Having problems attacking an opponent who's basing with one knee up in your guard? Even if he's adopted this defensive posture you can definitely still attack him with the double shin sweep from butterfly guard. This is a very powerful sweep that has been proven in many high level jiu-jitsu competitions! In this attack you insert yourself deep under his center of gravity, lift one of his … [Read more...]
Video
3 Great Defenses to the Over-Under Guard Pass
The over-under guard pass is one of the heaviest, highest percentage, and most miserable guard passes in the BJJ arsenal. It is a real soul-stealer! If you go up against someone with a good over-under pass and you don't have good answers to it, then first you're going to suffer, then you'll get your guard passed, and then you'll be crushed on the bottom of side control. Fortunately today … [Read more...]
An Epic Rant About the Stupidity of Runaway Conspiracy Thinking
In this podcast episode I'm the one who's getting interviewed, and I go on a huge rant about conspiracism, Ivermectin, Joe Rogan, anti-vaxxers, elk meat diets and more. This is from an Instagram Live session I did with Dr Hanan Bushkin (@drhananbushkin). Dr Bushkin is a psychologist so he really knew how to wind me up and set me loose! Here is the video version of our chat... And … [Read more...]
Lessons from Competing in 25 Matches in 8 Divisions in 1 Tournament with Jeff Shaw {Podcast and Video}
Jeff Shaw runs Bellingham BJJ and despite coming to jiu-jitsu late in life fell in love with competition and eventually competed 8 divisions in a single tournament with pretty good results. I particularly love his pre-match psych up routine which you'll learn all about in this episode! Here is the video version of our chat... 00:45 - Covid Check-in at Bellingham BJJ 13:58 - Starting … [Read more...]
Rescuing People Trapped in Cults, with Joseph Szimhart”
In episode 335 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to cult expert, cult survivor and cult deprogrammer Joeseph Szimhart. We go into depth abot QAnon, Theosophy, new age cults, cult recruitment tactics, and people escape them. I think this is a fascinating and very topical conversation. Find out more about Joe at jszimhart.com. The episode is available on all podcast platforms and also on … [Read more...]
The First Sweep You Should Learn from Spider Guard
Modern BJJ is unimaginable without the Spider Guard. In this form of Open Guard you grip your opponent’s wrists or sleeves and have at least one foot controlling at least one of his arms. Usually your feet will be placed against his biceps, and/or one leg will spiral around his elbow with your toes hiding underneath his upper arm (this is called a 'lasso'). Controlling both of his arms … [Read more...]
10 Red Flags That You Might Be Following a Guru
In episode 334 of Stephan Kesting versus the world (aka The Strenuous Life Podcast) I talk with Oxford trained evolutionary and cognitive anthropologist Chris Kavanagh about the 10 red flags that go into creating the ‘gurometer’ used by the Decoding the Gurus podcast. That podcast tackles the secular gurus propagating their ideas, grievances, and conspiracies on the internet. From Jordan … [Read more...]
Every Triangle Choke Setup is ALSO an Omoplata Setup!
Every entry into the triangle choke is ALSO a way to get into the omoplata armlock. Now it's true that the two techniques look very different when they're finished: in the triangle choke you wrap your legs around your opponent's neck and one of his arms, and in the omoplata you're essentially performing a Kimura armlock on his arm using your legs. But for both submissions you have to … [Read more...]
The Engagement Phase Game, A Drill to Take Your Gripfighting to the Next Level!
I've written a LOT about gripfighting on my blog, and that's because I really do believe it's one of the highest leverage skills in BJJ. That means a little bit of gripfighting knowledge can have a huge influence on your actual mat skills. For example, if you're going against a bigger, stronger opponent then one of the most important things you can do is control the grips. Now controlling … [Read more...]
How to Learn from BJJ Instructionals (The Strenuous Life Podcast Episode 330)
In episode 330 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we covered how to connect wrestling and leglocks, learn from instructionals, avoid bad seminars, improve BJJ training methods, the Australian MMA scene, trends in grappling, and much more with the eloquent Sonny Brown from the Sonny Brown Breakdown! Here is just a little of what we covered today… 00:21 - The Australian jiu-jitsu scene 05:58 - … [Read more...]
