The Chewjitsu Podcast

Chewy and Eugene discuss the 2022 No-Gi Worlds, Chewy winning the Master 2 No-Gi Worlds, and also game planning for tournaments. We discuss IBJJF rules and our thoughts on purple belts doing heel hooks in competition, injuries in competition, tapping early, dealing with haters on the internet, Chewy's training schedule and tournament prep, the value of having good training partners, getting back i...

On this episode, Chewy discusses his diet, how eating the right foods, and how "meal timing" can help with performance on the mats. We also chat about macronutrients and how needs   fluctuate based on your activity, when to eat fats, how not eating too long before training will impact your performance, what to eat before training and what to eat when not training, how to use your food to help reco...

On this episode of the podcast, Chewy and Eugene discuss why you should chase abilities and not belts, and why you should focus on your development not the destination. We discuss why focusing only on goals can result in "fulfillment fatigue," why the magic isn't in the things you achieve, but the process and who you become when you achieve them. We also chat about what to do after you experience...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene are joined by 10th Jiu-Jitsu Planet Black Belt and the head coach and owner of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu - Las Vegas, Casey Halstead. Casey discusses his start in Jiu-Jitsu, how Jiu-Jitsu impacted his life after getting out of a difficult relationship, starting Jiu-Jitsu at an old-school gym that was against cross-training and the process of changing to a 10th Planet...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene discuss how to build your confidence on the Jiu-Jitsu mats and in life. We discuss building confidence through exposure and how to build confidence when coming back to Jiu-Jitsu after an injury. We also discuss why your rank in Jiu-Jitsu is meaningful, why you should put yourself into uncomfortable and uncertain situations, the most important thing for building co...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene discuss if BJJ is becoming more dangerous because people aren't giving their opponents enough time to tap. We discuss the unwritten rule in training about not ripping submissions, thoughts on whether you should aggressively finish submissions in competition, the contrast of going for submissions in Judo, and if there is any way to decrease injuries in competition....

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene discuss some ideas around a   quote from the author Thomas Sowell, "There are no solutions, just trade-offs," and how this thinking applies to Jiu-Jitsu and also to life. We discuss why you shouldn't push yourself too hard when you first start training, using a reward system when starting a task, the importance of keeping Jiu-Jitsu fun early on, why life is a poor...

On this episode of the podcast, Chewy discusses techniques that were seen as low percentage that have become high percentage effective techniques. We chat about specific techniques that were seen as low percentage and have become high percentage, why it's important to have an open mind and experiment with BJJ techniques, why we can be considered "creatures of self-esteem," how Chewy evolves his te...

Chewy and Eugene are joined by BJJ black belt and the 2022 ADCC 88 kg World Champion Giancarlo Bodoni. Giancarlo joins the show to discusses his preferred rule sets for grappling, starting BJJ primarily as a Gi practitioner and then transitioning to primarily training No-Gi. Giancarlo also talks about starting BJJ at 12 years old, what was unique about BJJ compared to other martial arts, the story...

Chewy and Eugene chat with BJJ legend Andre "Dedeco" Almeida. Dedeco is a 6th degree BJJ black belt under Ricardo Liborio. On this episode, Dedeco discusses owning and running a gym, the right way to open a Jiu-Jitsu gym, how Dedeco started teaching, how teaching improves your Jiu-Jitsu, the biggest mistake people make when opening a BJJ school, what makes a BJJ technique "right" or "wrong," Dedec...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene discuss the video of a 140 lb. teenage BJJ blue belt getting slammed by a 265 lb. purple belt during training. Chewy gives advice on how to roll with someone that a you don't know, how the rules engagement in BJJ dictate your reaction and perception of the type of training, whether you can prevent getting slammed in training, why a BJJ belt does and doesn't matter...

On this episode of the podcast, we chat with Rob, who runs the popular Instagram and YouTube channel McDojoLife , where he exposes fraudulent martial artists. We are also joined by Matt Wahlstrom, a BJJ black belt and owner of Epic Roll BJJ apparel company. Rob and Matt discuss what it was like attending ADCC 2022 in Las Vegas, the popularity of Jiu-Jitsu and what can help grow the sport more, how...

Chewy and Eugene recap the events of the 2022 ADCC championships including what it was like attending this event. We chat about some of our favorite experiences and matches, what made this ADCC different from the others, the style of match that we thought was most enjoyable to watch, rule changes that could make the matches more enjoyable to watch and more exciting, thoughts on the "no points" por...

