Rob Biernacki has some very impressive competition victories, including black belt masters gold at both No Gi Worlds and ADCC. In this podcast episode he reveals... Why people sometimes just don't perform up to their potential and how to fix it, How to reframe tournament nerves, The optimal state of arousal for competition, Building and executing on gameplans, Why some people … [Read more...]
BJJ Techniques and Articles
Welcome to the Grapplearts Blog. Here you can check out black belt Stephan Kesting’s BJJ techniques, tips and articles for jiu-jitsu training and high level performance
How to Deal with Adrenaline in Stressful Situations
On the most difficult adventure of my life I learned a lot about dealing with stress and adrenaline. That trip was deep in the wilderness, but it turns out that many of these lessons apply directly to many aspects of life, including jiu-jitsu. That's why I thought I'd share one of the more important sections of my book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic that addresses this topic … [Read more...]
Meerkatsu Draws A BJJ Book!
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Ultimate Illustrated Guidebook started as an April Fool's joke and then morphed into a BEAST of a book complete with 967 illustrations. In episode 424 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I chat with the authors of this awesome new book: renowned BJJ black belt, illustrator and designer Seymour Yang (better known as Meerkatsu) and his partner in crime Graham Barlow (the … [Read more...]
How to Reverse the Twister Hook
The twister hook is one of the main mechanisms used to take the back, especially in no gi grappling, where it is quite common. (So if you do no gi you should probably practice it because at some point it WILL be used against you.) Fundamentally, the twister hook is a method of entangling one of your opponent's legs with two of your own in a double triangle configuration. Once fully locked … [Read more...]
Don’t Be a One Trick Jiu-Jitsu Pony
When I was coming up in jiu-jitsu, there was a guy in class who only went for kneebars. He was only a whitebelt but in this one move he was a purple belt. In the closed guard he went for kneebars… In someone’s guard, he went for a kneebar… if he was in the turtle position, or on top, or in a scramble: kneebar, kneebar, kneebar. The problem was, he soon became predictable. All you had to do … [Read more...]
Top Crucifix Attacks in No Gi and MMA
The top crucifix shows up a LOT in MMA, and when one fighter gets it the other guy is usually in a HUGE amount of trouble. Here's the thing, though... I really like the top crucifix in submission grappling as well. It opens up some REALLY powerful submission attacks that have served me well in sparring and jiu-jitsu competition. Here's a video of me breaking down the position and those … [Read more...]
Dealing With The “I Just See Red Bro” Guy!
It's just a matter of time but if you're training, then you'll eventually run into an untrained guy who wants to test his skills by brawling on the mats. These are usually the "In a fight, I just see red, bro!" guys. They're never very skilled, but the problem is that even the reddest of the just-seeing-red bros present some danger. That's because they'll go zero to one hundred in the … [Read more...]
Grapplearts Instructionals on Grapplearts BJJ Master App Now
Exciting news!! Historically, Grapplearts instructionals were available in two main formats (online streaming and app), but never did the twain quite meet. It took a TON of development, but as of right now, any online courses you've purchased are ALSO accessible on the Grapplearts BJJ Master App. It's seamless across the two platforms and very simple. Just do this... Download the app … [Read more...]
BJJ, Science, and D&D with Bryan Rumble
Bryan Rumble is a 2nd degree belt and a working scientist. In this episode we start out by talking about BJJ traditions, the depth of the art, and how the scientific method might be applied in jiu-jitsu. Then, at about the 23-minute mark, Bryan and I nerd out SUPER hard on Dungeons and Dragons and how it relates to martial arts training. You've been warned! You can check it out as … [Read more...]
For Fastest BJJ Improvement Specialise, Don’t Generalize.
There's no way around it, when you first start jiu-jitsu you have to be a bit of a generalist. You’ve got to learn an escape from side control… an armbar from mount… a sweep from closed guard… a choke from the back… and so on. What you’re doing with this approach is trying to develop a couple of offensive and defensive options from the top and bottom for each of the major positions on the … [Read more...]
Training to Deal with Adrenaline and Emergency Situations
The fight-or-flight reflex is always lurking just below the surface. When things get sufficiently stressful, our hormonal system dumps enormous amounts of adrenaline into our bloodstream, and — BOOM — suddenly we’re ready for action. That adrenaline serves a purpose: it elevates your heart rate, makes you much stronger, more pain tolerant, and able to ignore injury. If you ever have to lift a … [Read more...]
BJJ Training and Conditioning Myths
On episode 421 of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I'm joined by three-time IBJJ World medallist James Deirmendjian and elite personal trainer to discuss optimal training methodologies and the science behind strength and conditioning for sport. We cover hacks to improve recovery, debunk common myths in the Jiu-Jitsu community, and go deep into the need for a more scientific approach to training and … [Read more...]
