The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset

Six weeks out from a fight, a new mandatory MRI found two brain tumors. Professor Tosh Cook, a third-degree black belt under Royce Gracie, tells Pete how that pre-fight physical saved his life, then takes us from the 1993 Black Belt magazine ad for UFC 1 to the Gracie Academy in 1997, Royce's ten-man preparation for the 90-minute Sakuraba fight, a fight on four hours' notice, underground cage fights on nightclub floors, Royler Gracie's "best job in the world," the honest answer instructors owe every student, and his tagline: the first key to winning is not losing.

Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y03MIzXot8U

More at thejiujitsumindset.com

CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 0:37 Welcome: Pete and Professor Tosh Cook 2:08 Fish Swim, Birds Fly 8:50 Ten Opponents 10:57 The Fight Physical 15:25 Four Hours' Notice 18:20 Little Bits of Hell 22:50 The Best Job in the World 28:58 An Honest Answer 34:14 The First Key to Winning

Professor Matt Baker started working at 14 — washing cars in freezing weather, janitorial work at night, bill collecting, bartending, DJing, selling insurance — usually two or three jobs at once. "Where I started and where things ended up is entirely polar opposite." Jiu-jitsu is what changed it.

Now the founder of TruJitsu in Bakersfield, Matt talks with Pete about why he calls jiu-jitsu God's gift to martial arts, how twelve "church boys" training in garages became a gym in 2003, twenty years of driving to the Machado school in Tarzana, and why competition is "a private lesson with reality" — if you lose, you still win. Then he tells the story of the superfight he didn't want to take: seven submission attempts against him, his back taken in front of 500 people, and the shovel pass and choke in the last seconds that became part of the TruJitsu curriculum.

— Links —

The Jiu Jitsu Mindset — https://thejiujitsumindset.com

My Jiu Jitsu Journey app — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-jiu-jitsu-journey/id6751400933

Submission Coffee — https://submissioncoffee.com

Chapters

00:00 Opening: Professor Matt Baker in his own words

00:33 Welcome + Submission Coffee and the My Jiu Jitsu Journey app

01:52 Chapter 1 — Polar Opposite: if jiu-jitsu had never come along

03:07 Janitor, bill collector, bartender, DJ — three jobs at a time

05:40 The cauliflower ears that opened a door

07:25 Chapter 2 — God's Gift to Martial Arts: from kickboxing to grappling

08:51 "Jiu-jitsu is God's gift to martial arts"

10:18 From janitor to special guest at the same company

11:36 Why jiu-jitsu guys just want a burrito

12:43 Striking vs. grappling, and virtuous cycles

14:51 Chapter 3 — Twelve Church Boys: training in garages

17:20 Looking for three signs

19:18 17 mats, positive music, a clean bathroom — the gym opens in 2003

20:43 Chapter 4 — The Drive to Tarzana: a pioneer generation

22:01 Judo, leg locks, and the Machado school

24:14 "Anything's possible if you grind it out"

25:04 Joe Rogan, Eddie Bravo and 10th Planet

26:36 Chapter 5 — No Faking Jiu-Jitsu: learning from teammates and reffing

28:27 Chapter 6 — A Private Lesson With Reality: why compete?

29:24 Why most instructionals don't work on a real person

31:32 Pete's tournament: the highlight reel for his opponent

32:24 Reffing as a way to study

32:54 Chapter 7 — The Superfight: the match he almost didn't take

35:24 "Don't cop out on it": his wife Jill in his corner

36:25 Seven submission attempts — then Daniel takes his back

38:04 The shovel pass, the hex grip and the choke

39:24 A tribute to Daniel Rodriguez

40:12 End of part one

#jiujitsu #bjj #thejiujitsumindset #trujitsu #bakersfield #mindset #martialarts #brazilianjiujitsu #bjjcompetition #jiujitsucommunity

Peter Liciaga grew up a street kid in the South Bronx, where martial arts first became a way to survive. Over the next fifty-six years it became something else entirely — a way to live. In this conversation he and Pete trace a remarkable road: Tang Soo Do, a white belt at 17, ballet and Broadway, Taekwondo in Germany, and finally jiu-jitsu.

