If you've been doing jiu-jitsu for any length of time you probably have a rival on the mats. You're basically forever trying to figure out how to beat him, and he's trying to do the same to you. This is an arms race, and the rivalry is good for both of you. In your battles with your frenemy - let's call him Bob - you're probably searching for new techniques to use on him, right? Maybe … [Read more...]
Training
Alone on Everest with Jost Kobusch
On episode 392 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I'm joined by the amazing Jost Kobusch. Jost is a German mountaineer who spent two seasons on Everest trying to ascend the legendarily difficult West Ridge route and the Hornbein Couloir alone, without oxygen, and in the middle of the brutal Himalayan winter. We covered a TON of interesting topics, including 00:00 Jost Kobusch's plans for … [Read more...]
When to Keep Pushing the Pace in Jiu-Jitsu
Imagine that you're in a match, and you've just swept the other guy onto his ass. That's a great feeling, but should you take a brief time out to congratulate yourself? Of course not. Languidly taking your time after a sweep might work great against white and blue belts in friendly, relaxed rolling, but it'll never work against a serious opponent, especially in competition where people just … [Read more...]
BJJ Trigger Positions
A trigger position is an alignment of your body and your opponent’s body that immediately invites a specific technique, be it a sweep, submission or guard pass.. Once you're there, all you need to do is pull the metaphorical trigger and - BOOM - you're deep into the attack. This concept makes it easy for you to know when it's time to attack in jiu-jitsu. Knowing the Trigger Position for a … [Read more...]
Amanda Bruse – How to Compete and Win in No Gi Jiu-Jitsu
Amanda Bruse took home Gold as a black belt in her weight division at No Gi Pans in 2022, and also a Silver in the open division facing much heavier opponents. She's also done amazingly well at ADCC Trials, No Gi Worlds, and is now competing in Combat Jiu-jitsu as well. It's remarkable that she's only been training for 6 years; clearly, she's doing something right, and in this conversation I … [Read more...]
Greg Souders
To say that Greg Souders is a huge believer in drilling and gamification is actually an understatement. Greg believes that BJJ training methods have not kept up with the science of learning, and runs Standard Jiu-Jitsu in Rockville, Maryland without teaching any techniques. And black belt medalist students at the Pan Ams and the World Championships suggest that he's onto something! I really … [Read more...]
The Answer to Your Jiu-Jitsu Problem is Out There
So the other day in sparring I tried a variation of the berimbolo (an inverting backtake) that I don’t normally do. I was bigger, stronger, and much more experienced than the other guy. And all those stripes on my black belt should mean that techniques should work the first time I try them, right? Of course not. A black belt means that you're pretty good at some things but doesn't give you … [Read more...]
Mix Up Your Training!
Don’t be afraid taking little detours in your training to explore a corner of the art to the exclusion of training everything, all at once, all of the time. By specializing in one little area you can make some serious breakthroughs and also you can avoid stagnation and boredom which is important for the long run. View this post on … [Read more...]
Sport vs Self Defense Jiu-Jitsu, with John Will
John Will trained in Southern California in the late 80's, was one of the first 12 non-Brazilians to get a BJJ black belt, and then went on to create the largest jiu-jitsu association in Australasia. We talked about how the art has changed, how to be 'centrist' in the sport vs self defense debate, teaching elite military personnel, how to create a curriculum, and much more. I'm sure you'll … [Read more...]
The Jiu-Jitsu Drills of of Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro
When Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro started talking about the drills he uses I paid attention! Shaolin has won the World BJJ Championships 4 times, held the 140 to 155 lb belt in Shooto, and has a long list of other titles. He is an outstanding competitor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts, so he knows how to train effectively and efficiently! Shaolin uses a variety … [Read more...]
