I've spent a lot of time talking about Covid with doctors and epidemiologists these last few years. Things are finally beginning to change... On the one hand we have vaccines, boosters, and are getting better at treating Covid. On the other hand, right now we're in the middle of a giant spike of the crazy infectious (but mostly less deadly) Omicron variant. Which begs the question, to … [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
3 Open Guard Options vs. Standing Opponents
If you don't have a gameplan from the open guard then this position can quickly become a confusing and ineffective tangle of arms and legs . And open guard chaos gets much, much worse when you don't have a good grip on your opponent. Even a single solid grip on your opponent's arm, neck, foot, heel or gi allows you to control his posture, limit his movement, and set up your own attacks. … [Read more...]
Lasso Spider Guard to Omoplata
The spinning omoplata setup using the lasso hook is one of the very coolest spider guard attacks. In this attack you go from controlling one of his arms to a match-ending submission in the blink of an eye. No only does this move make you feel like superman, but it's actually a very high technique if you understand all the details and the correct timing for applying it. Here's a … [Read more...]
How to Talk to the Vaccine Hesitant, with Amitabha Palmer
Amitabha Palmer is a wrestler, judoka, and teaches at ethics at Texas University. His research topics include how widespread conspiracism and science denialism affect democratic policy making. Ami has been on the podcast before (on episode 325, Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda and Conspiracies) and was so insightful that I was thrilled to have him back. The focus of today's conversation was … [Read more...]
About That Diet You Just Started
I write this a few days after New Year's, and that means that people are inevitably going to be starting new diets. I don't have a problem with cleaning up your diet but many people are also going to be trying out the more extreme diets (the Keto diet, the Paleo diet, the Carnivore diet, or whatever crazy diet the last kooky guy on some Spotify podcast endorsed). Here's the thing though: not … [Read more...]
BJJ Defense with Steve Kwan
Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models joined me today to share some guidelines that'll immediately improve your jiu-jitsu defensive skills. Check out the BJJ Mental Models Podcast wherever fine podcasts are distributed Here's the video version of our conversation... And here's the audio-only version... Links to Subscribe to My Podcast The best way to stay up to date with new … [Read more...]
Please Call Me Stephan, not ‘Professor’ or ‘Sifu’ or ‘Sensei’ or ‘Guru’ or ‘Master’ or ‘Shihan’ or ‘Kru’ or ‘Sabom’ Or ‘Kwisatz Haderach’
People mean well when they address me with an honorific but please call me Stephan, and not 'Professor' or 'Sifu' or 'Sensei' or 'Guru' or 'Master' or 'Shihan' or 'Kru' or 'Sabom' Or 'Kwisatz Haderach'... I don't like these honorifics because there's an inherent danger when lofty titles are used to amplify an already reflexive obedience towards a person. And this is especially true in a … [Read more...]
Nate ‘The Rock’ Quarry
I was thrilled to have MMA fighter Nate 'The Rock' Quarry on the podcast where we talked about being raised in a cult, his comeback to the UFC after a serious back surgery, his biggest loss in MMA, the UFC monopoly, and staying in shape after retirement. Nate is active on Twitter where he can be found @NateRockQuarry; please let him know if you enjoyed our conversation! Links to … [Read more...]
The Best Omoplata Defense
Let's look at the low angle cartwheel, one of my very favorite counters to the omoplata armlock submission, which is a very powerful upper body attack used extensively in gi and no gi jiu-jitsu these days. First we'll go through the counter step-by-step including the training methods and drills to make the move smooth and instinctive. Then we'll go further and examine 4 very specific ways to … [Read more...]
The 5 Main Omoplata Entries from Guard
I just put a video onto Youtube breaking down the 5 main ways to get into an omoplata attack to either sweep or submit your opponent. Just to be clear, these are not the only entry mechanisms for the omoplata; there are definitely others including rolling entries, spinning entries, entries from the top, etc. That being said, at least 70% of all omoplatas come from one of these 5 styles of … [Read more...]
The 20 Year History of the Omoplata 2.0 Instructional
I was first exposed to something resembling the omoplata when learning a martial art known as Indonesian Silat from Dan Inosanto. A move where you use your leg to bend your opponent's arm behind his back is often used in Silat as a finishing move after taking someone to the ground. It turned out that this move (with slight modifications) also worked in the jiu-jitsu and judo training that I … [Read more...]
Jiu-Jitsu and Grief
The Grit to Work through Grief: How Martial Arts Gave Me the Tools to Work Through Pregnancy Loss A Guest Post by Rachel Honeyman Imagine 200 pounds of weight holding you down on the ground, compressing your ribs, preventing your lungs from expanding. You panic. You can’t move. You can’t breathe. You feel like you’re going to suffocate. And then, you remember that, while your torso is … [Read more...]
A Deep Dive into the Technical Details of the Omoplata
In this episode Steve Kwan from the BJJ Mental Models podcast grills me about the omoplata, the most versatile submission in all of jiu-jitsu. Here's the conversation. We go pretty deep and get quite technical! And while I've got your attention, check out my latest instructional, Omoplata 2.0, at https://www.grapplearts.com/omoplata. This represents 20 years of research on my part … [Read more...]
