The Strenuous Life Podcast

OK, so you've just learned a cool new technique that you're pretty sure is the Kryptonite you need to defeat your hardest sparring partner. But then you crash and burn when you try it out in sparring - he ignores your move, passes your guard, smashes you flat and taps you out. What's going on? In this episode I break down exactly why techniques NEVER work on the day they're shown, and the simple steps you need to make that killer technique functional as fast as humanly possible. Check out my FREE app for learning BJJ, The Roadmap for BJJ app for iOS and Android! More information at http://www.grapplearts.com/roadmap. It's my most popular instructional app, so it must be helping someone!!

Really enjoyed this chat with Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Donald Lipscomb. We went into detail about rescuing people from capsized ships, the selection process with a 90% attrition rate, and the training required to jump from a helicopter into stormy seas with nothing more than a pair of fins to push yourself through the water. We also talk about how jiu-jitsu and wrestling helped give him the mental and physical toughness he needs to do an incredibly gruelling job. If you get the chance, please share this episode with one other person you think would enjoy it!

Loved this interview with Reilly Bodycomb. Reilly is a Russian sambo and leglock expert who has competed in a TON of different rulesets including BJJ, no gi submission grappling, MMA, Sambo, and wrestling. He shared stories about competing all over the world, and shared some major insights about how the rules you compete under totally influence the development of a sport. My favourite part was when we were riffing about creating the 'perfect' grappling rule set. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you enjoyed it then please share this podcast episode with at least one friend or training partner - that's how this podcast grows and I really appreciate it!! Find out more about Reilly Bodycomb and his upcoming ankle lock instructional at https://www.rdojo.com Cheers! Stephan

This is a fun episode: instead of me doing the interviewing the tables get turned and I get grilled by Cody from the Codyjitsu podcast. We covered tons of stuff including my martial arts background, how I got my black belt, my favourite moves and techniques, specific strategies to train around injuries, the role of competition in training, and much more. Follow Cody on Instagram: @AmericanGrapplingAcademy Follow me on Instagram: @Stephan_Kesting And if you've actually read down this far then why not go and give The Strenuous Life Podcast a rating or review on whatever platform you listen to it on. That kind of stuff is super appreciated, and it's really helping!

