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

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Home » Gameplan

Gameplan

Optimal Competition Mindset for BJJ Competition

June 9, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

BJJ Competition Mindset with Rob Biernacki

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...]

Filed Under: Competition, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, BJJ Games, Competition, Conditioning, Gameplan, Gripfighting, IBJJF, No Gi, Rob Biernacki, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

A Training Plan to Improve Your Jiu-Jitsu Skills

February 29, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

BJJ Foundations with Cal MacDonald

This is BIG! I’ve been studying Jiu-Jitsu since the late 1980’s and have trained at many different schools and with hundreds of different instructors. Recently I've been working on a new instructional with BJJ black belt Cal MacDonald, and I'm just SO impressed with what he's put together. His 8-volume instructional called BJJ Foundations covers the exact techniques and movements that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Cal MacDonald, Classes, Drills, Gameplan, Gi, Grapplearts DVDs, No Gi, Training

BJJ Competition Preparation and Training Camp Design with Rob Biernacki

December 16, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Tournament preparation and training camp design

Rob Biernacki and his competition team are on a tear. Rob recently took gold in masters middleweight the Canadian ADCC Open, silver at the California ADCC Open, and gold in black belt M4 at the IBJJF No Gi Worlds. In episode 394 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we talk about Designing an effective training camp Dividing your conditioning and skills training Detaching emotionally from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Conditioning, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: ADCC, BJJ Games, Competition, Conditioning, Drills, Gameplan, IBJJF, No Gi, Rob Biernacki, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

Train Hard AND Train Smart!

August 2, 2020 by Stephan Kesting

BJJ-System-Flowchart

There's a saying in the British army that goes, 'Proper Preparation and Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance.' This is called The Seven P's, and it applies just as much to BJJ as it does to military matters. The truth is that any great accomplishment, from winning a tournament to getting your black belt, requires a TON of preparation and planning. Think of the training, the drilling, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Training Tagged With: Gameplan, Strategy, Training, Training Schedule

The Miyao Brothers’ 5 Step BJJ Competition Strategy

January 4, 2017 by Stephan Kesting

by Jeff Meszaros Every now and then, someone comes along who takes a sport by storm and revolutionizes the game by playing it differently... The Gracies famously changed the world of martial arts by showing the importance of ground work. Wayne Gretzky changed hockey with his "go around the net" trick.  Mike Tyson dominated boxing by using a "peekaboo" style that hadn't been used like that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition Tagged With: Berimbolo, BJJ, Collar Chokes, Competition, de la Riva Guard, Gameplan, Gi, IBJJF, Joao Miyao, Miyao Brothers, Paulo Miyao, Rear Mount, Ricardo de la Riva, Strategy, Submission, Unorthodox Strategies, Video

10 Key Techniques and Tactics of Marcelo Garcia

November 17, 2016 by Stephan Kesting

The techniques and tactics of Marcelo Garcia

Marcelo Garcia is probably the most dominant jiu-jitsu athlete of the last 15 years. When he was competing he owned both the gi and the no gi divisions (4 x ADCC champion, 5 x Mundial World Champion).  As if that wasn't enough, his amazing performances in the absolute division against giants like Ricco Rodriguez have ensured his place in grappling history. It’s always a good idea to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Featured, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Arm Drag, Armbar, Butterfly Guard, Gameplan, Guillotine Choke, Inspiration, Marcelo Garcia, Marceloplata, North-South, North-South Choke, Rear Mount, Rear Naked Choke, Reverse Armbar, Single Leg X Guard, Strategy, Submission, Video, X Guard

Napoleon and How To Be Ready for Anything in BJJ

October 1, 2016 by Stephan Kesting

Napoleon and how to prepare for anything in BJJ

Napoleon Bonaparte may have been a megalomaniac who left millions dead in his wake, but if you read about his battles and military campaigns there is no doubt that he was a strategic and tactical genius. (Well, maybe he wasn't a genius when he invaded Russia in 1812, but before that he was damn near unstoppable...) He fought over sixty battles in his lifetime, during which he was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: Bernardo Faria, Brandon Mullins, Escapes, Gameplan, Marcelo Garcia, Napoleon, Quote, Strategy, Techniques, Unorthodox Strategies

Non-Stop de la Riva Guard Instructional App Now Available!

January 25, 2016 by Stephan Kesting

Non-Stop de la Riva Guard Gameplan

We've just put out a brand new app that could add an entirely new aspect to your guard game! It's the 'Non-Stop de la Riva Guard' instructional app by Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins and myself.  And it's available for iOS, Android and Kindle devices. The focus of this app is on giving you a simple and easy-to deploy system for the de la Riva guard.  A gameplan that DOESN'T require you to be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: Android, Armlocks, Brandon Mullins, Chokes, de la Riva Guard, Gameplan, Grapplearts, Guard Sweeps, iPhone, Strategy, Techniques

How to Experience Flow for the First Time in BJJ

December 25, 2014 by Stephan Kesting

Advanced BJJ players often talk about 'flow' - the ability to effortlessly adapt to changing situations and flow around resistance you might run into.  But flow isn't a state that you suddenly arrive at in BJJ. Instead, as you progress in the art, you start getting little glimpses of it, hints of how things might hook together, and brief moments when things work out effortlessly. Of course, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Training Tagged With: Gameplan, Strategy, Training

The Complete Spider Guard Gameplan Mindmap

December 3, 2014 by Stephan Kesting

OK, this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen… I recently did an interview with Elliott Bayev on how to build BJJ gameplans. One of the things that Elliott did for this project was to create an in-depth mindmap showing his entire Spider Guard gameplan. And you can get that gameplan completely for free right now. Of course this gameplan covers the ‘regular’ spider guard (both feet … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Miscellaneous, Training Tagged With: Elliott Bayev, Gameplan, Mindmap, Open Guard, Spider Guard, Strategy, The Mental Aspect

Podcast EP24: How to Build a BJJ Gameplan

November 30, 2014 by Stephan Kesting

Here's a really cool video interview I did with my friend, BJJ blackbelt, renowned coach, and fierce competitor Elliott Bayev. This interview is special because we break down the steps of building a BJJ gameplan.  We go right from the basic BJJ self defense gameplan, and build up to the intricate strategies used by world class competitors. There are tons of immediately useful takeaways … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Miscellaneous, Self Defense, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Elliott Bayev, Gameplan, Interviews, Self Defense, Spider Guard, Strategy, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

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