BJJ Mental Models

This week we're joined again by Kristina Barlaan!  Kristina is a black belt under Caio Terra, and is a passionate advocate for mental health in the Jiu-Jitsu community.  In this episode, Kristina joins us to speak candidly about her personal experiences with high-functioning anxiety as a Jiu-Jitsu coach and athlete. Follow Kristina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbjiujitsu Email Kris...

This week we're joined again by Jeff Shaw!  Jeff is the head instructor at Bellingham BJJ and the co-creator of the "Creating Gym Culture" series on BJJ Mental Models Premium.  In this episode, Jeff joins us to break down the 3 Joint Rule: a critical mental model for understanding how to control your opponent's limbs. Follow Jeff and Bellingham BJJ on Instagram: https://www.ins...

This week we're joined again by Josh "Kintanon" Wentworth!  Josh joins us to break down a powerful and underloved position: the honey badger.  This is effectively when you "turtle" inside your opponent's guard and dig for a double under or stack pass.  It's an amazing tactic for opening and passing the guard, especially against larger opponents. Follow Josh on In...

This week we're joined by Edwin "Junny" Ocasio!  Fresh off his first world championship win, Junny joins us to expand on a conversation he had with Emily Kwok on The Highest Levels (an ongoing BJJMM Premium podcast). In this episode, Junny explains how he thinks about optimization, when to dig deeper into optimizing an area of his game, and how to avoid over-optimizing. Follow Junny...

This week we're joined again by Greg Souders!  In this episode, Greg joins us to bust some common Jiu-Jitsu myths, including: the "win or learn" debate, why teaching with "training wheels" doesn't work, the problem with instructionals, and whether belts matter. Follow Greg and Standard Jiu-Jitsu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gdsouders https://www.instagram.c...

This week we're joined by Alec Baulding!  Alec is a black belt under Romero Cavalcanti, an accomplished competitor, and a reputed YouTube content creator.  In this episode, Alec shares his thoughts on the journey from Jiu-Jitsu student to teacher. Subscribe to Alec's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlecBaulding Follow Alec on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alecbaulding G...

This week we're joined again by Erin Herle!  Erin is a black belt under Rubens Charles "Cobrinha" and is the founder of #SubmitTheStigma.  She's also a mental performance consultant with a Master of Science in Sport and Performance Psychology, which is relevant to our topic of conversation today. In this episode, Erin talks about mental toughness.  She explains how mental tough...

This week we're joined again by Priit Mihkelson!  In this episode, Priit reveals something surprising about the way he runs his gym: he teaches submissions first!  This is pretty funny and surprising coming from "the Defensive BJJ guy," but there's a good reason why he does things this way.  Listen to learn why. Follow Priit on social: https://www.facebook.com/priit.mihkelson h...

This week we're joined by Heather Morgan!  Heather is a BJJ black belt under André Galvão and a prominent online instructor.  In this episode, Heather discusses how she attacks from her favorite guard pass: the knee slice. Follow Heather on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_morganbjj/ Subscribe to Heather on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CaptMorgan0820 Check out Heather&apo...

This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki!  In this episode, Rob talks about the concept of gamification, how it optimizes learning, and how both students and coaches can gamify Jiu-Jitsu. Keep an eye on Grapplearts for Rob's upcoming gamification instructional: https://grapplearts.com/ Learn from Rob at BJJ Concepts: https://bjjconcepts.net/ Follow Rob on Instagram: https://instagra...

This week we're joined by Victor Hugo!  Victor is a black belt under the Ribeiro brothers and a multi-time ultra heavyweight world champion.  He's also an accomplished businessperson, being both the head coach at Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu in Lake Travis and the founder of several online Jiu-Jitsu brands. In this episode, the big man shares some incredible insights on the intersections between...

This week we're joined by Scott Sievewright!  Scott is the head coach at Primal MKE in Milwaukee and the host of the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast.  In this episode, Scott shares his pragmatic take on ecological dynamics for beginners and coaches alike. It's a great gentle introduction to eco, covering topics such as: how eco differs from traditional methods, the importance of making mista...

This week we're joined by Dorothy Dao!  Dorothy is a competition black belt now training under the Mendes brothers out of AOJ in Costa Mesa, California.  Previously Dorothy had trained mostly with larger partners, but at AOJ she's found an elite competition team within her own weight class.  In this episode, Dorothy shares how she's found success training with both much larger partn...

