Forever White Belt

In this episode of Forever White Belt, host Adolfo Foronda sits down with Dr. Diana Wang, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Athletic Trainer based in Southern California, who is also a serious practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Diana's work with athletes ranging from Division 1 to the professional level has given her a unique perspective on common injuries and recovery strategies, and her passion for guiding clients through the confusing waters of rehab, performance, and recovery led her (and her team) to create Open Mat Physio. Throughout the conversation, Adolfo and Diana discuss her background in martial arts and how she got into physical therapy and athletic training, as well as the importance of injury prevention and staying up-to-date with the latest research and techniques in the field. They also delve into the future of physical therapy and athletic training, and Diana shares some of the most memorable experiences she's had working with BJJ athletes and clients. Tune in to this episode to learn more about Diana's journey and the important work she's doing to help BJJ athletes and hobbyists recover and prevent injuries.

Link:

https://www.flowcode.com/page/openmatphysio

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.

I'm excited to have Richard Bresler as our latest guest. Richard is a sixth-degree jiu-jitsu black belt and the author of "Worth Defending".Richard is widely recognized as the first American student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and worked closely with Rorion Gracie for almost twenty years. He played an essential role in growing Jiu-Jitsu through the Gracie Garages, the Gracie Academy, and the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Richard was also one of the first Americans to earn a teaching certificate through the original Instructor Certification Program at the Gracie Academy and to earn a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In our conversation, Richard shares his experiences learning from the Gracie family and his passion for Jiu-Jitsu. We dive deep into his book, "Worth Defending," which tells the story of his 40+ year involvement with the Gracie family.

Links:

https://richardbresler.com/

Worth Defending book https://a.co/d/h0V8onY

https://www.instagram.com/richard_bresler/

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.

In this episode of Forever White Belt, we are thrilled to have a returning friend of the show, Malachy Friedman. Malachy is a third-degree black belt under the legendary Ricardo Liborio, co-founder of American Top Team (ATT), and has over 20 years of experience in multiple fight disciplines including MMA, BJJ, boxing, Muay Thai, and wrestling. As the owner and operator of Black Label Martial Arts Academy in Charleston, South Carolina, Malachy is both a strategist and innovator in the sport. In this episode, he shares his latest project designed for those interested in making the transition from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to mixed martial arts. Additionally, we discuss Malachy's highly successful kids program and the valuable lessons it teaches, as well as tips and insights for anyone thinking of opening their own martial arts academy. Malachy's expertise and experience make this episode a must-listen.

Links Mentioned:

Malachy's Linktree https://linktr.ee/MalachyFriedman

IG https://www.instagram.com/malachyfriedman/

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.

Today, we are honored to have a true legend of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with us, Eduardo Telles.

Eduardo Telles is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with over 30 years of experience in the art. He is a multiple-time world champion and is known for his innovative and unconventional approach to the sport, with his trademark "Turtle Guard" and "Octopus Guard" being some of the most distinctive and effective techniques in BJJ.

Aside from his success on the mat, Eduardo is also a respected instructor and has trained numerous practitioners in his own academy 99 Jiu Jitsu in San Diego, California. He is a true ambassador of the sport, having competed and taught worldwide and spreading his passion for BJJ to countless students.

In this episode, Eduardo shares his journey in BJJ, from his early days in Brazil to become one of the most innovative names in the sport. He also shares his insights on training, competition, and the evolution of BJJ over the years.

Links mentioned:

In this episode, we have Matt Serra black belt who also trained extensively under John Danaher, Jason Rau. Jason is the grappler's grappler, for whatever reason he seems to go under the radar of the general BJJ mainstream. Jason is well known in the professional community for his uber-technical and hazardous leg game. Although being sidelined by injury as of late Jason is looking to make his comeback at the ADCC trials and I would definitely consider him a very live contender who could take gold.

In the episode, we talk about his days at both Matt Serra's and his time with Danaher at Renzo's in Long Island and in the blue basement in NYC. Jason would quickly climb the ranks of the Danaher Death Squad (John’s elite group of students). We talk about his new academy Vanguard, his injury, rehab, mindset, ADCC lessons learned, and a whole lot more.

Links:

https://vanguardjj.com/about-us/jason-rau/

https://linktr.ee/Jrau89

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.

Joining us on the show is none other than the renowned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and instructor to the instructors, Henry Akins. Henry is the 3rd black belt under the legendary Rickson Gracie and a former instructor at Rickson’s academy in Southern, California. Originally from Oklahoma, Henry now resides in Las Vegas, NV, and has been training Jiu Jitsu for 27 years.

Henry is a highly respected figure in the BJJ community and has made a huge impact on the art through his teachings and philosophy. He is the founder of Hidden Jiu Jitsu and has trained some of the top BJJ practitioners and instructors in the world.

In this episode, we will delve into Henry's journey in the world of BJJ, his teachings, and his philosophy on the art. So sit back, relax, and get ready to learn from one of the best in the business.

Links:

https://www.hiddenjiujitsu.com/

IG https://www.instagram.com/henryakinsbjj/

YT https://www.youtube.com/c/HiddenJiuJitsu

FB https://www.facebook.com/hiddenjiujitsu

Just a reminder to please give us a 5 star review on Apple Music and Spotify and share this podcast with a friend it really helps us out. Please leave us feedback and suggestions on how we can improve the show, and Become a VIP member for only .99 a month (yes less than a dollar) and get ad free episodes at https://anchor.fm/foreverwhitebelt/subscribe. Like us on Facebook and TikTok at Forever White Belt, and check us out on Instagram @foreverwhitebeltshow. Go buy your Forever White Belt swag at teespring.com/forever-white-belt.

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.