One of the very worst things is to be trapped on the bottom with all your opponent's weight on top of you and be unable to breathe. This is usually followed by exhaustion, panic and surrender. But it doesn't need to be like this – there are several approaches to breathing in BJJ that can make sure air gets into your lungs, oxygen into your blood, and keep you in the game, even when you're being completely crushed on the bottom. The following video breaks down the 3 levels of answers to this problem. - Physical conditioning - Psychological adjustments - Technical answers ## Better BJJ Breathing Part 1 – Physical Conditioning Some people think that if they just had better cardio or stronger abs that they would have an easier time breathing when there's a big giant guy lying on their chest. And they're right… sort of, kind of… Yes, better abs and cardio will definitely help. So do more crunches, leg lifts, running, swimming and elliptical trainer work. In fact some systems of Karate like Kyokushin go so far as to bounce up and down on each other's stomachs with a heel firmly planted on the diaphragm to teach learning breathing while maintaining a very tight core. ## Better BJJ Breathing Part 2 – Psychological Adjustments Many people simply stop breathing when they're in stressful situations. This can be a byproduct of suffering from claustrophobia, or it can be a standalone problem. I have addressed both of these issues in previous blog posts, and the feedback that I have received tells me that a LOT of people have found them VERY useful. So if you even think that this could be part of the problem for you then I strongly suggest that you skim these two articles and figure out if they contain the solution to your problem… ARTICLE ONE: Dealing with Claustrophobia in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and ARTICLE TWO: Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion Check them out. ## Better BJJ Breathing Part 3 – Technical Answers If you're in reasonable shape, don't think that you're holding your breath, and don't suffer from claustrophobia then there are probably technical answers that'll fix your breathing in bad positions. I cover these in considerable detail in the video above (or, if you prefer, here's the same video about breathing on the bottom on Youtube) so I would watch that. The main themes are… **Breathe Easier by Getting Onto Your Side** It's really, really tough to breathe well in BJJ when you're flat on your back and your opponent has his weight on your diaphragm (the large muscle that separates your lungs from your guts that is roughly at the level of your solar plex). If you're flat, and he has weight on your diaphragm, you're going to suffer. It's that simple. If you're on your side, with one hip and one side of your body off the ground, then breathing is much, much easier. Sometimes this is as simple as planting both feet, giving a little bridge, then turning onto your side with a shrimping motion. There are some other tricks as well. For example, in the video version of this podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf07y7rmsxE) above I shared something I learned from Carlos Machado which he calls 'power hips.' In this manoeuvre he plants one foot and then extends the other leg far out to the side. This power hips position naturally lifts one hip off the ground and turns the body onto the side. When you do it under an opponent, regardless of what top position he's in, it makes breathing much easier. He also has an entire escape system based on power hips that I've been playing with but haven't come anywhere near to mastering yet! **Breathe Easier by Opening Your Mouth WIDE** Here's a breathing trick I learned from Walter Lanz, one of my old Judo instructors… If you're getting smothered under your opponent's gi then resist the temptation to close your mouth and instead try opening your mouth as wide as possible. Do this experiment with a gi in private so that nobody will think you're crazy… Hold a gi over your face and try breathing through it with tightly pursed lips. Really difficult with a small breathing hold, right? But when you open your mouth all the way then you've got much more surface area of gi to pull that air through. It might not be easy, but it's a lot less difficult Wider mouth usually means more oxygen in a smother situation. It's not a 100% solution, but then nothing is; that is why BJJ is a martial art and not a martial science! **Breathe Easier by Not Exhaling Fully** This one is really counterintuitive. Most of the time I advocate breathing deeply, breathing fully, and not limiting the amount of oxygen you're taking in when you're working hard. But if there's a lot of weight on your chest or diaphragm you actually DON'T want to exhale fully for the time being. That's because once you've breathed fully out your lungs will be contracted, and then the weight of your opponent will make it impossible to fill your lungs fully again. So you actually want to breathe rather shallowly. Keep them as full as possible until you manage to get one hip off the ground and get onto your side (like we discussed a little higher in this article). ## Stay Breathing my Frens! There, I hope this overview of the physical, psychological and technical factors allowing you to breath effectively in BJJ (or any grappling sport really) when there's a ton of weight on you is helpful. Sometimes you can make huge strides with tiny adjustments, and I think this is one of those areas in which it happens. I've known at least two pro MMA fighters who used to *freak out*whenever they were on the bottom. They were claustrophobic and couldn't breathe as soon as anyone got on top of them. But by learning to deal with the claustrophobia through progressive desensitisation, making subtle adjustments to their position on the bottom, and developing excellent escape techniques they overcame those problems and went on to have relatively successful MMA careers. So it can be done! Take heart, figure it out, keep training! Stephan **P.S.**If you found this useful please consider signing up for my free BJJ email newsletter. It's full of tips just like this one on techniques, training methods, and tricks you can use to get better fast. And I'll also send you a free copy of my guide to learning BJJ fast called 'A Roadmap for BJJ.' Like I said, it's completely free and very easy to opt out of if you don't like what you're getting. Go to http://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter to sign up for free!

How to deal with the super-frustrating but ultimately inevitable physical setbacks, limitations and injuries when you're doing a contact sport. Hint: it will ALWAYS be two steps forward, one step back; the trick is how you deal with it to stay motivated and not get discouraged. I speak from the heart AND from experience here! Please remember to subscribe to the podcast on the platform of your choice so that you don't miss any of the future content that I'm coming out with!

I really enjoyed talking to Lieutenant Kevin Dillon (ret) who served for 25 years as a police officer, SWAT team member, and detective commander before moving on to become a full time trainer for police departments. In this episode we talk about his closest calls on the street, how police departments train their officers to fight, degrees of force and escalation in combatives, how to talk somebody down, strategies and tactics that anyone can employ to keep themselves safe, and much more. Regardless of whether you're a LEO (law enforcement officer) or a civilian I think you'll find this useful! You can find out more about Kevin at PoliceCombat.com

Chewy (aka Nick Albin) is well known for the BJJ advice he gives on his prolific Youtube Chewjitsu channel, so I was thrilled to have him on the podcast. It's a great chat and we cover a ton of material, including how he got his nickname, his journey from wrestling to MMA to jiu-jitsu, gi vs no gi training, preventing injuries in training, why he decided to leave tech and go full time in jiu-jitsu, getting his black belt on the same day that his mother died, how jiu-jitsu saves lives, his youtube channel, crazy gyms and insane coaches and more. Find out more about Chewy's school at http://derbycitymartialarts.com/web/ and check out his Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/chewjitsu

