The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Knuckle conditioning is a two-edged sword in martial arts. On the one hand hard knuckles and a conditioned fist make for a much more powerful punch in a streetfight and make it less likely you'll break your hand or sprain your wrist. On the other hand it increases the risk of arthritis and non-functional hands as you get older. What should martial artists do? If you're interested in more information like this then check out the 3 free self defense PDFs I have available at http://selfdefensetutorials.com/get-free-self-defense-tips-by-email/

Monty Collier is a black belt Judoka who worked with Keanu Reeves to get him ready for the amazing fight sequences in the movie John Wick 3 Parabellum. This conversation was a fun one and we started with how Judo has evolved from combat art to Olympic sport, how he taught Keanu highly technical moves, breakfalling on concrete vs mats, and how to fix Judo. Follow Monty's work and see some amazing Judo on Instagram @collierjudomethod And, as always, please leave a rating or a review for this podcast - it really helps!

Jess Munster was born with a severe brachial plexus injury which left her with only one functional arm. But this disability hasn't stopped her from training BJJ, competing against able-bodied fighters, and travelling the world to compete in para-athletic championships! In this episode I talk with Jess about what drives her past the limits of her disability, how she modifies her training and her techniques, and her hopes for the future. This is one very inspiring lady! Follow Jess Munster on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jessmunster_bjj/

Lethwei is an incredibly intense full contact combat sport from Burma that allows punches, kicks, elbows, knees and headbutts. And did I mention that the fighters don't wear gloves and only have a thin layer of gauze over their knuckles? Today's guest is Patrick Marcil who combined Muay Thai, Sanshou, and JKD in order to coach Dave Leduc to World Openweight Lethwei Champion. This chat will be hugely interesting for anyone who follows MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, or is interested in real life self defense! Follow Patrick @sifupatrickmarcil on Instagram or train with him if you're in the Montreal, Canada area - https://gatineau.patenaudemartialarts.com/en/

Tarsis Humphreys is a multiple time BJJ black belt world champion and Brazilian National Champion. In this episode we go DEEP into the mental game, including how to keep a match on your terms, the optimal state of mental arousal for a match, how to avoid overtraining, how Tarsis came back after ACL surgery, mixing weight training and jiu-jitsu training, training with BJJ legend Fabio Gurgel, mental breakthroughs, going to Burning Man, and more! Follow Tarsis on Instagram (@tarsisbjj) And check out Fabio Gurgel's Pressure Passing Formula at https://www.grapplearts.com/pressure

Switching to no gi grappling can be difficult. Here are 5 steps that will make it easier... 1) Accept that No Gi is an inherently faster style of grappling and be prepared to push the pace harder at times, 2) Change your grips so that they aren't gi dependent, 3) Get rid of your gi dependent guards and start developing guards that work in no gi, 4) Learn how to take the back, maintain the back and submit from the back because it's the best position in no gi grappling, 5) Develop your leglock and guillotine choke submissions because those are much more prevalent in no gi than in gi. If you would like some more help developing your gi and no gi games then here are a couple of FREE resources for you... Grab my free app for iOS and Android devices that comes with more than 457 minutes of technique taught by BJJ black belts. More info here: https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp Download a free copy of my book, A Roadmap to BJJ, which will take you through the most important positions and transitions on the ground. Get that here: https://www.grapplearts.com/book Some of the resources mentioned in todays video include: Switching from Gi to No Gi (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAcrDrEUnrY What is Pressure Passing (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebRCtBilm4A A No Gi Butterfly Guard Gripping Strategy (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-pU8dGeI58 The No Gi de la Riva Guard Formula (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-pU8dGeI58 How to control someone in Rearmount (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA8gVsyu_FU Hidden Legwork Techniques for Maintaining Rearmount (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKVqj71dcwQ The Ultimate Guide to the Guillotine Choke (MEGA ARTICLE) https://www.grapplearts.com/guillotine-choke/ The Modern Leglock Formula (GRAPPLEARTS INSTRUCTIONAL) https://www.grapplearts.com/leglocks Modern Leglocking Positions {PDF} https://www.grapplearts.com/main-positions-modern-leglocking/ The BJJ Formula, including the Back Control Formula, (GRAPPLEARTS INSTRUCTIONAL) https://www.grapplearts.com/the-bjj-formula/ Good luck with your training Stephan Kesting Grapplearts.com

Here's one simple thing you should do every time that your training has stalled out and you're just not getting any better. Hell, you should probably be doing this even if your training is going great! Today's episode came from a Q&A I did on Instagram. Follow me there where I'm @stephan_kesting or go to https://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting

Today I talk with Kathy Hubble who is a professional Stuntwoman and multiple time Canadian National Judo Champion. She shares how she got started in stunts, how she got injured on set in a Jacky Chan action movie, and how Judo helped her stuntwork. We also delved into the differences in between Judo and BJJ energies, transitioning from throws directly into submissions, and the funny dynamic of battling people on the mat but then being best friends afterwards. This was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it! If you're enjoying the podcast then it's hard to overstate how great it would be to get a rating or a review for it on whichever podcast platform you use. That's incredibly important and it really helps me put out more episodes. Finally, the video of this podcast is available on my site at https://www.grapplearts.com/podcast-kathy-hubble-judo-champion-and-stuntwoman/

It's important to be able to dial your aggression level up or down in a BJJ match. There are essentially 3 ways to do this... #1, by using so-called 'dick' moves, and/or #2, by using more force and strength, and/or #3, by simply moving faster. You turn the dials on these 3 variables in your training, but be especially careful if you're using options 1 and 2 against smaller training partners or people who aren't serious competitors. This question came from a Q&A I did on Instagram - follow me there where I'm @stephan_kesting or by clicking here: https://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting And sign up for my free BJJ newsletter at https://www.grapplearts.com/newsletter. Seriously, this is the very best source of BJJ information out there on the internet, delivered to your email inbox. I've sent these emails to over 100,000 people and get regular feedback about how good they are, so check it out. It's completely free and always will be! Cheers Stephan

I think you guys are really going to LOVE this talk I had withJamie Flynn, a British Special Forces operator turned world base jumping champion. Jamie is also a wingsuit pilot, a professional bodyguard, has protected giant tanker ships against Somali pirates, and - surprise, surprise - does BJJ. In this episode we go into the selection procedure used by elite units in the British army, the crazy story of how he started base jumping and parachuting, close calls in Iraq and Afghanistan, triggers in sport for optimal performance, his horrific basejumping injury and the road back to jumping again, confronting Somali pirates, bodyguarding strategies, commonalities between base jumping and jiu-jitsu and more! If you want to watch the video of this podcast then check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhobVPvYfto Also make sure to check my latest release, the best-selling Pressure Guard Passing System instructional with BJJ legend Fabio Gurgel at https://www.grapplearts.com/pressure And if you get the chance, a rating or review of this podcast is super appreciated. That sort of stuff REALLY helps! Enjoy Stephan Kesting