Steve Mocco was one of the most dominant high school wrestlers in recent history as well as an NCAA champion and US Olympian. He wrestled for the top 2 college wrestling teams in the country. He talks about his career and wrestling for MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* Growing up in a wrestling family

* Learning from Coach Dave Schultz as a kid

* His strong work ethic and naturally aggressive attitude from the day he stepped on the mat

* The family tragedy that molded him as a competitor

* The importance of dealing with pressure as a combat athlete

* Why he made every match personal and how it helped him

* The importance of being “coachable”

* How to deal with people who are less than coachable as a coach

* Healthy doses of aggression in your game

* Has modern society discouraged aggression in kids?

* The hardest part of Wrestling

* The difficulty of keeping teens invested in Wrestling

* Nature vs Nurture in Wrestling

* Why you should be drilling

* Keeping class fun for kids

* His high school career

* The high school to college jump

* The selection process of D-1 Wrestling

* The Judo influence in his game

* His controversial decision to switch from University of Iowa to their fierce rival Oklahoma State

* The cultural differences between Iowa and Oklahoma

* The backlash in Iowa when he switched teams

* Winning the NCAA title

* The struggle of college athletes

* Rivalries in Wrestling

* Training on the Olympic team compared to D-1 teams

* His Olympic experience

* Stylistic match ups in the Olympics based on regions

* How American Wrestling has the edge over styles of other regions

* His MMA career

* Working with Master Ricardo Liborio

* Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu

* His role as President of Florida USA Wrestling

* His summer camps for kids

[powerpress]

Legendary Sumo champion and the first non-Japanese to become a Yokozuna (Sumo Grand Champion). Akebono gives a full education on the history, culture and sport of Sumo. He also discusses his MMA debut against Royce Gracie and highlights from his long career. Click “Read More” for show notes! 

SHOW NOTES:

* Growing up in Hawaii

* How youth athletics lead him to a healthy and successful life

* Being recruited into Sumo out of high school

* Moving to Japan / Culture shock

* Tips for visiting Japan

* Sumo in modern times

* Japans meritocracy based culture

* Adapting to the Sumo and Japanese culture as a foreigner

* The rules of Sumo explained

* Princes of Sumo

* Sumo’s ranking system / How to progress in rank

* Becoming part of a stable (Sumo team)

* The culture within a stable

* “Senpai” – A stable’s enforcement and hierarchy system

* The challenge of not speaking Japanese while training

* Ryan gets his first lesson in “Pigeon English”, Hawaii’s native slang language

* The daily regimen of a Sumo wrestler

* In-ring rituals

* The younger Japanese generation’s outlook on Sumo traditions

* The strict rules of the Sumo Association

* The celebrity and respect Sumo wrestlers receive from the general public in Japan

* Sumo retirement ceremonies

* A technical breakdown of the fundamental techniques of Sumo

* Techniques and concepts that advanced Sumo wrestlers develop over time

* His match against Mainoumi in 1991 and why it made him re-think his entire Sumo game

* Link to that match HERE – (Akebono in black)

* Becoming the first non-Japanese Yokozuna in 1993

* His retirement

* Injuries from his career

* Post-Sumo athletic career / K-1 , MMA and Pro Wrestling

* His debut MMA fight against Royce Gracie

[powerpress]

The first American black belt under Grandmaster Relson Gracie, the first American certified to teach Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the first American to teach Kettle Bell classes in the US.  Professor Maxwell is a true American BJJ pioneer and lends insight on fitness, self defense and longevity in Jiu-Jitsu. Click “Read More” for show notes!  

SHOW NOTES:

* His recent trip to Australia / the BJJ scene there

* Being bullied as a kid

* Discovering Wrestling

* Earning his Masters Degree in Exercise Science

* Entering the fitness business

* Discovering Jiu-Jitsu through the Gracies In Action VHS tapes

* His gym in Philadelphia “Maxercise Fitness”, the first BJJ school on the east coast

* Traveling to Torrance, CA to train with the Gracies and the Machados

* Tensions in the Gracie garage

* Self defense

* His time spent with Grandmaster Helio

* Jiu-Jitsu vs other styles / Jiu-Jitsu vs Jiu-Jitsu

* The initial intent behind the UFC

* Gracie Jiu-Jitsu weapons defenses

* Sport Jiu-Jitsu on the streets

* Surviving a fight vs wining a fight

* Longevity in Jiu-Jitsu / Training smart

* Training concepts for older guys

* Fitness in Jiu-Jitsu / Recreation vs Exercise

* Specific Strength Training for Jiu-Jitsu

* Kettle Bell training

* The importance of ego management, especially with age

* Diet, food combining, The Gracie Diet

* Why he will never go to a modern Western doctor / The problems with the pharmaceutical industry

* The benefits of periodic fasting

* The one difference between his diet and the Gracie Diet

* A diet secret to make fat “come flying off you”

* His Pan American and World Champion son, Zack Maxwell / Teaching his son Jiu-Jitsu.

