I've been getting a lot of questions about COVID 19 (coronavirus) and BJJ, so let's have some straight talk... My approach to this comes from three perspectives... I've trained in the martial arts for 40 years and got my BJJ black belt 14 years ago... I have both a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in biology and have been following the science around this virus fairly carefully... I'm also a first … [Read more...]
Stephan Kesting and Grapplearts Free Instructional Giveaway
Hey guys, I'm super-concerned about the coronavirus AND the effect of the coronavirus on the art of BJJ. There's just no better way to transmit this friggin virus that rolling around on the ground with other people, so we have to stop training and quarantine for a while. View this post on Instagram THANK YOU to everyone who had taken a leadership position in this crisis and … [Read more...]
Coronavirus and BJJ {Podcast Episode 262}
Earlier today I appeared on The Verbal Tap Podcast to talk about what grapplers and martial artists should do during the coronavirus and COVID 19 outbreak and I'm sharing that with you now. Based on training in martial arts for 40 years, being a first responder, and also having a master's degree in biology my recommendation is that YOU DON'T TRAIN FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS at least. After … [Read more...]
Measure Your Training To Improve Your Training
Peter Drucker, the godfather of modern business management, once said, “You can't manage what you can't measure.” Now I don't think that Peter Drucker did Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (or any other form of martial arts) but the idea of measuring things in order to improve them applies to every field of athletic endeavour. So let's look at some concrete ways that we might quantify our training and … [Read more...]
My Experience With Keto for BJJ
The ketogenic diet is really hot right now for weight loss, health, disease prevention and longevity. And in early 2018 as I was getting ready for my 1000 mile solo trip in the Arctic I gave it a really serious try. (This is because on a per calorie basis fat weighs half as much as protein and carbohydrate. Which means that if keto had been successful for me then I would have been able to … [Read more...]
Contrarian Thinking About Nutrition, with Nick Hiebert (Strenuous Life Podcast Ep 244)
Proper nutrition is one of the absolute cornerstones of good training. Trying to train if your nutrition sucks is like trying to redline a sports car using cheap Tijuana gas - the entire system is going to fall apart. The problem is that there is so much bad advice out there about nutrition, ranging from bro science to diets that can have disastrously negative side effects. I recently had an … [Read more...]
Training While Sick and Tired
NO DAYS OFF!!! It's a meme, it's a hashtag, and it's a point of honour among many advocates of fitness and martial arts training. But this approach can really get you into a heap of trouble if you take it too seriously. I know this because I've been there many times, most recently on my 1000 mile solo canoe trip in the Arctic. On that trip I absolutely crushed myself. Driven by the … [Read more...]
In-Depth Interview with Chris Duffin, The Mad Scientist of Strength
Chris Duffin is a super-smart, analytical, and incredibly dedicated BEAST of a human being. He's an ultra-elite powerlifter who has deadlifted 1000 lbs for reps and is now closing in on his grand goal of also squatting over 1000 lbs. I spent almost 1 1/2 hours chatting with him about his insane feats of strength at his gym and manufacturing facility and got a ton of insights into his … [Read more...]
Recovery from BJJ Training
You can train super hard and kick the crap out of your body but that doesn't make you stronger - it's only after you RECOVER from training that the benefits of training manifest themselves. Too many athletes focus entirely on the training component and neglect recovery, but ultimately you need to be as focussed and diligent on your recovery, recuperation and rehabilitation as you are on what … [Read more...]
Wristlocks in BJJ
Wristlocks are submissions that bend the wrist by bending, flexing, extending or rotating the hand relative to the bones of the forearm Some martial arts like aikido, hapkido, and traditional Japanese jujutsu specialise in wristlocks, making them a major part of their curriculum. Most of the common BJJ jointlocks target the elbow (e.g. straight armbars), shoulder (e.g. Kimura and … [Read more...]
