The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

In this episode Steve Kwan from the BJJ Mental Models podcast grills me about the omoplata, the most versatile submission in all of jiu-jitsu. Check out my latest instructional, Omoplata 2.0, at https://www.grapplearts.com/omoplata Cheers, Stephan Kesting

00:37: Richard Bejtlich's background in martial arts 08:39: Where does fascination with martial arts history comes from 18:08: What research on historical martial arts looks like 20:10: Preservation of antiquated methods in the present martial arts 26:15: The Ninja myth!!! 33:22: Cybersecurity 37:47: How hackers attack large corporations and the military 51:36: Craziest hacker attacks 57:52: Cyberwarfare 1:09:08: Answer to conspiration and desinformation fueling 1:13:38: How can people contact Richard?

Averi is a BJJ brown belt who has written extensively for the Jiu-Jitsu Times. Together we go deep into why jiu-jitsu is popular for women, coming back from injuries, some recent high profile sexual assault cases in the sport, and much more. Follow Averi on Instagram @bjjaveri, on Twitter @BJJaveri, and/or at the Jiu-Jitsu Times. And while you're here, have you downloaded my reference guide to the positions, techniques and strategies of jiu-jitsu yet? It's free at https://www.grapplearts.com/book Cheers, Stephan

I had a hip replacement to fix a joint worn out by 40 years of martial arts training, conditioning and fitness activities. This video details the first 4 weeks of my recovery, going from barely being able to stand up to climbing a mountain. As they say, this presentation contains powerful visuals, so if you're interested check out the video version of this podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhWiDe8agdU And while I've got your attention, go grab my free PDF checklist of BJJ positions and techniques at https://www.grapplearts.com/book No matter what your own injury is, don't give up hope and keep on fighting for a better tomorrow! Stephan

Canadian explorer Adam Shoalts is back to talk about some of his recent expeditions, including a search for a mythical beast in the wilds of Northern Labrador. We also discussed balancing family and adventure, the early explorers, his approach to selecting gear, food and travelling companions, and much more! Find out more about Adam at https://adamshoalts.com/, follow him on Instagram at @adam_shoalts, and check out his latest book 'The Whisper on the Night Wind' anywhere books are sold! Check out previous podcast episodes at https://www.grapplearts.com/tag/podcasts/

Dr Hanan Buskin is a clinical psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In this episode we go deep into the benefits conspiracy theorist get from believing and sharing their crazy ideas and the long, difficult process required to gently wean them off conspiratorial thinking. Follow Dr Hanan on Instagram @drhananbushkin and check out his clinic at areallygoodtherapist.co.za

After 4 decades of training Jiu-jitsu, MMA, Judo, Kajukenbo, Muay Thai, Karate and Kickboxing my right hip is worn out. Here's how I became aware that it needed replacing, what the surgery is going to look like, and what I've done to prepare for it! I'll post updates about my post-surgical recovery on my podcast, my youtube channel and my Instagram. And while I've got your attention, go grab my free PDF checklist of BJJ positions and techniques at https://www.grapplearts.com/book See you on the other side! Stephan

Steph Gaudreau is a strength coach, nutritionist, podcaster, author and BJJ practitioner. I was thrilled to have her on the podcast today to discuss the overlap between strength training and jiu-jitsu. I think you'll get a lot out of it! Check out https://www.stephgaudreau.com/ or follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/steph_gaudreau/ And while you're reading this... Check out The Grapplearts BJJ Master App for iOS and Android - there's a TON of great content on there that'll directly improve your game. https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp Cheers! Stephan Kesting

In this rant I go off 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!

