AOJ black belt Tom Wortman is a fierce competitor; he won IBJJ Pans, Euros, North Americans and Master Worlds in a single year as a brown belt. He's also a jiu-jitsu gypsy, typically training at a club for 3 to 6 months, then moving thousands of miles to see a new part of the country and training at a new club. Find out how he manages this nomadic lifestyle, what the red and green flags are for … [Read more...]
The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Push past your limits with jiu-jitsu blackbelt, firefighter, and adventurer Stephan Kesting. The episodes of the Strenuous Life Podcast can be found on the platforms below or wherever you get your podcasts.
How Training Your Submissions as Positions Takes Your Game to the Next Level, with Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models
Today, Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models picks my brain about the benefits of training your submissions as positions first, and submissions second. I promise this will make perfect sense by the end of the episode, and may change how you approach your training. Episode 436 with Steve was a rare audio-only episode and is available on all audio podcast platforms, including Apple … [Read more...]
Roy Dean History of BJJ in North America
Renowned BJJ blackbelt Roy Dean came onto The Strenuous Life Podcast to talk about his research into how BJJ got started in North America, martial arts culture in Japan, the power of Judo in self defense situations, the importance of role models in shaping one's conception of masculinity and more. In addition to the video above you can also check out Episode 436 of The Strenuous Life … [Read more...]
High-Percentage BJJ Competition Strategies with Beatrice ‘Berimbozo’ Jin
Beatrice Jin shares the competition strategies that have allowed her to become the American National adult black belt middleweight champion and one of the top ranked black belts in the world. From guard pulls to sweeps to takedowns to pin escapes to conditioning to KO grips to structuring open mats so that they become a competitive advantage for you, Beatrice doesn't hold anything back. If … [Read more...]
Growing Self Confidence with BJJ
Alicia Reitz and I dive deep into how BJJ can be used to develop a strong sense of self confidence for everyone, and how that self confidence can then be put to good use in self defense and the the rest of your life. We also digress a little into specifics of the social media drama that I was involved in recently, which certainly raised my blood pressure just a little. You can also catch … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with James Deirmendjian: Strength and Conditioning for BJJ
James Deirmendjian a strength and conditioning coach specialising in combat and tactical athletes who ALSO competes in BJJ, fighting against much younger opponents. As such he was the perfect choice to finish our 4-part series on hybrid training and the science of developing strength and endurance at the same time. In this episode James and I touch on many topics, including… - The most … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with James Pieratt: How to Mix Marathon and Strength Training
James Pieratt from Wild Hunt Conditioning first came to the public attention when he deadlifted 520 lbs and then immediately set out on a 50 mile ultramarathon. Today James joins us to share what he learned on an expedition in which he ran 802 miles through nearly the entire state of California. James is unique in the ultrarunning community because he also lifts heavy weights and trains in … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with Chris Duffin: The Science of Strength, Power and Endurance
Episode 430 features Chris Duffin who has squatted AND deadlifted over 1000 lbs for reps, but has also done some genuinely insane things like deadlifting 405 lbs 60 times in 60 seconds, and squatted 800 lbs every day for an entire month. Given that he has achieved these amazing feats of strength-endurance, I thought he would be a great guest for the podcast in our series on hybrid … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with Mike McCastle: Peaking for Power, Endurance, and Mental Strength with Mike McCastle
There are strength sports like powerlifting and Olympic lifting, and there are endurance sports like marathoning and biking in the Tour de France... And then there are sports like BJJ that require a hybrid approach - optimising strength and endurance at the same time. This gets really tricky, so over the next four episodes of The Strenuous Life Podcast I'm going to be exploring hybrid … [Read more...]
Taking Your Training Out of the Dojo and Into the World, with Tom Callos
Martial arts pioneer Tom Callos came onto The Strenuous Life Podcast to discuss the California martial arts scene in the wake of Bruce Lee, the importance of taking your training out of the dojo and into the world, how your students can become your school's most effective advertising, being BJ Penn's first BJJ instructor, and his thoughts about BJ's current struggles. Tom has owned several … [Read more...]
How to Deal with Doubt and Stress in Competition
In episode 427 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I pick the brain of sports psychologist Dr. Haley Perlis, who delves into the competition mindset, developing mental toughness, managing stress, avoiding burnout, the psychology of extreme sports, and how your core values shape your life and sport. Episode 427 is available right now in audio and video formats here: Apple Podcasts … [Read more...]
BJJ After Age 35
On today's episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I'm joined by wrestler, jiu-jitsuka, and author Chris Jessulat (https://www.thewrongsideof35.com/) to discuss the best practices for staying relevant on the mats as you enter your fourth decade and beyond... 00:00 Training as an Older Grappler 02:48 The Transition from Competitive to Recreational Training 05:46 Physical Changes and … [Read more...]
Optimal Competition Mindset for BJJ Competition
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]