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Techniques, Tutorials and Gear for BJJ, MMA and Submission Grappling

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BJJ

Steve Kwan Shares the Most Important BJJ Mental Models

October 22, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

The Most Important BJJ Mental Models with Steve Kwan

Today I'm joined by Steve Kwan, the host and creator of the wildly popular BJJ Mental Models podcast. We discuss the most important mental models in the art and how they can improve your ability to perform on the mat! Check out BJJmentalmodels.com for Steve's podcast and Grapplearts.com/rollingbacktakes for my newest BJJ instructional. And, as always, please send today's episode to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, Concepts, Interviews, Steve Kwan, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

What Is the New Instructional – Rolling Backtakes for Everyone – All About?

October 19, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Rolling Backtakes for Everyone

I've just released a brand new instructional called Rolling Backtakes for Everyone! Rolling backtakes are a group of techniques that teleport you directly to your opponent's back, the most dominant position in jiu-jitsu. More black belt submissions in competition happen from the back than any other position, which is why events like EBI, WNO, ADCC and Quintet are full of the pros hitting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Instructional Videos Tagged With: BJJ, Grapplearts DVDs, No Gi, Rear Mount, Rolling Backtake

Strength vs Endurance Training, with World Record Holder James Pieratt

August 15, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Strength vs Endurance, with James Pieratt

James Pieratt is a hybrid athlete who does things like deadlifting 520 lbs in the morning and then running fifty miles in the afternoon. I caught up with him shortly after he completed a 500-mile, self-supported mountain run along the Pacific Crest Trail. In this interview, we went deep into... How to balance strength, endurance, and skill training, The role of prehabilitation and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Health & Nutrition, Interviews, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Conditioning, James Pieratt, Strength Training, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

The Ultimate Self Defense Championship

August 4, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

The Ultimate Self Defense Championship with Rokas Leo

The Ultimate Self-Defense Championship was a competition in which six martial arts YouTubers competed against each other in seven self-defense challenges to find out what works, what doesn't and who would become the ultimate self-defense champion. The results were shocking, and the entertainment value was off the charts! On episode 388 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with the organizer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Podcasts, Self Defense Tagged With: BJJ, Competition, Drills, Interviews, Rokas Leo, Self Defense, Sparring, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

The Most Successful Gracie Family Fighter of All Time

May 26, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Robert Drysdale on the history of BJJ and the most successful Gracie family fighter of all time

Not only is Robert Drysdale a BJJ and ADCC World Champion, he has also conducted extensive research into the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In this interview, he reveals some of what he's discovered, including... 01:54 - The first wave of jiu-jitsu in Brazil - Helio Gracie and Carlos Gracie 04:35 - Exhibition and carnival fighting in Brazil 06:55 - Traditional jiu-jitsu style vs modified … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Mixed Martial Arts, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Carlson Gracie, Gi vs No Gi, History, MMA, MMA training, Robert Drysdale, Takedowns, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

Three Critical Control Points You Must Have to Apply a Good Leglock

May 25, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Three Critical Control Points for a Good Leglock

It's a terrible thing to do all that work to get into a good leglock position only to have your opponent find enough space to slip out and escape.  Or worse, have him laugh at your submission attempt because it's not tight enough to cause him any concern. The key to a good leglock is having 3 points of control, namely, The three ingredients of every good leglock are Control of the hip, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Ankle Lock, BJJ, Caio Terra, Cutting Edge Leglocks, Heel Hook, Kneebar, Leglocks, No Gi, Rob Biernacki, Techniques, Video

Seven Reasons Carlson Gracie Was the First Modern MMA Coach and Fighter

May 24, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Carlson Gracie, The First Modern MMA Fighter

Carlson Gracie fought 18 Vale Tudo in the 1950's and 60's. His 17 wins make him the most successful Gracie fighter to this day. In the course of his long  fighting and coaching career, he innovated many of the MMA training practices that we now take for granted. Here are seven ways in which he was the first modern MMA coach and fighter... Carlson's radical-for-the-time ideas included … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Mixed Martial Arts, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Carlson Gracie, Gi vs No Gi, History, MMA, MMA training, Takedowns, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

The Implications of the 46 Million Dollar Jiu-Jitsu Lawsuit

May 7, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Grappling with the 46 million dollar jiu-jitsu lawsuit lawsuit

The jiu-jitsu world was shaken recently when Jack Greener, severely injured in 2018 while sparring at a San Diego gym, was awarded $46,475,112 dollars by a jury. Rener Gracie testified for the plaintiff, and Clark Gracie testified for the defence. In this episode, I get together with Dan Lukeheart (Brea Jiu-Jitsu) and Alex Kask (Barrister and Solicitor) to discuss... The specific technique … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, Dan Lukeheart, History, Injuries, Rener Gracie, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

Rolling Back Take from 3/4 Mount

March 11, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

The Simplest Rolling Backtake

Rolling backtakes have become part of modern jiu-jitsu but are undeniably intimidating. To help you become comfortable with the idea of doing a somersault and ending up on someone's back, here's the simplest rolling backtake you can do. First, learn to identify the trigger position (which is 3/4 mount)... Then make sure his hands are on one side of your body... Then roll in line … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: BJJ, Modern Jiu-Jitsu, No Gi, Rear Mount, Rolling Backtake, Techniques, Video

The Three Most Important Back Mount Escapes

February 16, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

The 3 Most Powerful Back Mount Escapes

Having someone on your back in back mount or rear mount is a terrible situation in jiu-jitsu, especially if he's doing a good job of controlling your upper body with an over-under seatbelt grip and your lower body with his hooks. The longer he stays on your back the longer you'll be vulnerable to submissions like the rear naked choke, the rear triangle choke, armlocks, spinal cranks and even … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: BJJ, Escapes, Rear Mount, Rear Naked Choke, Ritchie Yip, Techniques, Video

