The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Scotty Nelson is one of the original gangsters of North American BJJ. From training at the Ralph Gracie Academy back in the day, to training jiu-jitsu in Brazil, to developing one of the first online BJJ technique resources, to his adventures in Pakistan sourcing gi's for On The Mat, Scotty shares some incredible stories with us today!

Grab my app for learning high level BJJ for FREE at https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp

TEDx speaker Brett Piperni joins us on The Strenuous Life Podcast to talk about discipline, decision making, and deliberately putting yourself into situations where you have no options other than going forward.

Brett was a nationally ranked Taekwondo competitor who was diagnosed with an illness that crippled him which specialists told him was incurable. He fought through it, returned to competition, and even managed to medal at a national championship again.

This is a great example of the power of the human mind and how martial arts training can literally save your life.

Find out more about Brett at https://vancitybrett.ca

I'm just getting over an injury that was completely, utterly, absolutely my own fault. The fastest way to stall your BJJ progress is to get injured. It's true that some injuries are unavoidable, but so many of them can be avoided by KEEPING YOUR EGO IN CHECK!

Also, have you downloaded my free BJJ Master App yet? Even if you never buy anything on it you still get more than 457 minutes of completely free instruction including a complete back attacks instructional! https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp

Vanessa Wexler is a BJJ black belt and a multiple no-gi world champion, PanAm champion, and Masters champion. I caught up with her shortly after she won Gold in the Pan Ams competing with a completely destroyed ankle. We talked dealing with injuries, pre-competition visualisation, how running a school does NOT give you unlimited training time, and her modelling career(!).

Knuckle conditioning is a two-edged sword in martial arts. On the one hand hard knuckles and a conditioned fist make for a much more powerful punch in a streetfight and make it less likely you'll break your hand or sprain your wrist. On the other hand it increases the risk of arthritis and non-functional hands as you get older. What should martial artists do?

If you're interested in more information like this then check out the 3 free self defense PDFs I have available at http://selfdefensetutorials.com/get-free-self-defense-tips-by-email/

Monty Collier is a black belt Judoka who worked with Keanu Reeves to get him ready for the amazing fight sequences in the movie John Wick 3 Parabellum. This conversation was a fun one and we started with how Judo has evolved from combat art to Olympic sport, how he taught Keanu highly technical moves, breakfalling on concrete vs mats, and how to fix Judo. Follow Monty's work and see some amazing Judo on Instagram @collierjudomethod

And, as always, please leave a rating or a review for this podcast - it really helps!

Jess Munster was born with a severe brachial plexus injury which left her with only one functional arm. But this disability hasn't stopped her from training BJJ, competing against able-bodied fighters, and travelling the world to compete in para-athletic championships!

In this episode I talk with Jess about what drives her past the limits of her disability, how she modifies her training and her techniques, and her hopes for the future. This is one very inspiring lady!

Follow Jess Munster on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jessmunster_bjj/

Lethwei is an incredibly intense full contact combat sport from Burma that allows punches, kicks, elbows, knees and headbutts. And did I mention that the fighters don't wear gloves and only have a thin layer of gauze over their knuckles?

Today's guest is Patrick Marcil who combined Muay Thai, Sanshou, and JKD in order to coach Dave Leduc to World Openweight Lethwei Champion.

This chat will be hugely interesting for anyone who follows MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, or is interested in real life self defense!

Follow Patrick @sifupatrickmarcil on Instagram or train with him if you're in the Montreal, Canada area - https://gatineau.patenaudemartialarts.com/en/

Tarsis Humphreys is a multiple time BJJ black belt world champion and Brazilian National Champion. In this episode we go DEEP into the mental game, including how to keep a match on your terms, the optimal state of mental arousal for a match, how to avoid overtraining, how Tarsis came back after ACL surgery, mixing weight training and jiu-jitsu training, training with BJJ legend Fabio Gurgel, mental breakthroughs, going to Burning Man, and more!

Follow Tarsis on Instagram (@tarsisbjj)

And check out Fabio Gurgel's Pressure Passing Formula at https://www.grapplearts.com/pressure

Switching to no gi grappling can be difficult. Here are 5 steps that will make it easier... 1) Accept that No Gi is an inherently faster style of grappling and be prepared to push the pace harder at times, 2) Change your grips so that they aren't gi dependent, 3) Get rid of your gi dependent guards and start developing guards that work in no gi, 4) Learn how to take the back, maintain the back and submit from the back because it's the best position in no gi grappling, 5) Develop your leglock and guillotine choke submissions because those are much more prevalent in no gi than in gi.

If you would like some more help developing your gi and no gi games then here are a couple of FREE resources for you...

Grab my free app for iOS and Android devices that comes with more than 457 minutes of technique taught by BJJ black belts. More info here: https://www.grapplearts.com/masterapp

Download a free copy of my book, A Roadmap to BJJ, which will take you through the most important positions and transitions on the ground. Get that here: https://www.grapplearts.com/book

Some of the resources mentioned in todays video include:

Switching from Gi to No Gi (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAcrDrEUnrY

What is Pressure Passing (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebRCtBilm4A

A No Gi Butterfly Guard Gripping Strategy (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-pU8dGeI58

The No Gi de la Riva Guard Formula (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-pU8dGeI58

How to control someone in Rearmount (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA8gVsyu_FU

Hidden Legwork Techniques for Maintaining Rearmount (VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKVqj71dcwQ

The Ultimate Guide to the Guillotine Choke (MEGA ARTICLE) https://www.grapplearts.com/guillotine-choke/

The Modern Leglock Formula (GRAPPLEARTS INSTRUCTIONAL) https://www.grapplearts.com/leglocks

Modern Leglocking Positions {PDF} https://www.grapplearts.com/main-positions-modern-leglocking/

The BJJ Formula, including the Back Control Formula, (GRAPPLEARTS INSTRUCTIONAL) https://www.grapplearts.com/the-bjj-formula/

Good luck with your training Stephan Kesting Grapplearts.com