The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

The jiu-jitsu world was shaken recently when Jack Greener, severely injured in 2018 while sparring at a San Diego gym, was awarded $46,475,112 dollars by a jury. Rener Gracie testified for the plaintiff, and Clark Gracie testified for the defence. In this episode, I get together with Dan Lukeheart (Brea Jiu-Jitsu) and Alex Kask (Barrister and Solicitor) to discuss the specific technique that caused this injury (the 'Leo Viera Backtake'), training methods used in jiu-jitsu, who gets to set industry standards in jiu-jitsu, whether white belts should spar, and how teachers and club owners can protect themselves from being wiped out by similar lawsuits.   More information about this lawsuit is available here... Developments in Martial Arts Practice Liability: Greener v. Del Mar Jiu Jitsu Club Rener Gracie's Deposition Video of the accident Take care of your training partners!! Stephan Kesting

Jesse Bryant is doing his PhD on the politics of nature, and has come across some amazing examples of both far left and far right groups wrapping themselves in the mantle of nature and what is deemed 'natural'.  From the Artaman League to the Wolves of Vinland and Alex Jone's fantasies about moving back to the country sometimes what he's found is hilarious, and sometimes it's terrifying.  I really enjoyed today's homage to the Naturalistic Fallacy and I hope you do too... Check out Jesse's great Tiktok channel where  he goes by @jessecallahanbryant. And check out the latest Grapplearts instructional, Cutting Edge Leglocks, at https://www.grapplearts.com/cutting-edge-leglocks.  It's an amazing deal and will definitely help you tap out a LOT more people!

Amanda Bruse took home Gold as a black belt in her weight division at No Gi Pans in 2022, and also a Silver in the open division facing much heavier opponents. She's also done amazingly well at ADCC Trials, No Gi Worlds, and is now competing in Combat Jiu-jitsu as well. It's remarkable that she's only been training for 6 years; clearly, she's doing something right, and in this conversation I try to find out what it is!! Tune in to find out about learning how to train (02:48), her favorite submission competing against bigger opponents in the open division (09:12), how to structure multiple training sessions per day (14:38), strength and conditioning for jiu-jitsu (18:06), balancing training and university studies (28:57), wrestling for no gi jiu-jitsu (35:34), starting a clothing brand (41:01), visualisation for competition (47:11), and her best advice for new people starting jiu-jitsu (53:06). Follow Amanda on Instagram at @amandabruse.bjj. As always, a rating and a review of this podcast is super-appreciated!!!   Thanks so much Stephan Kesting

Greg Souders, a firm believer in drilling and gamification, challenges traditional jiu-jitsu training methods. They discuss the complexity of grappling techniques, understanding the kneecut, and the role of traditions. They emphasize self-organization and variability in training, the importance of understanding underlying principles of Jiu-Jitsu, and advancing the sport to a professional level.

Brooke Binowski is a journalist specialising in debunking disinformation and misinformation.  She has worked for Snopes and is now the managing editor at TruthOrFiction.com. In this episode we talk about Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, how disinformation campaigns are structured, white supremacists, why the wellness space is so prone to believing conspiracy theories, and how we can know what's actually true and what's not. Follow Brooke on Mastadon brooklynmarie@mastodon.lol, on Twitter (for now) @brooklynmarie, and check out what she's working on at truthorfiction.com/author/brooke/.   Finally, check out the video version of the Strenuous Life Podcast on Youtube as well.   Merry Christmas, Stephan Kesting

BJJ black belt Elliott Bayev and I discuss the minimum knowledge set required to be a competent blue belt, including... The 8 basic positions in jiu-jitsu A 3 phase strategy for beating a bigger person  The real purpose of the guard The 2 types of submissions The hierarchy of positions How to stay safe in bad positions...and what to do next. The importance of getting high up on your opponent’s body How do throws and takedowns fit into training Competition vs self defense tactics How many techniques do you actually need Why sparring against real resistance makes jiu-jitsu special When to begin sparring in your progression How long does it take to make bluebelt And more! Click here to get the Roadmap for BJJ, my free PDF breakdown of the basic positions and strategies in jiu-jitsu. Elliott runs the Openmat school in Toronto Ontario and also the BJJ101.tv learning site.  Check out Elliott's Spider Guard Masterclass, and/or his Self Defense Guard, and/or his 30 Second Fight Finishes instructionals. I've personally worked with him on all 3 of these products and I can say without hesitation that they are incredibly detailed and directly applicable to your training. Stephan Kesting      

