Chris Round is a Judo black belt under Jimmy Pedro. In this episode we talk about How to add Judo throws to your BJJ arsenal, Old school vs new school Judo training methods, Kosen Judo which focuses very heavily on groundwork, The critical importance of gripfighting and how to develop it, Leg grabs, belt grabs, crazy Eastern European throws, And more! To consume this … [Read more...]
Interviews
The Red Flags That Indicate You’re Dealing with Pseudoscience, with Jonathan Jarry
Being able to tell the difference between real science and pseudoscience has never been more important, especially given the staggering amounts of misinformation and disinformation being circulated on a daily basis. In this episode I talk with Jonathan Jarry, a scientist who works for McGill University's Office for Science and Society, which uses the tagline 'Separating Sense from … [Read more...]
Vanished Civilizations and Lost Human Lineages, with Patrick Wyman
Patrick Wyman from the amazing Tides of History Podcast joins us today to discuss Large civilizations that disappeared (12:22) The human evolutionary family tree and paleogentics (17:41) The explosion of agriculture on different continents (28:16) Different species of hominids (40:20) 40 years that shook the world (43:57) The pivotal role of the printing press (48:30) … [Read more...]
Julie Kedzie on Choking Opponents and Dissing Vladimir Putin
In today's episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with Julie Kedzie. Julie is a retired MMA fighter who has now works as a fight commentator, interviewer and matchmaker for Invicta Fighting Championships. In this episode she shares her experience of meeting Vladimir Putin, unaffiliating yourself from bad people (like Vladimir Putin), the importance of role models, what drove her to start … [Read more...]
Key Tips and Strategies for Older Grapplers
Rob Biernacki and I have just released BJJ for Old F***s, and from that instructional here are some of the most important tips for the older grappler. Specifically in this episode Rob Biernacki (age 46) and I (age 52) discuss... The two things that change most about your training as you get older How to improve as fast as possible by limiting your training Why base, posture and … [Read more...]
On Winning a Tough Fight in the UFC by KO While Partially Blind in One Eye – Lance Gibson Sr on MMA
Lance Gibson Sr made a HUGE impression on me when he KO'd Jermaine Andre in the UFC while partially blind in one eye. That fight was a masterclass in both grit and strategy, so I was thrilled to have him on the podcast. We talked at length about, How training for MMA has changed since the early days, Whether you can operate a gym and fight professionally at the same time, What really … [Read more...]
The Dark Side of the Keto and Carnivore Diets
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...]
Combining BJJ and Muay Thai, with Tyson Larone
I really enjoyed talking with Tyson Larone today on episode 360 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. He's a badass Jiu-jitsu black belt who also teaches Muay Thai and is a certified strength and conditioning coach. We went deep into developing effective training methods for the two arts, how to avoid injury, which experts we should listen to, training against resistance, and how to build a good mix … [Read more...]
Margot Ciccarelli, Travelling the World While Training Jiu-Jitsu
Multiple time World and European champion Margot Ciccarelli joins us take us through some of the following topics... Competing at the highest level while spending much of the year on the road, How to feel invincible on the mats, The importance of tempo changes in jiu-jitsu, Transitioning through different guards, Learning faster vs staying in your comfort zone, Switching from a … [Read more...]
Jiu-Jitsu in a Time of Omicron, with Dr Nicholas Tyau
I've spent a lot of time talking about Covid with doctors and epidemiologists these last few years. Things are finally beginning to change... On the one hand we have vaccines, boosters, and are getting better at treating Covid. On the other hand, right now we're in the middle of a giant spike of the crazy infectious (but mostly less deadly) Omicron variant. Which begs the question, to … [Read more...]
How to Talk to the Vaccine Hesitant, with Amitabha Palmer
Amitabha Palmer is a wrestler, judoka, and teaches at ethics at Texas University. His research topics include how widespread conspiracism and science denialism affect democratic policy making. Ami has been on the podcast before (on episode 325, Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda and Conspiracies) and was so insightful that I was thrilled to have him back. The focus of today's conversation was … [Read more...]
BJJ Defense with Steve Kwan
Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models joined me today to share some guidelines that'll immediately improve your jiu-jitsu defensive skills. Check out the BJJ Mental Models Podcast wherever fine podcasts are distributed Here's the video version of our conversation... And here's the audio-only version... Links to Subscribe to My Podcast The best way to stay up to date with new … [Read more...]
Nate ‘The Rock’ 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...]
A Deep Dive into the Technical Details of the Omoplata
In this episode Steve Kwan from the BJJ Mental Models podcast grills me about the omoplata, the most versatile submission in all of jiu-jitsu. Here's the conversation. We go pretty deep and get quite technical! And while I've got your attention, check out my latest instructional, Omoplata 2.0, at https://www.grapplearts.com/omoplata. This represents 20 years of research on my part … [Read more...]
Outdated Training Methods in the Martial Arts
Richard Bejtlich is an author, martial artist, martial arts historian, and cybersecurity expert. I was thrilled to have him as a guest on episode 345 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. https://youtu.be/p0sqklw6ID4 Topics covered include... 00:26 Richard Bejtlich's background in martial arts 08:38 Where does fascination with martial arts history comes from 18:13 What research on … [Read more...]
Averi Clements on the State of Jiu-Jitsu
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...]
Exploring the Remote Northern Wilderness with Adam Shoalts
Canadian explorer Adam Shoalts is back to talk about some of his recent expeditions, including a search for a mythical beast in the wilds of Northern Labrador. We also discussed balancing family and adventure, the early explorers, his approach to selecting gear, food and travelling companions, and much more! Find out more about Adam at adamshoalts.com, follow him on Instagram at … [Read more...]
Dr Hanan Bushkin on the Persistence of Conspiracy Theories
Dr Hanan Buskin is a clinical psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and he was my guest on episode 341 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. In this discussion we went deep into the benefits conspiracy theorist get from sharing their ideas, the influence of tribalism on belief, and the long, difficult process required to gently wean red-pilled people off of conspiratorial … [Read more...]
Lifting Weights to Improve Your Jiu-Jitsu, with Steph Gaudreau
In episode 339 of my podcast (The Strenuous Life Podcast) I talk with strength trainer, nutritionist, author, and BJJ athlete Steph Gaudreau about why lifting weights won't make women bulky, the 5 main exercises every grappler should include weekly in his or her training, and how to train as you get older. Here's the excerpt from our chat specifically about these 5 categories of lifts that you … [Read more...]
An Epic Rant About the Stupidity of Runaway Conspiracy Thinking
In this podcast episode I'm the one who's getting interviewed, and I go on a huge rant about conspiracism, Ivermectin, Joe Rogan, anti-vaxxers, elk meat diets and more. This is from an Instagram Live session I did with Dr Hanan Bushkin (@drhananbushkin). Dr Bushkin is a psychologist so he really knew how to wind me up and set me loose! Here is the video version of our chat... And … [Read more...]