Interviews

Emil Fischer joins the show and discusses ego culture in some academies, controlling aggression and intensity, "rude" techniques and why it doesn't matter if you tap in training, even to lower ranks. He also talks about why he always studies his opponents

David Horne is a master of all things strength. Legendary in the grip strength world David has competed in over 300 contest including tug of war, strongman, powerlifting, arm wrestling and grip sports. We discuss Davids journey through strength and all the disciplines he's competed and trained in. He drops continuous knowledge bombs on grip, lifting, injury, strength for BJJ and much more.

Here Josh Interviews 3x world champion Claudia Do Val. She offers an incredibly unique perspective on bjj considering she has done over 200 seminars and gotten to train at more academies than most of us can imagine. 

Phil daru is the head Strength & Conditioning coach at American Top Team, one of the premier training facilities for MMA. Phil discusses his start in strength & conditioning, fighting in MMA, dealing with concussions, learning jiu-jitsu, his training philosophies, and much more. Check out Phil's training products at www.darustrong.com as well as his instagram @darustrong and his YouTube channel. Thanks to our podcast sponsors: Charlotte's Web CBD. Head over to www.charlottesweb.com and use the promo code Chewjitsu to get 15% off of your total purchase. Epic Roll BJJ. Check out www.epicrollbjj.com and use the promo code Chewjitsu to get 15% off of your total purchase.

Pete "The Greek" Letsos is an American trailblazer in Jiu-Jitsu. He talks about being one of the early Americans to move to Brazil to train, the importance of maintaining a student perspective, his time spent with Master Carlson Gracie and wristlocks!

Ryan Ford is a Jiu-Jitsu Brown belt and the host of "The Grappling Central Podcast." Ryan discusses how he found podcasting after being laid off from his job, the passion he has for podcasting, dealing with OCD and how he used it as an advantage, his start in Jiu-Jitsu, living and training in Brazil, and his plans for the future. Thanks to our podcast sponsors: Charlotte's Web CBD. Head over to www.charlottesweb.com and use the promo code Chewjitsu to get 15% off of your total purchase. Epic Roll BJJ. Check out www.epicrollbjj.com and use the promo code Chewjitsu to get 15% off of your total purchase.

JT Torres joins the show to talk about pursuing martial arts as a kid, BJJ for smaller people, goal setting and mindset. He also talks about tournament preparation, building confidence and he gives lots of advice for future school owners!

On this episode of the podcast we are joined by Rob from "McDojo Life." Rob runs an Instagram page and Youtube channel that exposes fraudulent and fake martial arts. We start the podcast off by discussing the crowdfunding process he has going for the documentary he is planning to film, hang ups and pitfalls of filming a documentary, what "shady" gyms look like, how to tell if your instructor is a fraud, and much more. To help support the crowdfunding campaign for the documentary head over to www.mcdojolife.com and follow Rob on Youtube and Instagram @mcdojolife.

Michelle Nicolini joins us for the 400th episode of the podcast! She talks about the development of her game, building persistence, strategy for smaller people and the importance of the basics. She also discusses her decision to become a pro MMA fighter!

In this episode Josh interviews YouTube Jiu-jitsu star Chewy. Chewy really breaks down how to be a great teacher, why he started a youtube channel, and how he got his start in jiu-jitsu.

Chris Sizemore is a police officer, BJJ brown belt, and former MMA fighter. Chris shares his start in martial arts, fighting Chewy in an MMA fight, becoming a police officer, crazy fight stories, and he is also one of the co-founders of "Blue Jitsu," an organization that offers free jiu-jitsu instruction and seminars for police officers in Lexington and the surrounding areas. Check out "Blue Jitsu" at www.bluejitsulexington.com to find out more.

Nick Rahn is a BJJ blue belt and US military veteran who is using Jiu-JItsu to help veterans combat PTSD and find a sense of purpose in civilian life. He shares his powerful story and pulls no punches while doing so in this candid interview.

Steve McKinney returns to talk about his strength and conditioning routine for combat athletes and the way he built it.