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! 00:55 - 5 Minute Covid Checkin at Bellingham BJJ 13:53 - Starting competitive jiu-jitsu at age 35 17:34 - Should newcomers spar on day one? 23:17 - Competition strategies and their applicability to self defense 40:31 - The value of competing under different rulesets 49:06 - What's a featherweight doing in the absolute division? 54:23 - Training for jiu-jitsu 58:05 - Jeff's pre-competition psych up 1:00:55 - How to contact Jeff and Bellingham BJJ

Julian Walker has researched, written, and podcasted about cults and gurus, spiritual bypass and quantum woo in New Age circles extensively. He is also a cohost of the (amazing) Conspirituality Podcast. Today's episode is really important, and we discuss why certain groups (like BJJ, MMA and Yoga circles) are more into conspiracy theories (starting roughly at 4:46), the tendency for some people to make connections and see patterns where none exist (17:59), end of the world prophecies in conspiracy theories (48:08), and more. If you enjoyed this episode then please check out episode 291 with Derek Beres (https://www.grapplearts.com/cults-conspiracies-yoga-wellness-bjj-communities/), 297 with Mathew Remski (https://www.grapplearts.com/cults-prophecies-and-deprogramming-your-friend-with-matthew-remski/), and 325 with Ami Palmer (https://www.grapplearts.com/trust-propaganda-consipiracies/) And, as always, a review of this podcast on iTunes or Spotify would be SUPER appreciated Thanks Stephan Kesting

In episode 335 of The Strenuous Life Podcast Stephan Kesting talks to cult expert, cult survivor and cult deprogrammer Joeseph Szimhart. We go into depth about QAnon, New Age cults, Theosophy, cult recruitment tactics, and people escape them. I think this is a fascinating and very topical conversation. Find out more about Joe at https://www.jszimhart.com/ And if you enjoyed this episode then please, a rating or review within the podcast platform of your choice would be super appreciated! Thank you, Stephan Kesting

Dr Dr Chris Kavanagh is an Oxford trained evolutionary & cognitive anthropologist who co-hosts the 'Decoding the Gurus' podcast with Mathew Browne. Together they tackle the secular gurus propagating their ideas, grievances, and conspiracies on the internet. In today's episode we look at the 10 factors that go into their 'gurometer', a highly scientific measure that takes the signature characteristics of gurus and uses advanced mathematics (simple addition) to determine how high up the guru scale they actually are. From Jordan Peterson, Russell Brand, Tony Robbins, JP Sears, to Brett and Eric Weinstein, we give lots of examples and pull no punches. Here are the 10 characteristics we discuss in considerable detail... 13:06 - Working definition of "guru" 18:48 - Gurometer factor 1, Galaxy-brainness 28:17 - Gurometer factor 2, Cultishness 35:38 - Gurometer factor 3, Antidisestablishmentarianism 53:03 - Gurometer factor 4, Grievance-mongering 1:00:07 - Gurometer factor 5, Narcissism and self-aggrandisement 1:31:07 - Gurometer factor 6, Cassandra-complex 1:38:10 - Gurometer factor 7, Revolutionary theories 1:43:31 - Gurometer factor 8 - Pseudo-profound bullshit 1:50:43 - Gurometer factor 9 - Conspiracy mongering 1:54:15 - Gurometer factor 10 - Grifting or profiteering

From the cheekiest triangle choke counter I've ever used to Khabib slamming the crap out of his opponents in the UFC, here's a short episode about the times you simply have to move the fight to a new location! Hope you enjoy this, and if you do then a review or rating on the podcast platform of your choice would be super appreciated! Stephan

Walter Masterson trolls anti-vaxx and pro-conspiracy rallies. He's brave, funny and insightful, and I was honored to have him as a guest on episode 332 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. Follow Walter on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/waltermasterson On TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@waltermasterson On Twitter at https://twitter.com/waltermasterson On Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/waltermasterson/ Cheers, Stephan Kesting

Jon Thomas is a BJJ master strategician with an uncanny ability to connect grips, sweeps, submissions and positions together to create a seamless attack gameplan. In this episode we do a deep dive into the closed guard position and I think your jiu-jitsu will definitely improve if you implement his training methods and organisational concepts. Check out The Closed Guard System in video format at https://www.grapplearts.com/closedguard

How to 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! And check out the latest Grapplearts instructional on the Closed Guard at https://www.grapplearts.com/closedguard

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 this conversation we go into depth about what doing stuntwork is really like, how fight scenes get choreographed, and Steve's best advice for people wanting to step into the industry. Check out Steve's school - NY Sambo - at ussambo.com and/or follow him on Instagram @sambosteve. Also check out The Strenuous Life Podcast episode 328 to find out more about training Sambo. Finally, a rating or a review in the podcast platform of your choice is always SUPER appreciated, so thank you if you've already done this! Cheers, Stephan Kesting

Steve Koepfer is a Master of Sport of Russia in Combat Sambo and the head coach of New York Combat Sambo. In episode 328 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 as much as I did!

