Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill

Send us Fan Mail Coach Bruce Hoyer is the owner and Head coach at Next Edge MMA, Sioux Falls, ND.    After listening to Bruce talk on the Combat Learning Podcast, I reached out to ask him to further explore his flipped classroom model for BJJ.    Optimizing Jiu-Jitsu practice and balancing the technical and theoretical with the live and dynamic practice can be a great challenge.    Bruce seems to...

Send us Fan Mail My discussion with Professor Nicola Hodges was all about demonstrations!  Dr Hodges researches and teaches out of the motor skill lab at the University of British Columbia.    I reached out to Dr Nicola to ask for her to lend her expertise and insight into the science of demonstrations and learning in sport.      Being such a big part of our sport and coaching, I was interested in...

Send us Fan Mail An information loaded discussion with Professor James Stafford. Dr Stafford has a PhD in experimental psycology with a keen interest in Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition and Virtual Reality.  James and I discuss the incredibly sensitive and sophisticated calibration of the perceptual motor system as it pertains to movement in martial arts and sport more generally.  James delive...

Send us Fan Mail PART 2 of my discussion with Coach, Educator and Professor of Skill Acquisition Dr. Ed Coughlan.  Ed and I discuss the growing non-linear approach to skill acquisition in sport and how it can help us design more effective training and development environments for MMA.  A two part episode here discusses the slow moving paradigm shift in sports coaching and skill development. Dr. Ed...

Send us Fan Mail I finally snagged Coach, Educator and Professor of Skill Acquisition Dr. Ed Coughlan.  Ed and I discuss the growing non-linear approach to skill acquisition in sport and how it can help us design more effective training and development environments for MMA.  A two part episode here discusses the slow moving paradigm shift in sports coaching and skill development. Dr. Ed helps clea...

Send us Fan Mail Season 2 kicks off with a talk with Coach John Kessel.  Coach John is an US Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee with over 50 years of coaching men's and women's volley ball at the collegiate, international and Olympic level. Coach Kessel is a strong advocate of specificity and authentic representative practice and empowering athletes through relationships and prioritizing a...

Send us Fan Mail What was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for MMA and Sam's recent foray into the ecological non-linear space. (So we decided to upload it) Sam is a coach at Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire Wisconsin and has been rapidly gravitating towards the ecological and constraint led approach to martia...

Send us Fan Mail What was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for MMA and Sam's recent foray into the ecological non-linear space. (So we decided to upload it) Sam is a coach at Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire Wisconsin and has been rapidly gravitating towards the ecological and constraint led approach to martia...

Send us Fan Mail What was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for MMA and Sam's recent foray into the ecological non-linear space. (So we decided to upload it) Sam is a coach at Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire Wisconsin and has been rapidly gravitating towards the ecological and constraint led approach to martia...

Send us Fan Mail In this 8th episode I talk with "Sport England's" , Stu Armstrong. Stu is a educator, talent developer, forward thinking coaching activist and proponent of a non-traditional ecological dynamics approach to learning sport. With over 150 episodes of his own coaching podcast (The Talent Equation), Stu has collaborated with and interviewed some of the most successful co...

Send us Fan Mail In this 7th episode I talk with Coach Israel Halperin. Dr Halperin has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science, and currently resides in Tel Aviv, Israel where he lectures and researches. With a rich history of participation in martial arts as a professional competitor and coach, Israel offers a rather unique academic and practical perspective towards training. In this episode, we dis...

Send us Fan Mail In this 6th episode I talk with founder and creator of "Train Ugly'' and ''The Learner Lab'', Trevor Ragan. Trevor, is an educator, coach and practice design consultant across several sports, working including, basketball, baseball and rugby. For the last decade, Trevor has been at the forefront of a mission to optimize coaching, learning and tra...

Send us Fan Mail In this 5th episode I talk with Michigan State University's Coordinator of Sports Coaching and Leadership, Andy Driska PhD. Andy talks about different kinds of feedback, what is effective and what's not, and bridging some of the gaps between the Sports Science academics and the day to day sports coaches and practitioners. Andy is able to do so as both an academic/researc...

Send us Fan Mail In this fourth episode, I talk with Jeff 'Jackie' Chan. Jeff is the creator of the hugely popular MMA Shredded YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt1ZR07apYANZ3MmlbipIXg and a professional fighter currently signed to ONE FC. Jeff's training videos and tutorials differ from most typical coaching videos in that he demonstrates the skills in live and au...

Send us Fan Mail In this second episode, we talk with Irish TKD coach Richie Forde. Richie is a former World Level competitive TKD competitor, coach, and the creator of a tremendous amount of content for the 'The TKD coach academy'.  Richie and I discuss our perspectives on effective training and coaching and our embracing of the live, chaotic, and authentic training environment. Richie...

Send us Fan Mail In this third episode, we talk with Will Massey. Will is a Sports Psychologist, educator, coach, and practicing martial artist. Will and I discuss the motivations of Martial Artists, how to foster sustained motivation and participation. We also talk about the types of athletes and students that step onto the mats. Will is able to pair an academic and theoretical perspective with a...

Send us Fan Mail In this first episode, we talk with Boxing coach Adam Haniver. Adam is a former competitive boxer, coach, educator, and host of his own coaching podcast, 'The boxing coach podcast'.  Adam and I discuss our similar journeys into coaching and our embracing of the a non-linear and constraints-led approach to coaching boxing and mixed martial arts. Adam is a very progressive...