Open Mat Social Hour

Join us today on a special episode with Karl Sabs!

Karl is a Blue Belt out of Yanagida Studio in Maui, HI. She is an avid competitor and one day when she was prepping for comp, she had a takedown gone wrong that resulted in Grade 3 tears of her ACL, MCL & LCL. Obviously devastated, Karl started on her rehab journey & 6 months of hard work later, she got silver at Asia Open.

In this episode, Karl talks about the ups & downs of recovery, things she learned from the process, & what she should tell others going through something similar.

This is Karl's story.

Enjoy!!

Join us today on a special episode with James Lopez!

James is a brown belt under Isaac Doederlein at Varsity Jiu Jitsu. He is an avid competitor & has been very successful in the Masters scene, taking gold in 2025. He loves jiu jitsu with all his heart, which shattered when he had his first serious knee injury last fall while prepping for No-Gi Worlds.

In this episode we talk about his experience, what happened, lessons from rehab & future plans.

This is James' story.

Enjoy!!

Join us today on a new episode where Kris & Diana answer questions about how to not feel behind in jiu jitsu after injuries, if all knee injuries need surgery & the upcoming big BJJ events!!

Enjoy!

Join us today on a new episode where Kris & Diana discuss the hot topic of the GAP between getting out of pain & ACTUALLY being ready for jiu jitsu. This is something that is often missed & can put jiu jitsu athletes in a pain-injury cycle.

Enjoy!

Join us today on a new episode where Kris & Diana discuss some great questions Diana got on her June Seminar Tour. We thought that these questions were quite unique & wanted to share some thoughts about them.

Enjoy!

Join us today on a special episode with Jimmy Jolliff!

Jimmy is a brown belt who has been training since the early 2000's in everywhere from NYC to North Carolina, and now in LA.

He has a unique passion for the art of jiu jitsu that I haven't encountered often in the community, which is what made it such a fun experiencing working with him.

In this episode, we chat about what jiu jitsu means to Jimmy, why all aging grapplers need a movement practice & our experience together working through his shoulder & hip issues.

Enjoy!!

Join us today on a special episode with Erin Herle!

Erin is a black belt in jiu jitsu, an extremely accomplished athlete, as well as a mental performance coach who works with high level athletes on sharpening their mental flexibility for peak performance.

In this episode, Erin & Diana discuss everything that goes into what Erin does including challenges with clients, the struggles with athletic identity, the importance of self talk, & much much more.

We appreciate Erin for taking so much time to share so much of her expertise in an extremely important sector in the jiu jitsu community.

Enjoy!!

Join us today on a new episode where Kris & Diana answer a question from a client about when the shift changed from stretching to FRC to strengthening in deep ranges, Kris' new gym he started at, & some of our most memorable meals!

Enjoy!

Join us today on a special episode with Brent Simons!!

Brent has been a martial artist for a large majority of his life, and found jiu jitsu a bit more recently. Naturally, he fell in love with it but along the way suffered a nasty knee injury, as well as had to undergo labrum surgery. Not only was this incredibly stressful on his mental & physical health, but his family also got hit really hard during the pandemic. In this episode, Brent shares what made him finally seek out a PT, as well as his recovery journey back to the mats.

This is his story.

Join us today on a new episode where Kris & Diana answer a question from a mutual friend about the reasons why tendinopathy is so common in BJJ & how to recover from it along with some hot goss about an athlete getting popped for PEDs and ADCC West Coast Trials winners!

Enjoy!