Oliver Taza trains at Tristar in Montreal with Firas Zahabi and at Renzo Gracie's in New York City with John Danaher. With his impeccable technique and aggressive grappling style he has amassed an impressive array of wins at Polaris, Metamoris, the ADCC Trials, the No Gi Worlds, and many more competitions. In this episode we go deep into the training and technical development required to … [Read more...]
Interviews
Creating Your Optimal Training Environment, with Jon Thomas
In this conversation BJJ black belt Jon Thomas and I go deep into training and drilling methodologies that give you results as fast as possible. Jon is originally from the US but teaches at a school in Sweden. He still competes at a high level, so he has had to take extreme ownership over his results using reverse-engineering and a very analytical approach to his training. In this episode we … [Read more...]
Interview with Greg Nelson, Brock Lesnar’s MMA Coach
How do you turn 290 lb WWE superstar and human wrecking ball Brock Lesnar into a UFC champion in a relatively short amount of time? And assuming you have those skills, then how do you then pivot to train smaller fighters, including 155 lb UFC champion Sean Sherk and 115 lb 'Thug' Rose Namajunas? In this interview I go deep into fight strategy and training camp design with MMA master … [Read more...]
BJJ for Law Enforcement
I recently sat down with my friend Rory Van Vliet to talk about the applicability of BJJ in law enforcement, including policing, corrections, security work and even bouncing. If you work in any of these fields then you should probably have a listen because there are some good war stories here! Episode 250 of The Strenuous Life Podcast in Video Form You can watch and listen to the entire … [Read more...]
On the Value of BJJ Competition with Thomas Lisboa
A fun conversation with BJJ black belt Thomas Lisboa about Why testing yourself occasionally in competition gives you things that you just can't get from regular training, How to develop your weakest positions, Why even advanced students should attend the beginner's class, How Brazilian black belts use their skills on the mat to emigrate to North America, And much more. Episode … [Read more...]
Contrarian Thinking About Nutrition, with Nick Hiebert (Strenuous Life Podcast Ep 244)
Proper nutrition is one of the absolute cornerstones of good training. Trying to train if your nutrition sucks is like trying to redline a sports car using cheap Tijuana gas - the entire system is going to fall apart. The problem is that there is so much bad advice out there about nutrition, ranging from bro science to diets that can have disastrously negative side effects. I recently had an … [Read more...]
Pain is a Universal Language, with Endurance Athlete Mike McCastle
Mike McCastle has accomplished some of the most amazing tasks of endurance I've ever heard of. In this episode we go deep into developing mental strength, maintaining commitment in the face of adversity, and dealing with physical and emotional pain. He has some amazing insights into human psychology and peak performance that I'm sure you're going to get a lot out of. I hope you really like … [Read more...]
Tristan Connelly on Fighting and Training MMA
I recently had the great pleasure of chatting with Tristan Connelly who was just fresh off his absolutely amazing underdog MMA win over Michel Pereira in the UFC, We went deep into detail about mindset, strategy and training. I think you'll find this a great episode! Specific topics included, 00:14 A detailed breakdown of his fight with Michel Pereira, 07:00 Weight control for MMA … [Read more...]
In-Depth Interview with Chris Duffin, The Mad Scientist of Strength
Chris Duffin is a super-smart, analytical, and incredibly dedicated BEAST of a human being. He's an ultra-elite powerlifter who has deadlifted 1000 lbs for reps and is now closing in on his grand goal of also squatting over 1000 lbs. I spent almost 1 1/2 hours chatting with him about his insane feats of strength at his gym and manufacturing facility and got a ton of insights into his … [Read more...]
The 6 Steps of a Good Submission
Did you know that there's an actual physics and biomechanics-based procedure that'll definitely help you tap out many more people in BJJ? At a high level there's so much more more to getting a choke or an armlock than simply seeing an opportunity and jumping on it. That approach rarely works against good people. Instead it's about gradually manoeuvring your opponent into worse and worse … [Read more...]
