Have you run into that guy who thinks he can eye gouge his way out of your mount, groin punch his way past your guard, and bite your ribs from side control? Well, today's video is for him! Now it's true that on the street you may need to pull hair, gouge the eyes, kick the groin, grab the throat. Then, if all that doesn't work then you'll need to start fighting dirty ;) But a martial … [Read more...]
How to Make It MUCH Harder to Pass Your Single Leg X Guard!
I love the Single Leg X Guard position! It's relatively easy to get to, offers you many powerful sweeps, gives you the option to upgrade into other forms of X guard, and - if you want to go that way - it dovetails very nicely with the leglock game (seeing as it's basically the same as the 'ashi garami' leglock position). But a lot of people get a key element of the Single Leg X Guard position … [Read more...]
Kata is Useless for Combat, Prove Me Wrong. A Discussion with Iain Abernathy, 7th Degree Karate Black Belt.
In some ways this podcast about the usefulness of kata was destined to happen... In the last couple of years several people suggested that I should talk to Iain Abernathy, an expert in the application of karate kata, because I am generally quite dubious about the utility of karate kata and kung fu forms. Then I published a controversial video on Youtube called "Why Kung Fu Forms and Karate … [Read more...]
Robot Legs Drill (video)
Today I want to show you a fun and effective way to improve your guard passes that I call the 'robot legs' drill. Using this drill you make a super-powerful guard passing movement totally instinctive. And once you get comfortable with this drill you can also get a good cardio workout by going faster - start with 3 sets of one minute at full speed and tell me how you feel afterwards! But … [Read more...]
Emily Kwok Interviews Me About BJJ School Culture and More – Podcast Episode 154
This was a neat interview I did with Emily Kwok from Princeton BJJ and star of the first How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent series. We focused on creating positive learning environments in BJJ, looking at the roles played by the students, the teachers, and instructional technology. We also covered whether I would do anything different if I was starting my BJJ training all over … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 74 – Analysis of Leglock Game with Rob Biernacki
An 80/20 analysis of the leglocking game based on high level no gi competition, leglock safety, how to learn BJJ efficiently, best practises when teaching jiu-jitsu, and a ton more with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki, my co-author of The Modern Leglock Formula available now at Grapplearts.com/leglocks https://youtu.be/jMMDD2EVn0w To hear this podcast episode in full, you have a couple of … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #72 – Interview with Chad Skands on Managing Chaos
Longtime bouncer Chad Skands talks about managing multiple attacker scenarios, continuing to think and use your brain in a critical situation, the right way to deescalate situations, and why ripping someone's throat out Roadhouse-style is frowned upon in the security industry. Have a watch below: https://youtu.be/snV99k-kcLc To listen to this conversation you could press play on the … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 83 – World’s Fastest Firefighter Jamie McGarva
I really like this episode because we got the chance to go DEEP into the training routine of the world's fastest firefighter, Jamie McGarva. Jamie has held numerous titles for the Firefighter Combat Challenge both in the team and individual category, including breaking the world record twice in two days. Even now he continues to push himself harder in a single workout than most normal human … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 85 – Ritchie Yip Discusses Transitioning from Gi to No Gi
No gi grappling is very popular these days, and a lot of people find making the transition from training with the gi to training without it tricky and difficult. In this episode Ritchie Yip and I go over some tricks and tips to make this an easier transition and to give you a fighting chance when you can't grip cloth to control your opponent. To listen to this conversation you could press play … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 94 – Coach Rodney King on Survival in South Africa
WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and is definitely not suitable for children. In this episode I talk with boxing and BJJ coach Rodney King about the epidemic of violence in modern day South Africa, how training helps you prepare for confrontations, and how dangerous a 'romantic' notion of fighting is. Some of the topics we covered include: 00:17 - Who is … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 96 – Mike Zenga on Lessons Learned
In this episode BJJ and Judo black belt Mike Zenga shares some of the lessons, commonalities, and differences he's seen from working one-on-one with 19 BJJ, Judo and ADCC world champions. Do they all train the same way? Eat healthy food or junk? Drill, spar or do lots of conditioning? Listen and find out! In addition we also talk about CTE and brain damage in the combat sports, MMA, boxing … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 113 – A Close Call, and Avoiding Injuries!
The other day I almost tore a partner’s ACL off the bone, which would have required him to have surgery and many months of rehabilitation. What happened exactly? I was more experienced and a bit bigger than my training partner that day and we were doing some no gi sparring. Because of the experience discrepancy I was hyper-focusing on a couple of very specific positions, namely Ashi … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 99 – How to Get Motivated!
In this episode I share one of my best tips to get your butt on the mat or in the gym, indicators for when it's NOT time to push, as well as a cautionary tale of when an MMA training session went too far and I ended up bleeding from the kidneys! Also, I've got some really interesting podcasts coming up in the near future, and if you subscribe then you won't miss them! This podcast episode, … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 95 – Increasing Mobility for BJJ
Some quick thoughts about improving the different forms of 'mobility' for jiu-jitsu, both in terms of movement on the ground, and joint mobility, from a recent Instagram Live Q&A. You can find me on Instagram at @stephan_kesting and I'd be thrilled if you followed me because I'm releasing pics and videos there all the time! To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 84 – 3 Steps To Overcoming Training Plateaus
In this short episode we talk about why training plateaus are actually more frustrating than training slumps, plus I share 3 concrete steps to bust out of a plateau and get back to getting better! This podcast episode, along with all my others, are available on my Strenuous Life Podcast, which you can subscribe to with a few easy clicks! Choose your audio player below and click on it to open up … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 80 – When Should Leglock Training Start?
What belt level should you start training leg locks at? It depends a little bit on what your goals are and whether you're doing gi or no gi, but it's a lot sooner than you think EVEN if you're competing only in the IBJJF rule set. This podcast episode is excerpted from a 17 minute long Youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GQZPtpsg_U which takes you through how to do the actual … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 77 – Should You Still Train When Exhausted?
I trained BJJ today despite being fresh off the plane, jet lagged and exhausted, so it seemed like a good day to tackle today's topic, namely whether you should train on those days when you're so tired you can't see straight. Also I cover some examples of how to modify your workout on those lower-energy days so you don't get injured. Hope this helps all you busy people trying to juggle life and … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 75 – Training When There is No School Nearby
You want to train martial arts but there isn't a good school anywhere nearby, so what are your options? Here is my best advice on how you can still learn, still train, and still get good! To hear this podcast episode in full, you have a couple of options. The first one is to just press play on the embedded player below - easy as 1,2,3! The second (and better!) option is subscribing to The … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #73 – Grappling VS Striking
If you could only do one which would be better for self defense: striking or grappling? The answer is grappling of course, but the reasons why might surprise you... This podcast episode, along with all my others, are available on my Strenuous Life Podcast, which you can subscribe to with a few easy clicks! Choose your audio player below and click on it to open up The Strenuous Life Podcast and … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #71 – BJJ and Training Q&A With Stephan
What would I do different as a white belt if I could go back in time? What are the best guards that go together with the butterfly guard? Can you become an elite level grappler if you have both a job and a family? And you've choked someone out in a streetfight... what now? All this and more in today's Q&A episode. In this episode I make reference to articles on Grapplearts which can be … [Read more...]