In this episode I go DEEP with Commonwealth Games gold medalist and 5 time National Team member Nick Ugoalah about the physical conditioning and mental training it takes to become a world class wrestler. It's a fascinating conversation because what Nick shares is applicable to any combat sport and not just wrestling. (It also shows you how damn hard you have to work to become an elite … [Read more...]
Standing vs Kneeling Guard Passes
When you're trying to pass your opponent's guard you can use either standing or kneeling guard passes. (Of course if you're dealing with the closed guard you have an additional decision to make, namely whether you first stand or kneel to break the closed guard open in the first place.) Anyhow, there's a tendency for modern BJJ players to use more standing, mobility based passes, especially … [Read more...]
BJJ Self Defense for Girls
I believe that every girl should have some basic self defense training. Yes, defeating a larger, stronger, male aggressor is a high bar to clear for a smaller girl, but it's not impossible - I've seen lots of trained women choke out bigger guys on the mat. The key word here is 'trained'. As in having spent many hours on the mat training, drilling and sparring. Now there are lots of self … [Read more...]
What Great Techniques Have You Simply Stopped Using for No Good Reason?
Early this morning, while still in bed, I started daydreaming about various counters to the knee cut guard pass. This is one of the most dominant guard passes in jiu-jitsu and a favourite of several of my training partners, so it's something I have to deal with all the time. As I was lying there, musing about different ways to shut down that guard pass, something was bothering me. A niggling … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 173 – Self Experimentation and Limiting the Downside of Experiments Gone Wrong
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk about the importance of self experimentation and how your results may be different from most other people's. I share some dietary experiments I've been fooling around with and exactly what I've been doing to limit the potential downsides. And somehow I drag the conversation down into musing about limiting the downside when dating crazy … [Read more...]
Podcast: Exposing Martial Arts Frauds with McDojolife!
Rob from McDojoLife has been relentless in his attempts to expose martial arts frauds, exposing everyone from from chi-based knockout masters to ninjas who practise bending joints in the direction they are designed to bend. Honestly some of the videos he's shared with people over the years have been hilarious for all the wrong reasons! (Scroll down for some of my favourite videos!) In … [Read more...]
Do Dirty Fighting Moves Work in Grappling?
Have you run into that guy who thinks he can eye gouge his way out of your mount, groin punch his way past your guard, and bite your ribs from side control? Well, today's video is for him! Now it's true that on the street you may need to pull hair, gouge the eyes, kick the groin, grab the throat. Then, if all that doesn't work then you'll need to start fighting dirty ;) But a martial … [Read more...]
Why People Believe Crazy Things
My guest is a science advocate generally known as The Genetically Modified Skeptic. In this hard-hitting (and likely controversial) discussion Drew discusses magical thinking in the martial arts, essential oils, alternative medicine, cult leaders, Jordan Peterson, religion, the anti-vaccine movement, fake cancer cures and much more. I hope you find it interesting and though provoking. Go … [Read more...]
Kata is Useless for Combat, Prove Me Wrong. A Discussion with Iain Abernathy, 7th Degree Karate Black Belt.
In some ways this podcast about the usefulness of kata was destined to happen... In the last couple of years several people suggested that I should talk to Iain Abernathy, an expert in the application of karate kata, because I am generally quite dubious about the utility of karate kata and kung fu forms. Then I published a controversial video on Youtube called "Why Kung Fu Forms and Karate … [Read more...]
On Staying Calm When All Hell is Breaking Loose
Leadership is easy when things are going well,but is considerably more difficult when all hell is breaking loose and the s**t is hitting the fan. In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast we look at a common denominator of great leadership in difficult situations, the optimal state of arousal, and a few examples of good and bad leadership in the fire department. If you enjoyed this … [Read more...]
