Back pain is incredibly common in sport, including all martial arts and combative sports. That is why I was thrilled to talk to Dr Stuart McGill, one of the world's leading experts on back pain. Dr McGill spent 30 years researching and teaching spinal mechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He has published more than 300 scientific papers, written 3 textbooks, and has worked to … [Read more...]
When to Hang Up the MMA Gloves
Full contact fighting is inherently risky, especially when you consider the traumatic brain damage that's so common in boxing, kickboxing and MMA. And competing in sports where head shots and brain trauma is abundant ramps those risks up exponentially. While I totally support your right to take risks (and have taken many myself) there comes a point when the risk outweighs the reward. So what … [Read more...]
Is It Safe to Train BJJ During Covid?
Probably the question I get most often these days is, "Is it safe to train BJJ during pandemic?" People ask me this question because I've been a black belt for a long time (got promoted in 2006), have been training in the martial arts for 40 years, acquired a Masters of Biology at the University of British Columbia, and have worked as a firefighter specialising in hazardous materials response … [Read more...]
Guidelines for Opening Up Jiu-Jitsu Academies During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Last Updated Sept 10, 2020)
Everyone is itching to train again, and for many jiu-jitsu school owners opening up is a matter of financial survival. But just to make things even more complicated, as we learn more about this virus it means that the science, policy and best practice need to keep on evolving That's why I talked to Dr Chris Moriarty who has published a 6 phase process for reopening schools and getting back … [Read more...]
Training BJJ Outdoors
In this episode of my podcast I talked to my friend, black belt, and school owner Jeff Shaw about 2 two main things: the history of BJJ, and how BJJ can survive in a time of coronavirus. When it comes to BJJ and covid I particularly like how he's started having outdoor classes with dedicated training partners (essentially small training pods). This is something you can set up as well with just … [Read more...]
Do Masks and Face Coverings Work to Prevent Coronavirus Transmission?
I'm a jiu-jitsu black belt with a strong background in biology (BSc and MSc) who has been working in emergency response and hazmat for over 20 years (currently a captain in the fire department) and have been a strong advocate of taking COVID-19 seriously. Back in March I went on record saying that COVID was a huge concern for jiu-jitsu practioners. Since then I've published tips for training … [Read more...]
BJJ Training Pods
The 'training pod' concept is one possible way to keep yourself and other people safe during the coronavirus pandemic. It's clear that most coronavirus super-spreader events have certain commonalities, including Being indoors Being in close proximity Heavy breathing, loud talking, or singing Extended periods of contact It's incredibly unfortunate that BJJ checks all of these … [Read more...]
Longevity in BJJ, Stephan Kesting Interviewed on The Old Roller’s Podcast
I was recently featured on The Old Rollers Podcast hosted by Harrison Helterbrand and we dove deep into maintaining your longevity in the sport, skill development, learning styles and taking charge of your own learning process. It was a great chat and so I thought I would share it with you on my own show - The Strenuous Life Podcast. BJJ Longevity Podcast in Streaming Audio Form You can … [Read more...]
Mask Wearing and the Culture War During Pandemics in the USA
If you've followed me at all these last 6 months you'll know that I was early to speak to the BJJ community about taking Covid-19 seriously, helped publish guidelines for safely re-opening academies during and after the pandemic, and have continued to try and engage people about this topic on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. As a trained biologist with 2 degrees and 15 years of experience, and … [Read more...]
BJJ and Covid 19 Update, with Dr Chris Moriarty
Dr Moriarty is a medical doctor and had a long fierce career as a BJJ competitor who previously published guidelines for reopening BJJ academies during the Covid-19 pandemic (grapplearts.com/openingupbjj). In this followup episode we look at the current state of the epidemic, implications for training, and how to figure out whether cases truly are going up or down in your area. Option 1: … [Read more...]
Disunity, Division and Conspiracy Theory in the BJJ Community During Covid 19 (Podcast)
Today I'm joined by Thomas Nadelhoffer an associate professor in the philosophy department at the College of Charleston, an affiliate faculty member in psychology and neuroscience, and a BJJ brown belt. We focus our conversation on the tribalism and rampant conspiracy theory acceptance in the BJJ community during the time of Covid-19. I found the discussion of 'My Risk, My Right' (the idea … [Read more...]
Five Tips for Training During Coronavirus Lockdown
As I write this most clubs, dojos and training groups all over the world have shut down for a very noble cause; to flatten the coronavirus curve By shutting things down we're slowing (not stopping) community transmission of this virus, which in turn prevents the medical system from being overrun all at once and allows the system to manufacture and stockpile masks and other personal protective … [Read more...]
Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life, with Jamie Kilstein
Jamie Kilstein is a BJJ brown belt and Joe Rogan approved professional comic who has been making a stir (and ruffling some feathers) in BJJ circles with his satirical videos on Instagram recently (follow him at @thejamiekilstein, on the JamieKilstein podcast, on Rear Naked Radio and on his Youtube channel). We got to know each other because we've both been vocal about the BJJ and Coronavirus … [Read more...]
COVID 19 and BJJ
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...]