In this episode I'm joined by pro-wrestler Tad Murphy to talk about the legendary wrestler Karl Gotch.&nbsp; &nbsp; 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.&nbsp; &nbsp; His influence is the common link between just about every major Japanese MMA organisation including Pride, Shooto, Pancrase, Shootboxing, Rizin and more. &nbsp; 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  &nbsp; Follow Tad Murphy the wrestler on Instagram at &nbsp;or in his customer success career at&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

317 - Karl Gotch, the Godfather of the Japanese MMA Scene, with Tad Murphy

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.&nbsp; I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

328 - The Russians Are Coming - Combat Sambo, MMA and Jiu-Jitsu with Steve Koepfer

I was thrilled to have MMA fighter Nate 'The Rock' Quarry on the podcast where we talked about being raised in a cult, his comeback to the UFC after a serious back surgery, his biggest loss in MMA, the UFC monopoly, and staying in shape after retirement.&nbsp; Nate is active on Twitter where he can be found ; please let him know if you enjoyed our conversation! Also check out my BRAND NEW step-by-step guide to the most versatile submission in jiu-jitsu at .&nbsp; And if you felt compelled to jump on Twitter to tell me how great it is include me () and I'll be indebted to you! Cheers, Stephan Kesting

348 - Nate 'The Rock' Quarry on MMA, the UFC, and Being Raised in a Cult

BJJ black belt Elliott Bayev and I discuss the minimum knowledge set required to be a competent blue belt, including...  The 8 basic positions in jiu-jitsu A 3 phase strategy for beating a bigger person&nbsp; The real purpose of the guard The 2 types of submissions The hierarchy of positions How to stay safe in bad positions...and what to do next. The importance of getting high up on your opponent’s body How do throws and takedowns fit into training Competition vs self defense tactics  How many techniques do you actually need  Why sparring against real resistance makes jiu-jitsu special When to begin sparring in your progression How long does it take to make bluebelt And more!  , my free PDF breakdown of the basic positions and strategies in jiu-jitsu.  Elliott runs the   school in Toronto Ontario and also the   learning site.&nbsp; Check out Elliott's , and/or his , and/or his  instructionals. I've personally worked with him on all 3 of these products and I can say without hesitation that they are incredibly detailed and directly applicable to your training. Stephan Kesting &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

380 - What Do You Need to Know to Be a BJJ Blue Belt?

Brooke Binowski is a journalist specialising in debunking disinformation and misinformation.&nbsp; She has worked for Snopes and is now the managing editor at . In this episode we talk about Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, how disinformation campaigns are structured, white supremacists, why the wellness space is so prone to believing conspiracy theories, and how we can know what's actually true and what's not. Follow Brooke on Mastadon , on Twitter (for now) , and check out what she's working on at . &nbsp; Finally, check out the  on Youtube as well. &nbsp; Merry Christmas, Stephan Kesting

381 - The Battle Against Disinformation and Information Nihilism, with Brooke Binowski

To say that Greg Souders is a huge believer in drilling and gamification is actually an understatement; he believes that BJJ training methods have not kept up with the science of learning, and runs  in Rockville, Maryland&nbsp;without teaching any techniques. And black belt medalist students at the Pan Ams and the World Championships suggest that he's onto something!&nbsp; I really enjoyed this conversation and did my best to ask the questions you'll be hearing in your own head as you listen to this!&nbsp; As always, if you enjoyed this episode I would REALLY appreciated a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listened to it! Cheers, Stephan Kesting

382 - On Learning Jiu-Jitsu with 100% Live Training and No Formal Technical Instruction, with Greg Souders

