could make relatively good … [Read more...]
Memento Mori
The phone call wasn’t unexpected but it was still a giant kick in the balls. “Stephan... I’m so, so sorry but... your father just died a few minutes ago.” My father lived three thousand kilometers away and I had been to seen him a week before he died. While we were together I tended to him, consulted with doctors, and ultimately consigned him to palliative care. And so, eased from his … [Read more...]
Countering the Stepover Counter in the Omoplata
The omoplata has been one of my favorite submissions since I started training BJJ in the early 1990s. But like any submission your opponent won't just go gentle into that good night; it's an absolute certainty that he is going to try to escape your attack. And one of the most common counters is your opponent stepping over your head to get to the far side of your body and freedom when you're … [Read more...]
How to Make Better MMA Fighters, with Ian Harris from Fight Science
Ian has more than 40 years of martial arts experience and has been working with MMA fighters for more than 20 years. Today we discuss the changes that need to be made in jiu-jitsu training for it to be effective in a real fight, how to create a fight gameplan (and how to get a fighter to follow it), cutting weight intelligently, the best conditioning for a gas tank that never runs dry, and why … [Read more...]
Climbing the Jiu-Jitsu Mountain
Learning jiu-jitsu is a bit like climbing up a mountain. You start at a trailhead and start working your way up the slope. As you first slog away you're heading through the forest. It’s a lot of effort but relatively little reward; all you can see is trees, trees, and more trees. Huffing and sweating, you keep on going up up up. Finally the trees part and you emerge at the first viewpoint. … [Read more...]
How to Set Up the Guillotine Choke
I recently posted a video about the high-elbow vs. high-wrist guillotine chokes. Someone commented that they’d learned the guillotine but could almost never land it in sparring. It’s always difficult to diagnose things remotely when you can’t see or feel what a person is actually doing, but I have a pretty good idea of what they were doing … [Read more...]
What Limbs Do I Have Left (a BJJ Concept)
There's a concept I've been using in my own training for a long time; I call it "What limbs do I have left?" In jiu-jitsu, you have 5 limbs (your arms, your legs, and your head) at your disposal. Anytime you reach an impasse in your rolling - whether you just can't finish an offensive technique or can't escape a bad position - ask yourself whether all your limbs are committed and, if not, … [Read more...]
What BJJ Can Learn from the Brutal Art of Catchwrestling
Catch wrestling was a brutal method for settling disputes on the American Frontier as well as one of the largest, most respected spectator sports prior to the modern era. Val Childs has been training in catchwrestling since he was 5, and in this episode takes us on a tour through the historical roots of catch, the modern catch competition circuit, and the training methods that can be adopted to … [Read more...]
Training as a BJJ Gypsy
AOJ black belt Tom Wortman is a fierce competitor; he won IBJJ Pans, Euros, North Americans and Master Worlds in a single year as a brown belt. He's also a jiu-jitsu gypsy, typically training at a club for 3 to 6 months, then moving thousands of miles to see a new part of the country and training at a new club. Find out how he manages this nomadic lifestyle, what the red and green flags are for … [Read more...]
How Can a World Champion Suck So Bad?
I remember watching a BJJ black belt world champion trying to demonstrate a spider guard sweep and being appalled. His movement and his technique were barely blue belt level. How could this be?!?! This guy had tons of gold bling collected at the very highest levels of competition. Furthermore, he began most of his matches on the bottom, swept his way to the top, and then passed. The answer … [Read more...]
How to Pass Half Guard Using the Kimura
The Kimura is a powerful submission, but it's ALSO a giant handle. The really cool thing is that you can use that handle to move your opponent around OR move yourself around your opponent. In the video below I'll give you a fantastic example of using the Kimura as a handle to immobilise your opponent while you pass his guard. This is one of my very favorite Kimura setups... Important … [Read more...]
How Training Your Submissions as Positions Takes Your Game to the Next Level, with Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models
Today, Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models picks my brain about the benefits of training your submissions as positions first, and submissions second. I promise this will make perfect sense by the end of the episode, and may change how you approach your training. Episode 436 with Steve was a rare audio-only episode and is available on all audio podcast platforms, including Apple … [Read more...]