The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

If you're doing any kind of martial art - be it BJJ, MMA, Kickboxing, Taekwondo or whatever - then your game needs to evolve every decade to accommodate the changes in your body. I got this from the legendary Dan Inosanto who started training at age 11 and is still practising martial arts in his 80's.

A little trip down memory lane today. In my twenties I did an 82 day, 1600 mile solo canoe trip across the Canadian north. This is an account of the last 3 days of that journey, traveling along the dangerous shore of Hudson Bay. The written form of this account is available here: https://www.grapplearts.com/belugas-bears-and-an-offshore-tide-on-hudson-bay/# and the Blood, Sweat and Sparta piece I refer to early in this episode is available here: https://www.grapplearts.com/blood-sweat-and-sparta/ And finally, download my new BJJ app guys because it has seven and a half hours of free black belt instruction in it!!! iOS and Android links here: https://www.grapplearts.com/grapplearts-bjj-master-app/

Sparring for the first time is always a shock, but especially for traditional martial artists who may have spent years perfecting their techniques in the air or against a compliant partner just to watch it all fall apart against real resistance. No sparring, no miracles folks! A lot of listeners know that http://www.grapplearts.com is my main site, but did you know that I also have a second, self defense oriented site? Check it out at http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com for more self defense tips, training videos, etc!

I really enjoyed this conversation with Rokas Leonavicius, the European Aikido instructor who became famous on Youtube trying to make his aikido functional against resisting opponents. Find out about his journey into Aikido, BJJ, Aikido and Boxing in this fascinating episode. 02:05 - Rokas's background in Aikido 04:21 - Wrestling in Eastern Europe 05:43 - What attracted him to Aikido? 14:20 - How long should you train before Aikido is applicable? 20:20 - Testing Aikido on Youtube 23:55 - The Aikido vs MMA video 26:23 - Functionalizing Aikido 38:18 - How did Aikido take off? 40:59 - Real life consequences of the Aikido vs MMA video 48:43 - Elements of Aikido that carry over into other arts 61:53 - Where can we find Rokas? Check out Rokas's Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCazByhbmztoIg6ZKeI25PGw and his website at http://rokasleo.com

Can you still train if you have an injured knee? Well, it depends... Here are some solutions, tips and tricks for dealing with a bum knee in a BJJ or grappling setting.

In this episode John Hacklemann discusses the Conor McGregor bus attack, training Chuck Liddell, differences between MMA and self defense, the single most important thing you can do to stay safe on the street, sparring vs drilling, and more. This is an incredibly informative episode, especially if you're interested in self defense and/or MMA! Follow John on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePitOnlineDojo and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThePitMaster

I was recently dragged through the waves, under the water and then lifted up into the air while trying to figure out the sport of kiteboarding, and figured out that there is one hell of a learning curve in that sport! But many sports and activities worth doing have that same initial hump - a difficult learning curve that makes most people drop out. Ultimately if it were easy to do then everyone would do it, so the key to doing uncommon things is to grit your teeth and break on through to the other side of those initial difficulties! Download my free app for learning BJJ as fast as possible at http://www.grapplearts.com/roadmap Good luck with your training, in whichever sport, art or endeavour you have chosen! Stephan

I talk with personal trainer and BJJ black belt Ben Zhuang going DEEP into the supplements, exercises, and conditioning protocols, and recovery procedures to help with Brazilian jiu-jitsu and other grappling arts. Follow Ben and see the exercises he's referring to on Instagram @coachbz Follow Stephan on Instagram @stephan_kesting

There are many reasons to train BJJ - fitness, camaraderie, having fun, taking on a challenge, spiritual development, learning to deal with challenges, wanting to compete - but at its core, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art and not a martial sport. Martial arts means self defense. Self defense is a huge and diverse topic, but a big part of it means being able defend yourself against an attacker choking them into a unconsciousness if need be. In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk about good vs bad jiu-jitsu schools for self defense, the legacy of Gracies, the necessity of learning basic striking, clinching, takedowns, and strike defense on the ground, and more. I hope you enjoy it. If you're interested in BJJ and no-gi grappling then check out my site http://www.grapplearts.com And if self defense is important to you then also check out my other site http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com Cheers Stephan

