The Strenuous Life Podcast With Stephan Kesting / Grapplearts Radio

In this rant I go off about my single biggest problem with Crossfit, especially when people try to use it as a conditioning method for another sport. I also go into the exact exercises and combinations of exercises which I find particularly dangerous, and how to mitigate these risks. Sign up for my BJJ and martial arts training tips at https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter  

I'm STOKED that Survivorman Les Stroud came on the podcast today!!! We talked adventure, survival skills, navigating in the wilderness, the closest he's come to death while filming, work-life balance, music and more. I hope you enjoy listening to his episode as much as I did recording it for you!     Go to http://www.lesstroud.ca to find out more about Les, his appearances, shows, and concerts.

How often and how hard to train are tricky questions.  Too much hard training and you'll grind yourself into a pulp.  Not enough hard training and you'll never reach your potential or expand the limits of what you think you're capable of.  In this episode I dive into the topics of over-training, under-recovery, and the single most important legal supplement for recovery! To support the podcast and allow us to bring you more episodes with more amazing guests consider contributing a buck or two a month at https://www.patreon.com/stephankesting And if you can't do that then please remember that rating or reviewing the podcast on iTunes (or your podcasting platform of choice) is a huge help as well. Train hard, but smart too! Stephan

  This was a neat interview I did with Emily Kwok from Princeton BJJ and star of the first How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent series.  We focused on creating positive learning environments in BJJ, looking at the roles played by the students, the teachers, and instructional technology.  We also covered whether I would do anything different if I was starting my BJJ training all over again, competition vs training, and breaking through plateaus.  I hope you find this interesting!    

How to improve your BJJ almost instantly.  No, this isn't hyperbole; microdrilling is a training method that will have immediate effects on your game by finding ways around the sticking points in your techniques.  Give it a try and if it works for you then please share this episode with someone you train with who might also find it useful.

This is an important episode because it's all about managing the adrenaline dump and the fight or flight reflex.  Shane Fazen from Fight Tips and I talk about what fight or flight feels like, what you can expect in your first few competitions, how to use adrenaline to your advantage, exactly how to use visualisation and meditation to lower your heart rate, stay calm, and actually fight the way you train.   If you compete or are interested in self defense don't miss this episode. Find out more about Shane Fazen at http://fighttips.com Download my free video guide for learning BJJ for iOS and Android devices at https://www.grapplearts.com/roadmap And if you found this episode useful please give the podcast a rating and/or a review - that type of support is really helping!    

How do you know when to attack?  It's actually pretty simple math!! In this episode I share the "what's the score" concept that I learned  from Rob Biernacki. At any given point in time both you and your opponent have a score, determined from your base, posture and structure.  The relative score tells you whether an attack will succeed or fail. This is a very useful idea and it will allow you to create and recognise opportunities for your sweeps, submissions and guard passes! Videos referred to in this podcast include The Three Most Critical Concepts in Jiu-Jitsu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5RaxEV9fx8 and My New Favourite Triangle Choke Setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB2A-hAv04A    

In this short rant I talk about 3 or 4 training methods you can use when sparring someone significantly smaller than you so that you BOTH come out winners! These methods also apply, to some degree, to sparring people who are less experienced and not as good as you are.  Training time is a limited commodity wo you really want to maximise what you get out of your sparring sessions!

David Brown has spent many decades studying and teaching martial arts, including Muay Thai and Wing Chun.  He's also a clinical neuropsychologist which gives him a unique insight into the mindset at work within martial arts cults.  Then we also went down some major rabbit holes, including the science of sticking people's brains into scanners and the elimination of disease through new genetic technologies.  I hope you like this one as much as I did!  01:02 - A journey through the martial arts 04:15 - The business of running a school 07:51 - Martial arts cults and the psychology of delusion 20:29 - Passive vs authoritative teachings 26:26 - Research in the autism field 44:35 - Treatment of autism 49:37 - Gene modification and CRISPR 57:52 - Muay Thai vs Wing Chun You can find out more about David's school in San Antonio, Texas, at totalconfidencemartialarts.com

In a self defense situation you have to have a high level of environmental awareness to keep track of multiple attackers, improvised weapons, escape routes, etc.  Today I'm joined by classical Japanese Jujutsu practitioner Alex Kask to talk about how this important aspect can be incorporated into your training.  We also talk about gun grappling, multiple-opponent MMA, 'dirty' fighting techniques like eye gouging and biting, and more! In other relevant news, check out the brand new Grapplearts instructional called The Self Defense Guard at https://www.grapplearts.com/selfdefenseguard.  In this organised and detailed course BJJ black belt Ellliott Bayev and I will show you how to correctly use the BJJ closed guard to stay safe in a situation where someone is trying to punch your teeth down your throat!

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