Amanda Bruse took home Gold as a black belt in her weight division at No Gi Pans in 2022, and also a Silver in the open division facing much heavier opponents. She's also done amazingly well at ADCC Trials, No Gi Worlds, and is now competing in Combat Jiu-jitsu as well. It's remarkable that she's only been training for 6 years; clearly, she's doing something right, and in this conversation I try to find out what it is!! Tune in to find out about learning how to train (02:48), her favorite submission competing against bigger opponents in the open division (09:12), how to structure multiple training sessions per day (14:38), strength and conditioning for jiu-jitsu (18:06), balancing training and university studies (28:57), wrestling for no gi jiu-jitsu (35:34), starting a clothing brand (41:01), visualisation for competition (47:11), and her best advice for new people starting jiu-jitsu (53:06). Follow Amanda on Instagram at . As always, a rating and a review of this podcast is super-appreciated!!! &nbsp; Thanks so much Stephan Kesting

383 - Amanda Bruse on Storming the Medals Podium at No Gi Pans

Jesse Bryant is doing his PhD on the politics of nature, and has come across some amazing examples of both far left and far right groups wrapping themselves in the mantle of nature and what is deemed 'natural'.&nbsp; From the Artaman League to the Wolves of Vinland and Alex Jone's fantasies about moving back to the country sometimes what he's found is hilarious, and sometimes it's terrifying.&nbsp; I really enjoyed today's homage to the Naturalistic Fallacy and I hope you do too... Check out Jesse's great Tiktok channel where&nbsp; he goes by . And check out the latest Grapplearts instructional, Cutting Edge Leglocks, at .&nbsp; It's an amazing deal and will definitely help you tap out a LOT more people!

384 -  Neopagan Vegetarian Authoritarian Heavy Metal Nature Lovers with Jesse Bryant

The jiu-jitsu world was shaken recently when Jack Greener, severely injured in 2018 while sparring at a San Diego gym, was awarded $46,475,112 dollars by a jury. Rener Gracie testified for the plaintiff, and Clark Gracie testified for the defence. In this episode, I get together with Dan Lukeheart (Brea Jiu-Jitsu) and Alex Kask (Barrister and Solicitor) to discuss the specific technique that caused this injury (the 'Leo Viera Backtake'), training methods used in jiu-jitsu, who gets to set industry standards in jiu-jitsu, whether white belts should spar, and how teachers and club owners can protect themselves from being wiped out by similar lawsuits.&nbsp;&nbsp; More information about this lawsuit is available here...    Take care of your training partners!! Stephan Kesting

385 - Grappling with the Implications of the 46 Million Lawsuit for Jiu-Jitsu, with Dan Lukeheart, Alex Kask and Stephan Kesting

Carlson Gracie fought in 18 Vale Tudo matches, brought jiu-jitsu to the masses, and innovated many of the MMA training practices we now take for granted. He innovated many seemingly radical ideas at the time, like training without the gi, group classes, and being a well rounded fighter. These points come from Robert Drysdale's excellent book, The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, available on Amazon at  I'll be talking to Robert Drysdale about Carlson Gracie and this era of jiu-jitsu in the very next episode (#387) of The Strenuous Life Podcast, so don't miss it!! Cheers, Stephan Kesting

386 - Seven Reasons Why Carlson Gracie Was The First Modern MMA Fighter

Not only is Robert Drysdale a BJJ and ADCC World Champion, he has also conducted extensive research into the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In this interview, he reveals some of what he's discovered, including... 01:54 - The first wave of jiu-jitsu in Brazil - Helio Gracie and Carlos Gracie&nbsp; 04:35 - Exhibition and carnival fighting in Brazil 06:55 - Traditional jiu-jitsu style vs modified judo 12:14 - Training methods of the Gracie Academy in the '30s, 40s and '50s 18:43 - The second wave practitioners 19:47 - Waldemar Santana 22:49 - Carlson Gracie and the Rua Figueiredo Magalhães school 33:19 - How BJJ rule changes changed the sport 42:31 - Rolls Gracie 48:51 - Self-defense and Vale Tudo training 55:28 - Rolls Gracie death 1:00:55 - The Carlson Gracie tragedy 1:13:54 - Carlos Gracie Jr. 1:21:03 - Future rule changes, luta livre, and the sportification of jiu-jitsu 1:35:10 - The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the book  You can grab Robert's book, The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which goes into MUCH more detail on these topics at  &nbsp;Note that today's episode was also on my Youtube channel at this link:  If you found this episode interesting then a rating or a review to help get the word out would be SUPER appreciated. Thanks, Stephan Kesting

