In this episode of Beyond the Mats, I was honored to speak with Shawn Melanson, owner of Precision Jiujitsu and competitor for the Philly Phenoms. Also known for his Instagram content, you may know him as “Dr. Shawn”.

Shawn breaks down how he found Brazilian Jiujitsu at 19 while chasing an MMA career, and how that path eventually led him to go all in on nogi. We talk about his experience competing with the Phenom’s in Season 9 of the PGF, what it’s like performing on a bigger stage, and how that’s shaped his approach to training and coaching.

He also dives into the biggest mistakes he sees from younger belts, what he’s trying to instill in the next generation of grapplers, and why mindset and intention matter just as much as technique.

And yeah… we had to address it, are leg locks boring?

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