Here's a story about the first time I 'won' a streetfight when I realised that the other guy - an older, shabbily dressed, homeless man - was almost certainly mentally ill. A good streetfight 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 detail in this article here: https://selfdefensetutorials.com/death-after-the-knockout/) Be compassionate and be strategic my friends, Stephan P.S. Sign up for my email newsletter for free at https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter. I promise you'll get a TON of great training material in your email inbox!

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. Follow Dom Hoskins on Instagram @dominat10n Check out his school at @dominat10nma And follow the Youth Jiu-Jitsu Collective at @yjcbjj

Ami 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! 00:51 - Introduction 02:17 - Wrestling, judo and philosophy 11:15 - Why the BJJ community is so prone to conspiracy theories 20:17 - When is it rational to defer to an expert, and how do you know who to defer to? 32:22 - How do people discern claims from different experts 34:53 - The Great Barrington declaration 38:48 - Commonly used propaganda tools and how to recognise them 48:34 - Brandolini's bullshit asymmetry principle 57:15 - Conspiracies in social media 1:03:19 - The university environment post Covid 11:09:44 - Difference between vaccine refusers and vaccine hesitants 1:11:28 - Training pods 1:16:47 - How to get in touch with Ami

Today's conversation with Marcio Pie was a blend of two of my favorite topics: the science of biology and the science of BJJ. Marcio is a professor of zoology at UFPR and practices Jiu-Jitsu in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil 01:17 - Introduction to evolution 06:20 - Runaway selection 09:44 - Jiu-Jitsu strategies 14:28 - Evolutionary stable strategies 18:09 - The prisoner's dilemma 21:41 - Evolution applied in jiu-jitsu 25:58 - Mathematical approach to the study of memes 35:10 - How does evolution create complex things 38:46 - Religion and evolution 44:23 - Denialists of fundamental science 50:36 - Basic body types in jiu-jitsu 59:30 - How to contact Marcio

Mike McCastle set a new world record on Jan 23, 2021, immersing himself in ice for 2 hours and 40 minutes and surviving! He joined me on Episode 323 of The Strenuous Life Podcast to talk about this absolutely insane challenge including The physical preparation and mental strength required to it off, The limits of the human body, Tummo (inner fire) breathing and visualisation, How 'normal' people can use his principles to challenge themselves, How his father's struggle with Parkinson's motivates him to persist in his 12 Labors project, And much more! I'm SURE you're going to love this episode! Follow Mike on Instagram @mikemccastle For more Mike McCastle also check out our "Pain is a Universal Language" conversation, episode 240 of The Strenuous Life Podcast, also available on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYR_wHqW9w

What exactly is herd immunity? How can we be sure that the vaccine companies aren't lying to us? What is this 'R0' value and why does it matter? What are the proven methods to stop outbreaks? Are what are the reasons for hope? These are just some of the topics I cover on today's podcast with Colin Furness, PhD, a epidemiologist at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. Given the amount of deliberate disinformation and malicious misinformation going around please, please, please share this episode with someone who's on the fence about who to believe during the pandemic. Follow Colin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FurnessColin

Priit is a renowned BJJ black belt who has taught his style of defensive jiu-jitsu to thousands of people through his classes, seminars and instructionals. He is known for his unusual approach to teaching jiu-jitsu and is famous for structuring classes in such a way so that people come away from them with the techniques and concepts they can actually use right away. In addition we covered the topic of false positives in jiu-jitsu, programming a long term curriculum, and much more. Find out more about Priit on Instagram at@jitsvulcan on his site https://www.defensivebjj.com/ And if you liked this episode then a rating or a review on the podcast platform of your choice would be INSANELY useful! Thanks so much Stephan Kesting P.S. On a tangential topic, check out the upcoming Grapplearts instructional "The Arm Drag and 2 on 1 Formula" at https://www.grapplearts.com/armdrag