* “Jiu-Jitsu Dads” / How to not ruin Jiu-Jitsu for your kids

[powerpress]

A 5th degree BJJ Black Belt under Carlson Gracie lineage, Professor “Brutus” Silveira joins the show to talk about old school Jiu-Jitsu, his opinions on modern BJJ and Jiu-Jitsu’s role as a vehicle to escape life’s problems. Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* His intro to Jiu-Jitsu

* The importance of training both Gi and No-Gi

* Master Carlson Gracie

* Vale Tudo events in Brazil / The legendary Maracana stadium in Rio

* The Luta Livre vs BJJ rivalry

* The origin of his nickname

* Slams in competition

* A breakdown of his game

* His opinion of the direction of modern Jiu-Jitsu

* Looking for points vs looking for submissions

* His opinion of the leg lock craze in BJJ

* Criticism Carlson Gracie received from other members of the family

* His black belt promotion

* The common issue of feeling unworthy of a black belt

* The meaning of a black belt

* Trusting in your instructor

* What he looks for in a student before promoting them to black belt

* The importance of conducting yourself in a way that reflects well on your academy and your instructor

* Having patience with difficult training partners and students to help make them better people

* Giving others the benefit of the doubt

* Jiu-Jitsu as a vehicle to escape life’s problems

* His move to the US in the 80’s / Washing dishes for a living

* His early days teaching BJJ in the US

* The difference between training in the US vs training in Brazil

* His new academy

[powerpress]

A member of “The Dirty Dozen” and the first Australian BJJ Black Belt, Professor John Will shares his interesting life story and gives insight on the history of Grappling, the Australian BJJ scene and his approach to teaching police and military. Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* His eclectic beginnings in Martial Arts

* Forming Blitz Magazine in the mid 80’s

* How running the magazine helped fund his international travels to train

* His exposure to India’s ancient Grappling style “Vajra Mushti”

* Grappling’s earliest historical records

* Traveling to learn Martial Arts

* The misinformation of the internet

* The confusion of American politics from the eyes of an Aussie

* His introduction to BJJ

* Brazil in the 90’s

* Befriending Rigan Machado, but not realizing at the time how big of a deal he was

* His approach to teaching Police and Military

* The Las Vegas Cop video – CLICK HERE TO WATCH

* What makes a good instructor

* Why you shouldn’t focus on “building a game” before Blue Belt

* Categorizing your game in an organized manner

* The “Rats’s Head and Ox’s Neck” concept

* The evolution of Jiu-Jitsu

* “Learning up” vs “Trickle Down Learning”

* The Australian BJJ scene

* Learning from mistakes / The importance of training smart

* His advice to maximize your growth in Jiu-Jitsu

* His Youtube Channel – CLICK HERE

[powerpress]

UFC veteran and BJJ Black Belt Din Thomas joins the show to talk about his long MMA career, the never ending pursuit of perfect Jiu-Jitsu and his current role as a coach of some of modern MMA’s elite fighters at American Top Team! Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* Fighters he is currently prepping for fights

* His life before Martial Arts / Why team sports weren’t for him

* Getting bullied as a kid

* The rapid evolution of fighting in the last 15 years

* Technology’s role in the evolution of Martial Arts

* How a brush with the law changed his life’s path to become a martial artist

* His early MMA career

* The never ending pursuit of perfect Jiu-Jitsu

* His interest in learning self defense / Sparring for haircuts

* Jiu-Jitsu being the great equalizer for smaller people

* “Getting Lucky” in striking VS “Getting Lucky” in Grappling

* A reason why many people quit Jiu-Jitsu

* How the appeal of knockouts among fans has changed the structure of MMA

* The importance of a well rounded game

* Jiu-Jitsu’s effectiveness in no time limit situations

* Learning from Master Ricardo Liborio

* His decision to pursue MMA as a career

* Shootfighting in the 90’s

* His quick transition from smaller shows to the UFC

* His UFC debut against BJ Penn

* The mental preparation of fighting

* His defining career moment

* The decision to retire

* Becoming a stand up and improv comedian

* Coaching the new generation of fighters

* Future plans

[powerpress]

Chuck Rylant is a BJJ purple belt and former police officer who now teaches Jiu-Jitsu to police officers throughout California. He began his training with the Gracies in the “Gracie Garage Days”. He is also an author and blogger. Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* How being a police officer lead him to Jiu-Jitsu in the 90’s

* Training with the Gracies in the “Garage Days” in Torrance, CA

* Learning from Royce Gracie

* Eventually learning from Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller and Lance Glynn

* The Mario Sperry tapes

* The early days of Paragon Jiu-Jitsu

* Teaching Jiu-Jitsu to Police / Excessive force laws

* The lack of effective hand to hand training Police officers are receiving across the U.S.