Do This Now To Ensure You’ll Still Be Training BJJ in 10 Years
BJJ is a fantastically fun sport that's also undeniably hard on the body. The key to getting better is to train consistently. To train consistently you need to avoid injuries as much as possible. And in this video (and podcast) you'll learn my single biggest tip for people in their 30's and 40's who want to keep on training into their 50's and 60's Check it out - I'm sure it'll help you in … [Read more...]
Mindset and Motivation in the Martial Arts and the Rest of Life
Brett Piperni has spoken about mindset and motivation on the TED stage and I was very happy to get him on my podcast because he shared some great tips! I particularly his approach to creating 'have-to' situations in life. His story is that he was a nationally ranked Taekwondo competitor when he came down very serious illness that threatened his life and left him crippled. Multiple … [Read more...]
Date-Almond Energy Balls
Yes I'm sharing a recipe today but don't worry, there's no danger of this turning into a cooking blog!!! It's just that I've been asked for this recipe so many times that it would be silly not to have a post I can point people to. Obviously do lot of jiu-jitsu and fitness stuff, but the outdoors are a big part of my life as well. For example, after my kidney transplant in 2015 a huge … [Read more...]
A Detailed Account of my Kidney Transplant and Recovery
In 2015 I was dying of a kidney disease. I was down to 12% of normal kidney function, my blood pressure was soaring out of control, and my electrolytes were completely haywire. But then on June 8th I had a major, life-saving surgery. The red bag in the picture above was sitting on the shelf as I was rolled into the operating room. It contained my brother's kidney which had been cut out of … [Read more...]
It’s the Ego, Stupid! How to Prevent (Most) BJJ Injuries
I'm just getting over an injury that was completely, utterly, absolutely my own fault. I was taking it easy during a sparring session with an older, lighter lower belt and ended up in caught in a crazy omoplata/kimura/crucifix position. I should just have tapped out and carried on, but instead my ego got in the way and I kept on holding on, looking for a way out for far too long. Yes, I got … [Read more...]
Endurance Sports and BJJ, with Paul Kindzia
Paul Kindzia was immersed in the world of marathon and triathalon for many years before immersing himself in BJJ, even going so far as to write a book on the topic called 'Master Jiu-Jitsu, Master Life'. He's got a really interesting story because he went from a fat 220 pound accountant living on soft drinks and fast food to a 13 time elite Ironman. And now he's a highly ranked BJJ masters … [Read more...]
Rehab and Prehab for Martial Arts
It was a pleasure to talk with Dr Mark Cheng about injury rehabilitation and rehabilitation today on The Strenuous Life Podcast. Mark has worked with lots of combat athletes in all sorts of martial arts disciplines. He has also trained with some really good instructors, some of which I know personally. Here are just some of the things we cover in this podcast... The process of … [Read more...]
Podcast: How My Diet Experiment Could Have Gone Terribly, Horribly Wrong…
I recently gave the full-on ketogenic diet a try (which I discussed in episode 173 of my podcast - Self Experimentation and Limiting the Downside of Experiments Gone Wrong). For a month I consumed very few carbohydrates and hugely increased the amount of saturated fat I was eating. A typical 'breakfast' was a shake made of whipping cream, coconut milk, spinach and blueberries with about … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 173 – Self Experimentation and Limiting the Downside of Experiments Gone Wrong
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk about the importance of self experimentation and how your results may be different from most other people's. I share some dietary experiments I've been fooling around with and exactly what I've been doing to limit the potential downsides. And somehow I drag the conversation down into musing about limiting the downside when dating crazy … [Read more...]
A Weight Cutting Plan for BJJ, MMA, and No Gi Competition
Weight cutting is a fact of life in modern MMA and also in many jiu-jitsu and submission grappling competitions. And the person who does it correctly usually has an undeniable advantage. But it can also be very dangerous if done wrong - people have sabotaged their performance, gone into kidney failure, and even died after cutting weight badly. So if you're going to cut weight you need to do … [Read more...]