Peter also shares the hardest chapter — losing the use of both hips, six dark years off the mats, and the double hip-replacement that brought him back. At 65 he's rolling almost every day and devoting himself to helping people (especially 40 and over) stay strong on the mats. Along the way: "fight a good fight," "you're always in great shape for the shape you're in," and his one lesson — present focus.

Peter is the author of Living Strong Through Martial Arts. Find him at https://peterliciaga.com

— Links —

The Jiu Jitsu Mindset — https://thejiujitsumindset.com

Peter Liciaga (book: Living Strong Through Martial Arts) — https://peterliciaga.com

My Jiu Jitsu Journey app — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-jiu-jitsu-journey/id6751400933

Submission Coffee — https://submissioncoffee.com

Chapters

00:00 Welcome + the Reno camp and the app

01:00 Meet Peter Liciaga

02:04 One road or many? A lifelong martial artist

03:42 A street kid in the South Bronx

05:07 "Martial arts gave me the tools to be a warrior"

05:31 Fight a good fight — survive it, learn from it

05:52 Losing both hips — and getting back on the mats

07:27 The Bronx of the 1970s

10:31 Weapons then and now

12:12 Born of both love and need

13:15 The book, and a white belt at 17

14:04 Ballet, Broadway, and Germany

14:42 "You're not in the Bronx anymore"

15:38 Where the discipline really came from

18:34 Dancer's legs, flow, and Randori

19:56 Old hips vs. new hips

20:37 Six dark years

21:09 Adapting: jiu-jitsu from the bottom

22:57 The teachers who helped him honor his body

25:09 You can roll at 80

28:04 "Don't tell me — show me"

30:56 Giving it your best, at any age

32:37 "Great shape for the shape you're in"

35:31 The hero's journey and the sticky-note map

36:42 "My darkest moments were my greatest lessons"

37:12 The one lesson: present focus

38:45 Where to find Peter + his book

#jiujitsu #bjj #thejiujitsumindset #mindset #martialarts #bjjover40 #hipreplacement #brazilianjiujitsu #grappling #resilience

Professor Elan Walshe thought he had life figured out — a driven career, a beautiful family, and a lifetime of competitive sport, from college football and high-level rugby to sponsored cycling. Then he brought his sons to Gracie Barra San Clemente, watched from the sidelines, and finally stepped on the mat at 37. "I had no idea how off course I was."

Now a black belt and the owner of Gracie Barra Costa Mesa, Elan talks with Pete about what jiu-jitsu did to his ego, the teacher whose example still guides him, why he cares more about bettering lives than winning medals, and the time he offered a training partner's whole family a place to stay during a government shutdown — and what he learned years later at that friend's black belt ceremony. He also remembers Eric Von Frohlich, the brown belt who trained through Parkinson's, and explains the superhero name he'd give himself: the thoughtful gorilla.

— Links —

The Jiu Jitsu Mindset — https://thejiujitsumindset.com

Gracie Barra Costa Mesa — https://gbcostamesa.com

My Jiu Jitsu Journey app — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-jiu-jitsu-journey/id6751400933

Submission Coffee — https://submissioncoffee.com

Chapters

00:00 Welcome + the Submission Coffee camp and the app

00:58 Meet Professor Elan Walshe

01:16 If jiu-jitsu never came along

02:35 Cycling, rugby and two years on the sideline

03:03 "I had no idea how off course I was"

04:43 When does the self-reflection kick in?

06:57 What opened him up: family at Gracie Barra San Clemente

07:58 Submit to the process — enjoy the ride

09:31 White belt mistakes: the mats don't lie

11:01 Starting late and a different kind of doing your best

12:25 The teacher: Professor Felipe Guedes

14:17 "Would Felipe be proud of me?"

