Gracie Jiu Jitsu Rocks! podcast

Randy McElwee is a Pedro Sauer Black Belt and owner / director of GRACIE® Jiu Jitsu Athens - Team Pedro Sauer at American Black Belt Academy in Athens, GA He also serves on the board of directors for the Pedro Sauer association . In this interview he discusses various subjects including going into the Army and straight to Special Forces; what it took to get through SF training and biggest lessons...

EP 144 Rick Ellis is a Roy Dean Black belt and founder of The Art of Skill. In this interview he talks about being a musician in his youth; his nomadic lifestyle; early days at Roy Dean's academy and Roy's effect on him; training with Luis Heredia in Maui;  training with Alexey Cruz in Maine; where the name 3rd Way Jiu Jitsu came from; the inner challenges; success and self growth of opening a new...

Ray Griffin, Pedro Sauer Black Belt and owner/head instructor of Griffin Jiu Jitsu Academy in Orem Utah, discusses his journey, including starting with karate and his grandfathers' advice, How UFC 1 affected him, starting and training JJ with Pedro Sauer in Utah, his family and the parallels of  JJ and parenting, his academy and how it really is a family affair, empowering women,  situational awar...

Ryron Gracie returns for a lively and interesting discussion. In this interview he discusses morning routines, his family and their recent move), cold plunges, the 32 principles (how they came about and the importance of them in learning and being efficient in Jiu Jitsu), Gracie Survival Tactics (GST) and the recent HBO show, sexual predators in jiu Jitsu, and more….

Miles Lukas, BJJ Black Belt, Certified Wim Hof instructor, & owner of Breath Fitness. In this interview we discuss his Jiu Jitsu journey-including training with Jerry Brewer, Phil Migliarese, Steve Maxwell, Relson Gracie, Ralph Gracie, Kurt Oseander, etc.; training with the heavy weight group at Dave Camarillo's school and its effect on his development; training with Eduardo Tellis; matching the i...

Dave Kama, 5th degree Rickson Gracie black belt and head of Kama Jiu Jitsu. Dave is one of the very few people to have trained under Master Rickson and have all his belts awarded to him by Rickson, blue belt through black belt. Dave Kama also #2 of the "Dirty Dozen", a moniker given to the first 12 non-Brazilians to earn the coveted black belt. In this episode he discusses his stat in BJJ, the ear...

Roy Marsh, founder of Roy Marsh Jiu Jitsu and owner/head instructor of Gracie Schwarzwald, discusses his early days in NC with TEAM ROC; his move to Germany, and what that's been like; his philosophy including competition type focus and self defense focus, why the ability to control your opponent is so important, information gathering while rolling, why he never sets timers at his school;  his ins...

Sensei/Coach Erik Paulson is a champion fighter, world renowned instructor/coach, and founder of Combat Submission Wrestling. He discusses how he stayed productive this past year, transitioning from fighter to coach, changing universal energies, UFOs, being ready when the creative juices come, writing dvd project on a napkin on an airplane, changes he's made in his association and programs, not li...

Featuring 2020 Episode Clips from Evandro Nunes (The Lion and when to let him out), Matt Thornton (training with Rickson, Chris Hauter, fundamentals as universal concepts), Ricky Lundell (starting BJJ as a kid with Pedro Sauer, the time he "fought" Pedro's daughter Taissa), Scott Nelson (Emotional Intelligence and its impact on his life and Jiu Jitsu), Clark Gracie (GM Carlos, GM Carley and how th...

In This episode we talk about challenges, triumphs and lessons learned in 2020. Joining me for this episode I have Pedro Sauer Black Belts: Randy McElwee Gracie Jiu Jitsu Athens (Athens, GA) Mark Cukro Integrated Martial Arts (concord, NC) Alan Baker  Atlanta Martial Arts Center, (Woodstock GA) Dan Berry Integrated Martial Arts of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) Chaz Valentine Bushin Martial Arts (Willi...

Richard Bresler is back on the show. Bichard is a 6th degree black belt and Rorion Gracie's first US student. In this interview he discusses his new book, Worth Defending : How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life, and the process of writing it with Scott Burr; stories of the original UFCs, receiving his black belt; biggest influences on his life;   Pedro Sauer's impact on him and the Professor Sauer -...

Jim Kelly,  Pedro Sauer Black Belt, and  owner and head instructor of Cincinnati Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu , discusses his life growing up, his time in the Marine Corps (forced recon), his martial arts journey, including discovering BJJ while looking for Tae Kwon Do, stick fighting at The Gathering with the Dog Brothers, training with Paul Vunak, The "martial arts bum community," Mark Denny, Shawn Owens...