Getting tired when you're rolling sucks. And it's even worse when you're competing; you can't breathe, you go into survival mode, your plans goes out the window and life starts sucking. In this episode I share my number one tip for beating this exhaustion and performing up to your potential in competition. Let me know what you think of these tips and mini-rant podcast episodes. You can find me at the following places... Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stephankesting Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting Snapchat: I'm 'stephankesting' or click here: Stephan on Snapchat Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/grapplearts Thanks! Stephan

To get better fast in any sport you have to be able to train hard, which means minimising injuries and maximising your recovery. In this episode I give you some of my best tips to accomplish both of these goals. If you found this information useful then please share the podcast with ONE other person who might also benefit from hearing it. Thank you so much , Stephan Kesting [www.grapplearts.com](http://www.grapplearts.com) www.selfdefensetutorials.com

In this rant I go off about so-called 'technique collectors', which are martial artists who memorise 35 different variations of a technique but are unable to execute ANY of those variations against a real opponent giving even a little bit of resistance. Then I go through the 5 step formula for taking any technique and making it functional. This 5 step formula is broken down for you in more detail on my second website http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com/makeitwork. Hope you find this rant informative, or at least entertaining!

Should you pull guard in BJJ competition or fight doggedly for the takedown. You'll get some answers to this perennial question in my conversation about pulling guard with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki.

Loved talking to jiu-jitsu pioneer Carlos Machado about all things BJJ. His love for the art and experience in the sport comes through at every second. I hope you get as much out of this interview as I did! Some of the highlights include 01:07 - Carlos on growing up in Jiu-Jitsu family 05:52 - BJJ comes into the mainstream 08:41 - Training with Rolls Gracie 11:07 - Style of the Machado game 13:03 - The continuing evolution of Jiu Jitsu 17:54 - Who are the most athletic Jiu Jitsu practitioners? 20:44 - Who has the deepest BJJ technical knowledge? 27:41 - What he thinks about the introduction of new techniques into Jiu-Jitsu 30:46 - Submission only competition formats ` 33:32 - Carlos's reflections on competing in Abu Dhabi Find out more about Carlos Machado at carlosmachado.net

You wouldn't think that something like stretching before a workout could be controversial, but it is. Some evidence and experts suggest that you should only do it *after*your workout, whereas most traditions say that you should do it *before.*Who's right and what should you do? In this episode I break it down for you (hint, it really, really depends on the sport you do)!