Top 10 Wrestling Moves for BJJ

February 6, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

wrestling moves for bjj

by Jeff Meszaros In many ways, wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu are total opposites. The core concepts of the two sports run against each other, and what's a great idea in one art is often a terrible idea in the other. In wrestling, you do anything you can to avoid having your back put on the mat. But in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, people will often fall to their backs immediately to "pull guard" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts Tagged With: Arm Drag, BJJ, Clinching, Jeff Meszaros, Single Leg Takedown, Takedowns, Throws, Turtle Position, Video, Wrestling

Pressure Guard Passing with Fabio Gurgel

February 1, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Fabio Gurgel Pressure Passing System

There's a reason why Fabio Gurgel has successfully coached over fifty Black Belt World Champions and is a 4 time BJJ world champion himself! He's an amazing teacher, able to simplify complicated techniques so that they work for everyone... Fabio's top pressure is unbelievable.  No matter if it's the closed guard, spider guard, butterfly guard, half guard, or some type of newfangled … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: BJJ, Fabio Gurgel, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Passes, Techniques

3 Great Knee Cut Counters

December 14, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

3 Counters and Guard Retention Options vs the Knee Cut Guard Pass

The Knee Cut Pass is one of the most powerful and most commonly used guard passes in all of grappling. This pass uses the knee to pin the opponent's leg, opening the opportunity to slide across to the other side of his body. It's used in BJJ with the gi, submission grappling with spandex and shorts, and even in MMA. The knee cut is a very powerful pass, and if you're a grappler you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: BJJ, Concepts, Guard Retention, Jon Thomas, Knee Cut, Spider Guard, Techniques, Video

Podcast Episode 116 – To Pull Guard in BJJ Competition, or Not?

December 9, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Should you pull guard in BJJ competition or fight doggedly for the takedown.  You'll get some answers to this perennial question in my  conversation about pulling guard with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki. 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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Grapplearts, Interviews, Pulling Guard, Rob Biernacki, Stephan Kesting, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

What Is Required for Your BJJ Blue Belt?

November 21, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

What's Required for Blue Belt?

In episode 380 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk you through what's generally required to be a competent blue belt, including... The 8 basic positions in jiu-jitsu A 3 phase strategy for beating a bigger person The real purpose of the guard The 2 types of submissions The hierarchy of positions How to stay safe in bad positions...and what to do next. The importance of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcasts, Training Tagged With: Belt, BJJ, Elliott Bayev, Podcast, Positions, Sparring, Strategy, Teaching, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training Schedule

Judo and BJJ Injuries

October 20, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

The 5 Most Common BJJ and Judo Injuries and What to Do About Them, with Joshua Arellano

Joshua Arellano is a physiotherapist with a black belt in Judo and a brown belt in BJJ. He works with combat athletes on rehab, prehab, and injury prevention, and - since injury is the enemy of progress - I was thrilled to pick his brain on the podcast to help everyone have a healthier grappling career! The 5 Most Common Judo and BJJ Injuries and What to Do About Them with Joshua Arellano (Video … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Health & Nutrition, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, Injuries, Joshua Arellano, Judo, Neck Strengthening, Podcast, Rehab, Strength Training, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Fancy Yet Effective: The ‘Shaolin’ Half Guard Sweep

September 29, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Shaolin sweep from half guard

Normally I advise against flashy techniques.  Generally speaking it's rock solid basics and non-fancy fundamentals that win sparring sessions, tournament matches and MMA fights. But I have to make an exception for this technique... If you're already semi-competent from the half guard position then the Shaolin Sweep might be something you want to add to your game. First of all, the Shaolin … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: BJJ, Guard Passes, Guard Sweeps, Half Guard, Shaolin Sweep, Video, Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro

Skill vs Athleticism in BJJ, with Rob Biernacki & Stephan Kesting

September 16, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Skill vs Athleticism in BJJ

Rob Biernacki is back on The Strenuous Life Podcast to discuss the relative importance of technical skill vs physical athleticism in BJJ... Skill vs Athleticism in BJJ (Video Version) Here is the video of my conversation with Rob (click here to watch it on Youtube)... 00:20 - Can you succeed with just technique in Jiu-jitsu? 04:41 - Is Jiu-jitsu for everybody? 08:59 - Skill vs … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, Competition, Conditioning, Physical Attributes, Podcast, Rob Biernacki, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Training Schedule, Video

How to Survive Training Layoffs from Grappling

August 4, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Life is a balancing act, and most of us have multiple priorities. We have to juggle BJJ with work, family life, relaxation time, etc. A couple of days away from training never killed anybody. In fact, we're usually refreshed and eager to get back at 'er when we return! But sometimes the breaks are longer than a couple of days. Life intervenes, and before you know it weeks, or even months have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Conditioning, Fitness, Inspiration, Podcast, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training

The Art of Fighting Bullshit in the Martial Arts and Everywhere Else, with Phrost from Bullshido

July 27, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

The Art of Fighting Bullshit, with Phrost from Bullshido

I first came across Phrost and Bullshido on an online forum that did some absolutely brutal takedowns of martial arts frauds.  Now, years later, he's still fighting bullshit on as many fronts as he can manage. From Steven Seagal getting choked out on set... to the state of the US education system... to health influencers making fraudulent claims... to manipulation techniques used online... and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, Phrost, Science, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

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