Dr Nicholas Tyau is an internal medicine specialist who was working at a hospital in the Bronx, the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in North America, during the spring of 2020. He's also a longtime BJJ practitioner who recently got his black belt (congratulations!!!). In this podcast we talk about the chaos that the pandemic created in the NY hospitals, the controversy over death … [Read more...]
A Quick Podcast and Video About Deliberate Practice
Have you heard the saying, "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!" A big part of perfect practice is being deliberate about your practice. That means having a plan. Knowing why you're training that day, what you're going to be working on, and how long you're going to be working on it. The idea is to break down your training into chunks small enough so that you … [Read more...]
Guidelines for Opening Up Jiu-Jitsu Academies During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Last Updated Sept 10, 2020)
Everyone is itching to train again, and for many jiu-jitsu school owners opening up is a matter of financial survival. But just to make things even more complicated, as we learn more about this virus it means that the science, policy and best practice need to keep on evolving That's why I talked to Dr Chris Moriarty who has published a 6 phase process for reopening schools and getting back … [Read more...]
Jessica Cox, The Armless Pilot Who Flies Planes with Her Feet
Jessica Cox was born without arms but she didn't let that stop her from becoming the first woman to get her pilot's license using her feet to fly the plane. And she has a couple of black belts as well. Check out this episode; I'm sure you'll come away super-inspired and ready to smash your own limits! You can listen to the conversation below in the Youtube video player, or as episode 282 of … [Read more...]
Training BJJ Outdoors
In this episode of my podcast I talked to my friend, black belt, and school owner Jeff Shaw about 2 two main things: the history of BJJ, and how BJJ can survive in a time of coronavirus. When it comes to BJJ and covid I particularly like how he's started having outdoor classes with dedicated training partners (essentially small training pods). This is something you can set up as well with just … [Read more...]
World Champ Robert Drysdale on the Early History of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil
Robert Drysdale is one of the most highly decorated American grapplers in history. He remains the only person not born in Brazil to win both the IBJJF World Championships with the gi and the ADCC Open Division without the gi. Today we talked about his research on the early history of jiu-jitsu in Brazil, his upcoming documentary called, “Closed Guard: The Origins of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil”, and … [Read more...]
An Interview with Adam Shoalts, Canadian Explorer
Adam Shoalts, author of "Alone Against the North" and "Beyond the Trees" is a professional adventurer and explorer. He has completed a 4,000 km solo trip across the Canadian Arctic, explored unknown rivers in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and is a fellow in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. I was thrilled to have him on my podcast, and I hope you enjoy his tales of adventure as much as … [Read more...]
BJJ Training Pods
The 'training pod' concept is one possible way to keep yourself and other people safe during the coronavirus pandemic. It's clear that most coronavirus super-spreader events have certain commonalities, including Being indoors Being in close proximity Heavy breathing, loud talking, or singing Extended periods of contact It's incredibly unfortunate that BJJ checks all of these … [Read more...]
Longevity in BJJ, Stephan Kesting Interviewed on The Old Roller’s Podcast
I was recently featured on The Old Rollers Podcast hosted by Harrison Helterbrand and we dove deep into maintaining your longevity in the sport, skill development, learning styles and taking charge of your own learning process. It was a great chat and so I thought I would share it with you on my own show - The Strenuous Life Podcast. BJJ Longevity Podcast in Streaming Audio Form You can … [Read more...]
In Depth Interview with Dominyka Obelenyte, 4 Time Pan-Am and World Championship Black Belt Gold Medalist.
Dominyka Obelenyte was born in Lithuania, emigrated to the United States at a very young age, and became a 4 time Pan-Am and World Championship black belt gold medalist. In this interview we talk technique, injury recovery, mindset, effective training, the use and misuse of 'loyalty' in the BJJ world, mental resilience and more. I think you'll really like this interview and find it very … [Read more...]