The other day I almost tore a partner's ACL off the bone, which would have required him to have surgery and many months of rehabilitation. What happened exactly? I was more experienced and a bit bigger than my training partner that day and we were doing some no gi sparring. Because of the experience discrepancy I was hyper-focusing on a couple of very specific positions, namely Ashi Garami and the 411. (This is a form of **Targeted Sparring** which is a great tool to use when you're going against less experienced training partners - by limiting myself to only a couple positions and one submission it makes the match more even and better training for both of us.) So we're rolling, carefully and respectfully... I've tapped my training partner out a few times with heel hooks, all applied in slow motion... He's beginning to defend the leglocks more intelligently and I'm having to work a little harder to get them... Everything is going the way it's supposed to. Then it almost ended very badly. I had the Ashi Garami firmly in place, and was just finishing the dig part of the heel hook (where you get your wrist under his heel in preparation for finishing the lock). And 99% of the time when I'm sparring that's as far as I'll go - no need to actually apply the heel hook. At that point my partner typically knows he's caught and will tap out. But this new training partner didn't know when to quit. He tried to escape by spinning. **And, to make matters MUCH worse, he spun the wrong way!** Spinning or rotating can be part of an effective heel hook defense, BUT NOT WHEN YOU GO IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!! Instead of relieving the pressure, spinning into the dig amplifies the power of the submission exponentially! If I had remained still, not moving, his wrong-way-spin would have slammed his heel into my forearm. He would have full power heel hooked himself, which can tear all sorts of ligaments in the knee, the foot and the ankle. Fortunately I saw what was about to happen and completely released my grips without a second to spare. The submission evaporated, he spun safely and 'escaped.' Then I sat him down and we had a good little chat about the dangers of spinning out of leglock if you don't know which way to spin. Now I'm not here to vilify leglocks, because I've managed to train them safely for years. And I've seen lots disasters and near misses on the mats with many other techniques and submissions over the years. So let's universalise a few take-home lessons from this incident… **LESSON #1 - IF YOU'RE CAUGHT AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, THEN DON'T DO SOMETHING DYNAMIC!!** This is certainly true of the heel hook example above, but this applies to any submission. Imagine an absolute beginner caught in an armbar from guard with no idea how to defend or escape technically. But he still doesn't want to tap out, and lacking a good plan, decides to try something dynamic and unorthodox. He turns 90 degrees to the side then does a flying belly flop onto the mat. Or maybe he launches himself into a full power backwards somersault. Or maybe into a breakdancing head spin. Do you think something could go wrong in those situations? Yes! Very seriously wrong. Snap, crackle, pop wrong! Introducing that much additional and unexpected momentum into a situation where you don't know *exactly*what you're doing is guaranteed to lead to disaster. At some point a limb will end up in a vulnerable position and the heavy body in motion will result in a sprain, tear, break or dislocation. Yes, there are times when momentum is your friend for escaping submissions, but it's a tool that you use rarely, in specific situations and with specific techniques. Don't get injured because your ego makes you unwilling to tap out. If you're caught in a position or submission and you don't know which way to turn then don't turn! Instead 1) accept that you're caught, 2) open your hand and 3) tap it on your opponent a few times. Your jiu-jitsu will improve SO much faster if you're on the mat rather than at the physiotherapist trying to put Humpty together again. **LESSON #2 - EXPLAIN THE DANGERS OF A TECHNIQUE TO YOUR STUDENTS, AND TEACH THEM THE CORRECT COUNTERS** A lot of this near miss heel hooking situation was my fault. I knew that I wouldn't crank my training partner's leg, but I had made an assumption that he understood the basics of defending the heel hook. **I should not have made this assumption.** (You know what they say about the word "Assume"? That it makes and "ass" out of "u" and "me".) I should have at least double checked with him prior to training that he understood the mechanism of the heel hook and the basic do's and don'ts. Teach the basic safety parameters around a submission you're going to be drilling. This as logical as teaching or teaching break falls before you teach throws, but I've seen newbies get concussions on day one because they were starting on their feet with zero idea how to land safely. I've also seen beginners put to sleep because nobody had told them that that was a way to stop a choke once it was applied. Easily preventable mistakes. Jiu-jitsu is a contact sport and injuries are inevitable, but let's minimise those injuries! As the teacher, senior belt, or more experienced rolling partner it's YOUR job to try and keep things as safe as they can be, and that includes not assuming that other people know what you know. Safety precautions that are totally obvious to you might be revelations to others,*so don't assume that a beginner knows anything, no matter how much internet research they seem to have done prior to coming to class.* **LESSON #3 - EXPECT PEOPLE TO DO STUPID THINGS, WITHOUT WARNING, FOR NO REASON** The most important rule in boxing is to *"protect yourself at all times."* In training, as opposed to actual fighting itself, I would extend this to be *"protect yourself **and your training partner** at all times."* Expect people, especially beginners, to do stupid things, without warning, for no reason at all. Do you have someone new in your closed guard? Maybe he's getting ready to try a superman dive forward with the idea of getting directly to mount. Unfortunately this results in him accidentally spearing you in the face with a head butt. I've seen it done… Protect yourself and your training partner at all times! Are people sitting on a crowded mat with their arms locked straight behind them with people rolling all around? That arm will shatter if someone falls, rolls or scrambles directly onto that locked elbow. Gently let those people know that they're putting their arms in danger. Protect yourself and your training partner at all times! Are you passing the open guard? Watch out for him accelerating to ludicrous speed, lashing out with his legs and inadvertently breaking your nose with a heel kick. This happened to me, which is exactly why I will never be a nose model…. Protect yourself and your training partner at all times! Are you rolling on the ground while other people are on their feet? Can you guarantee that their takedown gone wrong won't have them landing on your face, shattering your orbital bone? Again, this happened to me, and my face is still lopsided 30 years later. Protect yourself and your training partner at all times! Do you see your training partner about to do something really stupid that could get him injured? Don't let it happen. Release whatever you've got, even if it's a submission that you really, really wanted to tap him out with. Then explain to him what could have just happened. One more time… Say it with me… Protect yourself and your training partner at all times! Safety first! Injury is the enemy!! Stephan ## Related Articles and Videos on Grapplearts **HOW TO TRAIN THE MORE DANGEROUS LEGLOCKS** My best tips, tricks and training methods to get good at leglocks while not getting hurt or hurting your partner, with videos and input from two other experienced leg lockers. **THE TWELVE POSITIONS OF MODERN LEGLOCKING** Modern leg locking is really about the 12 major leglock positions. The game is to enter into the entanglement position of your choice, maintain it against opposition, and prevent your opponent from escaping. This **free PDF** is the best intro to the leglock positional game you can get. **MORE ARTICLES, TECHNIQUES AND VIDEOS** This is the home page of my blog, where I am forever adding new techniques, tips, tricks, podcasts, videos, and other information that'll help you get good at gi and no gi grappling faster!