Today on the show I have Sunshine aka Jonathan Fennell. You may know Sunshine as being one of the most famous Uke's in Jiu Jitsu from his appearances in Jiu Jitsu X instructionals.

Sunshine currently holds the rank of brown belt under Keenan Cornelius. He’s also been active as a competitor, medaling at many local and regional competitions.

He’s spent most of his time dedicated to learning not only Keenan’s style of jiu jitsu but also as a teacher at Legion, while also working Jiu Jitsu X.

Links:

IG https://www.instagram.com/sun_shineajj/

Linktree https://linktr.ee/sun_shineajj

Legion https://legionsandiego.com/instructors/jonathan-fennell/

Jiu Jitsu X https://jiujitsux.com/

Please give us a 5 star review on Apple Music and Spotify and share this podcast with a friend it really helps us out. Please leave us feedback and suggestions on how we can improve the show, and Become a VIP member for only .99 a month (yes less than a dollar) get ad free episodes at https://anchor.fm/foreverwhitebelt/subscribe. Like/follow us on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube at Forever White Belt, and check us out on Instagram @foreverwhitebeltshow. Go buy your Forever White Belt swag at teespring.com/forever-white-belt.

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.

Today on the show I have Kyle Boehm, Kyle is a professional grappler, and a 10th Planet Black Belt awarded by John Botello. As of this recording Kyle trains at Geo Martinez's 10th Planet Oceanside academy. Kyle has competed against the best in the world some of his accomplishments:

1st Place BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix (2019)

1st Place King Of The Mats Invitational (2019)

1st Place Subversiv Team Tournament (2018)

1st Place Onnit Invitational 4, 205 lbs (2017) and on and on.

In the episode, we talk extensively about some of his brutal injuries and how he came back from them. Training and teaching at various academies, competition mindset, and more.

Just a reminder to please give us a 5 star review on Apple Music and Spotify and share this podcast with a friend it really helps us out. Please leave us feedback and suggestions on how we can improve the show, and Become a VIP member for only .99 a month (yes less than a dollar) get ad free episodes at https://anchor.fm/foreverwhitebelt/subscribe. Like us on Facebook and TikTok at Forever White Belt, and check us out on Instagram @foreverwhitebeltshow. Go buy your Forever White Belt swag at teespring.com/forever-white-belt.

Links mentioned:

IG - https://www.instagram.com/kyleboehm10p/

10th Planet Oceanside - https://10thplanetoceanside.com/

Today on the show I have the 2022 IBJJF No Gi World Middle and Absolute Champion, Elisabeth Clay.

Elisabeth is a professional jiu-jitsu athlete as well as a black belt under Osvaldo Moizinho (Queixinho) and Samir Chantre, who represents the Ares BJJ Association. A prodigy at the age of 16,  the (then) Alaska-based athlete conquered the ADCC West Coast Trials (2017). Elisabeth continued her rise to the top of the grappling ladder during the years that followed, conquering numerous important titles on the IBJJF amateur circuit while also having successful runs as a professional in events such as Who’s #1, Fight 2 Win, SUBVERSIV, and many more.

Links Mentioned:

IG @elisabethclayBJJ

Ares BJJ Association

Today on the show I have Jay Zeballos. Jay is a 4th degree black belt under the legend, Jean Jacques Machado.

Jay has been a full-time instructor since 2010, he teaches adult and youth classes at the JJM Headquarters in Woodland Hills, CA. Jay has assisted Jean Jacques with developing much of his instructional media, including designing and launching the first online training program for BJJ in 2006, as well as co-authoring two best-selling books (The Grappler's Handbook Vols. 1 & 2). He is also the executive director of Jean Jacques affiliate program and conducts private training, workshops, and seminars domestically and internationally.

Jay has numerous titles in the Black Belt Master Divisions:

- 4x IBJJF American National Champion -

- 2x IBJJF World No Gi Champion -

- 2x Jiu-Jitsu World League Champion -

- 2018 IBJJF American National No Gi Champion -

- 2018 IBJJF Los Angeles International Open Champion -

- 2017 IBJJF Seattle International Open Champion -

- 2015 IBJJF San Francisco International Open Champion -

- 2013 IBJJF Long Beach Fall International Open Champion -

- 2011 All America Champion -

- 2010 North American No Gi Champion -

- 2009 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Champion -

I found Jay to be a dream podcast guest, with his long history in BJJ, he has a wealth of wisdom from which we can all learn a great deal. Jay is a fantastic teacher, extremely technical, and a real master at disseminating information. Besides being an amazing communicator in my opinion Jay's superpower is empathy. It seems to be a root level part of his operation system, something in his core. It really was a tremendous honor to have this conversation with him, there is much to glean for each of you. I hope you love it as much as I did.

Links Mentioned:

Jay's IG: https://www.instagram.com/jayzeballos/

JJM Academy https://jeanjacquesmachado.com/

JJM Online https://www.youtube.com/c/JeanJacquesMachadoOFFICIAL

JJM Podcast https://jeanjacquesmachado.com/podcast/

Please give us a 5-star review on Apple Music and Spotify and share this podcast with a friend it really helps us out. Please leave us feedback and suggestions on how we can improve the show, and Become a VIP member for only .99 a month (yes less than a dollar) and get ad-free episodes at https://anchor.fm/foreverwhitebelt/subscribe. Like us on Facebook and TikTok at Forever White Belt, and check us out on Instagram @foreverwhitebeltshow. Go buy your Forever White Belt swag at teespring.com/forever-white-belt.

Finally, if you ever get to beautiful Northern California please come roll with us at North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Marin County just north of San Francisco, there are amazing instructors, and everyone there is great people. Mention the podcast and get two weeks Free.