Dirty White Belt Radio

Seph Smith of Upstream BJJ has trained and competed at the highest level, and now has his own school in Richmond, Virginia. Seph taught a well-attended, well-received leglock seminar in Durham this weekend, and he joined us to talk about ideal training methods, footlocks, the best and toughest people he's trained with, why he identifies with sloths (and whether he identifies more with two- or three-toed sloths), why mayonnaise is the grossest, who his favorite jiujitsu athletes to watch are, and what his time as an uke on the Ryan Hall DVDs was like. Most importantly, we learn what creatures Seph would defend his lair with if he became a supervillain. Plus, live on the air, we make plans to produce a Seph Smith instructional DVD -- and we're going to make this happen for You, The Listener. Don't miss this one. Thanks as always to our sponsors, Toro BJJ, Cageside Fight Co. & US Grappling! Check out the new Toro BJJ "East Coast" gi, and register for US Grappling Charlotte April 22-23!

This week's guest is Julia from the Jiu Jiu BJJ blog.! Blogging about jiujitsu since 2010, she's got great stories about training in Korea, starting BJJ without an athletic background, blogging as community practice, nerd culture and more. She and Jeff also tell the dual story of the same dude stealing blog content from both of the. Plus, she was rocking the Toro BJJ #gameofchokes shirt during the interview, so that's righteous. Check out her blog at http://jiujiubjj.com/! Does posting the show early mean you get a bonus show about the Pans this week? MAYBE. Thanks as always to our sponsors, US Grappling, Toro BJJ and Cageside Fight Co.!

Dave Camarillo is one of the world's most respected martial arts instructors, and when the man behind Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu visits North Carolina, a few things are certain: the NC jiujitsu community will learn a lot, we're going to have a great time, and Dave and Jason Culbreth will spend much of that time giving each other a hard time in hilarious fashion. I first trained with Dave a little more than 5 years ago, and after a private session, we had the occasion to talk about martial arts, fitness, history, Dave's "Position Impossible" podcast, and why it's important to make fun of your friends. Bonus: Dave filmed a technique for us, so if you want to see his guillotine method, check out the blog at dirtywhitebelt.com or like our Facebook page and check the "videos" tab.

Yoga and jiujitsu go together like a collar and a choke. We do three interviews tackling this from different angles: Heather Kasey trains at Chapel Hill Gracie Jiu-Jitsu & teaches yoga at @Franklin Street Yoga Center; Yoga for BJJ's Sebastian Broche and Miha Perhavec have the premier website for yoga routines optimized for jiujitsu; and Martha Bartlett Catz is a yoga teacher with 20 years of experience who is now a white belt training at Gracie Raleigh and Royce Gracie Jiu Jitsu - Goldsboro, NC. We talk to each about what yoga means to them, whether and how you should cross-train (these answers may surprise you), favorite routines, points of overlap between the two arts, and much more. Whether you've been training jiujitsu and yoga for 20 years or are new to one of the arts, there's something in this show for you. Also: good luck to everyone competing today at US Grappling Sub-only Charlotte, and congratulations to Bryan C. Reed, Shayaan Sarfraz & Kevin Squatch Satterfield on their blue belts!

Dominyka Obelenyte has won double gold -- weight and absolute -- at the past two black belt world championships. She hasn't lost in more than two years. We brought her in for two days of outstanding seminars, and here we talk to her about her technique for stopping the adrenaline dump, her series of matches with Mackenzie Dern, who her toughest opponents have been, what it was like fighting Gabi Garcia, the #EqualPayForBJJ movement, and -- most importantly -- her favorite Studio Ghibli films and top webcomics. You also get to hear her awesome impression of the Mundial announcer. Plus: CrossFit athlete Sarah Homer talks to us about how you can work out for a great cause, coming in April, and we preview some upcoming US Grappling events and news! Photo for this episode by CAM Photos & Design. Give them a like on Facebook!