Today's episode comes from a Q&A session I did on Instagram live (@stephan_kesting) and gave the answers to a ton of BJJ and training topics including... 05:00 - When I started training BJJ 06:56 - Is BJJ ever going to make it into the Olympics 08:04 - Advice for remote learners without access to a school 12:33 - Teaching seminars? 13:19 - Grappling and submissions when there's a weapon involved 17:51 - Grapplearts leglock videos 19:01 - The leglock positional hierarchy 20:39 - Dealing with cauliflower ear 23:28 - What does my training look like? 24:51 - How powerful is the ankle lock, and what's the best leglock? 27:35 - Big man game vs small man jiu-jitsu 29:34 - Is it Ok to train at multiple schools? 31:38 - Is catch wrestling any good and do I use it? 33:39 - Custom rash gaurds 34:02 - What makes someone's game world class? 37:38 - Tips for facing larger opponents 39:55 - Strategies for people with bad knees 41:23 - Neck strengthening exercises 43:47 - Mapping out a training schedule Hope you enjoy this and also make sure to follow me on Instagram where I'm @stephan_kesting

This is a great episode with a ton of relevant and useful tips for combat athletes! Jason C. Brown shares a ton of information about kettlebell conditioning for jiu-jitsu and other martial arts including the details of kettlebell form, competitions, and designing conditioning programs for different people with different goals. We also riff on old-school jiu-jitsu techniques and why they still work. Give it a listen and, as always, please share it with someone else if you think it'll be useful for them!

It started so well! First Rob Biernacki and I discuss The Last Jedi and training with ADCC champion Yuri Simoes and World Champion Caio Terra. Then things went off the rails and we pissed off leftists, rightists, geeks, lesbians, Marxists, trickle-down economists, liberals, Trumpists, systema practitioners, academics, flat-earthers and everyone in between!

What would the boxer Vasyl Lomachenko do if he caught you macking on his girlfriend? Well, I don't think it would involve any elaborate footwork or strategies... It's fun to make things complicated in training, to use setups, fakes, and elaborate combinations to beat your training partners. But when it comes to street self defense you should keep things really, really simple. For more of my self defense material check out my second website at [selfdefensetutorials.com](http://www.selfdefensetutorials.com) and my second YouTube channel at YouTube.com/selfdefensetutorials

I think you'll really like this episode! In it I talk with Alex Kask who is a traditional Japanese Takeuchi-ryu Ju-Jutsu teacher but also no stranger to modern Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. We go deep into the techniques and history of traditional Japanese martial arts systems, including modern vs traditional training methods, the Japanese 'Warring States' period, historical challenge matches, the importance of wrestling in an environment with weapons and armour, and much more! Find out more about Alex at http://www.shofukan.ca/ Read the article we did together on Japanese Ju-Jutsu vs Submission Grappling here: http://www.grapplearts.com/submission-grappling-vs-classical-ju-jutsu-when-cultures-and-concepts-collide/ See Alex and I talk armbars vs knives here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUYWwutQrBE And check out how the Rear Naked Choke (RNC) might be applied differently in traditional Japanese Ju-Jujutsu vs BJJ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL8ywtIOtfY