Jessica Huneycutt is the yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints National Football League team. In this episode we go deep into how Yoga and other techniques are used at an elite level to help athletes recover as fast as possible, prevent injuries, and prolong their careers. We also talk about surviving sexual assault, travelling to India, living in ashrams, doing yoga for improved jiu-jitsu performance, and her own personal BJJ training. This is a really good one - I hope you enjoy it and share it with someone else who might benefit from the information in the conversation! Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessica.huneycutt

In this episode I talk with Riccardo Ammedolia, BJJ black belt under the Mendes Brothers, ADCC commentator, and worldwide jiu-jitsu ambassador. We talked about training in Brazil, rolling with Rafa Mendes, judging and reffing in BJJ, staying well rounded, curriculum development and more. If you train BJJ then I think you'll really like this one! Riccardo trains and teaches in Hamilton, Ontario at http://www.atoshamilton.com. You can also follow him on Instagram at @riccardoammendoliabjj or on Facebook at facebook.com/RiccardoAmmendoliaBJJ/

In this (likely controversial) episode I argue that the differences between 'self defense' and 'sport' jiu-jitsu have largely been exaggerated. The real magic of jiu-jitsu is in training against resistance and learning to deal with pressure, not learning a set of magical 'self defense approved' techniques. If your interest is in self defense then you should still train at the best BJJ school you can find and then, if necessary, supplement the curriculum with a little bit of additional training. Stephan Kesting http://www.grapplearts.com http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com

In this episode I discuss the different forms of exhalation and 'kiai' used in various martial arts, ranging from Thai Boxing to Kajukenbo Karate to traditional Japanese Ju-Jutsu. Then I break down the four reasons how vocalising while striking not only makes you more powerful but can also increase your endurance and improve your resilience to getting hit. If you enjoyed this or found it useful then please remember to subscribe to the podcast and, if possible, give it a rating or a review on whatever platform you get your podcasts from! Thank you Stephan

In this episode I talk with elite powerlifter, kettlebell instructor and BJJ practitioner Jason Kapnick about conditioning program design, building a balanced body, functional movement screening, injury prevention, and training for optimal athletic performance. It was a great conversation, and I hope you come away from it having learned as much as I did! You can find out more about Jason, or go to him for training, at https://catalystsportnyc.com Finally, if you found this episode interesting or useful please share The Strenuous Life Podcast with ONE person in your social or training circle. Thanks, Stephan

Today, should you go to seminars, can you learn from seminars, and the funniest thing I ever saw at a seminar...

This episode is just a little different! Today 12 BJJ black belts give their single best piece of advice for people just starting out in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. White belts looking for tips and help with their training will really benefit from watching this, and if it doesn't fire you up and get you on the mat grappling then nothing will! Here are the BJJ black belts featured in this video: Stephan Kesting http://www.grapplearts.com Bernardo Faria https://bernardofaria.com Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins http://www.justgipants.com Travis Stevens http://www.fujisports.com/blog/travis-stevens/ Rob Biernacki http://www.islandtopteam.com/ Pshemek Drabczynski http://www.besthometrainer.com Ritchie Yip http://www.infighting.ca Sean McHugh https://www.alliancekelowna.com Elliott Bayev http://www.openmat.ca Jason Manly http://instagram.com/jasonmanly Michael Zenga http://www.bjjfanatics.com Perry Bateson http://www.nwjja.ca/ Also you can download my (Stephan's) checklist of BJJ positions and techniques for free at http://www.grapplearts.com/book See you on the mat!

I loved this talk with Kirik Jenness who is mayor for life of the underground forum at http://mixedmartialarts.com, the author of The Fighter's Notebook, the official records keeper for mixed martial arts, and has "done every job in MMA except for being a ring girl."

In this short episode I share a tip I learned from Elliott Bayev that'll simultaneously allow you to finish way more people with your chokes but also stop you from completely burning out your arms, legs and/or grips in the attempt. If you're looking for help with a specific area of grappling have you checked out the search bar at the top of my site http://www.grapplearts.com? Tons of videos, tips, articles, and drills there just waiting for you to find them!!

