Interviews

Joey Alvarado is a BJJ champion, retired MMA fighter and founder of KettleJitsu. He talks about the seedy early days of MMA, bullying in modern times and his exposure to influential black belts. He also gives great insight to kettlebell training for BJJ!

Karel "Silverfox" Pravec is a highly respected instructor. He talks about the early days of BJJ in the US, dead ends to avoid in training and staying ahead of younger opponents as a middle aged practitioner. He also gives insight to his water training

Marc is a Mauricio Gomes black belt and one of the first people in the UK to train BJJ. We talk about Marc's introduction to BJJ, his experience at the Gracie academy in the mid 90's, bring Royce over to the UK for the first time, the changes and development of BJJ in the UK and a lot about his personal philosophy about life and jiu jitsu. Follow Marc on instagram at: www.instagram.com/mailmarkmymusic Or follow marc's music at: www.markmymusic.com

U.S. Sambo pioneer Gregg Humphreys joins the show to talk about how bullying led him to martial arts, misconceptions about Sambo, coaching at Militech Fighting Systems and kettlebells. He also talks about training extensively in the U.S.S.R. in the 80's

David Adiv joins the show to talk about transitioning from Judo to Jiu-Jitsu, the differences between BJJ and Judo newaza and self defense applications of sport BJJ. He also gives great insight on self defense and why he chose BJJ over Krav Maga

"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?

Andrew Marshall is a Strength and Conditioning coach. I talk to Andrew about training.

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

Fresh off EBI 14, Craig Jones joins the show to talk about his performance, the evolution of his game, flexibility, leg locks and avoiding complacency. He also talks about his upcoming superfight rematch against Murilo Santana at Kasai Pro

Rolles Gracie joins the show to talk about growing up in the Gracie family, how to keep kids interested in Jiu-Jitsu and the early days of Renzo's academy. He also talks about prank calls with Draculino and Romulo Barral, Pro Wrestling and Hulkamania!

Dean Amasinger is a former professional MMA fighter, TUF contestant and a world renowned sports performance coach. In this episode we talk about how Dean got into MMA, his experience in the Ultimate Fighter house, transitioning into coaching, the difference in training between MMA and other sports, his predictions for some upcoming MMA events and much more. For more info follow Dean on Twitter: Twitter.com/deanamasinger Instagram: Instagram.com/deanamasinger For more info on Elite Athlete visit: www.elite-athletes.co.uk

Professor Gui Valente joins the show to talk about best practices for running a school, growing up in a Jiu-Jitsu family and self defense! He also shares some great knowledge about the history of Jiu-Jitsu!

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...

A conversation with Fabio Gurgel, Thomas Lisboa and Walter Buse about the success and future of the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Team in Vancouver, Canada.

Jeffrey Cummings is a BJJ black belt and former Wrestler. Dylan Whyte is a brown belt and experienced youth instructor. Together they run a new academy in FL called Positive Balance Grappling and give insight to what its like to open a new school!

One of Greco's biggest stars and a fan favorite for his fun personality and exciting style, Robby talks about his origins, making the Olympic team and crazy stories from the road which include dodging Russian mobsters and accidentally eating cat meat.

Steve Bongiorno is a Ricardo Almeida Black Belt and a highly respected instructor. He talks about the early days of BJJ on the east coast, the change in martial arts that BJJ created, managing the ego and dealing with larger opponents.

Drew Sullivan is the former GB basketball captain, Olympian and Roger Gracie blue belt. In this episode we talk about how Drew got into basketball, going to America at a young age to play, travelling around the world, captaining the 2012 Olympic team in his home city, how he started BJJ, what it's like coaching as a blue belt and much more. For more info about Drew and RGA Leicester and North East visit: www.drewjitsurga.com

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!

Alberto Crane joins the show to talk about the early days in BJJ in the US, training in Rio, his time spent with Master Draculino, building your game and how personality an determine your style. He also talks about his MS diagnosis.

Paul Schreiner joins the show to talk about evolutions he's seen in BJJ over time, meditation, the underlying physics of Jiu-Jitsu and the Half Guard. He also talks about adjusting to NYC, getting robbed in Brazil and corporate fight clubs.

In this episode I answer questions and share some tips and tricks for training in BJJ as an older grappler. How often should you train? How can you recover faster? Should you also do weight training as an older athlete and more! The questions came from an Instagram Live broadcast I did; follow me on Instagram @stephan_kesting and maybe next time I'll be answering YOUR question on one of these Q&A sessions.

In this episode BJJ and Judo black belt shares some of the lessons, commonalities, and differences he's seen from working one-on-one with 19 BJJ, Judo and ADCC world champions. Do they all train the same way? Eat healthy food or junk? Drill, spar or do lots of conditioning? Listen and find out! In addition we also talk about CTE and brain damage in the combat sports, MMA, boxing and grappling betting tips, the toughest guy that Mike has ever rolled with, the differences in BJJ training between Brazil and North America, whether the USA can ever catch up in BJJ, and Mike's secret plan for building a future world champion! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did - it was a lot of fun with lots of great information.

A US Marine combat veteran turned BJJ Champion, Chris Jones shares his story and discusses finding purpose after the military, competition mindset, building your game, his wrestling background, balancing life with training and how BJJ can help PTSD.