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Techniques, Tutorials and Gear for BJJ, MMA and Submission Grappling

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Home » Wrestling

Wrestling

How to Escape Kesa Gatame and the Headlock

February 8, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

Kesa Gatame is one of the most under-utilized positions in BJJ. People in jiu-jitsu tend to ignore this position but generations of judo players and wrestlers have proved that Kesa Gatame IS a powerful and effective way to pin someone. And - even worse for someone caught in it - Kesa Gatame is also a great entry into some very effective armlocks, leglocks, neck cranks and diaphragm … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts, Self Defense Tagged With: Escapes, Judo, Kesa Gatame, No Gi Pin Escapes, Techniques, Unorthodox Strategies, Video, Wrestling

Kesa Gatame in BJJ

December 26, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting teaching kesa gatame

Kesa Gatame is the name for a DEADLY position also known as the Scarf Hold or the Head and Arm pin. It's a staple pin in Judo, Sambo and Freestyle Wrestling. All these arts have honed kesa gatame as a pinning position. The only problem is that they don't use or teach very many submissions from here. In those particular sports the submission is redundant - if you pin your opponent for 3 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Armlocks, Catch Wrestling, Judo, Kathy Hubble, Kesa Gatame, Sambo, Unorthodox Strategies, Video, Wrestling

Catchwrestling: from the Snake Pit in Wigan England, to Pride FC in Japan, to Modern Submission Grappling

February 12, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Oz Austwick on Catchwrestling

In episode 395 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to Oz Austwick, who has extensively studied armed and unarmed combat systems in England and Europe. Today we focus on the historical wrestling systems of England... Cornish, Lancashire, Devonshire, Cumberland and Westmoreland wrestling and catchwrestling The influence of Japanese Judo and Jiu-Jitsu on English Wrestling The great Billy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Catch Wrestling, Historical European Martial Arts, History, Oz Austwick, Pro Wrestling, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video, Wrestling

The Four Simplest Armdrags for BJJ and Submission Grappling

January 6, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Four Simplest Armdrags for BJJ and Submission Grappling

The armdrag is one of the most important attacks in BJJ and submission grappling.  Not only does hitting the armdrag give you a route to your opponent's back, it's also a great probing attack that sets up a whole host of other techniques. The armdrag can be performed in both gi-based BJJ and no gi submission grappling.  It was popularised in BJJ when Marcelo Garcia burst onto the scene in 2003, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Arm Drag, For Beginners, Gripfighting, Techniques, Video, Wrestling

How to do the Low Single for No Gi Grappling

February 6, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Low Single Leg Takedown

The low single is a variation of the single leg takedown, which is one of the staple techniques of wrestling. Probably the most famous low single in history belonged to John Smith, who used this move to win multiple world championships and multiple Olympic gold medals. Not only is the low single is good for winning Olympic medals, it's also a great technique for submission … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Ankle Lock, Elliott Bayev, John Smith, No Gi, Single Leg Takedown, Takedowns, Techniques, Video, Wrestling

Top 10 Wrestling Moves for BJJ

February 6, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

wrestling moves for bjj

by Jeff Meszaros In many ways, wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu are total opposites. The core concepts of the two sports run against each other, and what's a great idea in one art is often a terrible idea in the other. In wrestling, you do anything you can to avoid having your back put on the mat. But in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, people will often fall to their backs immediately to "pull guard" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts Tagged With: Arm Drag, BJJ, Clinching, Jeff Meszaros, Single Leg Takedown, Takedowns, Throws, Turtle Position, Video, Wrestling

3 Easy Throws for BJJ

December 9, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

A simple strategy and 3 easy throws for BJJ

People often ask me what the easiest throws or takedowns are for BJJ competition. My usual advice is that takedowns are great.  They bring the fight to your opponent, score 2 points, set you up to pass the guard, and allow you to fight from the top.  All of which are good things. Now I love wrestling and judo, and think that takedowns are essential skills, but training them to a high level … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Competition, Gripfighting, Judo, Oleg Taktarov, Sambo, Throws, Video, Wrestling

Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda, and Conspiracies, with Amitabha Palmer

May 7, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

CA 9+ Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda, and Conspiracies, with Ami 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...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Ami Palmer, Covid 19, Cults, History, Interviews, Judo, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video, Wrestling

Strength Training for BJJ

April 12, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Brandon Morgan Strength Training for BJJ and MMA

Brandon Morgan is a high level powerlifter who trains, coaches and competes out of the Kabuki Strength gym with Chris Duffin in Portland Oregon. In this episode we go deep into strength training and conditioning for combat sports drawing on his personal experience as a wrestler and training MMA athletes to be bigger, stronger, faster, and more injury resistant. Strength Training for BJJ with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Brandon Morgan, Chris Duffin, Conditioning, Injuries, Interviews, Strength Training, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Weightlifting, Wrestling

Karl Gotch, the Godfather of Japanese MMA

March 22, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

An episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast about Karl Gotch, the Godfather of Japanese MMA

In this episode I'm joined by pro-wrestler Tad Murphy to talk about the legendary wrestler Karl Gotch. Karl Gotch was a German-Hungarian wrestler born in Belgium who trained at the infamous 'Snake Pit' in Wigan, England, then competed in the United States and then taught several generations of pro-wrestlers in Japan. His influence is the common link between just about every major Japanese … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcasts Tagged With: Catch Wrestling, Conditioning, History, Karl Gotch, MMA, Pro Wrestling, Tad Lincoln Murphy, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Wrestling