Dan was bitten by the MMA bug after watching UFC 4; soon he was training with Dan Severn and learning all he could about wrestling, jiu-jitsu, fighting and MMA. Many miles and multiple black belts later he's on the podcast. In this conversation we focus on the fighting aspects of jiu-jitsu, 'friendly' sparring sessions gone bad, catch wrestling, Systema (yes, systema), training with hundreds of MMA fighters, doing MMA color commentary, and the lessons learned from decades of living the fighter's lifestyle! Dan's website is https://thecombatsystem.com and he currently teaches at http://charlestonfitmma.com

A conversation with Kung Fu stylist (and BJJ brown belt) Randy Brown that included the history of Chinese martial arts and what made them less effective over time, what traditional martial arts look like when you start training them with resistance, and much more. I think you'll like this one! Find out more about Randy Brown at http://randybrownmantisboxing.com/

OK, so you've just learned a cool new technique that you're pretty sure is the Kryptonite you need to defeat your hardest sparring partner. But then you crash and burn when you try it out in sparring - he ignores your move, passes your guard, smashes you flat and taps you out. What's going on? In this episode I break down exactly why techniques NEVER work on the day they're shown, and the simple steps you need to make that killer technique functional as fast as humanly possible. Check out my FREE app for learning BJJ, The Roadmap for BJJ app for iOS and Android! More information at http://www.grapplearts.com/roadmap. It's my most popular instructional app, so it must be helping someone!!

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 mental and physical toughness he needs to do an incredibly gruelling job. If you get the chance, please share this episode with one other person you think would enjoy it!

Loved this interview with Reilly Bodycomb. Reilly is a Russian sambo and leglock expert who has competed in a TON of different rulesets including BJJ, no gi submission grappling, MMA, Sambo, and wrestling. He shared stories about competing all over the world, and shared some major insights about how the rules you compete under totally influence the development of a sport. My favourite part was when we were riffing about creating the 'perfect' grappling rule set. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you enjoyed it then please share this podcast episode with at least one friend or training partner - that's how this podcast grows and I really appreciate it!! Find out more about Reilly Bodycomb and his upcoming ankle lock instructional at https://www.rdojo.com Cheers! Stephan

This is a fun episode: instead of me doing the interviewing the tables get turned and I get grilled by Cody from the Codyjitsu podcast. We covered tons of stuff including my martial arts background, how I got my black belt, my favourite moves and techniques, specific strategies to train around injuries, the role of competition in training, and much more. Follow Cody on Instagram: @AmericanGrapplingAcademy Follow me on Instagram: @Stephan_Kesting And if you've actually read down this far then why not go and give The Strenuous Life Podcast a rating or review on whatever platform you listen to it on. That kind of stuff is super appreciated, and it's really helping!

One of the very worst things is to be trapped on the bottom with all your opponent's weight on top of you and be unable to breathe. This is usually followed by exhaustion, panic and surrender. But it doesn't need to be like this – there are several approaches to breathing in BJJ that can make sure air gets into your lungs, oxygen into your blood, and keep you in the game, even when you're being completely crushed on the bottom. The following video breaks down the 3 levels of answers to this problem. Physical conditioning Psychological adjustments Technical answers Better BJJ Breathing Part 1 – Physical Conditioning Some people think that if they just had better cardio or stronger abs that they would have an easier time breathing when there's a big giant guy lying on their chest. And they're right… sort of, kind of… Yes, better abs and cardio will definitely help. So do more crunches, leg lifts, running, swimming and elliptical trainer work. In fact some systems of Karate like Kyokushin go so far as to bounce up and down on each other's stomachs with a heel firmly planted on the diaphragm to teach learning breathing while maintaining a very tight core. Better BJJ Breathing Part 2 – Psychological Adjustments Many people simply stop breathing when they're in stressful situations. This can be a byproduct of suffering from claustrophobia, or it can be a standalone problem. I have addressed both of these issues in previous blog posts, and the feedback that I have received tells me that a LOT of people have found them VERY useful. So if you even think that this could be part of the problem for you then I strongly suggest that you skim these two articles and figure out if they contain the solution to your problem… ARTICLE ONE: Dealing with Claustrophobia in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and ARTICLE TWO: Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion Check them out. Better BJJ Breathing Part 3 – Technical Answers If you're in reasonable shape, don't think that you're holding your breath, and don't suffer from claustrophobia then there are probably technical answers that'll fix your breathing in bad positions. I cover these in considerable detail in the video above (or, if you prefer, here's the same video about breathing on the bottom on Youtube) so I would watch that. The main themes are… Breathe Easier by Getting Onto Your Side It's really, really tough to breathe well in BJJ when you're flat on your back and your opponent has his weight on your diaphragm (the large muscle that separates your lungs from your guts that is roughly at the level of your solar plex). If you're flat, and he has weight on your diaphragm, you're going to suffer. It's that simple. If you're on your side, with one hip and one side of your body off the ground, then breathing is much, much easier. Sometimes this is as simple as planting both feet, giving a little bridge, then turning onto your side with a shrimping motion. There are some other tricks as well. For example, in the video version of this podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf07y7rmsxE) above I shared something I learned from Carlos Machado which he calls 'power hips.' In this manoeuvre he plants one foot and then extends the other leg far out to the side. This power hips position naturally lifts one hip off the ground and turns the body onto the side. When you do it under an opponent, regardless of what top position he's in, it makes breathing much easier. He also has an entire escape system based on power hips that I've been playing with but haven't come anywhere near to mastering yet! Breathe Easier by Opening Your Mouth WIDE Here's a breathing trick I learned from Walter Lanz, one of my old Judo instructors… If you're getting smothered under your opponent's gi then resist the temptation to close your mouth and instead try opening your mouth as wide as possible. Do this experiment with a gi in private so that nobody will think you're crazy… Hold a gi over your face and try breathing through it with tightly pursed lips. Really difficult with a small breathing hold, right? But when you open your mouth all the way then you've got much more surface area of gi to pull that air through. It might not be easy, but it's a lot less difficult Wider mouth usually means more oxygen in a smother situation. It's not a 100% solution, but then nothing is; that is why BJJ is a martial art and not a martial science! Breathe Easier by Not Exhaling Fully This one is really counterintuitive. Most of the time I advocate breathing deeply, breathing fully, and not limiting the amount of oxygen you're taking in when you're working hard. But if there's a lot of weight on your chest or diaphragm you actually DON'T want to exhale fully for the time being. That's because once you've breathed fully out your lungs will be contracted, and then the weight of your opponent will make it impossible to fill your lungs fully again. So you actually want to breathe rather shallowly. Keep them as full as possible until you manage to get