In this special, extra-long bonus episode, we talk to competitors, coaches, charity beneficiaries, hosts, sponsors and more folks involved with Toro Cup! You'll hear from: * Nico Ball of Terere Kids Project on what favela jiu-jitsu is all about, and why the money you donated at Toro Cup made a difference; * Nathaniel Hunt from Pendegrass and Maggie McDowell immediately after their matches, as well as Chelsea Kurtzman and Laurie Porsch, immediately after their match talking about how it went -- and what the best part of Toro Cup really is.; * Sa'idah Durkee on women training with men, her match, and why dudes should take seminars taught by women; * Sami Seff on painkillers. (Not talking about painkillers. We interviewed her while she was on painkillers). * Seth Shamp on the different aspects of competing at black belt, hosting the Toro Cup events, and the meaning of Dirty White Belt; * Jeremy Arel on Great Grappling's upcoming fighter house and his time in Brazil training with Gordo; * Tim Hufford on Chapel

The biggest, best Toro Cup yet brought the local grappling tournament close to $10,000 raised for charity! We break down the event with Pedro Sauer black belt David Porter, winner of his black belt match, and play an interview with BETA Academy's Nakapan Phungephorn, victor in the main event. Plus, we shout out the best finishes and top matches from the 22-fight card, and remind you that YOU, yes YOU, should come to the Dominyka Obelenyte seminar next Friday and Saturday! Register at dirtywhite.belt.com/shop or just show up.

Gold medalist from this past weekend's UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation Pro event in Orlando, John "Bagels" Telford, joins us to talk about his wins, his upcoming competition schedule, and the matchmaking process for Toro Cup 6 on Feb. 11. We preview the 20+ matches and discuss why Bryce Lighthall's dog Spike is probably responsible for Bagels' win. Plus, find out how YOU can get on Toro Cup!

We recap Next Level Fight Club's best card yet by highlighting four incredible finishes. We talk with Chris Herd, whose 13-second knockout was one of the night's most memorable, interview Cody Maltais, who guillotined his opponent in his return to the cage after a two-year absence, and shout out a few other insane finishes (like Allen Crowder's crazy slam knockout and Anthony Wright's guillotining his opponent to sleep). It's also the return of Trevor Hayes, who cornered two fighters on this card. It was supposed to be three -- find out what happened.

Brad Acosta of TFTC Academy trains, teaches and competes often -- and his next superfight is Feb. 11 at Toro Cup 6! We talk about how he got started, advice he has for blue belts, his career as a professional soccer player, memorable matches and all the various reasons Road House is the best movie of all time. Upcoming events: Next Level Fight Club is this weekend in Raleigh. Toro Cup is Feb. 11 at Cageside Fight Co/Triangle Jiujitsu, and you can show up to see Brad's match against Wes Claytor. And don't forget the following weekend, Feb. 17 and 18, are the Dominyka Obelenyte seminars. Go to dirtywhitebelt.com/shop to register for one or both!

One of the most active competitors on the local scene, John Schell, makes his MMA debut this weekend at Next Level Fight Club. His daughter Aaliyah is also a regular jiujitsu competitor, and joins us to talk about training and competing. We talk with them about what makes them nervous about watching the other compete, the joys and troubles of training, what John has learned about teaching & training as a part of Team Rubao Carioca, and more. Upcoming events: Next Level Fight Club is this weekend (use promo code "Schell" to support John). Don't forget to go to dirtywhitebelt.com/shop to register for the Dominyka Obelenyte seminar. And turn out for Toro Cup Feb. 11 at Cageside Fight Co/Triangle Jiujitsu to see John's match against Andrew Foster!

The first show of the new year is a Q&A extravaganza! From the shores of Vancouver Island and from the Halls of Snowpocalypse comes an episode of "Ask A Random Purple Belt." There are four question-and-answer segments about jiujitsu etiquette: 1. Kneez Nutz: How do you respond when you've accidentally kneed a training partner in the twig and berries? 2. Wash Your Butt: What are best practices for gym cleanliness and personal grooming? 3. "Rank" Means Something Stinks: How should new people think about belts and stripes when training? 4. Fluid Like a Druid: What do I do if I cry or bleed on the mat? Think we got something right? Something wrong? Left something out? Got a question for a future episode? Post it here or leave us a voicemail at (360) 389-2830. Also, check out our awesome new website, dirtywhitebelt.com, which has an interactive calendar featuring upcoming tournaments, seminars, MMA fights, and open mats. Submit your own!

