Tyson Larone is a BJJ belt, a Muay Thai teacher, TEDx speaker, and a strongman competitor. In this episode he and I dive deep into exploring how BJJ can be used for self defense. Topics include how context changes everything in self defense… adaptations that women and smaller people need to make…the problems with the one time self defense seminar model… the need for force-multipliers and … [Read more...]
Weapons
Bareknuckle Boxing and Historical European Swordfighting, with Oz Austwick
In episode 393 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to Oz Austwick, who has extensively studied armed and unarmed combat systems in Europe. Topics we cover include... The origins of boxing in England, Historical training and conditioning methods, Reconstructing and testing techniques shown in ancient swordfighting manuals, Fighting with live blades, The role of wrestling in real … [Read more...]
Grappling and the 5 Ranges of Fighting
I've said many times that BJJ is a fantastic sport and fitness activity, but that at it's core it's a martial art. And it being a martial art means that you have be able to use it to defend yourself. Now it's pretty hard to beat BJJ and submission grappling as a martial art at close range. The ability to move up the positional hierarchy, getting to more and more dominant position, is a HUGE … [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...]
The 5 Steps to Training A New Technique
Most of the videos I post online are from my main Youtube channel which focusses quite heavily on BJJ, no gi jiu-jitsu, MMA and other forms of grappling. But what a lot of people don't know is that I also have a second youtube channel called 'Self Defense Tutorials' which - as the title might imply - focuses more on self defense and martial arts training. Here is one of the videos from that … [Read more...]
Japanese Jiujitsu vs BJJ
BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) is undeniably the most popular grappling system on the planet right now. But BJJ came from Judo, and Judo came from the traditional Japanese Jiujitsu systems. So there's a direct lineage from Japanese Jiujitsu (aka Jujitsu or Jujutsu) to BJJ. Both arts contain chokes, pins, armlocks and leglocks, so what's the difference? There are differences in both the … [Read more...]
Jiu-Jitsu for the Zombie Apocalypse
As we get closer and closer to Halloween it's important to shift your priorities from training jiu-jitsu to surviving the impending zombie apocalypse. (After all, it's tough to train jiu-jitsu when you're dead. Or undead, as the case may be.) That's why you've got to check out the most important video I've ever put onto Youtube: Jiu-Jitsu for the Zombie Apocalypse. A lot of people will … [Read more...]
Every Martial Art Consists of These 3 Things…
I'm primarily known as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, but the reality is that I've trained in a lot of other martial arts too. These other martial arts include Combat Submission Wrestling, Kajukenbo Karate, Boxing, Wing Chun, Judo, Muay Thai, Hung Gar, Pekiti Tirsia Kali, Hsing I, Northern Shaolin, Maphalindo Silat, Capoeira, Tai Chi, Western Fencing, Freestyle Wrestling, Jun Fan/JKD, … [Read more...]
Self Defense, Weapons, BJJ, and Mexican Prisons…
BJJ is a great sport but ultimately - and even more important - it's also a martial art. And the core of every martial art has to be about combat; the fitness, discipline, camaraderie and fun is great, but they're all bonuses. It's fantastic to have an awesome spinning triangle from spider guard, but you ALSO need to understand how to use your art in the streets, which might … [Read more...]
A Triangle Choke Escape that Requires Almost No Training…
Years ago I came back from an Indonesian Silat training camp led by Dan Inosanto. I showed up at BJJ class the next day and was telling a few guys about how much I had enjoyed the training. One guy with a slightly smartass tone asked me, "How would a Silat guy escape from my triangle choke then?" It turns out that there IS a very effective, super high percentage Silat escape to the … [Read more...]
BJJ Self Defense Part 3: The Street Guard
If you've been reading my emails and training in grappling then, by this point, you're going to be quite familiar with the guard. In some ways it's the iconic BJJ position. But do you know WHY it's such an integral part of BJJ? Why do we focus on this position so much? And why would we ever want to be lying on our backs on the pavement in a streetfight? … [Read more...]
Podcast EP16: Interview with Philip Gelinas
This is an interview with one of my most influential teachers - 9th degree Kajukenbo Karate black belt Philip Gelinas. Philip is also a high-ranking instructor in several different Filipino martial art systems, a BJJ brown belt, an instructor in Combat Submission Wrestling, and was recently inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. Topics include the evolution of Georges St Pierre, the … [Read more...]
Podcast EP15: Burton Richardson on Training and Performing under Pressure
Stephan's note: today I interview Burton Richardson who has spent decades researching the training methods that make martial arts techniques practical, reliable, and functional. His approach is very applicable to street self defence, but is equally valid for anyone wanting to compete. Click Play Below to Listen to My Conversation with Burton … [Read more...]
The Ancient Vale Tudo of India: Vajramushti
by John Will Prior to his training in Brazil in the late 80’s, author and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, John Will, travelled to and trained in some of the most exotic places in Asia and the sub-continent. It was during those travels, that he sought out and trained with the notorious Jyesthimalla clan in the desert state of Gujarat in India. Training The Jyesthimallas are … [Read more...]
The Two WORST Martial Arts Techniques of All Time!
Disclaimer: I've trained with some great teachers, getting tons of top-notch information from them. But my teachers are NOT AT ALL RESPONSIBLE for today's video! You see, I've just posted a video about the two absolute WORST techniques that I've ever seen in almost 30 years of martial arts training! … [Read more...]
Grappling for Self Defense
It's very easy to forget all about the self-defense aspects of what you are doing when you train grappling. There's so much material to work on, and it's so much fun to train, that self-defense considerations can get overlooked. … [Read more...]