The Strenuous Life Podcast With Stephan Kesting / Grapplearts Radio

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!

I really mean it: DON'T wait until New Year's Eve to start making the changes you know should happen! Waiting will only make things more difficult.  To prove my point I drag Genghis Khan, Julius Caeser, Georges S Patton, and Robb Stark from Game of Thrones into the argument. 

"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?

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 ne

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...

In this episode I share one of my best tips to get your butt on the mat or in the gym, indicators for when it's NOT time to push, as well as a cautionary tale of when an MMA training session went too far and I ended up bleeding from the kidneys! Also, I've got some really interesting podcasts coming up in the near future, and if you subscribe then you won't miss them!

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!

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.        

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!

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?

I love this episode where I talked with historian Daniele Bolelli.  In it we talked about a huge number of topics including... His process of researching and producing History on Fire, one of the leading history podcasts How to get rid of weight cutting in mixed martial arts competition The evidence for and against an ultra-violent human past vs a peaceful noble savage model of our hunter-gatherer past. The rise of MMA in Asia. Daniele's proposed 'Gladiators for World Peace' program and how it's going to get him the Nobel Peace Prize His return to Italy as a tourist Is it too soon to tell whether we're moving towards a more peaceful future? Ötzi the iceman, Neanderthal DNA in our genomes, and a mass murder that occurred 430,000 years ago (http://bit.ly/1JYX91M)  And much more!

It's amazing how many high level entrepreneurs also enjoy the challenge of jiu-jitsu!  In this episode Jack Wilkinson and I explore this connection, as well as going down many other rabbit holes... 00:25 - Jiujitsu and entrepreneurship parallels 05:12 - Dealing with tough guys 09:20 - Toxic people 12:56 - Story time 18:30 - Addiction 23:05 - Adversity 28:29 - Grips 37:24 - Teaching vs testing 41:26 - Marketing BJJ schools

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).

In this episode I talk with the amazing Clinton Davies, the blind wrestler who is a 10 time New Zealand national champion who competes against sighted opponents.  Clinton has also had a very successful submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition career, and has travelled the world.  Listen to this episode to find out how he does it!

In this episode Travis Stevens, 3 x Judo Olympian, Olympic silver medalist, and BJJ black belt goes deep into his training regimen.  You'll learn why and how he does 5 or 6 workouts a day, what the strength benchmarks are for effective judo, the differences between his BJJ and Judo training, and much more.  It's an amazing episode that I'm sure you'll find very interesting.

In this episode I try to answer as many questions as possible from my email newsletter readers, including whether BJJ gameplans really are for everyone (3:30), how to pace yourself against the young guys when you're 52 years old (8:36), the best stretches for grappling flexibility (13:12), what are the best drills for developing a specific position (15:30), what's my hypothetical plan for creating a BJJ world champion if I had a young clone of myself (18:41), when will the single leg X guard and modern leg lock formula instructionals be released as apps (28:28), what should your focus be if you're training purely for self defense (29:35), ranking physical attributes in order of importance for BJJ competition (32:22), bodyweight fitness routines (38:00), tips for dealing with knuckle and joint pain (40:50), what's a good balance between weight training and BJJ for healthy joints (44:30), is 5' 9" too small to do BJJ (50:10), training around knee pain (52:05), post training nutrition tips (55:35), flexibility f

I LOVED talking to Bernardo Faria, 5 time BJJ world champion, about his getting 'kidnapped' in the Philippines, reflections on ADCC 2017, the toughest guys he has ever rolled with, whether you can get your BJJ black belt without competing, the connection between jiu-jitsu and entrepreneurship, building a BJJ school, if North America will ever catch up to Brazil in jiu-jitsu, and much more. Check it out! You can find out more about Bernardo on his website at https://bernardofaria.com and/or his Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/bernardorochajf  

No gi grappling is very popular these days, and a lot of people find making the transition from training with the gi to training without it tricky and difficult.  In this episode Ritchie Yip and I go over some tricks and tips to make this an easier transition and to give you a fighting chance when you can't grip cloth to control your opponent.