JP Dinnell Podcast
This podcast with JP Dinnell is full of actionable tips for people who want to get off their asses and start achieving things in life. JP is former Navy Seal who spent nearly a decade in SEAL teams, with three separate deployments overseas. He served under Jocko Willink and Leif Babin on many combat operations with Task Unit Bruiser in Ramadi, Iraq, where he was a point man, machine gunner, … [Read more...]
Fabio Gurgel on Fighting Vale Tudo in Brazil, Training BJJ World Champions, and More…
I was thrilled to meet up with multiple time BJJ world champion Fabio Gurgel and get him on my show for you. We talked about everything from his experiences in old school Vale Tudo matches in Brazil to the details of running Alliance and creating a team of world champion BJJ killers. Also front and center was the debate between traditional vs modern jiu-jitsu, why the level of BJJ right now … [Read more...]
Dealing with Doubt and Fear in the Martial Arts with Ando Mierzwa
I'm thrilled to have Ando Mierzwa back on the podcast in episode 165 to discuss dealing with doubt and fear in the martial arts, overcoming claustrophobia, whether martial arts lessons can be life lessons, training differently based on your age, fitness, and goals, and much more! To listen to this episode (number 165 of The Strenuous Life Podcast) you can subscribe on the podcast player that … [Read more...]
Mindset, Preparation and Close Calls with Ice Climber Will Gadd
Will Gadd is an extreme athlete, perhaps best known for ice climbing Niagara Falls in the winter (video at the bottom of this page). But he's also pioneered many novel routes, including Helmcken Falls, icebergs in the ocean, and underground river tunnels in the Greenland ice. In this chat we talked about those first ascents, but also touched on mindset, dealing with risk and unknowns, … [Read more...]
A Weight Cutting Plan for BJJ, MMA, and No Gi Competition
Weight cutting is a fact of life in modern MMA and also in many jiu-jitsu and submission grappling competitions. And the person who does it correctly usually has an undeniable advantage. But it can also be very dangerous if done wrong - people have sabotaged their performance, gone into kidney failure, and even died after cutting weight badly. So if you're going to cut weight you need to do … [Read more...]
Full Contact Jousting with Shane Adams
Shane Adams is the star of Full Metal Jousting and has been featured in the New York Times because is the godfather of modern full contact jousting. In full contact jousting two knights wearing 150 lbs of armour ride on charging horses and try to unhorse each other using 11 foot long solid wooden lances that deliver 2,000 lbs of force. Yes, this is an actual sport: there are rules, … [Read more...]
Sim Go and the Legacy of Cobra Kai
Simpson (Sim) Go is a BJJ blackbelt and owner of Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas. He is also a 14 time Grappler's Quest champion and competed at ADCC 2007, so he know his jiu-jitsu inside-out! In this podcast we chatted about many things, including 00:54 - How they decided to use the name 'Cobra Kai' for a jiu-jitsu school 06:16 - The influence and training of Marc Laimon 08:20 - How … [Read more...]
Seph Smith on Sambo, BJJ, and Performing Under Pressure
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I was thrilled to talk with the articulate and knowledgable Seph Smith. Seph is a prolific competitor, was awarded his BJJ black belt by UFC fighter Ryan Hall, and has a black belt in Combat Sambo. He has competed with and without the gi and in MMA as well. We covered many topics including How to train leglocks safely, Competing in … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 156 with Survivorman Les Stroud
This conversation with Survivorman Les Stroud might be one of my favourite Strenuous Life Podcast episodes ever! Les Stroud has produced many survival-themed shows for The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, The Outdoor Life Network, and YTV. In these shows he usually goes out into very challenging wilderness situations and tries to survive using only the materials at hand and minimal … [Read more...]
About the Strenuous Life Podcast
WELCOME! My name is Stephan Kesting and I produce The Strenuous Life Podcast. This podcast originally started out as The Grapplearts Radio Podcast which focussed almost exclusively on BJJ, Grappling, MMA, and all manner of martial arts training. That's still a pretty big focus of the podcast, but since it's been renamed and rebranded we've broadened out to include everyone from UFC fighters … [Read more...]