Mask Wearing and the Culture War During Pandemics in the USA
If you've followed me at all these last 6 months you'll know that I was early to speak to the BJJ community about taking Covid-19 seriously, helped publish guidelines for safely re-opening academies during and after the pandemic, and have continued to try and engage people about this topic on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. As a trained biologist with 2 degrees and 15 years of experience, and … [Read more...]
BJJ and Covid 19 Update, with Dr Chris Moriarty
Dr Moriarty is a medical doctor and had a long fierce career as a BJJ competitor who previously published guidelines for reopening BJJ academies during the Covid-19 pandemic (grapplearts.com/openingupbjj). In this followup episode we look at the current state of the epidemic, implications for training, and how to figure out whether cases truly are going up or down in your area. Option 1: … [Read more...]
Feeling Overwhelmed in BJJ?
There are so many techniques to master and so many different areas in BJJ to get good at that jiu-jitsu can seem totally overwhelming. The first step to solving this problem is to use a positional approach to BJJ (click here for a breakdown of what I mean by that). But after you understand the basic positions and how they relate to each other you still need to figure out which techniques - … [Read more...]
Disunity, Division and Conspiracy Theory in the BJJ Community During Covid 19 (Podcast)
Today I'm joined by Thomas Nadelhoffer an associate professor in the philosophy department at the College of Charleston, an affiliate faculty member in psychology and neuroscience, and a BJJ brown belt. We focus our conversation on the tribalism and rampant conspiracy theory acceptance in the BJJ community during the time of Covid-19. I found the discussion of 'My Risk, My Right' (the idea … [Read more...]
Oleg Taktarov Interview: Sambo in MMA and the UFC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s94y2uII3Oo I was absolutely thrilled to welcome Oleg Taktarov to my podcast. Oleg used his Sambo skills to win UFC 6, beat Dolph Lungren in a widely publicised boxing match, and fought at the infamous Pentagon Combat event which ended in a riot and got MMA banned in Rio de Janeiro. Oleg is also a great teacher - I personally use techniques and concepts I … [Read more...]
My 100 Word BJJ Manifesto
A long time ago I tried to break down my approach to learning BJJ and mastering techniques as succinctly as possible. And here it is in 100 words... I recently did a more detailed breakdown of what I meant by these 100 words on my podcast, so check out the breakdown at the links below... Option 1: Stream the Manifesto Breakdown Here Click on the player below to start the … [Read more...]
Joel Gerson vs Rumina Sato, the Greatest Upset in Japanese Shooto History
On March 1st, 1998 Joel Gerson stepped into the ring against Japanese Shooto superstar Rumina Sato. At that time Rumina Sato was undefeated in Shooto, Japan's oldest MMA promotion. Think of him as an early version of Georges St Pierre - an explosive, unorthodox fighter who could punch, kick, and attack with a dizzying array of upper and lower body submissions. In this era Japanese MMA stars … [Read more...]
Interview with Yuri Simoes, 2 x ADCC World Champion
Yuri Simoes is a two time ADCC World Championship, a two-time IBJJF black belt Absolute No-Gi World Champion, and a two-time Pan American Champion. In our chat we go deep into developing the motivation required to train at such a high level, recovering from 2 horrific knee injuries and winning ADCC, the importance of self defense training, how he took down a Olympic Judo champion in … [Read more...]
Five Tips for Training During Coronavirus Lockdown
As I write this most clubs, dojos and training groups all over the world have shut down for a very noble cause; to flatten the coronavirus curve By shutting things down we're slowing (not stopping) community transmission of this virus, which in turn prevents the medical system from being overrun all at once and allows the system to manufacture and stockpile masks and other personal protective … [Read more...]
Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life, with Jamie Kilstein
Jamie Kilstein is a BJJ brown belt and Joe Rogan approved professional comic who has been making a stir (and ruffling some feathers) in BJJ circles with his satirical videos on Instagram recently (follow him at @thejamiekilstein, on the JamieKilstein podcast, on Rear Naked Radio and on his Youtube channel). We got to know each other because we've both been vocal about the BJJ and Coronavirus … [Read more...]