Today I talk with Dr Nicholas Tyau, a BJJ Black Belt and internal medicine specialist who was working in NYC hospitals during Covid Ground Zero in 2020. We discuss the 5 key factors you need to consider after you've been vaccinated but before you decide to return to normal training, including... 1) Local hospital and ICU occupancy rates 2) Test positivity rates in your community 3) Vaccination rates within your community and your training group 4) Your tolerance for taking short term and long term risk 5) Your tolerance for, and the consequences of, potentially making others sick, especially the people you live with. Please check out my previous episode (ep 285) with Dr Tyau here: https://www.grapplearts.com/doctor-covid-ground-zero/ Also episode 302 with epidemiologists Kathrine Wallace and Madeline Lewis: https://www.grapplearts.com/covid-myths-debunked-with-epidemiologists-kathrine-wallace-and-madeline-lewis/ And my series of discussions with Dr Chris Moriarty on guidelines for operating a BJJ school safely during the Covid-19 pandemic: https://www.grapplearts.com/openingupbjj Thank you, and take care of each other, Stephan Kesting

Brandon Morgan is a high level powerlifter who trains, coaches and competes out of the Kabuki Strength gym 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. Follow Brandon on Instagram at @bmorg33 and at @kabuki_virtualcoaching where he shares a ton of training tips. And please share this episode with someone you think would enjoy it. It's how this podcast grows! Thank you Stephan Kesting

Nini Munoz PhD has a very strong background in risk and failure analysis, and statistical process. She has used these skills and a background in biology to make the science around the Covid-19 pandemic easy to understand and digest on her amazing Instagram feed at https://www.instagram.com/niniandthebrain/ I think you'll enjoy our conversation about risk, science, and who to believe. Take care, Stephan

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 MMA organisation including Pride, Shooto, Pancrase, Shootboxing, Rizin and more. You can check out and/or download a high res copy of the Japanese MMA and Catch Wrestling family tree we discuss in this episode at https://www.grapplearts.com/karl-gotch/ Follow Tad Murphy the wrestler on Instagram at @tadwrestler or in his customer success career at @lincolnmurphy

Regardless of whether you want to fight in MMA, work as a cop, or just be effective in self defense you have to know how to function in a stressful environment. Today with Jeff Quail MSc we dive into the physiology of the fight or flight reflex, stress exposure training, the balance between training safety and realism, the carryover between combative sports and policing and much more. Jeff Quail served as a Winnipeg police officer for 25 years, has a Master's degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Liverpool and is currently heavily involved in training police officers how to be more effective in stressful scenarios. And, of course, he trains jiu-jitsu. His book, 'A Scientific Approach to Reality Based Training', is available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle formats https://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Approach-Reality-Based-Training/dp/177529840X/ Enjoy! Stephan Kesting P.S. Check out my latest DVD and online streaming course on winning the guard battle using gripfighting and offbalancing at https://www.grapplearts.com/gripfighting

Two of the best ways to develop your guard are gripfighting and kuzushi. Today I talk with Rob Biernacki about these rarely taught critical skills and how to develop them. Go to https://www.grapplearts.com/gripfighting for more info! Cheers, Stephan Kesting

Why some competitors excel at competition and others don't, hero worship in BJJ, and how to succeed at BJJ partnerships with Andrew 'Goatfury' Smith. Andrew is a 3rd degree black belt who runs Revolution BJJ (https://revolutionbjj.com/) in Richmond Virginia and helped found the US Grappling competition circuit. Please leave a rating and a review of this podcast if you can - it really helps! And download my free checklist to the positions and strategies of BJJ at https://www.grapplearts.com/book Cheers! Stephan Kesting

Today I chat with Dan "TrumpetDan" Lukeheart from Brea Jiu-Jitsu in Orange County about the steps he's taken to keep his school open in a responsible manner during the Covid-19 pandemic, how to improve your BJJ skills during a training layoff, and how to win more matches in tournaments. Check out Dan's school at http://breajiujitsu.com/ The video form of this conversation is available on Youtube at https://youtu.be/JHvGYM0HWmU As always, please share this episode with someone you think would benefit from it! Thanks so much, Stephan Kesting

