Gracie Jiu Jitsu Rocks! podcast

Dave Kama, 5th degree Rickson Gracie black belt and head of Kama Jiu Jitsu. Dave is one of the very few people to have trained under Master Rickson and have all his belts awarded to him by Rickson, blue belt through black belt. Dave Kama also #2 of the “Dirty Dozen”, a moniker given to the first 12 non-Brazilians to earn the coveted black belt. In this episode he discusses his stat in BJJ, the early days in Rorion Gracie’s garage, challenge matches, training with Rickson, starting his own academy, the importance of finding the right teacher for your style of learning, what new practitioners should focus on, his thoughts on older practitioner training, and more!

Roy Marsh, founder of Roy Marsh Jiu Jitsu and owner/head instructor of Gracie Schwarzwald, discusses his early days in NC with TEAM ROC; his move to Germany, and what that’s been like; his philosophy including competition type focus and self defense focus, why the ability to control your opponent is so important, information gathering while rolling, why he never sets timers at his school;  his instructional videos; people who’ve had the biggest impact on his BJJ and life, and much more

Sensei/Coach Erik Paulson, a champion fighter and founder of Combat Submission Wrestling, talks about staying productive, UFOs, developing his scarf game, business coaching for school owners, and more. He emphasizes not living in fear, combining catch wrestling in his jiu-jitsu program, and the importance of being ready when creativity strikes.

Featuring 2020 Episode Clips from Evandro Nunes (The Lion and when to let him out), Matt Thornton (training with Rickson, Chris Hauter, fundamentals as universal concepts), Ricky Lundell (starting BJJ as a kid with Pedro Sauer, the time he “fought” Pedro’s daughter Taissa), Scott Nelson (Emotional Intelligence and its impact on his life and Jiu Jitsu), Clark Gracie (GM Carlos, GM Carley and how the term Gracie Jiu Jitsu came about), Ryron Gracie (Summary/Recap of the meet the listeners 2 episode)......

In This episode we talk about challenges, triumphs and lessons learned in 2020. Joining me for this episode I have Pedro Sauer Black Belts: Randy McElwee Gracie Jiu Jitsu Athens (Athens, GA) Mark Cukro Integrated Martial Arts (concord, NC) Alan Baker  Atlanta Martial Arts Center, (Woodstock GA) Dan Berry Integrated Martial Arts of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) Chaz Valentine Bushin Martial Arts (Williamsburg, VA) Rondel Benjamin Gracie Jiu Jitsu Trinidad/Tabago Andy Bryant Gracie Jiu Jitsu Commerce (Commerce, GA)

Richard Bresler is back on the show. Bichard is a 6th degree black belt and Rorion Gracie’s first US student. In this interview he discusses his new book, Worth Defending: How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life, and the process of writing it with Scott Burr; stories of the original UFCs, receiving his black belt; biggest influences on his life;  Pedro Sauer’s impact on him and the Professor Sauer - Oleg Taktorov connection; having Rickson as his bodyguard in Brazil; What’s next for him……

Jim Kelly, Pedro Sauer Black Belt, and owner and head instructor of Cincinnati Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, discusses his life growing up, his time in the Marine Corps (forced recon), his martial arts journey, including discovering BJJ while looking for Tae Kwon Do, stick fighting at The Gathering with the Dog Brothers, training with Paul Vunak, The “martial arts bum community,” Mark Denny, Shawn Owens; “Challenging” Jake Johnston;  competing at the Mundials in Brazil; The magical early days with Pedro Sauer and the crew (where he met Alan Hopkins, Jeff Curran, Rockson Gracie, Flavio and Silva Bhering, Matt Strack, Jorge Jiminez, Ricky Lindell);  Learning to be broad minded, finding your own style and  understanding the “why” things work from Pedro Sauer; What he learned from Rickson; training with Scott Smith; most important aspects of self defense; bringing realistic methodologies in training; keeping emotion out of fighting; His girlfriend and the wonderful story of how they met and their story over time….

Scott Burr is a black belt professor and the first person to earn the rank of black belt from legendary BJJ pioneer Professor Steve Maxwell.  He also holds black belts in Kodokan Judo and the Kuk Sul Do, and is a MaxwellSC-certified Pro Trainer, holding Level 1 and Level 2 certifications in both the MaxwellSC Kettlebell and Bodyweight Training systems. Scott is the author of the numerous books on strength & conditioning and martial arts books, and In recent years has had the opportunity to train with and learn directly from Master Rickson Gracie. In this interview we talk about his history in martial arts, including MMA training and going from Jiu Jitsu to Judo; his relationship with Steve Maxwell; his books, and how he got into writing; his current projects including Robert Drysdale’s book - Opening Close Guard and Richard Bresler’s book -  Worth Defending;  his invention-the Knot Lock; training with Rickson Gracie, his Jiu Jitsu philosophy, and more

Ryron Gracie Returns to surprise callers with a phone call. Listeners called include Jarod Zieffling, Greg Nelson, James Guynn, Danial Raza, Joel Ambrosia, Loren Files, and Jean Soares

Evandro Nunes is an instructor at Gracie University HQ. He’s a highly successful former competitor, winning numerous high level competitions, including world championships. He is a genuine, authentic, and highly insightful person, and this was a very interesting interview. In This interview he discusses what the Lion is and when to let it out, lessons learned in Jiu Jitsu, favorite submission and aspect of Jiu Jitsu, what gives him a sense of Joy in his life, thoughts on Spirituality, Self Care-what it really means, Peak experiences, Impactful books, favorite movies, Life regrets,  and more! Don’t miss it!