Physical Endurance and Mental Toughness with James ‘The Biking Viking’ Benson King
Physical Endurance and Mental Toughness with James Benson King (Video Version) James 'The Biking Viking' Benson King is cycling from Alaska at the very top of North America to Argentina at the very bottom of South America. He's covered thousands of miles, endured injuries, dealt with bears, and gone deep into the reservoirs of his endurance. In this episode we talk about his mental and … [Read more...]
Skill vs Athleticism in BJJ, with Rob Biernacki & Stephan Kesting
Rob Biernacki is back on The Strenuous Life Podcast to discuss the relative importance of technical skill vs physical athleticism in BJJ... Skill vs Athleticism in BJJ (Video Version) Here is the video of my conversation with Rob (click here to watch it on Youtube)... 00:20 - Can you succeed with just technique in Jiu-jitsu? 04:41 - Is Jiu-jitsu for everybody? 08:59 - Skill vs … [Read more...]
How to Survive Training Layoffs from Grappling
Life is a balancing act, and most of us have multiple priorities. We have to juggle BJJ with work, family life, relaxation time, etc. A couple of days away from training never killed anybody. In fact, we're usually refreshed and eager to get back at 'er when we return! But sometimes the breaks are longer than a couple of days. Life intervenes, and before you know it weeks, or even months have … [Read more...]
A ‘Stupid’ Armlock I Was Pretty Sure Would NEVER Work…
Sometimes you just gotta have faith... In the video below I'll share an armlock with you that I'd been shown multiple times early in my BJJ career. And I always thought it was hogwash; that any good opponent would simply twist out of it and I'd end up in a terrible position. Click here to view the same "Stupid" Armlock video on YouTube! The technique in question was the reverse or … [Read more...]
Precision Drilling to Improve Faster in BJJ
By limiting what you do during training and drilling you become much more precise and will improve much faster in jiu-jitsu. With examples from whitewater paddling, mountain climbing, and yes, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Precision Drilling to Improve Faster in BJJ (Video Format) Here’s the video version of the podcast... Precision Drilling to Improve Faster in BJJ (Audio Format) This video was … [Read more...]
Get Better Faster by Lowering the Cost of Failure
Lowering the cost of failure in your training is the best way to get more reps in against a resisting opponent. And getting more reps in against a resisting opponent is the best way to get better faster! Here's what that might look like... High Percentage BJJ Techniques (Video Format) Here's the video version of episode 358 of The Strenuous Life Podcast... (Click here to view this same … [Read more...]
How to Find the High Percentage Jiu-Jitsu Techniques, with Rob Biernacki
This podcast I did with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki covers quite a bit of ground, including, How to find the high percentage techniques in jiu-jitsu, False positives when you observe lower belts, The standards of jiu-jitsu evidence, MMA vs gi BJJ vs submission grappling, Attribute based techniques, How to know what the next big thing is in jiu-jitsu And much more! To … [Read more...]
Jiu-Jitsu in a Time of Omicron, with Dr Nicholas Tyau
I've spent a lot of time talking about Covid with doctors and epidemiologists these last few years. Things are finally beginning to change... On the one hand we have vaccines, boosters, and are getting better at treating Covid. On the other hand, right now we're in the middle of a giant spike of the crazy infectious (but mostly less deadly) Omicron variant. Which begs the question, to … [Read more...]
The 20 Year History of the Omoplata 2.0 Instructional
I was first exposed to something resembling the omoplata when learning a martial art known as Indonesian Silat from Dan Inosanto. A move where you use your leg to bend your opponent's arm behind his back is often used in Silat as a finishing move after taking someone to the ground. It turned out that this move (with slight modifications) also worked in the jiu-jitsu and judo training that I … [Read more...]
Outdated Training Methods in the Martial Arts
Richard Bejtlich is an author, martial artist, martial arts historian, and cybersecurity expert. I was thrilled to have him as a guest on episode 345 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. https://youtu.be/p0sqklw6ID4 Topics covered include... 00:26 Richard Bejtlich's background in martial arts 08:38 Where does fascination with martial arts history comes from 18:13 What research on … [Read more...]