The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Division in BJJ community, angry people on the internet and the rise of conspirituality with comic and BJJ practitioner Jamie Kilstein. Jamie is the cohost of both Rear Naked Radio and A Fuckup's Guide to Self Help and has a new comedy album coming out soon!

Today I chat with Black belt no gi world champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins about how the most efficient training methods to master the highly complex world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Lots of great takeaways in this one!! 02:18 - Learning technique only vs learning technique and theory 05:42 - Fundamental movements in BJJ 09:24 - Advanced applications of fundamental movements 14:48 - Winning by achieving depth in a technique 25:40 - Successfully setting up guard submissions 37:22 - Off speed pitches and surprising your opponent in BJJ 44:03 - Starting at step 3 52:19 - Top tips for training 1:01:39 - Safe techniques 1:11:03 - IBJJF legalising reaping and heel hooks in nogi Check out the 265 page full color book we wrote together at https://www.grapplearts.com/nonstop-jiu-jitsu-book/ - it's the best BJJ book of the year for sure! Cheers Stephan Kesting

I was thrilled to talk to Matthew Remski, a cult researcher and cohost of the Conspirituality Podcast who has written extensively about the pervasive cultism and abuse in Yoga, spirituality, and wellness culture. The parallels to what's happening in BJJ are obvious. Here are some highlights... 01:48 - Matthew's own time in cults 05:39 - Conspiracy theories 08:02 - What are cults? 28:45 - Online cults 41:39 - What happens when cult prophecies fail to occur? 50:21 - How to help friends and family members in cults

Multiple time world champion Robert Drysdale comes onto the podcast to share his discoveries about the history of BJJ. Here's just some of what we talked about... 00:52 - Opening Closed Guard, the Book 06:16 - The first japanese martial artists in Brazil 16:51 - Who was Mitsyuo Maeda? 19:27 - The role of the circus in the development of BJJ 23:20 - Early lineages of jiu-jitsu in Brazil 31:02 - The development and role of Vale Tudo fighting 33:08 - Why jiu-jitsu became so ground oriented 43:41 - George Gracie 45:47 - Helio's early fights 47:58 - The period of decline in jiu-jitsu 52:36 - BJJ andmarks between the 1950's and 1990's 1:02:26 - The role of jiu-jitsu federations 1:09:07 - Effects of legalizing heel hooks 1:15:16 - BJJ in the Olympics

Today I talk with Mr Frank Wolf, a member of first two person team to paddle across Canada in a single season. He has undertaken amazing expeditions throughout North America both in the summer and the winter, and has some amazing tips for getting out into the deep wilderness on the cheap. I guess you could call him a wilderness travel hacker who is willing to share his secrets! On an entirely different note, sign up for the Single Leg X Guard Crash Course that I'm giving out - it's entirely free and it's the fastest way to make you competent at one of the most powerful and versatile of guard positions! https://www.grapplearts.com/slxcourse/

Full contact fighting is inherently risky, especially when you consider the traumatic brain damage that's so common in boxing, kickboxing and MMA. And competing in sports where head shots and brain trauma are abundant ramps those risks up exponentially. While I totally support your right to take risks (and have taken many myself) there comes a point when the risk outweighs the reward. So what is that point? In this episode I discuss the number one indicator that I think tells you when you should quit competing in contact sports... Check out my Single Leg X Guard Crash Course, available for free at https://www.grapplearts.com/slxcourse And please share this episode with one person in your social circle who might enjoy it! Cheers, Stephan Kesting

On today's episode I'm interviewed by Randy Brown on his podcast about my journey through Kung Fu and how I found jiu-jitsu. Lots of nuggets about training safely and effectively in this one! Follow Randy at https://www.youtube.com/c/Mantisboxers/videos https://www.instagram.com/randybrownmantisboxer/ https://randybrownmantisboxing.com/ Tweet me: @StephanKesting Check out my Instagram: @Stephan_Kesting And get on my email newsletter - I use it to put out a TON of good training information: grapplearts.com/newsletter Cheers! Stephan

Is it safe to train BJJ in a pandemic? I wish it were a simple yes or no answer, but as I discuss in this episode (which is also available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjyivFxPJMU&feature=youtu.be) it depends on a number of factors including... Your age, health, pre-existing conditions Your tolerance for personal risk The age and health status of your family Your health insurance situation, Your willingness to put other people in society at risk, Whether you're taking precautions in the rest of your life What the local Covid test positivity rates are The precautions your club is taking Whether you're in a training pod The precautions your training partners are taking And more. If you're interested in more information about BJJ training pods check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSG3zsC-WwM If you want to see some evidence that masks help prevent transmission of Covid-19 please read https://www.grapplearts.com/do-masks-and-face-coverings-work-to-prevent-coronavirus-transmission/ If you want to find Covid-safeish training partners check out https://downtoroll.com/ And if you want to see the latest guidelines by Dr Chris Moriarty for reopening BJJ schools check out https://www.grapplearts.com/openingupbjj Stay safe and, almost more importantly, please give a crap about other people! Stephan Kesting

Only aligning your chakras can save you from the satanist deep state... Derek Beres is an author and former reporter who cohosts the Conspirituality podcast which investigates the convergence of left-wing spirituality in Yoga and wellness culture with feverish right-wing conspiracy theorists. I wish this podcast could have been a light hearted traipse down the kookier aspects of Yoga and spiritual utopianism but in a time when rampant conspiracy thinking on social media spreads mistruths, disinformation and 'alternative facts' this is a deadly serious issue. Follow the Conspirituality Podcast here: https://conspirituality.net/ - it's very good! Stephan Kesting

Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models comes onto the podcast to discuss cult behaviour in BJJ, good and bad club cultures, and the big picture behind effective jiu-jitsu training. "I consider cults to be any organization that uses unscrupulous tactics to manipulate the members for the benefit of the founders or the people higher up in the chain." "People always tell you that jiu-jitsu builds character and makes you a better person. That is not true. Jiu-jitsu gives you confidence and makes you a bolder, more assertive version of the person that you already are. And whether that's a good person or a bad person is up to you." "In a time when things are as uncertain as they have ever been in our lives, we crave certainty. If someone can promise you certainty in an uncertain time especially if they can confirm what deep down you've always believed to be true, you're going to gravitate towards them and it shuts off part of your brain."