Outdated Training Methods in the Martial Arts
Richard Bejtlich is an author, martial artist, martial arts historian, and cybersecurity expert. I was thrilled to have him as a guest on episode 345 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. https://youtu.be/p0sqklw6ID4 Topics covered include... 00:26 Richard Bejtlich's background in martial arts 08:38 Where does fascination with martial arts history comes from 18:13 What research on … [Read more...]
Averi Clements on the State of Jiu-Jitsu
Averi is a BJJ brown belt who has written extensively for the Jiu-Jitsu Times. Together we go deep into why jiu-jitsu is popular for women, coming back from injuries, some recent high profile sexual assault cases in the sport, and much more. Follow Averi on Instagram @bjjaveri, on Twitter @BJJaveri, and/or at the Jiu-Jitsu Times. And while you're here, have you downloaded my reference guide … [Read more...]
How to Build a Closed Guard System
Too many people end up in closed guard and try singular attacks. Armbar attack! Damn, that didn't work. Sweep attack!! Damn, that didn't work either. Take the back!!!! My opponent shut that down too... what am I doing wrong? The thing is that singular attacks (or, even worse, waiting for your opponent to make a mistake) might work at white belt level, but this sort of strategy just … [Read more...]
Exploring the Remote Northern Wilderness with Adam Shoalts
Canadian explorer Adam Shoalts is back to talk about some of his recent expeditions, including a search for a mythical beast in the wilds of Northern Labrador. We also discussed balancing family and adventure, the early explorers, his approach to selecting gear, food and travelling companions, and much more! Find out more about Adam at adamshoalts.com, follow him on Instagram at … [Read more...]
Dr Hanan Bushkin on the Persistence of Conspiracy Theories
Dr Hanan Buskin is a clinical psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and he was my guest on episode 341 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. In this discussion we went deep into the benefits conspiracy theorist get from sharing their ideas, the influence of tribalism on belief, and the long, difficult process required to gently wean red-pilled people off of conspiratorial … [Read more...]
SMART Goals in Jiu-Jitsu
Most people training in the martial arts have goals. Goals like getting a black belt, winning a competition, or even becoming competent at a certain area of jiu-jitsu. The problem is that what most people consider goals are really just just vague dreams; their goals are too theoretical to ever have a serious chance of ever becoming true. It's kind of like a kid saying he wants to become an … [Read more...]
Closed Guard Back Take, with Jon Thomas
Being on someone's back is the most dominant position in jiu-jitsu. If you can go climb from your guard to someone's back then you've established a HUGE match-winning advantage and now have a very good chance of choking your opponent out. This approach works at the highest level. I mean Roger Gracie used it again and again in competition against the best people in the world. Here's … [Read more...]
Lifting Weights to Improve Your Jiu-Jitsu, with Steph Gaudreau
In episode 339 of my podcast (The Strenuous Life Podcast) I talk with strength trainer, nutritionist, author, and BJJ athlete Steph Gaudreau about why lifting weights won't make women bulky, the 5 main exercises every grappler should include weekly in his or her training, and how to train as you get older. Here's the excerpt from our chat specifically about these 5 categories of lifts that you … [Read more...]
Sweeping an Opponent Who Has One Knee Up In Your Guard
Having problems attacking an opponent who's basing with one knee up in your guard? Even if he's adopted this defensive posture you can definitely still attack him with the double shin sweep from butterfly guard. This is a very powerful sweep that has been proven in many high level jiu-jitsu competitions! In this attack you insert yourself deep under his center of gravity, lift one of his … [Read more...]
3 Great Defenses to the Over-Under Guard Pass
The over-under guard pass is one of the heaviest, highest percentage, and most miserable guard passes in the BJJ arsenal. It is a real soul-stealer! If you go up against someone with a good over-under pass and you don't have good answers to it, then first you're going to suffer, then you'll get your guard passed, and then you'll be crushed on the bottom of side control. Fortunately today … [Read more...]
An Epic Rant About the Stupidity of Runaway Conspiracy Thinking
In this podcast episode I'm the one who's getting interviewed, and I go on a huge rant about conspiracism, Ivermectin, Joe Rogan, anti-vaxxers, elk meat diets and more. This is from an Instagram Live session I did with Dr Hanan Bushkin (@drhananbushkin). Dr Bushkin is a psychologist so he really knew how to wind me up and set me loose! Here is the video version of our chat... And … [Read more...]
Lessons from Competing in 25 Matches in 8 Divisions in 1 Tournament with Jeff Shaw {Podcast and Video}
Jeff Shaw runs Bellingham BJJ and despite coming to jiu-jitsu late in life fell in love with competition and eventually competed 8 divisions in a single tournament with pretty good results. I particularly love his pre-match psych up routine which you'll learn all about in this episode! Here is the video version of our chat... 00:45 - Covid Check-in at Bellingham BJJ 13:58 - Starting … [Read more...]