Interviews

Comedian, Writer and Co-Host of The Verbal Tap Podcast Raf Esparza joins the show to talk about Professional Wrestling moves that work in Jiu-Jitsu, Ryan's shattered childhood dreams of being a pro wrestler, the direction of the UFC and running the USSGL

Mauricio Gomes is a 7th degree coral belt in BJJ, one of the "famous five" under Rolls Gracie and father of Roger Gracie. It was a absolute honour to be able to sit down with Mauricio and talk about his life and jiu jitsu. In this episode we talk about the history of the Gracie family, Mauricio's connection and relationship with the Gracie's, especially Rolls, how he travelled around to Japan and the UK to spread jiu jitsu, his own personal competition career, the career of his son Roger Gracie, self defence vs sport jiu jitsu and much much more. Mauricio is a living legend of the sport and it was great to have him share his story. To book anything with Mauricio email: natnic@live.co.uk Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MauricioGomesukbjj Check out www.rogergracie.com

One of BJJ's youngest and brightest stars, Mahamed Aly joins the show to talk about cultural differences between Brazil and the US, pursuing a life of passion, adding Judo to his game and the pros and cons of being a big guy in Jiu-Jitsu.

Professor Marcelo Garcia is considered by many to be the greatest BJJ competitor of all time. He talks about his origins, avoiding one-dimensional training, self discipline and managing ego. He also discusses why you should always seek tough rolls.

Leigh Remedios is a UK MMA legend with over 30 professional bouts. We talk about how Leigh got into MMA before it was even called MMA, his match against Genki Sudo at UFC 38, his career as an infamous internet troll, him getting into competitive BJJ, strength and conditioning, and many crazy stories.

In this mini-episode I talk Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor with Ritchie Yip, and we both come to the same conclusion about betting on this fight. Listen to this episode before you put money down on Conor McGregor

Steve Cotter is one of the top resources in the world for kettlebell trianing and he is also the personal kettlebell trainer of 9x World BJJ Champion Xande Ribeiro. He talks about how to implement kettlebells into your conditioning routine for Jiu-Jitsu!

Professor Sam returns to talk about building a successful academy, why you don't need to be a world champion to be a great teacher, teaching your students the way they learn and the prank war between himself and Ryan's instructor Professor Paul Creighton

The Dade County Crippler is back! Ruben Alvarez makes his third appearance on the show and talks about self defense, his progress in the Miami Police academy, his recent performance at the Kakuto Challenge and Califlower Ears

An 80/20 analysis of the leglocking game based on high level no gi competition, leglock safety, how to learn BJJ efficiently, best practises when teaching jiu-jitsu, and a ton more with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki, my co-author of The Modern Leglock Formula available now at Grapplearts.com/leglocks

Professor Keith Owen talks about practical self defense, avoiding cult-like academies, teaching, the reasons people quit BJJ and finding your reason to train!

Kurt talks about his recent failed attempt at BJJ commentary, fireworks and explosives, cheap alcohol and his disappointment that the iPhone 7 can't take a punch.

Jerry Clanton is a BJJ purple belt from Daphne, Alabama who trains and competes at 70 years old! He talks bout his start in BJJ, his favorite things about it and his inspiring message to all practitioners, young and old!

Kameron Atakuru is a BJJ black belt competitor and coach, a former professional MMA fighter with a background in catch wrestling. In this episode Kam explains the history of catch wrestling and the various styles of wrestling that originated in the UK. How wrestling moved the America and transformed into what we now call pro wrestling. We also talk about the modern day catch wrestling scene both in the UK and globally and how it influenced the history of jiu jitsu. For more info on Kam and her academy visit: www.facebook.com/ASWManchester Follow Kam on instagram here: www.instagram.com/kameronasw

Longtime bouncer Chad Skands talks about managing multiple attacker scenarios, continuing to think and use your brain in a critical situation, the right way to deescalate situations, and why ripping someone's throat out Roadhouse-style is frowned upon in the security industry.

Alec Wooden is a young blue belt who survived brain cancer. He talks about how Jiu-Jitsu has impacted his life and how he tries to be a constant motivator for his team!

Coach Casey Halstead is a highly respected coach, academy owner and entrepreneur in the BJJ community. He talks about time management, common pitfalls of gym ownership and the value of a positive gym culture

What would I do different as a white belt if I could go back in time? What are the best guards that go together with the butterfly guard? Can you become an elite level grappler if you have both a job and a family? And you've choked someone out in a streetfight... what now? All this and more in today's Q&A episode. In this episode I make reference to articles on Grapplearts which can be found here: http://www.grapplearts.com/articles and also to my main youtube channel which is here: http://www.youtube.com/stephankesting But I also make reference to my second website (http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com) and to my second youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/selfdefensetutorials). So there, now you've got all the urls you need for additional info on the topics we discussed.

Professor Jon Thomas delivers a very insightful and technical conversation. He covers injury management, improving your weaker areas, guard retention, conditioning for BJJ and much more!

Ross Nicholls is a Roger Gracie black belt and one of the UK's top competitors. Me and Ross talk Polaris ahead of both our matches, strength and conditioning, mindset, sub only rules, being full time jiu jitsu athletes, teaching and much much more. Follow Ross on instagram at: www.instagram.com/rossnichollsbjj

Professor Dennis Ortega is a black belt under the legendary Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro. He talks about his start in BJJ, the importance of idols and dealing with pre-training anxiety

In our 200th episode, we are joined by the man many consider to be the greatest BJJ Black Belt of all time. Master Rickson talks about controlling your breathing, teaching Jiu-Jitsu to anyone, managing fear and his thoughts on honor in modern society

In the second installment of Perspectives from the Journey, Ryan sits with 8 different female practitioners of varying ranks to talk about their experiences, reasons for training, struggles, triumphs and thoughts on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Lee Johnstone is a BJJ black belt and owner of the Combat Sports Academy. Lee has a long a varied background in the martial arts, having training in sambo, wresting, judo, ju jitsu, MMA and BJJ. In this episode we talk about the early days of UK BJJ, the early days of UK MMA, promoting events and opening an academy. For more info on CSA visit: www.combatsportsacademy.net Or follow them on facebook: www.facebook.com/combatsportsacademy