BJJ and Brews

Alec Baulding joins the podcast over the phone for a one hour conversation.  Alec is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and competes in gi and no-gi events around the world. One of his noteworthy achievements was winning the 2018 ADCC East Coast Trials to qualify and compete in the ADCC championships in 2019. In addition, Alec also coaches jiu-jitsu and regularly publishes new instructional videos acr...

Fellow Tribe member, Nick Benincasa, joins Chris and Noah for most of the podcast. After explaining his introduction to martial arts and ATT Orlando, Nick talks about his growth in Jiu-Jitsu and his mentality towards training. Then, they all discuss a myriad of topics, both related and unrelated to Jiu-Jitsu. Just as the conversation appearing to be winding down, Chris and Noah end up touching on...

On a Monday afternoon, prior to class, Chris and Noah talk about a bunch of topics: What are positive and negative traits BJJ students can possess? How do Chris and Noah get "triggered" on the mats and how do they react? What instructionals have had the biggest impacts on their BJJ development? Priit Mihkelson's notion that beginners in BJJ are often taught bad habits. The Andre Galvao vs Ryron Gr...

Noah and Chris talk about their past week of training. Then Chris invites a newer Tribe member, Mark Bowen, onto the podcast to introduce himself and his motivation for training. Finally, Noah and Chris discuss at length the topic of language and jiu-jitsu.

What happens when you mix a hangover, jiu-jitsu class, and a podcast conversation?

In today's podcast, Chris and Noah discuss a recently uploaded video by black belt, Rory van Vliet, titled "Developing A Specific Guard - How to Choose Your First or Follow Up Guards. " The video centers on two main points: 1) The benefits of choosing a guard and focusing on it.  2) How one should go about selecting their preferred guard. In addition to discussing the material of the video, N...

Michelle Sanchez is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and trained at ATT Orlando for a couple years before moving north to Connecticut. In that short time, Michelle established herself as one of the most active and dedicated BJJ students at the gym. Noah catches up with Michelle via Instagram Live on a Sunday night. Michelle describes the current situation in Connecticut with regard to COVID-19 and trainin...

Florida is about to reopen gyms in the state. In addition to discussing the impending reopening of ATT Orlando, Chris and Noah talk about how they've stayed active during quarantine and how it has impacted their Jiu-Jitsu. Noah discusses the positive impact of a serious strength and conditioning program. Chris explains how he ended up buzzing his hair. They also touch on the return of UFC and how...

This week, Paul talks about his MMA training days in the early 2000s. Before joining Ricardo Liborio and American Top Team, Paul trained under Marcio Simas in Orlando with a collection of noteworthy fighters. Paul shares stories from the early Marcio Simas fight team and the concept of team loyalty back then. Paul gives his opinion on cross-training now. Also, Chris asks Paul how he handles a fres...

Another week of COVID-19 shutdown means another weeks with Coach Paul. On this occasion we recorded a two-part conversation. Today is part one, where Paul, Chris, and Noah discuss Paul's passion for mountaineering and the outdoors. We also discover that Chris is deathly scared of grasshoppers and grass. Paul describes some of his climbs in the Pacific Northwest and his development (and current 'be...

One week later, Paul Rodriguez rejoins the podcast for a second conversation. This week, Paul discusses many topics including jiu-jitsu curriculum, the evolution of MMA training, and overtraining. Paul also explains the process he went through in order to be promoted to black belt under Ricardo Liborio, including, how rolling with Liborio went. Paul Rodriguez is the head coach at American Top Team...

Paul Rodriguez is the head coach and owner of ATT Orlando. He's a 3rd degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Liborio and has had a long career fighting MMA across the world. In addition to discussing strength and conditioning, Paul shares a few stories from his past - his introduction to MMA with Din Thomas, what training was like in the late 90s/early 2000s, and competing in ADCC trials. If...

Noah and Chris discuss a plethora of topics including: - Chris's recent lower back injury. - Noah's experience training capoeira in Spain for year. - What is ideal jiu-jitsu? - The etiquette of cross-facing opponents. - And much more! Cameos include Victor, Head Coach Paul Rodriguez, and the Tribe Dogs (Zeek, Jerry, and Leo)!