387 - The Most Successful Gracie Fighter Of All Time, with Robert Drysdale

The Ultimate Self-Defense Championship was a competition in which six martial arts YouTubers competed against each other in seven self-defense challenges to find out what works, what doesn't and who would become the ultimate self-defense champion.&nbsp; The organizer of this event was Rokas Leo who trained Aikido for 14 years and eventually realised that that art didn't live up to what to the promises. He made the switch to MMA training and has had several amateur MMA fights since.&nbsp;&nbsp; My previous interview with Rokas about his evolution from Aikido to MMA:  Watch the first season of the Ultimate Self Defense Championship on Youtube for free:  Contribute to The Ultimate Self Defense Championship Season 2 here and get early access and extra footage:  Find out more about Rokas on his site:  &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

388 - The Ultimate Self Defense Championship with Rokas Leo

I caught up with world record holder James Pieratt shortly after he completed a 500-mile, self-supported mountain run along the Pacific Crest Trail.&nbsp; But James isn't just an ultrarunner - he's also a serious weightlifter who also trains in jiu-jitsu. In this interview we went deep into how to balance strength, endurance, and skill training, the role of prehabilitation and rehabilitation, the effect of hard training on life expectancy, and what drives someone to these extremes.&nbsp;  Check out James' training programs at  or follow him on instagram . &nbsp; If you know someone who'd be inspired by this episode please send it to them!  Stephan&nbsp;

389 - How to Train for Strength, Endurance and Jiu-Jitsu Simultaneously, with World Record holder James Pieratt of Wild Hunt Conditioning

In the first part of this episode Stephan discusses how BJJ training is fantastic preparation for dealing with adversity in all aspects of life. &nbsp;In part 2 he shares 7 reasons that your mind might be going blank on the mat and what you can do about it. &nbsp;Get notified of future podcasts, videos and articles by signing up at http://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter

EP 039: BJJ and Adversity, and What to Do When Your Mind Goes Blank

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. &nbsp;I think you'll like this one! Find out more about Randy Brown at&nbsp;http://randybrownmantisboxing.com/ &nbsp; &nbsp;

128 - Can Kung Fu, BJJ and MMA Coexist?  A conversation with mantis boxer Randy Brown.

Jessica Huneycutt is the yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints National Football League team. &nbsp; &nbsp; In this episode we go deep into how Yoga and other techniques are used at an elite level to help athletes &nbsp;recover as fast as possible, prevent injuries, and prolong their careers. &nbsp;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. &nbsp; 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! &nbsp; Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessica.huneycutt

138 - National Football League Yoga Instructor Jessica Huneycutt

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. &nbsp;I got this from the legendary Dan Inosanto who started training at age 11 and is still practising martial arts in his 80's.

147 - Why Your Game Needs to Change Every 10 Years

Loved chatting with articulate Seph Smith,&nbsp;Ryan Hall's first BJJ black belt and a Combat Sambo black belt as well! &nbsp;We cover training leglocks safely, competing in Judo and Sambo, his instructional products, potentially career-ending injuries, where the sport of Jiu-jitsu is headed, developing a well rounded game, and tips for performing well in competition. Find out more about Seph's school in Richmond VA at&nbsp;http://www.upstreambjj.com Find out more about Seph's BJJ mini-courses at&nbsp;https://upstream-bjj.teachable.com/courses Follow Seph on Instagram at&nbsp;https://www.instagram.com/sephwillkillyou/?hl=en Finally, if you enjoyed this episode the single best thing you can do to help me (and get more episodes out for you faster) is to go and subscribe to the podcast right now. &nbsp;I can't tell you how much that moves the needle. And if you've already done that then a rating and review would be super-appreciated. &nbsp;It may seem silly but it REALLY helps! Thank you so much Stephan &nbsp; &nbsp;