The 16 Most Important Techniques for the BJJ Beginner
What's the most common problem (aside from getting caught under side control) facing the BJJ beginner? It's probably feeling overwhelmed by the staggering number of techniques that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu contains! There are a thousand variations of sweeps and locks and chokes and pins and escapes and guard passes. It's enough to make your head spin! So where then do you start? Which … [Read more...]
Fixing Martial Arts Back Pain, with Dr Stuart McGill
Back pain is incredibly common in sport, including all martial arts and combative sports. That's why I was thrilled to talk to Dr Stuart McGill, one of the world's leading experts on back pain. Dr. McGill is considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on the spine, back pain and rehabilitation. He is an author, scientist, clinician and was a professor emeritus at the University of … [Read more...]
How to Counter the Toreando Guard Pass
So there you are, on your back and fighting your opponent with your legs. Maybe you're using the Spider Guard, the Butterfly Guard, or any other variation of Open Guard, but regardless, both you and he are jockeying for grips and position. You’re trying to set up your guard sweeps and submissions, and he’s trying to pass your guard. Then - disaster! Your opponent grips both your pant … [Read more...]
How Martial Artists Can Break Into Movie and TV Stuntwork
Steve Koepfer is a Master of Sport in Russian Sambo, and has translated his skills on the mat into a busy career as a stuntman appearing in the John Wick movies, Ray Donovan, The Blacklist, The Punisher and more. In episode of 329 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we go into depth about what doing stuntwork is really like, how fight scenes get choreographed, and Steve's best advice for people … [Read more...]
A Powerful Side Mount Escape That Leads Directly into an Armbar Finish
Going directly into the armbar from the bottom side mount has to be one of the most surprising escapes for the guy on top. One moment he's crushing you with his crossface, and the next he's tapping out to a match-ending submission. The first time I saw this technique I didn't think it was very realistic. It looked like a power move that required tremendous upper body strength. But when I … [Read more...]
Combat Sambo and Russian MMA
Steve Koepfer is a Master of Sport of Russia in Combat Sambo and the head coach of New York Combat Sambo. In episode of 328 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we talk about the impending wave of combat sambo specialists coming to the UFC and other MMA events, the differences between training in Russia and North America, the prevalence of leglocks, and much more. I hope you enjoy this conversation … [Read more...]
A Revelation That’s Helped Me ‘Win’ More than 10 Street Fights
Today's video (and podcast episode) is story about the first time I 'won' a street fight by realising that the other guy - an older, shabbily dressed, homeless man - was almost certainly mentally ill. A good street fight is one that you walk away from or de-escalate, because even if you KO the other guy you could still lose (as I discussed in my Death After the Knockout article. Be … [Read more...]
Bringing Jiu-Jitsu into Public Schools, with Dom Hoskins
Dom Hoskins is a BJJ black belt, coach and fierce competitor who is helping bring the lessons of jiu-jitsu to public schools in California's East Bay. I think his insights will help anyone who is looking to work with kids and help them get ahead in life. Bringing Jiu-Jitsu into Public Schools (Video) Bringing Jiu-Jitsu into Public Schools (Audio) You can also just listen to the audio form of … [Read more...]
The BJJ Arm Drag
The arm drag is one of the most versatile BJJ techniques. You can use it to take the back, sweep your opponent, set up a barrage of chokes, sweeps and submissions, defend your guard, and even just spam your opponent so he's reacting to you rather than planning his own offense If you're thinking about adding the the arm drag to your game then starting in the butterfly guard is the way to … [Read more...]
Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda, and Conspiracies, with Amitabha Palmer
Amitabha Palmer is a wrestler, judoka, and an adjunct professor of philosophy at Ohio Northern University. The topics he researches include how widespread conspiracism and science denialism affect democratic policy making. I was thrilled to have him on the podcast and I think it's a very important conversation! Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda, and Conspiracies, with Amitabha Palmer … [Read more...]