Your health is like a credit card.. You can definitely put things onto your credit card once in a while. You can even use a credit card to help bridge the gap when you're short on funds. But sooner or later you need to pay it off. But if you keep on making withdrawals against your card without ever putting money back into it then you're going to end up in serious trouble. Your health is the same way. You can't borrow against it indefinitely. If you keep asking your body to push hard without giving it the time and support to recover then things are eventually going to go catastrophically wrong. After beating the crap out of your body you need to balance the books by giving it the opportunity to recover. Hard training without quality recovery is a recipe for disaster, so recovery is a skill you need to master as well. Article format of this episode is here: https://www.grapplearts.com/the-balance-between-stress-and-recovery/ Cheers, Stephan Kesting P.S. Sign up for my newsletter because it's the best, most informative email newsletter about training out there! https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter

Dr Chris Moriarty is a medical doctor and a former high level black belt BJJ competitor. In this episode we talk about the rapidly evolving situation of covid vaccines, viral variants, and what it means for training jiu-jitsu and martial arts in general. Dr Moriarty has been instrumental in creating guidelines to make BJJ training during a pandemic safer (available at https://www.grapplearts.com/openingupbjj)

Today I talk with Matt Kirtley, better known to many as 'Aesopian', about Changes to jiu-jitsu culture, Crazy martial arts cults, Channeling of ancient spirits, How we can get more out of drilling, Red flags that you're in a jiu-jitsu cult And much more I met Matt ages ago when he published step-by-step breakdowns for the reverse omoplata and the rolling crucifix attack on a forum which I then republished (with permission) on Grapplearts. He's good people! He is a jiu-jitsu black belt who has been heavily involved in online jiu-jitsu culture for 15 years. He writes extensively at Inverted Gear, has helped answer hundreds of BJJ questions for White Belt Wednesdays, and is a Functional Range Conditioning coach. If you enjoyed this episode then check out Episode 290 with Steve Kwan about BJJ Cults and Conspiracies, Episode 291 with Derek Beres from the Conspirituality Pod about Cults and Conspiracies in the Yoga, Wellness and BJJ Community Episode 297 with Mathew Remski about Cults, Prophecies and Deprogramming Your Friends. (Yes, I know there's a theme, but in my opinion focussing on this stuff is more important than ever nowadays.) If you get the chance, please feel free to share this episode with someone you think would enjoy it. Word of mouth is how podcasts like this grow!

How leglocks and leglocking strategy have changed in the last 20 years. As they say for TED Talk Podcasts, this presentation contains powerful visuals and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/9mF_YtLOVI4 I recorded this while editing the Oliver Taza No Gi Leglocks instructional which is now available at https://www.grapplearts.com/taza. Much of the terminology I use comes from The Modern Leglock Formula with Rob Biernacki https://www.grapplearts.com/leglocks The 12 Positions of Modern Leglocking PDF I talk about in the video can be downloaded for free here: https://www.grapplearts.com/main-positions-modern-leglocking/ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction 2:05 Difference #1: Refinement of Control Positions 8:13 Difference #2: Less Variety of Actual Leglock Finishes 13:02 Difference #3: Focus on the Reverse Heel Hook 14:59 Difference #4:Refined Dig Mechanics 18:00 Difference #5: Improved Breaking Mechanics 21:50 Difference #6: Transitions Between the Control Positions 23:52 Difference #7: More Entries from the Bottom

BJJ black belt and entrepreneur Elliott Bayev on the ability to test new ideas in jiu-jitsu, how the basics change over time, how to use jiu-jitsu in sales and running a business, and much more. Follow Elliott on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/elliottbayev/. And you can find me (Stephan) on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/StephanKesting Cheers! Stephan

Jules Evans studies the history of ideas and was the perfect person to help me understand the abundance of insane conspiracy theories on BOTH sides of the political spectrum right now. We discuss why there are so many lizard people in tunnels, why many Nazi leaders held new age beliefs, how BLM resembles a religion, and why BJJ is such a fertile breeding ground for conspiracy thinking in 2020 and 2021. Follow Jules on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/julesthephilosopher/ and on Medium where he posts many thoughtful and well researched articles: https://julesevans.medium.com/

