Technique

Matt Thornton is the founder of Straight Blast Gym, the organisation that produced Conor McGregor. He's also a skeptic with many harsh words for traditional martial arts and traditional training methods. Don't listen if you're easily offended! 00:51 - Matt's martial arts background 10:26 - The concept of "Aliveness" 20:41 - The "I" method of teaching and training martial arts 26:14 - John Kavanagh and Conor McGregor 32:37 - Where did fantasy martial arts come from? 42:55 - The evolution of martial arts 65:54 - False positives and negatives 73:26 - Skepticism

Why training in the martial arts without including some form of grappling is stupid, and what are the key positions, techniques and transitions you need to learn first in order to get good as fast as possible. If you already train then I hope this helps you, and if you don't train... well... I hope it's the kick in the butt that you need to get yourself onto the mat!

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

BJJ Class in Charleston South Carolina. Learning self defense and sport Martial arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing.

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

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...

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!

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.

Some quick thoughts about improving the different forms of 'mobility' for jiu-jitsu, both in terms of movement on the ground, and joint mobility, from a recent Instagram Live Q&A. You can find me on Instagram at @stephan_kesting and I'd be thrilled if you followed me because I'm releasing pics and videos there all the time!

Aula de Muay Thai

WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and is definitely not suitable for children. In this episode I talk with boxing and BJJ coach Rodney King about the epidemic of violence in modern day South Africa, how training helps you prepare for confrontations, and how dangerous a 'romantic' notion of fighting is. Some of the topics we covered include: 00:17 - Who is Rodney King? 01:16 - Growing up in South Africa 08:47 - Bouncing at nightclubs 13:57 - Johannesburg today 26:42 - Some reasons for the South African crime epidemic 33:10 - How much does training help? 40:09 - Prevalence of techniques 46:52 - Self defence and conflict de-escalation 54:21 - Training vs real life 64:03 - Ventures outside martial arts

In this rant I go off about the importance of critical thinking, and include examples from the martial arts, business and life. Somehow I try to wrap things up by bringing the Heaven's Gate cult and the biggest mass suicide on US soil into the discussion. Let me know if this podcast worked on you on Twitter (where I'm @stephankesting), OK?

Promo Vid - Showing a sample of basic exercises & techniques what are involved in BJJ, October 2017.

MMA fight Charleston Pou of Black Label MA listening to his corner to work the body before the end of the round. Charleston South Carolina

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Single X guard sweep called the "Liera Lift" demonstrated by Professor Malachy Friedman in Charleston, South Carolina. BlackLabelMartialArts.COM

In this episode I argue that you should start by teaching and learning the most effective, most proven, highest percentage techniques first. And I share a useful thought experiment that should quickly allow you to identify what those techniques might be (hint: it involves a hypothetical death match).

Simple answer to an an annoying triangle defense. Instruction by Professor Malachy Friedman at Black Label Martial Arts in Charleston South Carolina

http://www.BattleGirlBootcamp.com Here's a quick video of Coach Jones showing the basics of a Swing Kick for the Women's Only Battle Girl Bootcamp Fitness Program in Keswick Georgina. 30 Day Free Trial, Free 1 on 1 Intro Lesson and Free Uniform. Call 905-476-6621 or visit http://www.BattleGirlBootcamp.com for more information.