The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting Stephan Kesting

There are times when it feels like life has you trapped on the bottom of mount against a vastly heavier, more experienced opponent intent on mauling you.  The steps to deal with these two situations are the same.  

Pass this on to someone you think it might help,
Stephan Kesting
P.S.  I made one little mistake in this podcast: Epictetus was a Greek (not Roman) stoic philosopher who lived in Rome for much of his youth serving the Emperor Nero, so he doubtless knew all about suffering.

I really enjoyed talking with Rachel Honeyman about modifying BJJ for self defense, which techniques to focus on and which positions to avoid.  Rachel has trained in BJJ, the Filipino Martial Arts, Muay Thai, and many other martial arts and runs https://www.fearlessfemmes.com/

Rob Biernacki is my guest today to talk about how injury and physical limitations have led to some of the fastest technical development of his career and the refinement of entirely new techniques like the Roadhouse Choke.  Since some form of injury is inevitable there are a LOT of takeaways in this episode.
We also discuss the concepts of risk vs reward in your choice of techniques, how new techniques and technical refinements get adopted, the risks of the buggy choke, the barbell strategy for allocating your training time, how rule sets drive evolution of the art, and more.
Check out the Roadhouse Choke Instructional at http://roadhouse.bjjconcepts.net
And sign up for my free email newsletter at https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter 
Good luck with your training
Stephan Kesting

Many people completely run out of gas when they're sparring, and often this is because they are inadvertently holding their breath.  In this short podcast I share four very specific ways that I've coached people past this problem and hugely improved their endurance.
Please share this episode with someone you think it will help.
Cheers,
Stephan Kesting
P.S. This episode is also available in video form here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umD_zc5Bd3M
P.P.S. If you follow me on social media only then we are all subject to the whims of the algorithms, therefore subscribe to my (entirely free) newsletter so we can stay in touch and I can give you tons of good stuff: https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter
 

From war-torn Africa to climbing remote peaks in Greenland with Alex Honnold, Matt Pycroft has built a very impressive career working as a journalist and filmmaker.  In our conversation he goes into detail how he gradually acquired the skills to achieve his goals and the lessons he's learned working with extreme athletes in inhospitable settings all over the globe.
Follow Matt on Instagram @mattpycroft and check out his latest film, Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold, on Disney, Amazon, and National Geographic.

The traditional class structure of doing a warmup, learning a couple of new techniques, and followed by sparring is NOT an efficient way to learn jiu-jitsu.  We can do much better if we use insights from research on coaching and learning.
Today's guest is Cal MacDonald, a BJJ black belt and  competitor who has dedicated himself to developing his teaching and coaching skills to the highest possible level.  
Cal is a longtime blackbelt under Rob Biernacki at Island Top Team. Rob and his team are at the cutting edge of teaching and training methodologies that make people amazingly good incredibly fast. Cal coached full time at Island Top Team for five years and is also a fierce competitor, having won Gold at NAGA, Pacific Northwest Open, and many other tournaments. He has travelled to top academies for Worlds and ADCC camps, training with top athletes like Yuri Simões, Mason Fowler, and Caio Terra, so he knows what works at the highest levels.
His proudest accomplishments are the successes of his students, and he has spent thousands of hours coaching and cornering competitors as they fight their way to the podium.
Cal stays abreast of advances in sports science and cognitive science, and blended that with experience and experimentation to create the BJJ Foundations program - more info about that at https://www.grapplearts.com/foundations
Good luck with your training,
Stephan Kesting