How to deal with the super-frustrating but ultimately inevitable physical setbacks, limitations and injuries when you're doing a contact sport. Hint: it will ALWAYS be two steps forward, one step back; the trick is how you deal with it to stay motivated and not get discouraged. I speak from the heart AND from experience here! Please remember to subscribe to the podcast on the platform of your choice so that you don't miss any of the future content that I'm coming out with!

I really enjoyed talking to Lieutenant Kevin Dillon (ret) who served for 25 years as a police officer, SWAT team member, and detective commander before moving on to become a full time trainer for police departments. In this episode we talk about his closest calls on the street, how police departments train their officers to fight, degrees of force and escalation in combatives, how to talk somebody down, strategies and tactics that anyone can employ to keep themselves safe, and much more. Regardless of whether you're a LEO (law enforcement officer) or a civilian I think you'll find this useful! You can find out more about Kevin at PoliceCombat.com

Chewy (aka Nick Albin) is well known for the BJJ advice he gives on his prolific Youtube Chewjitsu channel, so I was thrilled to have him on the podcast. It's a great chat and we cover a ton of material, including how he got his nickname, his journey from wrestling to MMA to jiu-jitsu, gi vs no gi training, preventing injuries in training, why he decided to leave tech and go full time in jiu-jitsu, getting his black belt on the same day that his mother died, how jiu-jitsu saves lives, his youtube channel, crazy gyms and insane coaches and more. Find out more about Chewy's school at http://derbycitymartialarts.com/web/ and check out his Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/chewjitsu

Getting tired when you're rolling sucks. And it's even worse when you're competing; you can't breathe, you go into survival mode, your plans goes out the window and life starts sucking. In this episode I share my number one tip for beating this exhaustion and performing up to your potential in competition. Let me know what you think of these tips and mini-rant podcast episodes. You can find me at the following places... Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stephankesting Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting Snapchat: I'm 'stephankesting' or click here: Stephan on Snapchat Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/grapplearts Thanks! Stephan

To get better fast in any sport you have to be able to train hard, which means minimising injuries and maximising your recovery. In this episode I give you some of my best tips to accomplish both of these goals. If you found this information useful then please share the podcast with ONE other person who might also benefit from hearing it. Thank you so much , Stephan Kesting www.grapplearts.com www.selfdefensetutorials.com

In this rant I go off about so-called 'technique collectors', which are martial artists who memorise 35 different variations of a technique but are unable to execute ANY of those variations against a real opponent giving even a little bit of resistance. Then I go through the 5 step formula for taking any technique and making it functional. This 5 step formula is broken down for you in more detail on my second website http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com/makeitwork. Hope you find this rant informative, or at least entertaining!

