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Home » Injuries

Injuries

Dealing With The “I Just See Red Bro” Guy!

May 9, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

I just see red guy

It's just a matter of time but if you're training, then you'll eventually run into an untrained guy who wants to test his skills by brawling on the mats. These are usually the "In a fight, I just see red, bro!" guys. They're never very skilled, but the problem is that even the reddest of the just-seeing-red bros present some danger. That's because they'll go zero to one hundred in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Training Tagged With: Gripfighting, Injuries, Strategy, Training

How to Safely Practice Dangerous Leglocks

March 20, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

how to train dangerous leglocks

Q: Given that leglocks are dangerous, how do you train them safely and still have confidence that they will work in a 'live' setting. A: Although ANY submission is potentially dangerous, cranking someone with a heel hook or toehold can not only end the match, it can end your opponent's athletic career. Go here if you don't know what a heel hook is. . If you don't know what a toehold is, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Training Tagged With: Injuries, Leglocks, Sparring, Submission, Training

Volume over Intensity in BJJ Training

February 16, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

Today I want to talk about how to best allocate your training time in BJJ. You've probably heard the saying that "BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint," right? Well, if BJJ is a marathon then we should also train it as if we were getting ready for a marathon! Now I used to do a LOT of running. Bruce Lee called it "The king of exercises", and he was right. (Sadly, since my hip replacement, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Training Tagged With: Drills, Injuries, Running, Training, Training Modalities

How to Get Your Black Belt Without Being Affiliated With Any One Specific School

February 11, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

Paul Kindzia getting his black belt in his home dojo from a consortium of black belt instructors

Paul Kindzia describes himself as a "homeschooled, non-denominational, it takes a village black belt" and had a very unique route to getting his BJJ black belt. He was a ronin, training at different schools and did a lot of his training in his home dojo. This paid off because he was a top IBJJF Masters competitor at blue, purple, and brown belt, before being awarded his black belt by a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Black Belt, Competition, Injuries, Interviews, Older Grapplers, Paul Kindzia, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

Training BJJ as an Older or Smaller Grappler

January 2, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

Jesse Walker, Episode 414 of The Strenuous Life Podcast

There are WAY too many injuries in jiu-jitsu, especially for older, smaller, and less athletic grapplers who end up going against young and explosive superathletes. The answer to minimising injuries and maximizing learning lies in having the correct training methods AND developing the right culture within a club. To help understand this better I had  Jesse Walker from Rough Hands BJJ in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcasts, Training Tagged With: Conditioning, Injuries, Kalle Beck, Strength Training, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

How to Become a Professional Grappler, with Chris Wojcik

September 22, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

As a first-time ADCC competitor, Chris beat the odds and came in fourth, beating a couple of legends along the way. In episode 410 of The Strenuous Life Podcast with Chris Wojcik, we cover... The qualifying process for ADCC, the Olympics of Grappling Training with a herniated disk How to go from enthusiastic amateur to dedicated professional What natural athletes need to do … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Grappling Techniques Tagged With: ADCC, Aoki lock, Chris Wojcik, CJI, Competition, false reap, Heel Hook, Injuries, Interviews, Leglocks, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training

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

August 5, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Lessons Learned in the Arctic

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...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Canoeing, Conditioning, Fitness, Injuries, Outdoors, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

BJJ vs Bears – Lessons Learned on a Solo Expedition in the Arctic

July 21, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting Solo Canoe Trip

I just recently got home from a difficult solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic where I didn’t see anyone for weeks. Bears, storms, icebergs and exhaustion, this adventure had it all. Since I was alone, I had a lot of time to think. A big takeaway was how relevant some aspects of this wilderness stuff were to jiu-jitsu. Here are the three big lessons I learned from that trip, and how they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Health & Nutrition, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Canoeing, Conditioning, Injuries, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, Training, Weightlifting

Innovation and Technical Refinement in Jiu-Jitsu

March 15, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Technical Innovations in BJJ

Rob Biernacki is my guest today to talk about how injury and physical limitations have led to some of the fastest technical development of his career and the refinement of entirely new techniques like the Roadhouse Choke.  Since some form of injury is inevitable there are a LOT of takeaways in this episode. We also discuss... Risk vs reward in your choice of techniques, How new … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apps, Podcasts Tagged With: Injuries, Rob Biernacki, Techniques, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

BJJ Longevity with Mike Mahaffey (Strenuous Life Podcast Ep 396)

