The Strenuous Life Podcast With Stephan Kesting / Grapplearts Radio

A conversation with Kung Fu stylist (and BJJ brown belt) Randy Brown that included the history of Chinese martial arts and what made them less effective over time, what traditional martial arts look like when you start training them with resistance, and much more.  I think you'll like this one! Find out more about Randy Brown at http://randybrownmantisboxing.com/    

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 boun

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 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 f

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 th

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 and my second YouTube channel at YouTube.com/selfdefensetutorials