Should you pull guard in BJJ competition or fight doggedly for the takedown. You'll get some answers to this perennial question in my conversation about pulling guard with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki.

Loved talking to jiu-jitsu pioneer Carlos Machado about all things BJJ. His love for the art and experience in the sport comes through at every second. I hope you get as much out of this interview as I did! Some of the highlights include 01:07 - Carlos on growing up in Jiu-Jitsu family 05:52 - BJJ comes into the mainstream 08:41 - Training with Rolls Gracie 11:07 - Style of the Machado game 13:03 - The continuing evolution of Jiu Jitsu 17:54 - Who are the most athletic Jiu Jitsu practitioners? 20:44 - Who has the deepest BJJ technical knowledge? 27:41 - What he thinks about the introduction of new techniques into Jiu-Jitsu 30:46 - Submission only competition formats ` 33:32 - Carlos's reflections on competing in Abu Dhabi Find out more about Carlos Machado at carlosmachado.net

You wouldn't think that something like stretching before a workout could be controversial, but it is. Some evidence and experts suggest that you should only do it after your workout, whereas most traditions say that you should do it before. Who's right and what should you do? In this episode I break it down for you (hint, it really, really depends on the sport you do)!

The other day I almost tore a partner's ACL off the bone, which would have required him to have surgery and many months of rehabilitation. What happened exactly? I was more experienced and a bit bigger than my training partner that day and we were doing some no gi sparring. Because of the experience discrepancy I was hyper-focusing on a couple of very specific positions, namely Ashi Garami and the 411. (This is a form of Targeted Sparring which is a great tool to use when you're going against less experienced training partners - by limiting myself to only a couple positions and one submission it makes the match more even and better training for both of us.) So we're rolling, carefully and respectfully... I've tapped my training partner out a few times with heel hooks, all applied in slow motion... He's beginning to defend the leglocks more intelligently and I'm having to work a little harder to get them... Everything is going the way it's supposed to. Then it almost ended very badly. I had the Ashi Garami firmly in place, and was just finishing the dig part of the heel hook (where you get your wrist under his heel in preparation for finishing the lock). And 99% of the time when I'm sparring that's as far as I'll go - no need to actually apply the heel hook. At that point my partner typically knows he's caught and will tap out. But this new training partner didn't know when to quit. He tried to escape by spinning. And, to make matters MUCH worse, he spun the wrong way! Spinning or rotating can be part of an effective heel hook defense, BUT NOT WHEN YOU GO IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!! Instead of relieving the pressure, spinning into the dig amplifies the power of the submission exponentially! If I had remained still, not moving, his wrong-way-spin would have slammed his heel into my forearm. He would have full power heel hooked himself, which can tear all sorts of ligaments in the knee, the foot and the ankle. Fortunately I saw what was about to happen and completely released my grips without a second to spare. The submission evaporated, he spun safely and 'escaped.' Then I sat him down and we had a good little chat about the dangers of spinning out of leglock if you don't know which way to spin. Now I'm not here to vilify leglocks, because I've managed to train them safely for years. And I've seen lots disasters and near misses on the mats with many other techniques and submissions over the years. So let's universalise a few take-home lessons from this incident… LESSON #1 - IF YOU'RE CAUGHT AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, THEN DON'T DO SOMETHING DYNAMIC!! This is certainly true of the heel hook example above, but this applies to any submission. Imagine an absolute beginner caught in an armbar from guard with no idea how to defend or escape technically. But he still doesn't want to tap out, and lacking a good plan, decides to try something dynamic and unorthodox. He turns 90 degrees to the side then does a flying belly flop onto the mat. Or maybe he launches himself into a full power backwards somersault. Or maybe into a breakdancing head spin. Do you think something could go wrong in those situations? Yes! Very seriously wrong. Snap, crackle, pop wrong! Introducing that much additional and unexpected momentum into a situation where you don't know exactly what you're doing is guaranteed to lead to disaster. At some point a limb will end up in a vulnerable position and the heavy body in motion will result in a sprain, tear, break or dislocation. Yes, there are times when momentum is your friend for escaping submissions, but it's a tool that you use rarely, in specific situations and with specific techniques. Don't get injured because your ego makes you unwilling to tap out. If you're caught in a position or submission and you don't know which way to turn then don't turn! Instead 1) accept that you're caught, 2) open your hand and 3) tap it on your opponent a few times. Your jiu-jitsu will improve SO much faster if you're on the mat rather than at the physiotherapist trying to put Humpty together again. LESSON #2 - EXPLAIN THE DANGERS OF A TECHNIQUE TO YOUR STUDENTS, AND TEACH THEM THE CORRECT COUNTERS A lot of this near miss heel hooking situation was my fault. I knew that I wouldn't crank my training partner's leg, but I had made an assumption that he understood the basics of defending the heel hook. I should not have made this assumption. (You know what they say about the word "Assume"? That it makes and "ass" out of "u" and "me".) I should have at least double checked with him prior to training that he understood the mechanism of the heel hook and the basic do's and don'ts. Teach the basic safety parameters around a submission you're going to be drilling. This as logical as teaching or teaching break falls before you teach throws, but I've seen newbies get concussions on day one because they were starting on their feet with zero idea how to land safely. I've also seen beginners put to sleep because nobody had told t