“Jiu-Jitsu Nowadays Is Much More Effective”, Fabio Gurgel on Old vs Modern Jiu-Jitsu
In this clip of my epic talk with BJJ black belt legend Fabio Gurgel on The Strenuous Life Podcast he talks about whether old school or modern BJJ is more effective in competition, MMA, and in a real fight. He argues quite convincingly that new school jiu-jitsu is now MORE effective than it's ever been, that there are now MORE submissions in competition, and that reminiscing about the good old … [Read more...]
BJJ and Bodyguarding with Jamie Flynn, Former British Special Forces Operator
Jamie Flynn - former British Special Forces Operator turned BJJ practitioner and bodyguard - breaks down the keys to successful bodyguarding and how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu helps with that. Check it out below! https://youtu.be/1uU0UDdiMhM More Jamie Flynn If you enjoyed the little snippet above you may enjoy the entire interview I did with Jamie. In audio form it's episode 199 of The … [Read more...]
Mindset and Motivation in the Martial Arts and the Rest of Life
Brett Piperni has spoken about mindset and motivation on the TED stage and I was very happy to get him on my podcast because he shared some great tips! I particularly his approach to creating 'have-to' situations in life. His story is that he was a nationally ranked Taekwondo competitor when he came down very serious illness that threatened his life and left him crippled. Multiple … [Read more...]
Discipline and Mental Toughness with Brett Piperni {Podcast}
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to TEDx speaker Brett Piperni about discipline, decision making, and deliberately putting yourself into situations where you have no options other than going forward. Brett was a nationally ranked Taekwondo competitor who was diagnosed with an illness that crippled him which specialists told him was incurable. He fought through it, returned … [Read more...]
Vanessa Wexler, Black Belt BJJ Champion, Mother, School Owner, and Model
Vanessa Wexler is a BJJ black belt and a multiple no-gi world champion, PanAm champion, and Masters champion. She's also a mother, a school owner, and a model. I caught up with her shortly after she won Gold in the Pan Ams competing with a completely destroyed ankle. We talked dealing with injuries, pre-competition visualisation, how running a school does NOT give you unlimited training … [Read more...]
Monty Collier, Keanu Reeve’s Judo Instructor for John Wick 3, Parabellum
Today's guest on The Strenuous Life Podcast is Monty Collier, a black belt Judoka who worked with Keanu Reeves to get him ready for the amazing fight sequences in the movie John Wick 3, Parabellum. This conversation was fun and we really went detail about stuntwork and gun fu movie fighting including how he taught Keanu highly technical Judo throws that have bedevilled me for years. We … [Read more...]
One-Armed BJJ with Para-Athlete Jess Munster
Jess Munster was born with a severe brachial plexus injury which left her with only one functional arm. But this disability hasn't stopped her from training BJJ, competing against able-bodied fighters, and travelling the world to compete in para-athletic championships! In this episode I talk with Jess about what drives her past the limits of her disability, how she modifies her training and her … [Read more...]
How to Win Lethwei World Championships,
Today's we're talking about training a fighter to become a world champion in an incredibly intense full contact martial known as Lethwei. Lethwei is from Burma and looks a bit like Muay Thai with a few crazy additions... First of all, in addition to punches, kicks, elbows, and knees they also allow headbutts... If a fighter gets knocked out their cornermen have two minutes tor resuscitate them … [Read more...]
The Mental Side of Jiu-Jitsu with Tarsis Humphreys
Tarsis Humphreys is a multiple time BJJ Black Belt world champion and Brazilian National Champion. From 1998 to 2010 he won a medal in whichever Black Belt adult division he entered. In this episode we go DEEP into the mental game of BJJ, including How to keep a match on your preferred terms, The optimal state of mental arousal for a match, Tailoring a strategy to overcome certain … [Read more...]
Podcast: Kathy Hubble, Judo Champion and Stuntwoman
Today I talk with Kathy Hubble who is a professional Stuntwoman and multiple time Canadian National Judo Champion. She shares how she got started in stunts, how she got injured on set in a Jacky Chan action movie, and how Judo helped her stuntwork. We also delve into the differences in between Judo and BJJ energies, transitioning from throws directly into submissions, and the funny dynamic … [Read more...]