159 - Seph Smith on BJJ, Combat Sambo, and Competition Mindset

I was thrilled to appear on The Great Flip Podcast to talk about jiu-jitsu, specifically why it's probably the best self defense martial art for women and girls.&nbsp; I hope you enjoy it! Catch up with the work Coach Jody is doing at&nbsp;https://thegreatflip.com/, on Facebook at&nbsp;https://www.facebook.com/thegreatflip/,&nbsp;or on Youtube at&nbsp;https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJleGbTwtlTL4GXLMl6sL6A And, as always, a rating or a review of this podcast is super-appreciated.&nbsp; It helps the show grow and acts as an incentive for me to use my very limited time to produce more shows more often! Thanks Stephan

174 - Why Jiu-Jitsu is Best for Self Defense: Stephan on The Great Flip Podcast

Jiu-jitsu black belt Adam Nadow was recently attacked in the street and used his training to defend himself and control his attacker until the police arrived.&nbsp; The video of this confrontation later went viral in the BJJ and self defense community.&nbsp; Adam came on the podcast today to talk about this incident, his training, and the relevance of BJJ to self defense. In addition to breaking down the street incident step by step we also talked about the BJJ point system and how it applies to self defense training, the amazing power of adrenaline, and why you should learn to fight even if you also pack heat. If you're interested in this topic please check out my self defense oriented website https://www.selfdefensetutorials.com and sign up for the email newsletter on that site too because I share some really good tidbits from my 35 years of martial arts training! Good luck with your training! Stephan

186 - Attacked in the Street: Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Adam Nadow on his Viral Streetfight Video

This was a fascinating conversation with Nick Hiebert who has done a ton of research into the nutrient density of different foods.&nbsp; In this talk we look at the all time greatest, most nutrient dense foods, the ketogenic diet, fats vs carbs vs proteins, and much more. Check out Nick's blog at https://thenutrivore.blogspot.com/ or follow him on Twitter @The_Nutrivore where he spends a ton of time debunking bad nutritional science https://twitter.com/The_Nutrivore And if you're on Twitter anyway why not follow me @stephankesting https://twitter.com/StephanKesting because I'm reasonably active on there and share cool stuff all the time Peace, Stephan

244 - The 10 Most Nutritious Foods, with Nick Hiebert from The Nutrivore

Chris Moriarty is a doctor, a competitor, and a BJJ black belt.&nbsp; His 6 step procedure for reopening academies is available at https://www.grapplearts.com/openingupbjj 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:56 Chris Moriarty's Medical and BJJ Background 0:08:24 Is Covid a Fake Pandemic? 0:18:30 The whitehouse.gov/openingamerica Guidelines 0:26:43 Phase 1 0:06:09 Phase 2 0:46:17 Testing for the Virus and Antibodies 0:54:59 Phase 3 1:05:39 Phase 4 1:14:05 High Risk Groups 1:16:08 Phase 5 1:16:56 Phase 6

268 - Opening Jiu-Jitsu Up Again During Covid-19, with Dr Chris Moriarty (BJJ Black Belt and Competitor)

Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models comes onto the podcast to discuss cult behaviour in BJJ, good and bad club cultures, and the big picture behind effective jiu-jitsu training. "I consider cults to be any organization that uses unscrupulous tactics to manipulate the members for the benefit of the founders or the people higher up in the chain." "People always tell you that jiu-jitsu builds character and makes you a better person. That is not true.&nbsp; Jiu-jitsu gives you confidence and makes you a bolder, more assertive version of the person that you already are.&nbsp; And whether that’s a good person or a bad person is up to you." "In a time when things are as uncertain as they have ever been in our lives, we crave certainty. If someone can promise you certainty in an uncertain time especially if they can confirm what deep down you've always believed to be true, you're going to gravitate towards them and it shuts off part of your brain."

290 - Cult Behaviour in Jiu-Jitsu, with Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models

BJJ black belt, lifetime martial artist and the operator of Grapplearts.com

Stephan Kesting

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