You have a week left to buy presents: we give you 12 awesome gift ideas ranging in price from $10 on up, which we'll post to the blog with links later today. Also, Betsy O'Donovan joins Jeff in studio to ask jiu-jitsu etiquette questions from the perspective of a new white belt. Tune in to hear Jeff explain it all, like Clarissa or Lucy Van Pelt.

A 7th Degree Coral Belt in jiujitsu, Sylvio Behring has a lifetime of training jiujitsu and judo. He talks about learning from his father, Flavio Behring, masters Joao Alberto & Alvaro Barreto, his legendary brother the late Marcelo Behring, vale tudo, training judo with George Mehdi, the toughest people he trained with and competed against, fixing the rules of sport jiujitsu, and so much more.

Eric Uresk has lived many lives so far: professional MMA and Muay Thai fighter, legendary New York bouncer, nutrition guru, and jiujitsu brown belt who has trained with and under some of the best. Now wrestling coach at Phuket Top Team MMA Training Camp in Thailand, Eric talked training methods and nutrition strategy, told us some wild bouncing stories, and explained the origin of his nickname, "Eric The Gentleman."

One of our most popular guests, D'Juan "Dirty South" Owens, returns to the podcast to talk about his work bringing the transformative power of the martial arts to Uganda -- and how you can help. Plus, we (accidentally) break exclusive news about D'Juan's upcoming fights, discuss how playing high-level competitive chess compares to his other artistic pursuits, hear a little trash-talk about a fighter he says is ducking him, and recap his memorable Toro cup match against Ricky Saxton. Support the "Fighting For Uganda" project here: https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/fighting-for-uganda--3

Since we last talked to David Porter, he's earned a black belt from Pedro Sauer, produced a new DVD on arm-in chokes ("Bringing Back the Brabo") that drops this Friday -- and he's also got an awesome story about his trip to Australia, which involves a great ape, a koala and kid with no sense of self-preservation.

We're thrilled to bring you an interview with a true legend: Leka Vieira started jiujitsu in 1992, walking into a room with 60 or 70 men training when she was just a 16 year old girl. She went on to become the first woman to win the black belt world championship, the first woman to promote another woman to black belt, and -- after leaving Brazil with "a few hundred dollars, a few sets of clothes and a big dream," became instrumental to the growth of jiujitsu in the United States. She's a three-time world champion. In this show we talk about the loss that hurt her most, why some black belts in America told her "don't try to bring American women into BJJ, you're wasting your time," why the old school era was the best era, what her toughest day of training ever was, about coming back from two ACL surgeries, and her burning desire to win. You'll also hear her explain why she says "the system wants to separate us, but jiujitsu brings us all together."

We recap Toro Cup 5, raising funds for Gis for GIs: Jeff is in studio with guest host John Bagels Telford breaking down the matches: interviews with competitors and coaches Greg Walker, Gustavo Machado black belt, Brandon Garner and Chris Lewter from Gracie Raleigh, Gabriella McAuliffe from Rio Pro BJJ in Ohio, and Tyler Smith & Travis DePriest from Revolution BJJ in Richmond. Plus, we preview US Grappling Richmond on Dec. 10.

On Veterans Day, we talk to three people with prominent roles in both the military community & BJJ communities: Ricardo Tubbs, black belt, active duty service member & owner of Da Firma Training Center, Julia Gumpert from Mission 22, a nonprofit dedicated to ending suicide among veterans (and using jiujitsu as a tool); and Jason Mask, a Navy veteran and purple belt with a message: all veterans should try jiujitsu. Also, big news: One year. 58 shows. More than 60 videos about technique, nutrition, live event coverage and funny things. Plus, the occasional webcomic. It’s been an amazing year. Now it’s time to take it to the next level — which means a couple of big changes. First, the name of the show is changing. We want a name that’s going to reflect our focus on Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and more broadly the healthy lifestyle associated with jiu-jitsu. A lot of you know I have a blog called Dirty White Belt. The idea behind the name is that as my belt gets darker, I always want to retain the white belt attitu