Daniel Goldberg is a medical historian, a public health ethicist, a lawyer and has practiced BJJ for 8 years. It was great to have him on the podcast to talk about the course of the Covid-19 pandemic and when we might be able to get back to normal. 00:50 - Introduction to Daniel Goldberg 06:09 - On the difficulty of persuading the unpersuadable 08:02 - How the current pandemic has many historical precedents 12:20 - Vaccine distribution in the USA 19:30 - What happens when everyone make individual choices during a pandemic 22:30 - Why have black, indigenous and latino communities have been rampaged with the virus? 27:45 - Covid-19 vs the Spanish flu 36:15 - Conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and where does distrust of experts come from 44:40 - How to talk to a covid denialist 1:00:20 - Politicians jumping to the front of the vaccination line 1:05:20 - Long term effects of Covid-19 1:12:30 - The BJJ community and Covid-19 1:17:10 - Would paying people to stay home really have worked? 1:25:00 - When might we all return to jiu-jitsu?

2020 has been a hell of a year, but better times are coming soon, so it's time to get our collective asses into gear. In today's podcast I'll take you through the 7 mental hacks I've successfully used to punch on through to the other side and that I'm going to develop and keep my momentum in 2021 as well! The second half of today's podcast was recorded during my 1000 mile solo in the arctic (go to https://www.grapplearts.com/solo to see my notes from the field for that trip). If you found today's episode useful then please share it with one person who might benefit from it as well. Take good care, Stephan Kesting

How to get better at predicting what your opponent is going to do, develop faster reactions and train your intuition with Rob Biernacki. Check out Rob's Submission Formula instructional in which you'll learn how to make all your chokes, armlocks and leglocks much tighter and much more effective: https://www.grapplearts.com/submissionformula

Today I talk with pro-wrestler Tad Lincoln Murphy about catch wrestling in early American circuses, the development of luta livre in Brazil, Shootwrestling in Japan, and how one trains to becomes a pro wrestler in the first place! Follow Tad the wrestler on Instagram at @tadwrestler or in his customer success career at @lincolnmurphy And if you could find it in your black little heart to leave a rating or a review of The Strenuous Life Podcast on Apple Podcasts I would be forever indebted to you! Stephan Kesting

01:32 - Qualifications of epidemiologists Dr Katrine Wallace and Madeline Lewis 04:42 - Is COVID-19 actually 99.5% survivable? 06:33 - What are the current best estimates of the COVID-19 infection fatality rate and case fatality rates? 10:00 - How important are IFR and CFR in the policy decisions? 10:50 - Is COVID-19 no more deadly than the flu? 13:55 - Problems with comparing Covid to the seasonal flu 15:18 - Are scientists under-reporting the flu and/or counting every case or the flu as covid? 22:05 - Do scientists and the CDC want everyone to lock down forever? 23:57 - Did lockdowns work in other countries? 26:28 - Would less intrusive measures work to control COVID-19? 28:54 - Where are the deaths, is this a casedemic, and are there only more cases because of more testing? 31:40 - How long does it take to go from infected, to getting sick, going to the hospital, and dying? 32:56 - When will we see the cases and deaths peak from 2020 Thanksgiving celebrations in the USA? 36:16 - How many people are going to die per day this winter? 37:11 - How infectious is COVID-19 (comparing the R0 value of covid to that of the flu)? 40:08 - Why are the CDC and the WHO changing their stories and the advice they give? 44:31 - Is Hydroxychloroquine as a treatment being suppressed by big pharma? 50:02 - Judging the quality of evidence and data in disease research 55:39 - Are scientists coordinating their findings and suppressing inconvenient findings? 59:33 - Do hospitals get paid more to count deaths as COVID-19? 1:05:38 - Are COVID-19deaths being overcounted or undercounted in the USA? 1:08:24 - Do cloth masks and surgical masks work? 1:13:56 - Are masks enough to stop the pandemic? 1:15:48 - Car accidents deaths vs COVID-19 deaths 1:17:50 - The minimum infectious dose, or will you automatically get sick if you're exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus? 1:19:23 - How can we have confidence that the vaccine will be safe? 1:29:57 - What about herd immunity, the Swedish approach and the Great Barrington Declaration? 1:37:50 - Potential longterm health effects of COVID-19 1:38:57 - Are personal sacrifices and limitations necessary to deal with the pandemic? 1:42:14 - How can one convince vaccine skeptics? 1:45:24 - Gyms and fitness facilities during the COVID-19 1:51:51 - False dichotomies and false choices in the jiu-jitsu community 1:56:40 - The difference between case numbers and test positivity rates 1:59:45 - How do epidemiologists stay sane in 2020? Please share this podcast episode my friends - it may be one of the most important ones I've ever done. The video version of it is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpgxjZRBV38&feature=youtu.be Follow Dr Katrine Wallace on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/epidemiologistkat/?hl=en and on Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@epidemiologistkat Follow Madeline Wallace on Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@maddy.epidemiology Take care, Stephan Kesting