February 28, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

BJJ Longevity with Mike Mahaffey, Episode 396 of The Strenuous Life Podcast

In episode 396 of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I talk about BJJ longevity, weight training, practicing at home, and optimal training methods with BJJ old-timer Mike Mahaffey. There are a TON of valuable take-home lessons here for anyone who trains jiu-jitsu, and ESPECIALLY the over-40 crowd!  Longevity in BJJ with Mike Mahaffey - Audio Only This conversation was also published as episode … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: Injuries, Mike Mahaffey, Older Grapplers, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video, Weightlifting

How to Train BJJ, even with an Injured Arm (Drill)

May 22, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

This article and video are about how to train and continue to make progress in BJJ when you're dealing with a shoulder, elbow or wrist injury. Now I hope that you go through your entire BJJ career without ever suffering a single injury. And you should do everything you can to avoid injuries! But this is a contact sport, and therefore you're probably going to get a little banged up from time … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Training Tagged With: Drills, Guard, Guard Passes, Injuries, Physical Attributes, Video

Wristlocks in BJJ; What Makes Them Work?

May 21, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Wristlock from triangle choke

Wristlocks are submissions that bend the wrist by bending, flexing, extending or rotating the hand relative to the bones of the forearm. Some martial arts like aikido, hapkido, and traditional Japanese jujutsu specialise in wristlocks, making them a major part of their curriculum. Most of the common BJJ jointlocks target the elbow (e.g. straight armbars), shoulder (e.g. Kimura and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Health & Nutrition Tagged With: Aikido, Injuries, Techniques, Video, Wristlocks, Wrists

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

How to Train Jiu-Jitsu With an Injured Knee?

December 28, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Training BJJ with a Knee Injury

It can be really difficult to train jiu-jitsu with an injured knee because the legs and the guard are so central to the art. 90% of what you do might put strain on an already wonky knee. That being said, there are guard retention strategies you can use that rely mostly on upper body frames and DON'T require fancy legwork. This allows you to keep your injured leg mostly straight while continuing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: Guard Retention, Injuries, Octopus Guard, Ritchie Yip, Techniques, Training Modalities, Video

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

The Dark Side of the Keto and Carnivore Diets

March 21, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Keto and Carnivore Diets - Kevin Bass

Kevin Bass has a background in medical anthropology, is both a medical and a PhD student, a grappler, and a weightlifter who has been deep in the trenches of the diet wars. In this episode we discuss the evidence for keto, ancestral and carnivore diets, the seed oil controversy, LDL, and a tentative protocol to help minimize brain damage from concussive trauma The Dark Side of the Keto and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Brain Damage, Injuries, Interviews, Kevin Bass, MMA, Nutrition, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Chiropractic Back Care and Martial Arts (Podcast)

January 25, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Martial Arts Back Pain and Chiropractic Care

In episode 353 I chat with Troy Schott about martial arts, recovering from back injuries, and living healthy. In a world full of woo I really appreciate his thoughtful, skeptical and scientifically informed approach to health. Chiropractic Back Care and Martial Arts, with Troy Schott (Video Format) Here's the video version of episode 353 of The Strenuous Life Podcast Some of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Injuries, Martial Arts, Podcast, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Troy Schott

Nate ‘The Rock’ Quarry

December 19, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting Interviews Nate Quarry

I was thrilled to have MMA fighter Nate 'The Rock' Quarry on the podcast where we talked about being raised in a cult, his comeback to the UFC after a serious back surgery, his biggest loss in MMA, the UFC monopoly, and staying in shape after retirement. Nate is active on Twitter where he can be found @NateRockQuarry; please let him know if you enjoyed our conversation! Links to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Mixed Martial Arts, Podcasts Tagged With: Injuries, Interviews, MMA, MMA training, Nate Quarry, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, UFC

Averi Clements on the State of Jiu-Jitsu

November 21, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Averi Clements

Averi is a BJJ brown belt who has written extensively for the Jiu-Jitsu Times. Together we go deep into why jiu-jitsu is popular for women, coming back from injuries, some recent high profile sexual assault cases in the sport, and much more. Follow Averi on Instagram @bjjaveri, on Twitter @BJJaveri, and/or at the Jiu-Jitsu Times. And while you're here, have you downloaded my reference guide … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Averi Clements, BJJ, Injuries, Interviews, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Women

Unaddressed Little Problems with Your Training Quickly Become Big Problems

August 31, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Chris Duffin squatting 800 pounds for 30 days in a row

800 pounds is a LOT of weight. Put that weight onto the shoulders of an average man and it’ll crush him straight down into the ground. Now imagine loading 800 pounds onto your shoulders and squatting down until your thighs are parallel with the ground, and then fighting your way out of the hole back to standing. Squatting this much weight is an almost impossible achievement. At most … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Training Tagged With: 1000 Mile Solo, Canoeing, Chris Duffin, Injuries, Overtraining, The Mental Aspect, Training

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