Today's episode comes from a Q&A session I did on Instagram live (@stephan_kesting) and gave the answers to a ton of BJJ and training topics including... 05:00 - When I started training BJJ 06:56 - Is BJJ ever going to make it into the Olympics 08:04 - Advice for remote learners without access to a school 12:33 - Teaching seminars? 13:19 - Grappling and submissions when there's a weapon involved 17:51 - Grapplearts leglock videos 19:01 - The leglock positional hierarchy 20:39 - Dealing with cauliflower ear 23:28 - What does my training look like? 24:51 - How powerful is the ankle lock, and what's the best leglock? 27:35 - Big man game vs small man jiu-jitsu 29:34 - Is it Ok to train at multiple schools? 31:38 - Is catch wrestling any good and do I use it? 33:39 - Custom rash gaurds 34:02 - What makes someone's game world class? 37:38 - Tips for facing larger opponents 39:55 - Strategies for people with bad knees 41:23 - Neck strengthening exercises 43:47 - Mapping out a training schedule Hope you enjoy this and also make sure to follow me on Instagram where I'm @stephan_kesting

This is a great episode with a ton of relevant and useful tips for combat athletes! Jason C. Brown shares a ton of information about kettlebell conditioning for jiu-jitsu and other martial arts including the details of kettlebell form, competitions, and designing conditioning programs for different people with different goals. We also riff on old-school jiu-jitsu techniques and why they still work. Give it a listen and, as always, please share it with someone else if you think it'll be useful for them!

It started so well! First Rob Biernacki and I discuss The Last Jedi and training with ADCC champion Yuri Simoes and World Champion Caio Terra. Then things went off the rails and we pissed off leftists, rightists, geeks, lesbians, Marxists, trickle-down economists, liberals, Trumpists, systema practitioners, academics, flat-earthers and everyone in between!

What would the boxer Vasyl Lomachenko do if he caught you macking on his girlfriend? Well, I don't think it would involve any elaborate footwork or strategies... It's fun to make things complicated in training, to use setups, fakes, and elaborate combinations to beat your training partners. But when it comes to street self defense you should keep things really, really simple. For more of my self defense material check out my second website at selfdefensetutorials.com and my second YouTube channel at YouTube.com/selfdefensetutorials

I think you'll really like this episode! In it I talk with Alex Kask who is a traditional Japanese Takeuchi-ryu Ju-Jutsu teacher but also no stranger to modern Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. We go deep into the techniques and history of traditional Japanese martial arts systems, including modern vs traditional training methods, the Japanese 'Warring States' period, historical challenge matches, the importance of wrestling in an environment with weapons and armour, and much more! Find out more about Alex at http://www.shofukan.ca/ Read the article we did together on Japanese Ju-Jutsu vs Submission Grappling here: http://www.grapplearts.com/submission-grappling-vs-classical-ju-jutsu-when-cultures-and-concepts-collide/ See Alex and I talk armbars vs knives here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUYWwutQrBE And check out how the Rear Naked Choke (RNC) might be applied differently in traditional Japanese Ju-Jujutsu vs BJJ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL8ywtIOtfY

I really enjoyed this chat with kiteboarder and extreme athlete Jack Rieder (in part because I'm dying to try kiteboarding myself). Here's just a bit of what we talked about... 1:10 - What is kiteboarding? 6:47 - The disciplines of kiteboarding 13:57 - Other uses for kites 17:51 - Controlling the kite 21:28 - Injuries and risk 27:14 - Media and video process 30:36 - Training vs doing for high level performance 38:07 - The future of the sport 41:11 - The art of getting sponsored

The Christmas binge is over and it's time to take control of your diet again! In this short episode I give you my top five pieces of advice for cleaning up your diet and not sabotaging your training with crappy nutrition.