On this episode, we discuss why you should keep your training private. We chat about why you shouldn't record your training sessions or post them on social media, the need for students to experiment and how a recorded roll can change the feel of a training session, the importance of not "talking and tapping," why Chewy decided to stop recording his rolls, w hat to do when someone asks to record yo...

Alexey Cruz is a 6th degree BJJ black belt and the head coach of Alexey Cruz BJJ. Alexey shares his start in Jiu-Jitsu, what it was like training at Ricardo De Le Riva's gym, the p ros and cons of training in the early days of Jiu-Jitsu, Alexey's worst BJJ injuries, which submissions Alexey dislikes in training, which techniques were ok back in the day but aren't allowed in training today, how the...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene discuss who would win in a fight between a self-defense Jiu-Jitsu practitioner (who doesn't do any live sparring and just focuses on techniques), against a high-level sport Jiu-Jitsu competitor. We also discuss the importance of live rolling, whether Sport Jiu-Jitsu techniques can be effective for self-defense, which BJJ techniques and positions are best for self-...

On this episode of The Chewjitsu Podcast, we discuss the idea of why wisdom doesn't come cheap. We chat about the challenges of Jiu-Jitsu, including the willingness required to go through the struggles physically and emotionally. We also chat about the monetary toll that Jiu-Jitsu can take, why wisdom is tough to gain and can be expensive, how being good at a difficult task is meaningful, and usin...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene discuss their thoughts on no time limit Jiu-Jitsu matches We discuss strategy for no time limit matches, how this style of ruleset impacts viewership, if this rule set is a true test of finding the best practitioner, how to make no time limit matches more exciting, and our thoughts on the trash talk around the Ryan vs. Pena "Who's Number One" match. Thanks to the...

Mason Fowler is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Caio Terra, ADCC Trials winner, and the champion of the Submission Underground promotion. On this episode, Mason discusses what changed from the 2019 ADCC Trials win to the 2021 ADCC trials win, when he started training and how he transitioned to training from MMA to training for BJJ exclusively, what makes someone ultra successful in competition, his t...

Chewy and Eugene go live for Episode 219 of The Chewjitsu Podcast. On this episode, Chewy and Eugene chat about video games, and how your Jiu-Jitsu style can be similar to how you play video games. Chewy and Eugene also discuss how to keep new BJJ students, learning styles, how to change conditions for victory, the secrets to getting better at Jiu-Jitsu, "tapping and talking," how your belt rank c...

Keith Krikorian is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt and the 2022 ADCC 66 kg West Coast Trials winner. On this episode, Keith discusses dealing with a concussion and his recovery, ADCC preparation, some of his struggles with injuries, strategy changes and adjustments between ADCC Trials and Worlds, the differences in preparation and training leading into the ADCC West Coast Trials, how competing less frequen...

On this episode, Chewy and Eugene chat with former MMA fighter, UFC veteran, and BJJ black belt Javier Vazquez. Javier discusses his start in wrestling, how he discovered the UFC, his objectives for training and fighting in MMA, what it was like training BJJ in the late 1990's, the most effective Jiu-Jitsu for MMA, how rule changes in MMA can change how Jiu-Jitsu is used, Javier's first MMA fight...

On this episode of the podcast, Chewy and Eugene discuss why the idea of "just showing up" is wrong. We chat about why showing up is important, but just showing up doesn't necessarily translate to improvement and certainly not being good at BJJ. We also discuss one of the things that will waste the most time and get you mediocre results, what to do to be the best possible grappler you can be, a ve...

Nick is a 12 year Special Operations Marine Corps veteran with Marine Reconnaissance and Marine Special Operations Command, CEO of Alexander Industries, an author, he runs a popular YouTube channel and podcast, and is a Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt. On this episode, we discuss how closely the Jiu-Jitsu community is connected, why Nick started Jiu-Jitsu, why growth happens on the fringe, why Nick finds it e...

On this best of episode of The Chewjitsu Podcast, we go through some of the best moments of the podcast so far. Here are the clips from this episode: How An Illness Changed The Course Of Ramsey's Life (Ep. 143) Chewy's Expectations For Each BJJ Belt (Ep. 95) The Mindset To Complete Any Task W/ Former Navy Seal Andy Stumpf (Ep. 141) How To Stay Consistent In BJJ (Ep. 85) The Most Effective Self-Def...