In this Grapplearts interview I talk to BJJ Black Belt Ritchie Yip, focusing on tips that BJJ beginners need to know. But sometimes the conversation goes a little off track! To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then you might miss out on future episodes, wouldn’t you? So the best thing to do is to subscribe to The Strenuous Life Podcast … [Read more...]
Interviews
Podcast EP24: How to Build a BJJ Gameplan
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...]
Podcast EP22: Adam Singer on Modern MMA Training and Competition
Stephan: I’m here today with my friend, Adam Singer, who runs The HardCore Gym in Athens, Georgia. He is probably best known for being Forrest Griffin’s MMA coach during the formative years of Forrest’s career. He’s also a jiu-jitsu black belt and has trained tons of fighters. I’m really looking forward to picking his brain about MMA and jiu-jitsu and the relationship between these things. … [Read more...]
Podcast EP20: The Art and Science of Teaching Martial Arts
I recently interviewed my friend, training partner, black belt, and school owner Ritchie Yip. The main theme of our discussion was the art and science of teaching martial arts, including how to teach students with different learning styles and experience levels. Not every student learns the same way, and a good teacher knows how to adapt his material and curriculum to help students of all learning … [Read more...]
Podcast EP19: Clark Gracie on Training, Competing, and Growing up Gracie
This is a great interview with 2013 Pan Am BJJ Champion Clark Gracie. He shares a ton of cool info. You can listen to, read, or download this interview in several different ways… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWxI1oKzpV4 To listen to this conversation you could press play on the video above, but then you might miss out on future episodes, wouldn’t you? So the best thing to do is to … [Read more...]
Podcast EP18: John Perretti, MMA Matchmaker
I recently talked to John Perretti, the former matchmaker for both the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Extreme Fighting Championship. In our fifty minute interview John and I discussed the early days of the sport, how he found and selected fighters, brain trauma in the combat sports, his disdain for the current state of the UFC, and much more. So if you're a fan of early MMA there's a … [Read more...]
Podcast EP17: Rafael Lovato Jr. on Training and Competing in BJJ
This is a great interview with BJJ competition legend Rafael Lovato Jr. 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 up The Strenuous Life Podcast and from there, you can click to subscribe, or simply search for this episode which is episode # … [Read more...]
Podcast EP14: Keenan Cornelius on Training, BJJ Competition, MMA Goals and More
Keenan Cornelius is a BJJ phenomenon. Known for his exciting guardwork and movement-oriented game, he won double gold medals in four of the biggest BJJ tournament in the world as a purple belt, which is a HUGE accomplishment. Here's my recent interview with Keenan … [Read more...]
Podcast EP11: Draculino talks about the Evolution of BJJ
Recently I managed to catch up with Vinicius 'Draculino' Magalhães and pick his brain about the ongoing evolution of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Draculino started training in Rio in the 1980's, back in the days when many of the big names in BJJ were just young kids with blue and purple belts around their waists. Plus he's trained many great competitors in the sport, as well as having personally … [Read more...]
Sports Psychology for BJJ, MMA & Submission Grappling
*** A Sports Psychology Question from a Reader *** Hi Stephan, I was listening to your interview with Ryan Hall and I was wondering about which Sports Psychology Books you had read or would recommend. … [Read more...]
Life’s not fair (but these tips will work for just about anybody)
Life just isn't fair!! BJJ is the art of leverage, but there are techniques in the grappling repertoire that require you to be at least as strong as your opponent. … [Read more...]
Podcast EP8: Tony Blauer on Fitness, Fear Management, and Combat Psychology
I just interviewed Tony Blauer. He's the head of Blauer Tactical Systems which specializes in close quarter tactics & scenario-based training for law enforcement, military and professional self-defense instructors. We had a great conversation about Crossfit, fear management, adrenaline dumps, and his recent 'immersion' in BJJ... This is pretty relevant stuff! Everybody (who's not … [Read more...]
Podcast EP5: A Woman’s Jiu-Jitsu Journey from White Belt to Black Belt
In this feature interview I talk with Emily Kwok who is a very smart, very talented jiu-jitsu practitioner. She's been involved in the woman's competition circuit for a long time, having competed both with and without the gi, and in MMA overseas. Her ability as a teacher of jiu-jitsu - to both men and women - is proved every time she steps on the mats at her BJJ Academy in Princeton, … [Read more...]
Podcast EP3: Erik Paulson; an MMA Master Coach Shares His Secrets
Erik Paulson is an MMA Master Coach. He's trained tons of fighters competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts. And he held the Shooto light-heavyweight title in Japan for 5 years. He's also my friend and a mentor. Click Play Below to Listen to My Conversation with Erik Paulson... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx7gT-EXohM Recently I asked my newsletter readers if there was … [Read more...]
Do You Have Competition Questions?
David Meyer has a ton of credentials, but for now I'm only going to mention three of them: He's a BJJ Black Belt under the Machado brothers, He's got a very solid record in BJJ and in submission grappling competition, and He's the author of one of my favorite new books "Training for Competition: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling." Sometime in July of 2009 I'm hoping to … [Read more...]
Podcast EP1: GSPs Original MMA Conditioning Coach: Jon Chaimberg
Jon Chaimberg is a guy I've always wanted to talk to. Actually, that's an understatement, because I what I really wanted was pick his brain mercilessly until he gave me all the secrets of his incredible approach to MMA conditioning. Jon has worked with many top Mixed Martial Arts fighters, including Georges St-Pierre, Denis Kang, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, David Loiseau, Keith Jardine and … [Read more...]
Two Interviews
Michael Jen Whether it's because of following his posts on mma.tv, or being influenced by his trend-setting instructional videos early in my BJJ career, I feel like I've known Michael Jen for a long time even though I've never actually met him! … [Read more...]
Learning BJJ in a Digital Age
I recently did a remote interview with Marshall Carpenter from Lockflow.com on the topic of how the internet has changed the way grappling knowledge is transmitted, learned and modified. You can check out the interview at Lockflow, or in the text below. … [Read more...]
Paulson Podcast
My friend and coach Erik Paulson was recently featured on the MMA Podcast Carson's Corner. … [Read more...]