I've trained on a lot of different types of mat in my day: wrestling mats, foam core mats, puzzle mats, and rock hard old school Judo straw tatami, just to name a few. And I've also rolled around on a lot of non-matted surfaces including concrete, wood and carpet. (Of all those surfaces, carpet is the WORST by far!! The carpet burns you can get on your head, back and elbows are … [Read more...]
Sparring
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...]
Measure Your Training To Improve Your Training
Peter Drucker, the godfather of modern business management, once said, “You can't manage what you can't measure.” Now I don't think that Peter Drucker did Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (or any other form of martial arts) but the idea of measuring things in order to improve them applies to every field of athletic endeavour. So let's look at some concrete ways that we might quantify our training and … [Read more...]
BJJ Gameplan Development (Podcast)
In this live Q&A I cover a bunch of topics including Gameplan development, What to do about training partners figuring out your game, How to find a good gym, Whether loyalty to your instructor always a good thing, How sparring is the secret sauce of any effective martial art, Taking time off from jiu-jitsu, And more You can stream the audio for today’s episode in the … [Read more...]
The Cheat Code for BJJ Turtle Escapes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmz1ID3VgGU The turtle is a terrible position! Being on all fours is an invitation for your opponent to apply the clock choke, take your back and choke you out, or attack you with other submissions. And if you're talking about an MMA or self defense situation it's even worse. Now your opponent can elbow, knee and hammerfist you into oblivion without even … [Read more...]
BJJ Self Defense Rant
In this podcast episode I answer a question received on an Instagram Live Q&A about a boxing beating jiu-jitsu in a real streetfight. (Follow me on Instagram @stephan_kesting and maybe a future podcast episode will be devoted to something you asked about!) The question I dive into today is, "What are the the odds that a boxer would beat a BJJ practitioner if all other things - size, … [Read more...]
Why You MUST Regularly Calibrate Your Skills Against People Better Than You!
This is a short rant about the dichotomy of individuality in the martial arts. On the one hand you absolutely have to take responsibility for finding techniques and strategies that fit your body, your physical attributes, and your personality. On the other hand if you spend too much time training in a small group without the opportunity to calibrate your skills against people much better … [Read more...]
Situational Sparring and Positional Drilling
Situational sparring and positional drilling is a training method used by virtually every single black belt and high level BJJ competitor. In this type of training you start out in a certain position or situation and define specific end points where you reset and start again. For example, if you were to start in the sitting guard then you might stop if the guy on the bottom gets the sweep or … [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...]
Don’t Concede the Guard!
I used to make a very specific mistake all up until about purple belt: I would just concede the guard. Conceding the Guard By that I mean that in a competitive roll I would just give my opponent whatever kind of guard he wanted and then go from there. If he wanted to play spider guard, sure, I’d give him spider guard and then try to pass. If he wanted de la Riva I’d give that to him right … [Read more...]
How to Get Past a Plateau in BJJ
When you're training and training and training but just NOT getting any better that's called a 'plateau'. It happens to everyone but it's still an INCREDIBLY frustrating experience. You're out there sweating, straining, and maybe even bleeding on the mats but feel like you're stuck in some kind of rut. Everyone you train with becomes wise to your tricks, and seem to know what you're about to … [Read more...]
Rehab and Prehab for Martial Arts
It was a pleasure to talk with Dr Mark Cheng about injury rehabilitation and rehabilitation today on The Strenuous Life Podcast. Mark has worked with lots of combat athletes in all sorts of martial arts disciplines. He has also trained with some really good instructors, some of which I know personally. Here are just some of the things we cover in this podcast... The process of … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 181: Why is Sparring So Hard? (Audio + Video)
Ritchie Yip is the brains behind The Precision Kickboxing Masterclass, and in this episode he and I sat down to discuss the path to kickboxing mastery. Too many beginners feel great when they're hitting the pads only to have everything fall apart the very first time they spar. Sparring can be a completely different beast from just drilling technique, and the transition can be incredibly … [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...]
10 Pieces of Advice for BJJ White Belts
A Guest Article, by Rhett Burch There are many articles for BJJ beginners, but not many of them are written by a purple belt. I figured I'd share my thoughts since it wasn't long ago when I was white belt. The following things have helped me tremendously as a beginner. 1) Relax And Breathe First, is relax. Almost every BJJ beginner moves like a terrified animal initially. Practicing … [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...]
Podcast Episode 48 – Self Defense, The Filipino Martial Arts and an Interview with Jarlo Ilano
In this interview, I talk with with Filipino Martial Arts instructor Jarlo Ilano about sparring with sticks and knives, self defense and how the training methods you're using affect how your martial art will express itself when you're trying to use it under stress. Jarlo Ilano is an instructor under Burton Richardson https://jkdunlimited.com/ in his Battlefield Kali system and a purple belt in … [Read more...]
My Secret Method To Get An Advantage in BJJ Sparring
In previous articles we've discussed what a grappling arms race is, and how in that situation you can use video self analysis to get an advantage over your training partners. Today I want to briefly touch on one of MY secret weapons in the everlasting arms race in the dojo. That method is focused partner training. Here is what I do. Suppose I consistently run into the same problem with a … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 46 – Three Fundamental Elements for Every Martial Art
In this 13 minute rant I go into the 3 essential components that make up every martial art on the planet, a concept I learned from the famous Filipino martial artist (and protege of Bruce Lee) Mr Dan Inosanto! Lots of examples from Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, BJJ, MMA, Kali, Capoeira, and Kung Fu... To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then … [Read more...]
BJJ Wristlocks Everywhere!
For some reasons wristlocks in BJJ just don't get no respect. Many grapplers consider it OK to tap out to armlocks, triangle chokes, shoulder locks or lapel chokes, but for some reason wristlocks are considered super cheesy. However the wrist is just as legitimate a joint to attack as the elbow, shoulder or knee. In fact there's a meme going around the online BJJ community right now. I … [Read more...]