Many jiu-jitsu students want to know about strength training exercises for BJJ. Time is precious, people want to focus on the exercises that will give them the best results fastest! To help answer this question I met up with my friend Ben Zhuang who is a strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer, nutritionist and BJJ black belt. Ben has also been a guest on my podcast - click here … [Read more...]
My Solo 1000 Mile Journey from Missinipe Saskatchewan to Arviat Nunavut, Updates from the Field
I'm writing this on June 29th, 2019, on the eve of setting out on a 1000 mile journey by canoe, alone across the northern boreal forest and Canadian tundra. More information about my plans here: grapplearts.com/1000-miles-by-canoe. This page is (hopefully) going to serve as a repository of updates from the field, assuming that I can keep all my electronic devices charged and connecting to … [Read more...]
How to Win Lethwei World Championships,
Today's we're talking about training a fighter to become a world champion in an incredibly intense full contact martial known as Lethwei. Lethwei is from Burma and looks a bit like Muay Thai with a few crazy additions... First of all, in addition to punches, kicks, elbows, and knees they also allow headbutts... If a fighter gets knocked out their cornermen have two minutes tor resuscitate them … [Read more...]
‘Overnight Success’ in BJJ [A Rant]
I started recording this rant as a video for my instagram channel halfway up a snowy mountain during a rest break. But then I got carried away and went over the 1 minute Instagram limit, so I turned it into a podcast for ya'all instead. Anyway, the theme of today's rant is about how willingness to work is MUCH more important than talent or genetics, regardless of whether you're talking about … [Read more...]
BJJ, Fitness and Mental Health
Liz Beaver is a fitness writer who really keeps it real, a BJJ practitioner, adventurer, mental health advocate and self-described 'cantankerous bitch'. Today we had a wide-ranging yet deeply personal conversation in which we go right for the jugular in many important topics including Optimal workout design Balancing work and workouts using time management Are there people who … [Read more...]
How to Crush the Younger Grappler
One problem with fighting younger guys is that they're like the Energizer bunny - they keep going and going and going... How can you beat them? To beat them you first need to wear them down and then break their will to fight. This is all well and good in theory, but how exactly do you do this in reality? Think of the young punk's gas tank as completely full. However unless you're in … [Read more...]
Sport-Specific Conditioning for Athletes, with Red Sullivan (Strenuous Life Podcast, Episode 193)
Red Sullivan is a strength and conditioning expert who has worked with athletes in many different sports to help them realise their athletic potential. Some of the jiu-jitsu black belts I know have followed his programming and have really liked it, which is how he came to my attention! Beyond that I just like his message. In this podcast we go deep into Acquiring skill vs physical … [Read more...]
Strength Training and BJJ with Daniel Strauss, AKA The Raspberry Ape!
Daniel Strauss (aka The Raspberry Ape) is a BJJ black belt under 10x World Champion Roger Gracie. But he's also a very serious advocate of strongman training including the development of crazy levels of grip strength. In today's podcast we start with Daniel's victory over Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii at Polaris 8 and his BJJ competition strategy. View … [Read more...]
Rosi Sexton on Fighting in the UFC, Neck Training, the Art of Learning, and More…
Rosi Sexton is Cambridge educated and has a PhD in Theoretical Computer Science. And she's a musician, a writer and a physical therapist. Plus she's fought in BodogFight, EliteXC, Cage Warriors and was the first British Woman to fight in the UFC. But she's also I was thrilled to have her on the podcast where we went deep into her background, her training, and her approach to learning and … [Read more...]
Will Grappling Dummy Drills Really Help Your BJJ?
I often get emails from people wanting to know whether drilling with a grappling dummy will help their jiu-jitsu. Dummies are expensive items, and people want to make sure the investment will be worth it. The short answer is no. WATCH AND/OR LISTEN TO MY RANT ON THIS TOPIC Here's a video and podcast with my views on the subject, or if you prefer to read on you can scroll down the page a … [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...]
Physical Conditioning & Mental Training for Combat Sport
In this episode I go DEEP with Commonwealth Games gold medalist and 5 time National Team member Nick Ugoalah about the physical conditioning and mental training it takes to become a world class wrestler. It's a fascinating conversation because what Nick shares is applicable to any combat sport and not just wrestling. (It also shows you how damn hard you have to work to become an elite … [Read more...]
Mindset, Preparation and Close Calls with Ice Climber Will Gadd
Will Gadd is an extreme athlete, perhaps best known for ice climbing Niagara Falls in the winter (video at the bottom of this page). But he's also pioneered many novel routes, including Helmcken Falls, icebergs in the ocean, and underground river tunnels in the Greenland ice. In this chat we talked about those first ascents, but also touched on mindset, dealing with risk and unknowns, … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #66 – Functional Training
Regardless of whether you train BJJ, MMA or a self-defense oriented martial art you're faced with the same dilemma: how do you take a technique you're shown in class and actually make it work against someone who is resisting you 100%? The key is progressive resistance, and in this episode I go into the 5 training modalities you should use to functionalise your techniques. You can listen to … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 55 – Interview with James Foster on the Spartan Underground
I really enjoyed being on James '300' Foster's podcast where we talked about figuring out grappling from scratch, why fighters fight injured, PEDs in the MMA, how jiu-jitsu will always be there for you after a long layoff, and a lot more! I hope you enjoy it too! Check out Jame's podcast on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spartan-underground/id1070092297?mt=2 To hear this … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 138: NFL Yoga and BJJ with Jessica Huneycutt
Jessica Huneycutt is the yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints football team. Yes, you read that right. A professional NFL team, full of gigantic athletes who make a career of smashing into one another, has it's own yoga instructor! Oh, and did I mention that Jessica also trains BJJ? In this episode we go deep into how Yoga and other techniques are used at an elite level to help … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 59 – When Short on Time, What’s the Most Effective Cardio?
Endurance is the most important physical attribute in combat sport, but it can be time consuming to develop. In this short episode I talk about some of the most efficient cardio protocols that I've used during periods of my life when I had no time for long, leisurely cardio. To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then you might miss out on … [Read more...]
BJJ Exercises with Coach Ben Zhuang
I've long been an advocate for weight training and additional conditioning to improve BJJ performance and a skeptic of most sports supplements. So given all that I really enjoyed picking Ben Zhuang’s brain for his suggestions for exercises, supplements, recovery and other information that is going to benefit you. I’ll summarize and break down our discussion into different topics. Let's start … [Read more...]
Self Defense vs MMA with John Hackleman
The intersection of MMA and self defense has always been interesting to me, so I was thrilled to have a chat with John 'the Pitmaster' Hackleman recently. John is well known for coaching Chuck Liddell to the UFC light-heavyweight title, but he has mentored many other successful MMA fighters as well. But despite his success as an MMA coach the reason he started training martial arts was very … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 134 – Conditioning for Combat Sport with Jason Kapnick
In this episode I talk with elite powerlifter, kettlebell instructor and BJJ practitioner Jason Kapnick about optimal exercises, program design, building a balanced body, functional movement screening, injury prevention, and training for optimal athletic performance. It was a great conversation, and I hope you come away from it having learned as much as I did! To hear this podcast episode in … [Read more...]