Back pain is incredibly common in sport, including all combative sports like jiu-jitsu, MMA, boxing and judo. That is why I was thrilled to talk to Dr Stuart McGill, one of the world's leading experts on back pain. Dr McGill spent 30 years researching and teaching spinal mechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He has published more than 300 scientific papers, written 3 textbooks, and has worked to improve sports performance with countless athletes from almost every sport. His book, "Back Mechanic: The Step-by-Step McGill Method to Fix Back Pain" has become a classic manual for living a painfree life and "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance" is a guide for many coaches to bring their athletes up to the next level of performance while avoiding a debilitating back injury. Here is just a little of what we covered today... 00:42 - How to become a world class expert in spinal mechanics and back pain 08:16 - Studying spines in the lab and what that tells you about spines in athletes 14:08 - Disc herniations and back pain 19:42 - Dr McGill's work with Olympians and elite athletes 24:00 - The athleticism of MMA fighter George St. Pierre 29:55 - Principles for avoiding back pain injury 34:40 - The power of the neutral spine 45:24 - The advantages and dangers of developing power through spinal rotation 51:04 - How elite strikers hit so hard 54:28 - Posture and spinal position in jiu-jitsu 1:01:07 - Hip morphology and leg flexibility of great jiu-jitsu fighters 1:06:07 - Books and other resources by Dr McGill Injury is the enemy, and avoiding injury is the key to a long and successful athletic career, so I hope you enjoy this episode! Cheers, Stephan Kesting P.S. If you get the chance a rating or a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your audio would be HUGELY appreciated.

Here are 5 principles that I use on a daily basis for evaluating risk, along with concrete examples from martial arts training, fire fighting, white water kayaking, and behavior during a pandemic. I hope you find this useful! The single best way to stay in touch with what's going on with the podcast, grapplearts, and everything else is still my newsletter. Sign up for free at https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter Cheers! Stephan Kesting

Division in BJJ community, angry people on the internet and the rise of conspirituality with comic and BJJ practitioner Jamie Kilstein. Jamie is the cohost of both Rear Naked Radio and A Fuckup's Guide to Self Help and has a new comedy album coming out soon!

Today I chat with Black belt no gi world champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins about how the most efficient training methods to master the highly complex world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Lots of great takeaways in this one!! 02:18 - Learning technique only vs learning technique and theory 05:42 - Fundamental movements in BJJ 09:24 - Advanced applications of fundamental movements 14:48 - Winning by achieving depth in a technique 25:40 - Successfully setting up guard submissions 37:22 - Off speed pitches and surprising your opponent in BJJ 44:03 - Starting at step 3 52:19 - Top tips for training 1:01:39 - Safe techniques 1:11:03 - IBJJF legalising reaping and heel hooks in nogi Check out the 265 page full color book we wrote together at https://www.grapplearts.com/nonstop-jiu-jitsu-book/ - it's the best BJJ book of the year for sure! Cheers Stephan Kesting

I was thrilled to talk to Matthew Remski, a cult researcher and cohost of the Conspirituality Podcast who has written extensively about the pervasive cultism and abuse in Yoga, spirituality, and wellness culture. The parallels to what's happening in BJJ are obvious. Here are some highlights... 01:48 - Matthew's own time in cults 05:39 - Conspiracy theories 08:02 - What are cults? 28:45 - Online cults 41:39 - What happens when cult prophecies fail to occur? 50:21 - How to help friends and family members in cults