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Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo Trip in the Arctic

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Earlier this summer I completed a beautiful and difficult 19-day solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic. There's a lot of time to think on a trip like this, and here are the 3 big lessons I learned... You can order my new book "Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic" on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo/Chapters, or your local bookstore! Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo … [Read more...]

How to Survive Training Layoffs from Grappling

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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...]

Long Covid & How to Minimise Transmission

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Note - this was published on July 13th, 2022 and updated on July 22, 2022. I will try to update this page with new information as I come across it.  Image of SARS-Cov-2 virus from Wikimedia. I can think of several jiu-jitsu training partners and several firefighters I've worked with who have been crippled by Long Covid. And I'm not unique; by now most people know someone who has been affected … [Read more...]

BJJ, Fitness and Mental Health

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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...]

Interview with Master Canoeist, Cliff Jacobson

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There are two major passions in my life: martial arts and the outdoors.  And today's podcast guest was a HUGE influence on the second part of my life and inspired me to do some of my bigger trips including an 82 day solo trip across the Canadian north. And I managed to get him on the phone for a GREAT one hour talk recently. Cliff Jacobson wrote 'Canoeing Wild Rivers' which was one of the … [Read more...]

Podcast Episode 102: Ken Johnson on What He Learned in 34 Years of Firefighting

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In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I sat down with Ken Johnson, retired Battalion Chief of Training, to talk shop. We covered, Managing emergency scenes, Staying calm under pressure, Training for boxing and making sure that you're always in shape, Recent breakthroughs in firefighting tactics, How to do your best in difficult situations, The critical importance of … [Read more...]

Staying Fit During a BJJ Training Layoff

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BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint.  The average Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt takes at least 10 years of hard training, so if you miss a week of training here or there it's not going to make a difference in the long run. But in some scenarios you're not looking at just missing a week of  training.  Let's say that you've got a sick kid at home, or that you have to recover from a surgery, or that … [Read more...]

The Danger of All-Or-Nothing Thinking…

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In life it's funny what ends up making a lasting impression on you. An offhand comment can stick with you for years and years, and have an effect way beyond anything the original person intended. There's a phrase like that that pops up in my mind often when I'm thinking about BJJ.  But it originated in a very different place. In fact this comment got stuck in my brain more than 20 years ago … [Read more...]

20,000 lbs of snow and the true meaning of self defense…

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This is a rather rambling post; in the words of Mark Twain, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." First, and most importantly, I really hope that you had a great Christmas (or alternate celebration of your choice).  And that you got to spend time with friends, family and loved ones. Next, congratulations on surviving the Mayan Calendar Apocalypse!  … [Read more...]

How bad do you want it?

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I found this short Youtube video and voice-over really inspiring and wanted to pass it on. It has nothing to do with martial arts. But in a way it has EVERYTHING to do with martial arts!  Plus the sports-specific training footage is pretty cool too, and might give you some good ideas for your own conditioning!! … [Read more...]

Podcast EP8: Tony Blauer on Fitness, Fear Management, and Combat Psychology

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I just interviewed Tony Blauer.  He's the head of Blauer Tactical Systems which specializes in close quarter tactics & scenario-based training for law enforcement, military and professional self-defense instructors. We had a great conversation about Crossfit, fear management, adrenaline dumps, and his recent 'immersion' in BJJ... This is pretty relevant stuff!  Everybody (who's not … [Read more...]

Podcast EP7: Sarah Kaufman, Top Female MMA Fighter, Reveals All!

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Sarah Kaufman is one of the top fighters in women's MMA. And she is officially amazing! Here's an in-depth interview and podcast with Sarah. I grilled her pretty hard (I hate interviews where you don't actually learn anything about the fighter or about the way they train). But the information she gave out went way, way beyond what I was expecting.  She revealed: •    how a top level … [Read more...]