Scott Burr is a black belt professor and the first person to earn the rank of black belt from legendary BJJ pioneer Professor Steve Maxwell.  He also holds black belts in Kodokan Judo and the Kuk Sul Do, and is a MaxwellSC-certified Pro Trainer, holding Level 1 and Level 2 certifications in both the MaxwellSC Kettlebell and Bodyweight Training systems. Scott is the author of the numerous books on...

Ryron Gracie Returns to surprise callers with a phone call. Listeners called include Jarod Zieffling, Greg Nelson, James Guynn, Danial Raza, Joel Ambrosia, Loren Files, and Jean Soares

Evandro Nunes is an instructor at Gracie University HQ. He's a highly successful former competitor, winning numerous high level competitions, including world championships. He is a genuine, authentic, and highly insightful person, and this was a very interesting interview. In This interview he discusses what the Lion is and when to let it out, lessons learned in Jiu Jitsu, favorite submission and...

EP 130   Clark Gracie is the grandson of Grand Master Carlos Gracie and oldest son of GM Carley Gracie. He is a BJJ world champion and a world renowned instructor.  In this episode we discuss how  he's coping with the current covid 19 situation and his thoughts on moving forward, his philosophy on training, sport vs competition focus, building "insurance," academy culture, creativity in Jiu Jitsu,...

Mike The Cop is a police officer, Jiu Jitsu practitioner, and public figure/entertainer who makes videos to entertain people and build good relations between law enforcement and the community. He's also the author of You Can't Make This Stuff Up. In this interview we discuss the recent incident where an officer was kicked onto train tracks, what led him into law enforcement and what's best thing a...

Scotty Nelson BJJ pioneer. He formed  OTM, one of the first successful JJ websites and technique platforms back in 1997, and has traveled the world contributing to BJJ in a multitude of ways. He's a blackbelt under Jeff Glover and has had a huge impact on various aspects of BJJ and MMA. In this interview we discuss. In this interview we discuss h is cancer hospital chipsa-what it is and how he got...

Matt Thornton is the founder, CEO and Head coach of Straight Blast GYM (SBG) International. He has trained countless martial artists and coaches, and has worked with some of the best MMA fighters, grapplers and combat athletes in the world.  In this interview we discuss several subjects including his start in martial arts, serving in the Army, his size (6'8" and if it ever affected/dictated  his m...

Professor Ricardo Almeida is a Renzo Gracie black belt, a retired UFC and Pride FIghter, and founder of Ricardo Almeida BJJ Academy. In this episode he discusses t he power of Jiu Jitsu in people's lives and who Jiu Jitsu  is for, overcoming fear through Jiu Jitsu , how to get through this current self isolation situation, growing up with his brothers Flavio and Andre, the early days in Brazil and...

 Ricky Lundell is FILA world champion, a 2 time Pankration world champion, and a Jiu Jitsu world champion. He's a former D-1 Wrestler and the youngest person to receive a black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the US. He is a world renowned wrestling, BJJ, and MMA coach, and 4th degree BJJ Black Belt under Master Pedro Sauer. Ricky is a prominent coach, trainer, and motivational speaker, and is also fo...

Michael Heinz is a Jiu Jitsu instructor, yoga & meditation expert, and owner of SBG Texas. In this episode he discusses his jiu jitsu and life journey, living and teaching overseas & how living abroad can help you grow and broaden your perspective, training in Korea under John Frankl, the UFC's influence on him, his thoughts on competition, training with Henry Akins, his friendship with Rob Wolf,...

In this episode Marty has a discussion with Professors Keith Owen, Greg Nelson, and Mark Cukro about starting the year off strong and staying strong throughout the year.  They discuss  How not to fizzle out half way through the year; Goals versus Resolutions; The importance of goals and the biggest mistakes in doing goals; Accountability; Leading by example and bringing out the best in others; Hel...

End of the year episode featuring clips from Roger Gracie (what made him so successful and mastering the cross collar choke), Sophia McDermott (being part of the Jiu Jitsu community and advice for people new to BJJ), Physical Culture and BJJ (with Roy Dean, Henry Akins, John Frankl, and Robb Wolf (how BJJ can cause physical  imbalances)), Robert Drysdale (accountability and ego), and Tom DeBlass.

Professor Scott Smith, 3rd degree Pedro Sauer Black Belt and owner of Gracie Jiu Jitsu of Kentucky, is an accomplished martial artist and sought after instructor. In this episode he discusses his thoughts on competition and self defense, the recent Pedro Sauer camp, the major influence people like Jim Kelly and Henry Akins, have had on his Jiu Jitsu, how he initially didn't like Jiu Jitsu, testing...