Gracie Jiu Jitsu Rocks! podcast

Marty shares his journey and experience of becoming a certified Wim Hof Method instructor

Dr. Peter Warshawski, Lifelong martial artist, Periodontal dental surgeon, fitness enthusiast, and recent author,  discusses his new book: Blows, and why he wrote it, overcoming all the childhood negative programming and discovering his power, Becoming a periodontal dental surgeon, what to look for in a great dentist, the importance of dental hygiene has on other areas of health including cardiovascular health, the importance of food and nutrition, being diagnosed with RA, how he met his wife Audry and the gift she is to him, the importance of self care and resilience, the role that BJJ has played in his life and who have been the biggest influencers on his BJJ including Henry Akins, why boxing is so important to him and the role James Lights Out Toney has had on him, what he wants his legacy to be, and why anyone can achieve great things with the right mindset  

Todd Fox, Security & Expert and 3rd BJJ Black Belt, is a former Marine, law enforcement officer, BJJ black belt, and Author. After his military service, he began his career in EP (Executive Protection) and has spent the past two decades providing executive protection and safety services to high level clients including  some of the most recognizable names in music and movies including Guy Ritchie, Madonna, Motley Crue, nine inch nails, Janet Jackson, and Tool, to name a few.  He holds three black belts in uniquely different arts. He is a former NHB/MMA fighter, as well as a black belt U.S. National Champion, U.S. Open Champion and Pan American Medalist in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He continues to actively train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai.  In this interview we cover a wealth of topics including his current situation and what protective/security services has been like for him,  the importance of building relations, working with Matt Damon on the Bourne Identity set, waking Madonna up on 9-11, most rewarding and most challenging aspects to his work,  why he joined the Marine Corps and what it taught him, fighting bare knuckle and NHB back in the day, his martial arts journey including training with Rodrigo Vaghi, his time with Rickson Gracie, living with and training with Henry Akins, sharing the mat with Sean Patrick Flanery, and how Renzo Gracie impacted him and his Jiu Jitsu, advice to new Jiu Jitsu practitioners, Security safety advice for the general public..in the areas of driving/road rage, airport/airplane, walking in a city (the 3 Cs), and firearms. We discuss his approach to learning  languages, and the books he’s written including his soon to be released book for Jiu Jitsu instructors wanting to teach law enforcement officers ( and the multitude of things they need to know), and much more.   

Sean Patrick Flanery, world renowned actor and 4th Degree BJJ black belt, discusses new movie Nefarious and all that went into doing it, his gratitude for his long movie career, training at Rafael Lavato Jr’s academy while filming the new movie, practicing Martial Arts since age 9, his deep obsession for Jiu Jitsu and why it will be the biggest part of his legacy,  training at Rickson’s academy, Henry Akins’ impact on him, his movie Born a Champion and how it came to be, his book Jane 2, meeting his wife and what drew him to her, the three questions that define old school JJ, adding realism to your training, the value of the the early UFCs, the most important things for kids to learn in Jiu Jitsu, the defend-escape-positional control-submission hierarchy, why Jiu Jitsu is unintuitive and a re-learn is needed, the early days at Rickson’s academy, why Renzo is the greatest person in Jiu Jitsu and the incredible impact he’s had on him, his faith and the importance it has for him, the importance of delayed gratification and why discomfort is key to growth and, how the way you live is “your thank you letter,” and more!

Charlie Vinch, BJJ black belt, expert striker and owner of Budo Martial Arts Studio in Ewing, NJ discusses his recent  Brazil trip and tips for those traveling to Brazil, training at the world renowned Chute Boxe academy and meeting Wanderlei Silva and others, his extensive martial arts journey, getting his Black belt from the Migliarese brothers and what he’s learned from them, his academy and philosophy, the importance of building technical foundation before adding power, what part emotions play in learning and development, the benefits of studying/training multiple martial arts, transitioning from fighter to instructor, goals for 2023 and lessons learned 2022, his thoughts on realistic training and what’s needed for someone to be great in striking, No Gi, GI, street self defense, and much more!

Matt Wahlstrom is a Tom DeBlass Black Belt, Entrepreneur, small biz owner,  licensed realtor, Crazy off road racer, inventor, and creator of the  lifestyle clothing brand, Epic Roll Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In this interview Matt discusses the Importance of balance in life, his BJJ journey, what fighting MMA taught him, training with Eric Silver and mario Yamasaki, landing at Team Renzo Gracie-team Tom Deblass (Silverbacks), how Jiu Jitsu has evolved, his thoughts on Tom Deblass, the challenges and what he learned from working in the corporate fitness world, how his young son helped him make a major career decision, living and running a business in Nashville, working in real estate and what it takes to be successful, starting the lifestyle clothing brand Epic Roll, his fitness and baby bottle product and the intricacies of the patent process, important lessons he’s learned from Jiu Jitsu, goals and what it takes to achieve them, his crazy off road racing adventures, and more!

Priit Mihkelson is a BJJ black belt and world renowned instructor. He is known for his innovation of Jiu Jitsu techniques and strategies, and his think outside the box philosophy. In this interview Priit discusses his current travels/seminars, his popular Defensive Jiu Jitsu and how it got started and has evolved, trenches and transitions, how his work is misunderstood, training to keep from getting into positions/submissions vs training from worst positions, his Viking heritage and his upbringing in Estonia, his martial arts journey, his involvement in the BJJ Globetrotters camps, misconceptions of Jiu Jitsu, his family, and much more….

Professor  Ryan Young, 3rd degree Kama Jiu jitsu Black Belt, discusses his current Annual Thanksgiving food basket drive, why he loves Texas, starting his journey in Hawaii and his time with Relson, Rickson’s impact and influence on him, his Jiu Jitsu philosophy, running techniques through the self defense screen, is GJJ a complete martial art, staying out of the red zone, injuries in Jiu Jitsu, his family, not waiting to start one’s Jiu Jitsu journey, Dave Kama, and the powerful impact he’s had on his life, and more!

 Karel “Silver Fox” Pravec, 4th degree Renzo Gracie black and owner of Silver Fox BJJ  discusses coming from Czechoslovakia and escaping to the to US, his introduction to Jiu Jitsu, training with Renzo and his relationship over the years, opening his own school and what it takes to succeed, His YouTube channel and live troubleshooting streams, his relationship with Firas Zahabi and appearing on the tri star gym channel, his favorite sub and/set up, the submission continuum, how you can continue to improve even if you’re the best guy at your gym, comparing old school JJ and the modern game, how Jiu Jitsu has come full circle, self defense vs competition, advice for older practitioners, the last time he was out of your comfort zone, what success means to him and more

Professor Bernado Faria is a 5X BJJ champion, owner of Bernardo Faria BJJ academy, and Co-founder of BJJ Fanatics. In this episode he discusses where he grew up and how he got started in Jiu Jitsu, training with instructors Ricardo Marques, Fabio Gurgel, and Marcelo Garcia,his mindset and training leading up to his championships, his favorite technique and set up, the most important thing needed to be successful in competition, developing mental toughness, his academy core values and mission, BJJ Fanatics - how it got started and how it’s grown to be what it is today, some of his favorite BJJ Fanatics instructors and what makes them so good, how to partner with BJJ fanatics, his upcoming camp, what makes his such a nice guy, his parents’  influence on him and his attitude, choosing happiness and the power of positivity, being authentic, biggest changes he’s seen in Jiu Jitsu over the years, Mark Zuckerberg doing Jiu Jitsu, the parallels of Jiu Jitsu and life, and more!