

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Stephan Kesting
What is it that allows some people to push themselves beyond their limitations? Why can some people survive situations others do not? On this podcast we try to find out the answers. Stephan Kesting, is a lifelong martial artist, BJJ black belt, career firefighter, and outdoorsman. Join us as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers and other people living the strenuous life.
Stephan also runs Grapplearts.com, where he has published many hundreds of martial arts videos, articles and tutorials.
His free guide to learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, A Roadmap for BJJ, has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has become a foundational text for the art.
Stephan also runs Grapplearts.com, where he has published many hundreds of martial arts videos, articles and tutorials.
His free guide to learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, A Roadmap for BJJ, has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has become a foundational text for the art.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 19, 2018 • 8min
178 - The 5 Ranges Every Martial Artist Should Be Familiar With
There are 5 ranges of combat, but many martial artists only train in one or two of those ranges. Ideally though you should be at least familiar with each of those ranges to be a complete martial artist and not have any gaping blind spots! I know that many of my listeners will already be familiar with https://www.grapplearts.com but also check out my self defense oriented website https://www.selfdefensetutorials.com

Nov 15, 2018 • 1h 24min
177 - Mental and Physical Training for Championship Wrestling, with Nick Ugoalah
How to train mentally and physically to become a world calibre champion wrestler, with Commonwealth Games gold medalist and 5 times national team member Nick Ungoalah. We go DEEP in this episode and really dig into physical conditioning, honing technique, developing a winning mindset, recovering from injury, fixing imbalances in your body, optimal mental state for competition, and much more. I think you'll like this one, and if you do I would love a rating or review of this podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on! Find out more about Nick at http://ugohp.com.

Nov 12, 2018 • 15min
176 - Guard Passing Strategies in BJJ with Stephan Kesting and Rob Biernacki
Rob Biernacki and I sit down to discuss BJJ guard passing from a strategic point of view. When should you pass standing and when should you pass on your knees? When should you go for submission based guard passes and when should you try to force your opponent into a different type of guard? Check out Rob's groundbreaking BJJ Formula at http://grapplearts.com/bjjformula and his amazing leglock instructional at https://www.grapplearts.com/leglocks/

Nov 6, 2018 • 8min
175 - That Technique Used to Work Great, So Why Did You Stop Using It?
A quick rant about the absolute easiest way to add effective and proven techniques to your game, namely going through the memory banks and trying to figure out what you used to do that worked great that you then stopped doing for no good reason! Check out my Grapplearts BJJ Master App for iOS and Android for free at https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp. It comes with a TON of free material on it, including a complete standalone module on weak side back attacks! Good luck with your training! Stephan

Nov 4, 2018 • 1h 2min
174 - Why Jiu-Jitsu is Best for Self Defense: Stephan on The Great Flip Podcast
I was thrilled to appear on The Great Flip Podcast to talk about jiu-jitsu, specifically why it's probably the best self defense martial art for women and girls. I hope you enjoy it! Catch up with the work Coach Jody is doing at https://thegreatflip.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thegreatflip/, or on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJleGbTwtlTL4GXLMl6sL6A And, as always, a rating or a review of this podcast is super-appreciated. It helps the show grow and acts as an incentive for me to use my very limited time to produce more shows more often! Thanks Stephan

Oct 28, 2018 • 10min
173 - Self Experimentation, Ketosis and Crazy Chicks
In this episode I talk about the importance of self experimentation and how your results may be different from most other people's. I share some dietary experiments I've been fooling around with and exactly what I've been doing to limit the potential downsides. And yes, I do talk about limiting the downside when dating crazy chicks. Stephan

Oct 19, 2018 • 1h 6min
172 - Martial Arts Frauds and Other Buffoons with McDojoLife
Rob from McDojoLife has been relentless in his attempts to expose martial arts frauds, exposing everyone from from chi-based knockout masters to ninjas who practise bending joints in the direction they are designed to bend. Honestly some of the videos he's shared with people over the years have been hilarious for all the wrong reasons! In this episode we talk about his favourite frauds, where he gets the biggest hate and pushback from, his own martial arts training history, and his big plans for the future. Follow McDojoLife on Instagram (@mcdojolife), Twitter (@mcdojolife) and his Youtube channel (youtube.com/mcdojolife)

Oct 16, 2018 • 11min
171 - The Best Way to Train Those Super-Deadly Techniques for Self Defense
If you're interested in self defense then how do you train techniques that are too deadly to spar realistically, like eye gouges and groin punches, and combine that with the safer sportive techniques that you can learn to apply to against resistance and get really good at? This rant should give you some answers to this perpetual dilemma. Check out my two sites: https://www.grapplearts.com and https://www.selfdefensetutorials.com And if you're a grappler (or interested in grappling) then make sure to download my free app with more than 457 minutes of free video instruction for iOS and android at https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp Thanks! Stephan

Oct 6, 2018 • 1h 24min
170 - Why People Want to Believe Crazy Things, with the Genetically Modified Skeptic.
My guest is the science advocate generally known as The Genetically Modified Skeptic. In this hard-hitting (and likely controversial) discussion he discusses magical thinking in the martial arts, essential oils, alternative medicine, cult leaders, Jordan Peterson, religion, the anti-vaccine movement, fake cancer cures and much more. I hope you find it interesting and though provoking. Check out Drew's popular youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/geneticallymodifiedskeptic

Sep 30, 2018 • 1h 12min
169 - Kata Is Useless for Combat, Prove Me Wrong, with Iain Abernathy
Iain Abernathy is an author, a 7th degree black belt, and an expert in the application of traditional karate techniques. He joined me on the podcast today to talk about kata as a training method, techniques advancing over time, ancient martial arts training methods, "freezing" between moves in kata, pushback from the traditional karate community, drills to make the application of moves instinctive, and more. Find out more about about Iain, his books, articles, and apps at https://iainabernethy.co.uk