Matt Thornton is the founder of Straight Blast Gym, the organisation that produced Conor McGregor. He's also a skeptic with many harsh words for traditional martial arts and traditional training methods. Don't listen if you're easily offended! 00:51 - Matt's martial arts background 10:26 - The concept of "Aliveness" 20:41 - The "I" method of teaching and training martial arts 26:14 - John Kavanagh and Conor McGregor 32:37 - Where did fantasy martial arts come from? 42:55 - The evolution of martial arts 65:54 - False positives and negatives 73:26 - Skepticism

Why training in the martial arts without including some form of grappling is stupid, and what are the key positions, techniques and transitions you need to learn first in order to get good as fast as possible. If you already train then I hope this helps you, and if you don't train... well... I hope it's the kick in the butt that you need to get yourself onto the mat!

I really mean it: DON'T wait until New Year's Eve to start making the changes you know should happen! Waiting will only make things more difficult. To prove my point I drag Genghis Khan, Julius Caeser, Georges S Patton, and Robb Stark from Game of Thrones into the argument.

"When you retire, all you want those guys you worked with to say about you is: God, he was a good firefighter!" Loved sitting down with Battalion Chief of Training Ken Johnson (ret) to talk about recent breakthroughs in firefighting tactics, training probationaries, managing emergency scenes, the critical importance of your crew, the fun side of firefighting, whether someone should become a firefighter or not, and how to increase the chances of getting signed on. Plus we talked ironworking, boxing, and more. Let me know what you think about this interview on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, OK?

Loved doing this massive Q&A! What I did was take the time to more fully answer questions that I had first addressed in 140 characters on my first Twitter AMA (Ask Me Anything). Follow me on Twitter where I'm @stephankesting so you can get in on the next Q&A session! Here's what I talked about... My cryotherapy experiment update - 01:13 The 3 most essential submissions (and why) - 07:09 Grappling dummies and should you use them - 09:59 Bad hygiene and etiquette on the mats - 13:23 Are there techniques big guys should avoid - 16:15 Should you do a takedown or pull guard? - 18:00 Essential training for beginners - 19:51 Gracie combatives - 24:15 Worst handicap I've seen someone overcome in training - 26:33 Making starting out in jiu-jitsu easier - 27:48 Red flags and problem people at gyms - 29:06 Should belt promotions cost money? - 30:11 Dealing with strong closed guards - 31:20 The types of guard for punch defense - 32:22 Easing pressure on the spine during guillotine submissions - 33:20 Are new rules hurting BJJ? - 34:49 Game changing concepts - 37:14 How to finish single leg takedowns - 38:57 Squats and deadlifts - 40:55 Eating before training; what and how long? - 42:16 Making the most of limited rolling time - 43:04 Best BJJ techniques for self defence - 44:19 BJJ and firefighting - 45:31 Toe holds vs heel hooks - 47:18 Opinions on cross-training - 49:00 Training at different schools - 50:31

I've known and trained with black belt Sean McHugh for 16 years, so I was super-stoked to have him on the podcast. We covered a lot of important material including How to train your training partners so that they can help you get better as fast as possible Strategies for optimal post workout recovery BJJ injury prevention and rehabilitation How the teaching of BJJ has evolved since the art was introduced to North America Beginner's teaching progressions, and should you let people spar on the first day of class? The dark side of MMA, including concussions, addictions, and lack of options after leaving the sport How to continue training when life is kicking the crap out of you And much more...

In this episode I share one of my best tips to get your butt on the mat or in the gym, indicators for when it's NOT time to push, as well as a cautionary tale of when an MMA training session went too far and I ended up bleeding from the kidneys! Also, I've got some really interesting podcasts coming up in the near future, and if you subscribe then you won't miss them!

Are takedowns important even though so few BJJ gyms teach them, and can you get away with never training them if your focus is competition? And what about self defense? This are questions I answered during an recent Instagram Live Q&A session - follow me on Instagram @stephan_kesting and maybe next time I'll be answering YOUR question!