In episode 379 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with podcaster, martial artist, and history professor Daniele Bolelli about the characteristics of fascism. This is a loaded topic for both of us, because both of our families lived in fascist states during World War 2 (mine in Germany, his in Italy).  Which is why I almost went with an alternate title, namely A German and an Italian Walk Into a Bar... The terms 'fascism' sure gets thrown around a lot these days. But words have meaning, and so you can't just use it as an insult to describe anything you don't like. S0 what is it? As Daniele explains, there isn't a single definition of fascism; instead it's a checklist and the more items an ideology checks off then the closer they are to fascism.  Here are some of the major items for Daniele... Nostalgia for a mythic past Reliance on an authority figure who will fix everything Nationalism A cult of masculinity and cracking down on anyone who doesn't embody traditional values A hawkish desire for war against internal and external enemies Strong alliances with traditional power structures like industry and religion Anti-intellectualism and a distrust of expertise Conservative values, Subordination of women, anti-abortion, anti-birth control Anti-democratic values Emphasis on law and order Other things we discuss are Giorgia Meloni (the Prime Minister of Italy), economic situations before the rise of fascism, horseshoe theory and the eventual convergence of extreme left and extreme right, and the danger of fascism in the world right now. More Daniele Bolelli... Here are some places you can get more Daniele Bolelli... His History on Fire Podcast (highly recommended) His History on Fire Patreon if you want more content and support good work He's on Instagram @daniele_bolelli More Definitions of Fascism Fascism is a tricky word, and many different people have taken stabs at defining it.  Here are a few of my favorites... I found Jason Stanley's 10 traits of a fascist movement a very useful starting point. Umberto Eco's essay Ur-Fascism, originally published in the New York Review, included a 14 point list of the features of fascism. He identified that, for fascists, the enemy must simultaneously be very weak and very strong, which I found fascinating because I see it so often in the discourse these days. British political scientist Roger Griffin has defined the fascistic core as an ultranationalism focused on the idea of rebirth of a people or a nation (or palingenetic ultranationalism).   As is so often the case, the Wikipedia article on the definitions of fascism is a useful starting point if you want to go deeper into this topic.

Joshua Arellano is a physiotherapist with a black belt in Judo and a brown belt in BJJ. He works with combat athletes on rehab, prehab, and injury prevention, and - since injury is the enemy of progress - I was thrilled to pick his brain on the podcast to help everyone have a healthier grappling career!   00:39 - Judo and jiu-jitsu damage on the body 09:37 - The 5 most common injuries that you see in judo and jiu-jitsu 10:43 - Knee injuries 24:51 - Neck injuries 40:42 - Elbow injuries 45:01 - Is Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation outdated? 59:16 - Shoulder Injuries 1:03:33 - Learning to fall 1:05:16 - Small joint injuries 1:11:55 - How to contact Joshua Arellano, Physiotherapist   Related to this topic are the two volumes in the BJJ for Old F***s series.  If you're worried about or working around an injury consider checking out   1) BJJ for Old F***s, the Guard at https://www.grapplearts.com/oldguard   and    2) Guard Passing for Old F***s at https://www.grapplearts.com/oldpass   Thank you! Stephan Kesting

John Will trained in Southern California in the late 80's, was one of the first 12 non-Brazilians to get a BJJ black belt, and then went on to create the largest jiu-jitsu association in Australasia.   We talked about how the art has changed, how to be 'centrist' in the sport vs self defense debate, teaching elite military personnel, how to create a curriculum, and much more. I'm sure you'll enjoy this conversation Stephan Kesting P.S. Check out the latest Grapplearts Instructional, Guard Passing for Old F***s, at https://www.grapplearts.com/oldpass  

James 'The Biking Viking' Benson King is cycling from Alaska at the very top of North America to Argentina at the very bottom of South America.  He's covered thousands of miles, endured injuries, dealt with bears, and gone deep into the reservoirs of his endurance.  In this episode we talk about his mental and physical preparations for the journey of a lifetime. Follow James on instagram @bensonthebikingviking, his youtube channel, and/or his site at bensonthebikingviking.co.uk.