A few days ago I had a great training session, and then today I had a bad one. Here's why I didn't get too excited or bothered by either one, and why you shouldn't either! 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 is subscribing to The Strenuous Life … [Read more...]
Grapplearts
Podcast Episode 54 – Quick Rant on Should You Still Train When You Are Sick?
Here's a quick rant about whether you should still train if you're beginning to come down with something. The lessons in this particular podcast have repeated themselves many times until learned... This podcast episode, along with all my others, are available on my Strenuous Life Podcast, which you can subscribe to with a few easy clicks! Choose your audio player below and click on it to open … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 52 – Rant on the “Too Deadly to Spar” Myth
It's a HUGE mistake to focus on techniques like biting, finger breaks and eye-gouging and avoiding techniques you can try out under pressure and against resistance in sparring. Here's why that's the case, and why most martial sports participants are actually far deadlier than most martial artists. To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then … [Read more...]
My New Free App – The Grapplearts BJJ Master App!
After 6 months of crazy intensive work, I'm releasing something new for you today... It's the BRAND NEW 'Grapplearts BJJ Master App'! And it's free! Yup, grab it for your phone or tablet and pay nothing. Plus it has a CRAZY amount of free grappling content for you!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxTN9sVby4Q The app includes... 457 minutes (7 1/2 hours) of free video … [Read more...]
Big News for All Grapplearts BJJ Apps
Really important message for you today. First, here's the short form version. If you've ever bought an BJJ app from me - any of them - then please go and update your apps right away. The Apple app store, and probably the Android app store too, are soon going to be changing their policies. This means that you'll need to update your apps to make sure that you can keep on getting access to the … [Read more...]
Stephan Kesting’s Products on Amazon
In addition to selling DVDs and physical products on my own website I also sell them on Amazon.com. Here's a list of what's on Amazon right now. If for some reason Amazon won't ship to where you live (Canada, the UK, Australia, etc.) then send me a message on the Grapplearts Contact Form and we'll try to figure out a good alternative for you, OK? Stephan Kesting The BJJ … [Read more...]
Stephan’s on Snapchat
Hey, I'm now on the social video app Snapchat! I'm sharing some BJJ tips there almost every day, plus a little bit of behind-the-scenes footage of what goes on at the Grapplearts Evil Schemes Lair (TM). Most of what I've posted on Snapchat disappears within 24 hours (it's the nature of the platform). If you're interested in BJJ and the martial arts in general then follow me on snapchat! … [Read more...]
BJJ Instructional Apps for Amazon Kindle and Fire Tablets
Wow, that was a LOT of work: we just updated our entire fleet of BJJ instructional apps for Amazon Kindles and Fire Tablets. I shouldn't complain: if you're going to play in the instructional app space then you just have to accept that you're going to be spending a lot of time and money updating apps on a regular basis so they keep on working as the various platforms evolve. Click here if … [Read more...]
What is de la Riva Guard?
The de la Riva guard was initially created by and popularised by Ricardo de la Riva, but in the past few years it has exploded in popularity. Many world titles have been won entirely due to the competitor's skill in the de la Riva guard position. And that's because of a couple of things... First of all, if done correctly it offers an extraordinary level of control over your opponent, … [Read more...]
Non-Stop de la Riva Guard Instructional App Now Available!
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...]
New T-Shirts: Keep Calm and Grapple On
We just released these brand new shirts. I had fun looking into the history of the classic 'Keep Calm and Carry On' meme - turns out it comes from just before World War 2 where the British government was trying to bolster the public morale in the face of imminent war. They might boost your morale too, but hopefully your situation is a little bit less dire than Europe in 1939... There are … [Read more...]
Grapplearts BJJ & Submission Grappling T-Shirts
A lot of people ask me about Grapplearts shirts. And while I'm happy to create them I don't want to stock tons and tons of T-Shirt inventory in a cacophony of sizes and colours. That's why I tend to do shirts in limited edition campaigns: I put a design out there, and if we get enough interest in a in it then we go out and get the shirts printed up, ship them out, and then close down the … [Read more...]
Spider Guard Masterclass is Now Live
After almost 6 months of planning, filming and editing Spider Guard Masterclass is now ready for release! I'm biased of course, but I think that this is an absolutely amazing project. It's an A to Z reference guide for the Spider Guard, which is arguably the most dominant form of open guard in modern BJJ. Checking out this instructional is also risk free: if you don't absolutely love it, … [Read more...]
Grappling Machine T Shirts, Only Available For 7 Days
Here's something that some of you will love, and some of you will hate... It's a brand new limited edition steampunk-style Grapplearts T-shirt: the 'Grappling Machine' design. No Affliction-style skulls, pitbulls, grim reapers or upside-down crosses in this design, sorry! We did a small test run of this design, and the few lucky people who got their hands on one of them loved it. … [Read more...]
ARCHIVE The FREE Roadmap for BJJ App!
Here's something brand new that I've been working on for a whole year. It's available right now and I think you're really going to like it!! How would you like a top-to-bottom game plan for the closed guard position? What about a complete roadmap for the Open Guard? And while we’re at it, would a game plan for the modern Half Guard help you out? … [Read more...]
How to NOT Clog Up Your Phone with My Instructional Apps
This week we've been releasing a series of apps featuring BJJ black belt Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins at a rate of one per day. (A lot of the apps have also been getting the coveted four and five star ratings in both Google Play and iTunes, which is awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to rate them!!) But not everyone's happy… … [Read more...]
Grapplearts T Shirt Contest
Hey, we're having another Grapplearts T Shirt Giveaway! This time three lucky readers are going to get a coveted Grapplearts T shirt shipped directly to their home! What you need to do to be eligible is to submit a Grappling, BJJ or MMA picture for the Grapplearts Featured Photo Page in the next 7 days. … [Read more...]
A Funny Story About 10 Million Views on Youtube
I recently noticed that my grappling and jiu-jitsu channel on Youtube had passed 10 million total views! I'm stoked about this, and I think it's a big landmark for an independently operated business. Thanks to every single reader who helped out by liking, subscribing and commenting on the videos; every little bit helps! … [Read more...]
Top Articles on Grapplearts: Number 1 of 10
Obviously I've been building up content on Grapplearts for quite some time now. Nevertheless I was recently surprised to see that there are now more than 500 articles, tips and blog posts on here now! Not all of them are by me - some are articles by guest authors - but that's still a heck of a lot of content! … [Read more...]
Life in Hollywood North, and an Important Article
I've got to be quick with this blog post. We've been in studio almost continuously for three days, filming what might be my most ambitious video project ever. And we've got to get back at it really soon. (I'm super excited about this project btw. … [Read more...]