14:51 Bonds you can't build anywhere else

16:43 Rugby vs. jiu-jitsu: you can't hide

17:35 Horses, healing, and what happens up close

19:57 Being a good training partner

21:33 Every roll is a gift both ways

22:12 The role of competition in a community

24:32 Better lives over medals

27:08 His one tournament: "I won — and didn't feel proud"

29:14 The rolls you never forget

31:11 Marines from Camp Pendleton

32:40 Day one: Felipe floats him like a magic show

34:09 The FBI friend and the government shutdown

35:53 At the black belt ceremony: "Be that person"

37:55 Echoes that last a lifetime

41:05 The kids are always watching

42:16 The teacher is the first medicine

44:24 Remembering Eric Von Frohlich

47:48 Gratitude: there's always someone carrying more

49:52 480 months left

50:45 The Thoughtful Gorilla

51:48 Feed the good dog

52:30 Keep telling these stories

#jiujitsu #bjj #thejiujitsumindset #graciebarra #mindset #martialarts #brazilianjiujitsu #bjjblackbelt #jiujitsucommunity #ego

Professor Heidi Garwood is a clinical social worker and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who built her gym around women and kids. In this conversation, she and Pete dig into the mental side of the mats: your three-part brain — thinking, emotional, and survival — and how jiu-jitsu trains you to find your way back to your thinking brain when the pressure hits.

Heidi shares the breath and grounding tools she borrows from her trauma work, why competition keeps you from getting too comfortable, and the doctor's wake-up call that started it all ("it's not enough"). She also tells the story of a match she'll never forget — a quiet, controlled loss to Roxanne Modafferi at Master's Worlds — and the transformation she watched jiu-jitsu bring to her oldest daughter, now her gym's head instructor.

Heidi started jiu-jitsu in rural Montana, trained a full year in women's-only classes, earned her black belt, and now owns and runs Carlson Gracie Green Valley in Henderson, Nevada.

— Links —

The Jiu Jitsu Mindset — https://thejiujitsumindset.com

My Jiu Jitsu Journey app — available on iOS and Android

Submission Coffee — https://submissioncoffee.com

Chapters

00:00 Intro — the app, the coffee, and today's guest

01:43 How Heidi started: the doctor who said "it's not enough"

03:20 "Mom, it's not that easy" — training as a busy mom

05:29 The blue belt that made quitting impossible

06:44 Your three brains: thinking, emotional, survival

07:57 The spazzy white belt and a panic in Denver

10:16 Survival brain vs. thinking brain

11:06 Breath and grounding: tools from the trauma world

12:28 Educated instincts — social work meets the mats

13:55 Interoception and exteroception

15:50 The teacher who connected it all

16:22 Women's classes and "anybody can do anything for 10 seconds"

19:45 The role of competition

23:36 Boise: having to beat her own sister

26:15 Master's Worlds and Roxanne Modafferi

29:02 Elegant vs. frantic jiu-jitsu

31:33 Watching jiu-jitsu transform her daughter

36:00 Stones in the pond (and a word from Pedro Sauer)

37:33 Superhero names from the ladies' chat

39:01 Wrapping up

Pete Deeley sits down with Professor Ryan Brock of Impact Jiu Jitsu in Hood River, Oregon — a coach who says, plainly, that without jiu-jitsu he'd be dead or in jail. They talk about the tough-love mentor he hated and later thanked, why competition is "pick your own poison" and where the art gets a little culty, the night breaking up a fight taught him what he'd really built, and the anxious kid who went from high-school dropout to a college degree and wrote his class essay about the gym. A conversation about mentorship, community, and the quiet ways coaching echoes through a life.

☕ Submission Coffee: https://submissioncoffee.com

📱 My Jiu Jitsu Journey app — on the App Store

Train with Ryan: Impact Jiu Jitsu — Hood River, OR

Follow: @jiujitsumindset

Chapters

00:00 Welcome — Submission Coffee wholesale and the My Jiu Jitsu Journey app

00:50 Meeting Ryan; the James Driskill connection

01:31 "Dead or in jail if it wasn't for jiu-jitsu"

02:27 A gradual pivot — and the first coach who became a mentor

03:34 Tough love: the coach who told him the hard truth

05:24 "I hated him" — and the apology years later

07:34 Good cop / bad cop: the two coaches who kept him in

09:00 Getting ragdolled by a 15-year-old — "a hole I need to fill"

10:57 Is competition necessary? Pick your own poison

11:52 Where jiu-jitsu gets "a little culty"

13:00 Competing late, and inoculating yourself to stress

14:21 The most memorable moment — breaking up a fight at the port

16:54 "Take it outside" — and the man who just needed a hug

19:23 The anxious kid who got his GED, a degree, and wrote about the gym

21:29 Coaches as surrogate parents

22:29 Where to find him: Impact Jiu Jitsu, Hood River, OR

Get the social media app just for Jiu Jitsu! Download My Jiu Jitsu Journey in the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-jiu-jitsu-journey/id6751400933