This week we're joined again by Lachlan Giles!  In this episode, Lachlan talks about the philosophy of self-organization, where students take ownership of their own learning journey.  We also touch on use cases for Lachlan's amazing platform SUBMETA and his thoughts on ecological dynamics in BJJ. Learn with Lachlan on SUBMETA: https://submeta.io/ Follow Lachlan on Instagram: https://www....

This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki!  Rob is fresh off an amazing performance at ADCC Open Canada 2023, where he won gold in the Masters division and Island Top Team took the #1 overall adult team rating.  What makes this so impressive is that in addition to being a small team, they're also mostly hobbyists. In this episode, Rob breaks down his competition mindset: a rejection...

This week we're joined again by Stephan Kesting!  In this episode, the legendary Grapplearts instructor breaks down key concepts from his latest instructional, Rolling Backtakes for Everyone. Follow Stephan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephan_kesting/ Resources mentioned in this episode: The Dope Mount, The Easiest Way to Get to the Mount —Stephan Kesting https://youtu.be/hhZx5ZFh...

This week we're joined by Chris Wojcik!  Chris is a black belt under Jeff Serafin, an accomplished competitor, and the writer of the popular BJJ newsletter The Grappler's Diary. In this episode, Chris talks about the evolving standup game in competition Jiu-Jitsu, involving a hybrid of wrestling, Judo, and BJJ. Subscribe to the Grappler's Diary on Substack: https://chrismwojcik.subs...

This week we're joined again by Drew Foster!  Drew Foster is a black belt instructor at Elevate MMA in North Carolina, the host of The Neon Belly Podcast, and a frequent contributor on /r/bjj under the alias Darce_Knight. In this episode, Drew discusses a topic we've wanted to get into for a long time: impostor syndrome.  Oxford Dictionary defines impostor syndrome as "the persisten...

In this episode, we're joined by Joe Hannan!  Joe is a BJJ black belt under Emily Kwok, the founder of BJJ Meditations, and the co-host of The Highest Levels on BJJ Mental Models Premium.  In this episode, Joe discusses the importance of finding meaning in your Jiu-Jitsu journey. Follow Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bjj_meditations/ Listen to the BJJ Meditations Podcast: https:/...

In this episode, Brother Matt joins us to discuss his coaching experience with ecological dynamics and drilling.  We also get into whether the discourse surrounding the ecological approach in Jiu-Jitsu is productive or toxic. Check out The Essential Jiu-Jitsu Podcast with Brother Matt: https://ejjp.show/ Subscribe to EJJP on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheEssentialJiuJitsuPodcast Check out the O...

This week we're joined by Kristian Woodmansee!  Kristian is a black belt under André Galvão, the founder of Logic BJJ Online, and the head instructor at Logic Philly.  In this episode, Kristian explains his ladder system for guard passing: a simple concept that helps anyone better understand best practices for passing the guard. Follow Kristian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/logicbjj...

This week we're joined by Riley Stearns!  Riley is a BJJ black belt under Shawn Williams, and a film director best known for The Art of Self-Defense, starring Jesse Eisenberg.  In this episode, Riley shares his advice on achieving work-life balance, and how to maximize your enjoyment of Jiu-Jitsu without letting it take over your life. Follow Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rile...

"I truly believe I can create luck." That's something you'll hear if you listen to interviews with Wesley Seek. Wesley, better known by his handle LambySeries - or Lamby for short - is a world-class competitive card gamer, previously achieving Grandmaster status in Hearthstone and currently considered the best Marvel Snap player in the world. This episode serves two purposes. F...

This week we're joined by Shawn Williams!  Shawn is a black belt under Renzo Gracie, and is both a renowned competitor and teacher.  In this episode, Shawn Williams explains his "closed loop" strategy for Jiu-Jitsu, wherein you're always advancing without compromising position. Follow Shawn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnwilliamsbjj/ Visit Shawn's website: ht...

This week we're joined by Anthony "El Toro" Birchak!  Anthony is a UFC, Bellator, and Rizin MMA veteran, as well as a BJJ black belt under Casey Halstead.  In this episode, Anthony draws on his wrestling background to explain the importance of wrestling, both mentally and technically, in Jiu-Jitsu. Follow Anthony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abirchakmma/ Follow Anthony on...