Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill

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.  

Send us a textThis episode is the first of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy.Brian reached out to both myself and Standard Jiu-jitsu's Greg Souders to talk about our application of Ecological Dynamics to Striking and Grappling respectively. With Brian's blessing he allowed me to share these interviews here on my podcast, given his interviews (over 350 of them) are available for his subscribers to his online platform. Brian was a very engaging and great interviewer and both Greg and I were thankful for the opportunity and fun conversations. While neither Greg or I have much insight into law enforcement, Brian similarly is in a constant pursuit of how we can make training more optimal and effective for our domains. Brian can be found best on his training academy site and at his other online resource site https://winningmindtraining.com/ Should any one want to reach Brian directly through the show, please email me at scott@primalmke.com

Explore the application of Ecological Dynamics to Striking and Grappling in MMA. Discuss the shift from high-volume drills to problem-solving approaches in coaching. Emphasize the importance of personalized coaching considerations for effectiveness. Contrast teaching principles and concepts over specific techniques. Highlight effective teaching methods starting with the end goal in mind.

Send us a text(PART 2) Today my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock.Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of an ecological approach to combat sports training.A real student of the science of skill development, teaching methodologies and the history of combat sports, Josh is also a 4th degree TKD coach/practitioner and more recently a student of BJJ and submission grappling.In this episode Josh and I discuss some of the common pushbacks and arguments we hear against the ecological approach and how they may not be entirely fair or honest.With increasing attention being turned towards this methodology we thought a discussion about some ingrained biases and assumptions might help those who themselves are somewhere in the transition phase towards this kind of training.Hopefully discussions like these can better help newer EcoD enthusiasts to be better prepared when presenting a case for change.While it's Josh's first appearace on the podcast, he and I speak regularly and are fairly well aligned. His podcast is really excellent and well worth a listen if you have not already done so!Josh has a Facebook group called the Combat Learning Community which is also worth checking out and getting involved with the discussion.

Send us a textToday my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock.Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of an ecological approach to combat sports training.A real student of the science of skill development, teaching methodologies and the history of combat sports, Josh is also a 4th degree TKD coach/practitioner and more recently a student of BJJ and submission grappling.In this episode Josh and I discuss some of the common pushbacks and arguments we hear against the ecological approach and how they may not be entirely fair or honest.With increasing attention being turned towards this methodology we thought a discussion about some ingrained biases and assumptions might help those who themselves are somewhere in the transition phase towards this kind of training. Hopefully discussions like these can better help newer EcoD enthusiasts to be better prepared when presenting a case for change.While it's Josh's first appearace on the podcast, he and I speak regularly and are fairly well aligned. His podcast is really excellent and well worth a listen if you have not already done so!Josh has a Facebook group called the Combat Learning Community which is also worth checking out and getting involved with the discussion.

Send us a textDanny Hatcher joined me to talk more about ecological dynamics for sport.Danny is a Podcaster, youtuber, educator, coach and sport scientist from the UK. We connected after I watched his terrific youtube video on Ecological Learning. Among his many endeavors, Danny has spent a lot of time researching in the areas of psychology and learning. This has given him a robust understanding of both the information processing approach of cognitive psychology and the Ecological approach of ecological psychology. Danny is active on twitter and is well worth and follow. I look forward to him returning in the future as guest to pick his brain again. 

Send us a textIn this episode I welcome on Coach Kabir Bath, founder and owner of Kaboom Jiu-Jitsu in Surrey, British Columbia. Kabir is a Raphael Lovato Jr Black belt/affiliate and was a Lovato associate coach of the year 2017.As Kabir explains in the episode, he recently and abruptly shifted to an ecological approach while abandoning the more typical traditional format for learning and teaching jiu-jitsu.I can't give enough credit to an already successful and established coach who is not only open to change, but who has done so, so rapidly and radically.I look forward to watching team Kaboom grow and thrive in the coming months and years.Ancora Imparo Indeed! 

Send us a textToday I welcome back Standard Jiu-Jitsu's coach Greg Souders.Greg and I were chatting about a very recent reddit post aptly named, 'Training at a gym that doesn't teach technique'. The post was specifically posing the question about Standard's training approach and garnered many perspectives and opinions.Greg, and I decided to talk about the post, some of the comments and record our discussion for an episode. As usual the editing and sound quality of the episode is a little rough and unpolished, but I hope the quality of the content makes up for that.*If myself or Greg in anyway misrepresented anyone's comments on the thread, please feel free to reach out so we can address.Likewise, I am always open to debate, discussion and pushback. Should anyone want to be a guest on the podcast to have such a debate, please reach out to me on my IG with a DM or contact me by email at scott@primalmke.comMuch love to all that support! Onwards and Upwards!