Subscribe to Submission Coffee or purchase your Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable tee shirt here: https://thejiujitsumindset.com/

If you've found this video, you're probably looking for more information on:

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Robson Moura interview

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Robert Drysdale interview

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Pedro Sauer interview

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Mark Schultz interview

• The Jiu Jitsu Mindset Todd Fox interview

• The Jiu Jitsu Mindset Reggie Almeida interview

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu podcast

• BJJ jiu jitsu, BJJ podcast

• Combat sports, grappling, mixed martial arts, self-defense, MMA and UFC

Pete Deeley sits down with Professor Steve Ficca of Odin's Halls BJJ in Las Vegas — a coach who found jiu-jitsu after boxing gyms and shuttered wrestling schools and never looked back. They talk about the first thing that never bored him, using the art to drive across the country and see the world, why competition is a tool for growth rather than a paycheck, and the lessons he wants every kid to carry off the mat. Along the way: why the losses teach more than the wins, the difference between being tough and being strong, and the perseverance that keeps him going through every injury.

☕ Submission Coffee: https://submissioncoffee.com

My Jiu Jitsu Journey app — on the App Store

Follow: @jiujitsumindset

Chapters

00:00 Welcome — Submission Coffee and the My Jiu Jitsu Journey app

01:00 If martial arts had never come into his life

02:16 "The first thing in my life that never bored me"

04:42 From Kung Fu flicks to a boxing gym in the hood

05:46 Judo, wrestling, and finding jiu-jitsu — the most user-friendly martial art

06:39 The teachers who shaped him; a gym where everyone is good

08:16 Tammy Grego, hitchhiking home, and using jiu-jitsu to see the world

09:42 Competition's real role — a tool for growth, not a paycheck

11:38 Everybody should compete once: the lessons of a fight without the danger

13:40 "May all your hardest struggles be on the mat"

14:14 Kids, stoppages, and learning that life isn't fair

15:47 Why the losses are the real teacher

19:01 Knee injuries, and moving from competing to coaching

20:23 The hard-headed 10-year-old who became his best kid

23:54 Coaches as surrogate parents; the moments kids carry forever

30:36 Tough vs. strong — and the Iron Man mindset

32:50 What he hopes people learn: hard work, and pushing through

33:35 Closing

Get the social media app just for Jiu Jitsu! Download My Jiu Jitsu Journey in the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-jiu-jitsu-journey/id6751400933

Subscribe to Submission Coffee or purchase your Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable tee shirt here: https://thejiujitsumindset.com/

If you've found this video, you're probably looking for more information on:

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Robson Moura interview

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Robert Drysdale interview

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Pedro Sauer interview

• The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Mark Schultz interview

• The Jiu Jitsu Mindset Todd Fox interview

• The Jiu Jitsu Mindset Reggie Almeida interview

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu podcast

• BJJ jiu jitsu, BJJ podcast

• Combat sports, grappling, mixed martial arts, self-defense, MMA and UFC

Founder of Budokon Cameron Shayne joins Pete Deeley for a deep conversation on the warrior's mind: why a warrior is not an athlete, why the body only grows from stress, how the self-talk of aging quietly holds us back, and how to judge the source of any advice you're given. A masterclass in the mindset underneath the movement.

Watch the full video on YouTube: [YouTube link] Submission Coffee: https://submissioncoffee.com · My Jiu Jitsu Journey app on the App Store Follow: @jiujitsumindset

IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 Warrior vs. athlete: what martial arts really shapes 10:08 The hero's journey and "make yourself a great person" 24:05 Untangling the body like a junk drawer 31:11 A late black belt, and training with the best in the world 38:30 Learning what you didn't know you didn't know 51:38 The body grows from stress 58:54 Don't talk yourself old 67:41 Be critical about the source of your advice 70:47 Rich vs. happy: knowledge vs. wisdom

#jiujitsu #bjj #mindset #budokon

Professor Eli Knight returns to The Jiu Jitsu Mindset, and this time we build the conversation around the hero's journey — the call, the crisis, the near-quit, the mentor, and the message he'd leave behind.

