The Primal MMA Coaching Podcast

Kit Dale, jiu-jitsu world rapid development advocate, and Greg Souders, ecological approach leading advocate, discuss strategies for becoming better at grappling. They challenge traditional training methods, bridge historical jitsu drilling and free sparring, focus on invariants in techniques, examine the mindset of jiu-jitsu athletes, apply the ecological approach, explore problem-solving under stress, and discuss the role of self-organization in coaching and learning.

Noah Schaffner, a 17-year-old student mentored by Greg Souders, discusses his unique understanding of jiu-jitsu and its methodologies. They explore topics like ecological skill development, perception-action coupling, differential learning, creating a strong gym culture, and the difference between training for technique versus performance.

Rory Singer, a UFC Vet and lifelong martial artist, talks about managing expectations in developing mixed martial artists. They discuss gym culture, duty of care for fighters, and their philosophies of aliveness and ecological learning. They also emphasize the importance of building and maintaining a team culture, improving skills through consistency and practice, and managing expectations in the world of mixed martial arts.

Send us a textEmergence founder, NFL skills coach and MMA superfan Shawn Myszka joined me to discuss Strickland's win over Adesanya last week.As stated during intro. Must of this analysis is somewhat speculative given we are not privy to the innerworkings of both fighter's camps, preparation and day to day training methodologies. 

Send us a textToday I am chatting with Ed Ingamells. (Aka the Partybear). Ed is a black belt and coach at the Institute of Grappling in North London, UK.As a former Neuroscience PhD student, Ed has a deep understanding of cognitive psychology. Ed talks about his shift in recent years to a more ecological approach and how ecological psychology and direct perception make more sense to him from a skill development and motor-learning perspective. If you enjoyed the convo you can find other podcast appearances by Ed here and here. If you'd like to reach out to Ed, you can do so here and here. In the first part of the chat, we talk about the role of memory and cognition in skill development before moving on to discussing our ever evolving endeavors to optimize practice design. Thanks to all that download and listen. 

Send us a textAdam Singer joins me today to talk coaching, culture and continuing the SBG philosophy of aliveness through an ecological lens. 

Send us a textToday I am joined by Coach Josh Root from Gravitas Martial Arts in Arkansas. Josh has recently re-visited an Eco D approach to grappling after initially abandoning it due to uncertainty.With a deeper understanding and support from Standard's Greg Souder's, Coach Josh is not looking back and has been all in on the approach. Enjoying some early success he is starting to get his team on board and trusting the practice design.Josh talks about his switch from a highly prescriptive and high volume drilling approach to a more games based and live learning environment. His initial difficulties making the switch and his excitement and optimism for his team going forward.As mentioned in the intro, I have been made increasingly aware of strokes from chokes in BJJ. If you have not, then you most likely will in time.  Be prepared and recognize the signs and have a plan. Your own, or your teammates life might depend on it.  Check out this video by my friend Chris Martin who himself suffered a stroke from a lapel choke a few years back. 

Send us a textProfessor Alan Dunton is back. Alan is a lecturer and researcher at MTU Cork, Ireland. With a PhD in Skill Acquisitor and having been a long time martial artist himself and a National TKD team competitor, Alan is well informed on both the theory and practical sides of the sport and training. Alan and I discuss developing metastability.  Metastability occurs when an athlete is able to maintain a stable position or movement pattern while simultaneously having the flexibility and adaptability to respond and adjust to a highly dynamic environment and conditions (Think Fighting). It can characterized by a delicate balance between stability and instability, allowing for efficient and effective performance.We also discuss the limitations of pad and bag work as they pertain to skill development. 

Send us a textIn today's podcast, we're honored to have Jon Mackey as our guest, a celebrated coach in both Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing. With a career that began in 1987, Jon has trained numerous national, European, and world gold medalists in Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing, including Amy Wall, Lauren Bradshaw, and Robyn McDonnell. As the founder of Red Star Kickboxing and the National Director of Coaching for Kickboxing Ireland, Jon has significantly contributed to the Irish national team's success. When he's not coaching kickboxing, Jon works as High Performance Director for Canoeing Ireland and is an avid researcher in coaching, skill acquisition, and decision-making. Jon's philosophy emphasizes the power of sports in shaping young people's lives and developing essential attributes like resilience and self-discipline. With a Masters in Coaching & Performance Science and currently pursuing a Doctoral degree in Elite Performance in Sport, Jon's expertise and passion for coaching make him a truly remarkable figure in the world of sports.TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:

Send us a textIn this episode I speak with Coach Ricky Pachon . A young  coach from Gracie Barra, Bondi Beach, Australia. Ricky leads a successful youth competition team and is himself an avid competitor on the Australian BJJ/Grappling scene. Recently a parent of a student of Ricky reached out to me to introduce him. Following several years of employing a high-repetition traditional approach to developing his youth team. Ricky has in recent months been another coach to fall down the ecological rabbit hole. Ricky's enthusiasm and energy spills out when he talks about coaching and  training and it's clear, despite his age he is well on his way to becoming a high level bjj coach and ambassador for the sport. Ricky talks about his recent transition to a ecological approach and we discuss the reception of his student and fellow coaches. You can get in touch with Ricky and follow him on his IG page.I look forward to watching this passionate coach and his team grow and thrive in the coming years.