Top 5 BJJ Instructionals of 2025
There are a LOT of BJJ instructionals at Grapplearts.com/instructionals, and choosing between them can get a little overwhelming. That's why I thought I'd share the five instructionals that have been most popular the last 12 months 1, No Gi Pin Escapes. Having rock-solid escapes from all the major positions of jiu-jitsu is liberating. You can still get back to safety if everything screws … [Read more...]
How to Safely Practice Dangerous Leglocks
Q: Given that leglocks are dangerous, how do you train them safely and still have confidence that they will work in a 'live' setting. A: Although ANY submission is potentially dangerous, cranking someone with a heel hook or toehold can not only end the match, it can end your opponent's athletic career. Go here if you don't know what a heel hook is. . If you don't know what a toehold is, … [Read more...]
Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic (Hardcover, Kindle and Audiobook Format)
I've got something special for you today: a true adventure story set in the Far North that I underwent a few years ago after a kidney transplant. I ended up learning a LOT about mental toughness, resilience, and strategies for making progress when I was absolutely at the end of my rope, lessons that I think are universally applicable. Please check out the first three chapters of the … [Read more...]
Transitioning from a Front Headlock to Guillotine
There's a Short onto my YouTube channel addressing how to properly transition from the front headlock position to the guillotine choke. Now this might seem like the simplest transition in the world, but it's easy to screw up. The most common mistake is trying to rearrange your grips (from their arms encircling his head and his arm to encircling just his head) without offbalancing the other guy … [Read more...]
Come and Hang Out at the Perseverance Book Tour
In March, 2025, I'm doing some free presentations and meet-and-greets in to promote my new book Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic. "Waitaminute," you might say, "I thought you were a jiu-jitsu guy? What's with this outdoor adventure rubbish?!?" Well, nominally, this book is about a 1000-mile solo trip I did in the Arctic after a kidney transplant, but there's a lot of overlap in … [Read more...]
Spartans, Samurai and Ninja with BJJ Black Belt Jeff Nelson
On episode 418 of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I was thrilled to chat with Jeff Nelson about Spartans, Samurai, Ninja, developing confidence through jiu-jitsu, fight scenes in movies that drive us crazy, and pro-training at some of the best BJJ schools in the world. You can check it out as Episode 418 of The Strenuous Life Podcast anywhere you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts … [Read more...]
Volume over Intensity in BJJ Training
Today I want to talk about how to best allocate your training time in BJJ. You've probably heard the saying that "BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint," right? Well, if BJJ is a marathon then we should also train it as if we were getting ready for a marathon! Now I used to do a LOT of running. Bruce Lee called it "The king of exercises", and he was right. (Sadly, since my hip replacement, I … [Read more...]
How to Get Your Black Belt Without Being Affiliated With Any One Specific School
Paul Kindzia describes himself as a "homeschooled, non-denominational, it takes a village black belt" and had a very unique route to getting his BJJ black belt. He was a ronin, training at different schools and did a lot of his training in his home dojo. This paid off because he was a top IBJJF Masters competitor at blue, purple, and brown belt, before being awarded his black belt by a … [Read more...]
How to Escape Kesa Gatame and the Headlock
Kesa Gatame is one of the most under-utilized positions in BJJ. People in jiu-jitsu tend to ignore this position but generations of judo players and wrestlers have proved that Kesa Gatame IS a powerful and effective way to pin someone. And - even worse for someone caught in it - Kesa Gatame is also a great entry into some very effective armlocks, leglocks, neck cranks and diaphragm … [Read more...]
What We Can Learn from Extreme Athlete Jost Kobusch
Jost Kobusch is just back from Everest, where he is doing a multi-year project to climb the tallest mountain in the world... by himself... without oxygen... up the incredibly difficult West Ridge route in the middle of winter. In winter, the effective altitude of Everest is over 9,000 meters, and the winds can reach 250 km/hour (155 mph). And - on top of that - the mountain was hit by a … [Read more...]
Ask Question, Receive Advice, Improve Jiu-Jitsu
Here's something I want you to do that is almost guaranteed to make your jiu-jitsu better. The people who know you the best also probably know how you can improve the fastest. You just have to wheedle the information out of them! Start with your coach. Ask him or her, "What should I focus on for the next 3 months to get better at jiu-jitsu?" Then ask your favourite training partner … [Read more...]
BJJ and Self Defense, What Does the Data Say?
Tyson Larone is a BJJ belt, a Muay Thai teacher, TEDx speaker, and a strongman competitor. In this episode he and I dive deep into exploring how BJJ can be used for self defense. Topics include how context changes everything in self defense… adaptations that women and smaller people need to make…the problems with the one time self defense seminar model… the need for force-multipliers and … [Read more...]
How to Get Started with Leglocks
To the uninitiated, leglocking can seem like a confusing black art; a spinning tangle of legs resulting in sudden match-winning submissions. But you can't just stick your head in the sand and ignore them because but leglocks have become HUGE in jiu-jitsu, especially in no gi grappling. To become a complete grappler (and to avoid tapping out 10 times per match to some young punk who just … [Read more...]