Top 10 Throws and Takedowns for BJJ

March 1, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

10 Throws and takedowns for BJJ

I'll go ahead and say it: every practitioner should have at least a couple of throws and takedowns for BJJ.  Yes, it's true that pulling guard is an option in sport BJJ competition, but ultimately this is a martial art, which means we have to at least occasionally consider the self defense aspects of what we're doing. Are you going to pull guard in a streetfight?  Not bloody likely. In this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Grappling Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts, Self Defense Tagged With: Arm Drag, BJJ, Brandon Mullins, Elliott Bayev, Erik Paulson, Judo, MMA, Oleg Taktarov, Pulling Guard, Randy Couture, Sambo, Single Leg Takedown, Submission Grappling, Takedowns, Techniques, Throws, Video, Wrestling

How Many Coaches Do You Need To Be Serious About Martial Arts?

December 22, 2019 by Stephan Kesting

The four types of martial arts coaches

The days of learning from just one instructor if you're a serious martial artist or MMA competitor are over. Nowadays you need at least four different coaches... A jiu-jitsu coach A striking coach A wrestling coach A conditioning coach I go into more detail on this topic, including for whom this applies and for whom it doesn't, in the following video and audio podcast episode … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcasts, Self Defense, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Conditioning, Martial Arts, MMA, MMA training, Striking, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video, Wrestling

Grappling and the 5 Ranges of Fighting

November 23, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

grappling and the other fighting ranges

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...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Mixed Martial Arts, Podcasts, Self Defense Tagged With: Martial Arts, Self Defense, Striking, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video, Weapons, Wrestling

Physical Conditioning & Mental Training for Combat Sport

November 15, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

physical and mental preparation for combat sports

In this episode I go DEEP with Commonwealth Games gold medalist and 5 time National Team member Nick Ugoalah about the physical conditioning and mental training it takes to become a world class wrestler. It's a fascinating conversation because what Nick shares is applicable to any combat sport and not just wrestling. (It also shows you how damn hard you have to work to become an elite … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Competition, Conditioning, Interviews, MMA training, Nick Ugoalah, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Wrestling

The 3 Steps to a Takedown

November 10, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

double leg takedown

Many grapplers lack even a basic knowledge of takedowns, and this is a HUGE mistake. As far as I'm concerned if you're a submission grappler or a jiu-jitsu player who pulls guard in every competition then you need to have at least a few ways to get the fight to the ground from the feet. In having takedowns is just part of being a well rounded grappler, but it's also for self defense: you'll … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts, Self Defense Tagged With: MMA training, Nick Ugoalah, Self Defense, Single Leg Takedown, Takedowns, Techniques, Video, Wrestling

An Easy Armdrag Defense

October 23, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

OK, this is a quick post because it's only a short video that I filmed right before training today... If someone tries to armdrag you they're usually gripping your triceps area with their cross hand and pulling you hard, trying to either get behind you or elicit a pulling reaction.  And it's a legit threat, because a good armdrag can set you up for a number of things, including... The rear … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Arm Drag, Butterfly Guard, Counter, Takedowns, Techniques, Video, Wrestling

Setting Up and Finishing the Single Leg Takedown in BJJ with the Gi

July 11, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

single leg takedown bjj

The single leg takedown is one of the main moves in freestyle wrestling, but it becomes considerably harder to pull off when you put the gi on. That's because with the gi  your opponent usually just grabs your lapel and sleeve, stiff-arms away, and makes it hard to get at his legs. This can be very frustrating for people looking for single and double leg wrestling takedowns in BJJ. Now judo … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Gripfighting, Judo, Rob Biernacki, Single Leg Takedown, Takedowns, Techniques, Throws, Video, Wrestling

Combining BJJ and Wrestling with ‘Chewy’ from Chewjitsu

May 3, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

wrestler vs bjj guy on his back

Wrestling is a fantastic background for anyone who wants to train BJJ.  The powerful takedowns, the determined scrambling, the level of conditioning and a tough mindset are a winning combination that work in any combat sport. But transitioning from wrestling to BJJ and combining the best of both arts isn't necessarily an easy process... In fact it can be downright difficult and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: Americana, BJJ, Chewy, Closed Guard, Fundamentals, Guard Sweeps, Kimura, Takedowns, The Mental Aspect, Video, Wrestling

The Red Line in Jiu-Jitsu

April 30, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

red line bjj

I once flew in through the mountains in a helicopter with my friend Kevin at the controls. He was not only a commercial pilot but also fellow whitewater paddler. We had commandeered a helicopter for 'a maintenance flight', but the real reason we were airborne was to scout a remote river in northern British Columbia, almost at the Yukon border. The idea was to fly over the river and down its … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Health & Nutrition, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Competition, Injuries, The Mental Aspect, Training, Wrestling

Podcast Episode 126: Staying Calm in Killer Waves and Night Time Saves with Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Donald Lipscomb

March 9, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

donald lipscomb rescue swimmer podcast

Really enjoyed this chat with Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Donald Lipscomb.  We went into detail about rescuing people from capsized ships, the selection process with a 90% attrition rate, and the training required to jump from a helicopter into stormy seas with nothing more than a pair of fins to push yourself through the water. We also talk about how jiu-jitsu and wrestling helped give him the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BJJ, Donald Lipscomb, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Wrestling

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