BJJ brown belt, Stan Rousonelos, joins Chris and Noah to talk about his jiu-jitsu origin story and how he ended up at Cogito Jiu-Jitsu in Casselbery, Florida. Stan recounts his extensive travel experiences, including teaching English in South Korea while also training martial arts and competing. In addition, Stan and Chris discuss workout and diet routines, being jiu-jitsu dads, and finding times...

Eli sits down with Chris and Noah as he begins his training camp for his pro MMA debut in Combate Americas! Eli is an MMA fighter, Marine combat veteran, and jiu-jitsu purple belt who fights and trains out of ATT Orlando. Eli talks about his youth, enlisting in the marines, his transition back to civilian life, and the importance of discovering MMA and jiu-jitsu. This episode was fueled by Tactica...

Jason Cosentino has been training at ATT Orlando for a little over a year. In that year, he's made a big impression. He dropped over 40lbs and improved his strength, mobility, and endurance. Despite suffering an injury right before promotions, he continued to support his fellow white belts by attending their respective blue belt tests. He attended promotions, still injured and not expecting a prom...

It's March 19th, 2020 and the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our gym, ATT Orlando, is closed -- as are many institutions. Since many of us (at this time) are working from home and/or limiting our contact with others, we decided to record a bonus episode to discuss the current climate. The conversation is both serious and humorous. We hope it helps you pass the time and entertains you...

Chris and Noah catch up on recent happenings and discuss a number of topics. Some highlights are: Keenan Cornelius marketing with a jiu-jitsu eBook, the goal of a good coach, developing a jiu-jitsu game, funneling while rolling, what it means to go 100%, and the best moment in the Matrix. Noah shares a recent story of a white belt snarling to finish a lapel choke that was across Noah's mouth, whic...

Collie was recently promoted to black belt at ATT Orlando (same promotion ceremony as Chris). Collie covers his martial arts and jiu-jitsu development over the years and the importance of constant growth. Collie discusses some of his competition experiences and his goal to compete next year at a major IBJJF tournament. In addition, Collie touches on his protocol for dropping into other gyms and ho...

Denis "D-Money" Gonzalez returns to the podcast before a Saturday gi class for an entire conversation. Denis is a blue belt that has trained jiu-jitsu and muay thai under Paul Rodriguez for over 4 years. Denis covers his first muay thai fight and the anxiety and nerves leading up to the fight. Denis discusses his training goals and how he stays motivated to train both grappling and stand-up discip...

Chris and Noah sit down and chat before an evening gi class. As a result of probing questions from Chris, Noah not only discusses his history of lifting weights but also his childhood home in rural Maine. Chris talks about watching his son select ice cream and the riveting choice between "Brownie Bits" and "Pink Unicorns and Glitter." They finally turn to jiu-jitsu topics and cover, among other th...

Two-stripe blue belt Michelle sits down with Noah to talk about jiu-jitsu and life. Michelle talks about how attending a BJJ promotion ceremony made her want to start training. She covers her early experiences and impressions of jiu-jitsu. In addition, she recounts the lead-up and testing for her blue belt and coping with testing anxiety. Noah and Michelle also tackle the topic of women in BJJ and...

Brown belt and perennial winner of our gym's "Cheese and Wine" award, Jaime Cardenas, joins the podcast on a Saturday morning. Jaime recounts his martial arts journey from New Jersey to Orlando. Jaime weaves a riveting tale of his past which includes many entertaining chapters along the way. We discuss Jaime's famous exhibition MMA fight with Matt Cabrera and having head coach Paul as his roommate...

It seems we have a lot of doctors at our gym training. Minutes after receiving his purple belt during a surprise ceremony after class, Jovan joins the podcast. Chris, Noah, and Jovan cover a myriad of topics: training motivation, goals, finding time to train as a resident in a hospital, watching martial movies as kids, the mental and physical benefits to jiu jitsu, and getting armbared by Kenny Fl...

In today's episode, we are joined by Julius Mobley, owner of Championship Martial Arts Conway and Spartan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is the second person to receive a black belt under ATT Orlando head coach, Paul Rodriguez. Julius talks at length about his lifetime in the martial arts, which started at the age of 3. Julius recounts his introduction to jiu-jitsu and meeting Paul for the first time. Ch...