* Does poor Police self defense training = Increased number of shootings?

* Dealing with ego issues and poor confidence when teaching

* Fundamental techniques for Police

* Addressing the reality that criminals are comfortable with a life of violence while most Police officers are not

* Similarities between bouncing/security and police work

* Placing cadets under pressure and instilling the desire to train

* A comparison between international “militarized” police and U.S. Police

* Police Jiu-Jitsu success stories from the street

* Keeping a cool head when dealing with an altercation

* The biggest differences in Jiu-Jitsu between the early 90’s and now

* Chuck’s Book

* Jiu-Jitsu being his life’s constant

* Jiu-Jitsu being the most honest thing in his life

* The therapeutic benefits of Jiu-Jitsu

* Lessons he has learned from interviewing Black Belts for his book

* His greatest life lesson from Jiu-Jitsu

[powerpress]

Professor Miller is a very successful academy owner who specializes in teaching youth Jiu-Jitsu. He gives insight on what makes an academy a success and the keys to teaching kids. Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* His intro to Martial Arts and Jiu-Jitsu

* The early Seattle Martial Arts scene

* Owning an academy for over 20 years

* His unique approach to teaching kids

* The trend of parents getting away from striking arts and putting kids into grappling

* The competition of Karate and Tae Kwon Do kids programs

* The level of kids Jiu-Jitsu today

* The importance of a nurturing environment for young minds

* Converting kids from a sedentary lifestyle to an active lifestyle

* The “Teaching on Command” theory

* Advice for future academy owners

* The misconception that a decorated champion = a great teacher

* Sales points to attract parents to bring their kids to BJJ

* Keys points to keep in mind when teaching kids

* Maintaining the short attention spans of kids

* Strategically transferring information to young students

* Instilling respect in kids

* The importance of introductory lessons

* The changes kids go through when starting BJJ

* Kids tournaments

* His academy’s student code of conduct and parent code of conduct at tournaments

* Learning to cope with losing

* Complimenting kids in a productive manner

[powerpress]

We are joined once again by our good friend Ricardo Liborio! We catch up with him and talk about his experience working with Team USA at the Olympics in Rio, His upcoming ADCC Superfight against Chael Sonnen and he makes an exclusive announcement about a new program he is unveiling! Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* His recent move to Orlando

* His exclusive announcement about his new program he is unveiling

* His time spent in Rio at the 2016 Olympics with Team USA

* Ryan’s upcoming move to Brazil

* Jiu-Jitsu in the 80’s and 90’s in Brazil

* The Submission Only movement

* Appealing Jiu-Jitsu to a mainstream audience / EBI

* The life of a modern MMA fighter / Drawbacks of being a full time fighter

*  Being marketable in MMA / Conor McGregor

* His upcoming ADCC Superfight against Chael Sonnen

* His motivation to compete

* Steve Mocco

* Advice for older people starting Jiu-Jitsu

[powerpress]

The man behind our longest running sponsor Leao Optics joins the program to talk about the business side of Jiu-Jitsu! This is a great episode for anyone who has aspirations to be a BJJ entrepreneur. We talk about how he got into BJJ, the formation of his brand and advice for entrepreneurs!  Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

* Mourning the loss of the San Diego Chargers

* His start in Jiu-Jitsu / Transitioning from Boxing

* Training with Eduardo Telles

* Starting Leao Optics

* The importance of being unique with your brand

* Selling your product in person vs selling online

* Leao Optics’s unique design

* Customer service is critical / Going beyond expectations

* Giving back to the BJJ community

* The struggles of being a one man show

* The best part about supplying a product to the BJJ community

* His second passion for photography

* The diversity of the BJJ community

* Dealing with copycats

* The excitement of seeing respected members of the community rocking your brand

* Advice for future BJJ entrepreneurs

* Helvecio Pena:  The Ambassador for old Jiu-Jitsu dudes

[powerpress]