Eli is a Royce Gracie black belt and one of the clearest thinkers working in self-defense jiu-jitsu. He talks here about the loss that pushed him into a taekwondo class as a teenager, the cousin who went to jail while he went to martial arts, the year his daughter was born and he nearly walked away from all of it, and why he still isn't sure who he would be without jiu-jitsu.

He also gives one of the best answers we have had on what the art is actually for: "Jiu-jitsu to me is the serenity prayer. It teaches you how to accept things you can't change, how to change things you can, and how to know the difference." And then, at the very end, he takes the whole thing apart again with a bar of soap.

CONNECT WITH PROFESSOR ELI KNIGHT

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KnightJiuJitsu

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knight_jiu_jitsu_

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@knightjiujitsu

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KnightJiuJitsu

Instructionals: https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/eli-knight

THE JIU JITSU MINDSET

Website: https://thejiujitsumindset.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJiuJitsuMindset

X: https://x.com/jiujitsumindset

Find a school near you: https://thejiujitsumindset.com/pages/jiu-jitsu-schools-near-you

SUPPORTING THE SHOW

Submission Coffee — https://submissioncoffee.com (still not a performance-enhancing drug)

My Jiu Jitsu Journey — free to try on the App Store and Google Play

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome back — year five of the podcast

00:29 Submission Coffee and the My Jiu Jitsu Journey app

01:25 Professor Eli Knight returns: the hero's journey

03:35 Crisis, loss, and the class that caught him

05:28 The soft kid who learned to face chaos

08:45 Zen, Daoism, and what religion didn't give him

10:03 "He went to jail, I went to martial arts"

11:17 It doesn't make you a good person — it reveals you

12:21 Pete's story: six years old outside Macy's

14:48 The year he almost walked away

18:42 The leap of faith into a martial arts career

20:10 "I'm not 100% sure who I am without jiu-jitsu"

22:19 The mentor: "you're off in the woods looking for Yoda"

25:35 Coaching with real care — Fit to Fight and Ryan Hoover

27:05 Instructor vs. coach: knowing what you are

30:36 When the fighter is already redlining

33:21 Technique vs. principle is a false choice

34:57 What he'd want people to take away

36:56 Jiu-jitsu is the serenity prayer

38:57 The bar of soap

#jiujitsu #bjj #brazilianjiujitsu #selfdefense #eliknight #martialarts #thejiujitsumindset

Host Pete Deeley talks with Professor Chris about preserving Gracie Jiu-Jitsu—specifically Rickson Gracie's interpretation focused on practical self-defense, common-sense solutions to common attacks, and "invisible jiu-jitsu" principles like connection, base, timing, and control rather than strength or athleticism. Chris explains how self-defense knowledge has been diluted by sport-focused training, why losing this curriculum forces people to "reinvent the wheel," and how he was injured after seeking self-defense but ending up in a sport school. He describes building Rickson Gracie United as a structured, global curriculum with tiers and affiliate academies, adding stress and live sparring, and keeping sport and self-defense unified while making training accessible for beginners, kids, and non-competitors. The conversation also touches on Rickson's character, honesty, boundaries, and how jiu-jitsu teaches realistic self-assessment.

00:00 Welcome and Updates

01:07 Movie References Warmup

03:07 Why Preserve Gracie Jiu Jitsu

08:23 Invisible Jiu Jitsu Basics

09:49 Hickson Gracie Unite Launch

11:05 Making Self Defense Accessible

14:06 What Gets Lost Without It

15:17 Personal Story and Injuries

17:39 Jiu Jitsu Telephone Effect

21:04 Sport Growth and Realism

23:32 Sport and Self Defense Unity

30:52 Who Self Defense Is For

32:18 Training Is Not Fighting

33:08 Trauma Empathy On Mats

34:00 Why Rickson Matters

36:27 Good Person Boundaries

38:13 Honesty Ocean Metaphor

42:55 Teaching Kids Through Play

44:51 Belts Competition Context

46:49 Confidence For Daughters

49:28 Internet Backlash Tribalism

52:52 Open Hand Learning

55:24 Lose To Learn Timing

58:16 Preserving Hickson Legacy

01:00:38 Mats Are Contextual

01:01:57 RGU Links And Farewell