A deep dive into designing and running MMA fight camps, how to mix striking with wrestling and jiu-jitsu, conditioning for fights, and much more with Greg Nelson. Greg has trained many MMA and UFC fighters including Brock Lesnar, Dave Menne, Sean Sherk and Thug Rose Namajunas. I really enjoyed this conversation and I think you will too! Grab my free downloadable guide to learning BJJ fast at https://www.grapplearts.com/book Check out the huge archive of techniques and detailed training tips at https://www.grapplearts.com/articles/ ----------------------------------- Grab the "Grapplearts BJJ Master App" with more than 500 minutes of free black belt instruction here: iPhone and iPad: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bjj-master-app-by-grapplearts/id1308072068 Android phones and tablets: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grappleartcontainer ----------------------------------- Here are some of my social media links... Tiktok (NEW): https://vm.tiktok.com/QQDSBt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grapplearts Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/stephankesting Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/stephankesting ----------------------------------- And, most importantly, good luck with your training! Stephan

Nick Rodriguez returns to recap his ADCC performance and to talk about visualization, controlled aggression and the importance of removing dead weight from your life. He also talks about blending wrestling with BJJ and working through injuries

In this interview Josh interviews his long time friend/enemy Ezra Lenon. This is by the the most wide ranging episode to date. The best way to see what it's about is to take a listen!

John is a business owner, consultant, and the podcast host for "The John Bartolo Show." On this episode, we discuss John's start in working with weapons companies and becoming a CEO of a rifle company, being an entrepreneur, podcasting, starting jiu-jitsu, the relationship between firearms and jiu-jitsu, what makes effective jiu-jitsu coaches.

John is a business owner, consultant, and the podcast host for "The John Bartolo Show." On this episode, we discuss John's start in working with weapons companies and becoming a CEO of a rifle company, being an entrepreneur, podcasting, starting jiu-jitsu, the relationship between firearms and jiu-jitsu, what makes effective jiu-jitsu coaches.

Comprido joins the show to talk about growing up in Brazil in a neighborhood filled with legends, competition strategy and ref bias. He also talks about the infamous Alliance team split and he sounds off on steroid and marijuana usage in BJJ.

In this episode Josh interviews YouTube Jiu-jitsu star Eli Knight. They get into great discussion about training, self defense, and Eli's hair vs Chewjitsu's beard.

Oliver Taza is back! Matt and Oliver discuss Oliver's performance at No Gi Worlds, gym ownership, tournament strategy, and today's competitors. **Need more BJJ Mental Models?**Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our mailing list: [https://bjjmentalmodels.com/join/](https://bjjmentalmodels.com/join/) Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database: [https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/](https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/) Let them know you're an educated grappler with our merch: [https://bjjmentalmodels.com/store/](https://bjjmentalmodels.com/store/) Get the latest BJJ Mental Models updates from Facebook: [https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/](https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/) Music by Enterprize: [https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/](https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/) ⚠️**NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!** **MINDSET FOR BETAS,** our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at: [https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta](https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta)

Nikki Sullivan is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt that trains out of ATOS HQ in San Diego. Nikki shares her start in BJJ while going to college and the passion she had for training. Nikki discusses excelling in martial arts and taking the leap to quit her job and start training and competing full time. We also discuss the importance of positive influences and coaches to help reach your potential. Follow Nikki on Instagram @nikkicuddlejitsu and her website www.nikkisullivan.com

Demian Maia returns to the show to talk about his recent win over Ben Askren, managing fear and his plans for after fighting. He also goes deep on the details of his game, shares his thoughts on drilling and talks about parenting as a pro fighter.

In this Q&A I cover gameplan development, what to do about training partners figuring out your game, how to find a good gym, whether loyalty to your instructor always a good thing, how sparring is the secret sauce of any effective martial art, and taking time off from jiu-jitsu! These questions came from an Instagram Live session I did. Follow me on Instagram @stephan_kesting or click here: https://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting/ And while I have your attention, here are some of my other social media links... Tiktok (NEW): https://vm.tiktok.com/QQDSBt Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grapplearts Youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/stephankesting](https://www.youtube.com/stephankesting) Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/stephankesting Good luck with your training! Stephan Some of the highlights I recent