The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

I talk with Rob Biernacki, a friend, BJJ black belt, and contributor to Grapplearts (see the videos and articles he's been involved with here). This is a fun, opinionated conversation in which I'm sure we'll offend just about everyone! Some of the topics we covered in the 1:19 discussion include... How the underlying principles of BJJ that make it easy to learn techniques, adapt to new situations, and transition effortlessly between gi and no gi training Stories about cultish schools run by insane martial arts instructors A narrow escape from vindictive ninjas in the 1980s The role of competition in BJJ Maintaining standards in the martial arts Why suffering is a good thing for the development of martial arts skills I hope you'll like it!

Eddie 'Wolverine' Cummings talks with Stephan Kesting about leglocks, including why the heel hook is one of the most powerful submissions in BJJ, how to train them safely, and how to apply them correctly. Leglocks are incredibly dominant in modern no gi competition, so learn more about them in this podcast.

Direct from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, I chat with BJJ black belt Jeff Rockwell about: How certain techniques are 'discovered' again and again What the basics are and why you need one tool for every range Self defense vs competition jiu-jitsu When butt flopping in a self defense situation is the RIGHT thing to do Hair grab defenses for women Law enforcement applications of BJJ And much more

It's one thing to be beaten by a better opponent, but it's quite another to go out there and underperform... to do less than you know you're capable of. You can be in top shape and have your techniques honed to a razor's edge, but can still perform poorly in BJJ competition if your mental preparation is lacking. In this Grapplearts podcast I talk with BJJ black belt Gustavo Dantas about how to use sports psychology to create unshakeable confidence and perform to the best of your ability in competition.

The second-ever Grapplearts Radio Q&A format podcast. In this episode I answer questions from my newsletter readers and cover many topics, including How to come back to BJJ training after an injury... and not lose your mind while you're rehabbing... Options for transitioning out of Z guard (and half guard in general) to open guard How to improve your BJJ cardio so you don't gas out on the mats so easily A beginner's approach to learning guard passing How to know what techniques you should be focusing on in your drilling And much more...

Stephan Kesting interviews Jeff Westfall from The Martial Brain podcast. They discuss kata vs real training, chi power and other martial hoaxes, and the power of applying a skeptical mindset to learning martial arts.

In this episode of the Grapplearts Radio Podcast Stephan Kesting talks with Bernardo Faria, the 2015 BJJ Mundials 99kg and Absolute division winner. Bernardo Faria talks about... How he won the Worlds despite 'not being at all talented in jiu-jitsu' Competition mindset going into big tournaments His highly individual BJJ gameplan What he's learned training with Marcelo Garcia in NYC The physical conditioning routine that gets him into top shape for competition How he's modifying his game to work no-gi in ADCC And much more...

Stephan Kesting interviews Roxanne Modaferri about the differences between MMA training in Japan and the USA, continuing to improve after 12 years in the sport, snapping a 6 fight losing streak, and what tryouts forThe Ultimate Fighter were really like. Download Stephan Kesting's Roadmap for BJJ book for free at http://www.grapplearts.com/book

Steve Whittier is a cool guy. He manages to combine both thoughtful analyses and controversial opinions into one eloquent package. In this interview we talked about lots of different BJJ and MMA related topics, but the main emphasis and recurring theme was functional drilling and the efficacy of different types of BJJ training methods. http://www.nexusma.com http://www.grapplearts.com

BJJ Black Belts Ritchie Yip and Stephan Kesting have a wide-ranging discussion, centered around tips that BJJ beginners need to know. Material covered includes: Whether beginners should in their own class or mixed in with more advanced people Things to look for when checking out a new school How to avoid situations where you're just going to get maliciously rag dolled by senior students How instructors can teach a class of differing levels What the the only real spiritual benefits of martial arts training is How to tell if a martial arts school is run by a complete A-hole Why training with black belts only is a huge mistake What happens when people interested in taking a kickboxing class end up in the jiu-jitsu class by mistake Why learning jiu-jitsu is much harder than learning boxing, and how not to get discouraged during that learning process The most insane idea Stephan has ever had for making a training dummy And much more... For more about Ritchie check out www.infighting.ca For more about Stephan check out www.grapplearts.com