The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Division in BJJ community, angry people on the internet and the rise of conspirituality with comic and BJJ practitioner Jamie Kilstein.  Jamie is the cohost of both Rear Naked Radio and A Fuckup's Guide to Self Help and has a new comedy album coming out soon!

Today I chat with Black belt no gi world champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins about how the most efficient training methods to master the highly complex world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Lots of great takeaways in this one!! 02:18 - Learning technique only vs learning technique and theory 05:42 - Fundamental movements in BJJ 09:24 - Advanced applications of fundamental movements 14:48 - Winning by ac...

I was thrilled to talk to Matthew Remski, a cult researcher and cohost of the Conspirituality Podcast who has written extensively about the pervasive cultism and abuse in Yoga, spirituality, and wellness culture.  The parallels to what's happening in BJJ are obvious. Here are some highlights... 01:48 - Matthew's own time in cults 05:39 - Conspiracy theories 08:02 - What are cults? 28:45 - Online c...

Multiple time world champion Robert Drysdale comes onto the podcast to share his discoveries about the history of BJJ. Here's just some of what we talked about... 00:52 - Opening Closed Guard, the Book 06:16 - The first japanese martial artists in Brazil 16:51 - Who was Mitsyuo Maeda? 19:27 - The role of the circus in the development of BJJ 23:20 - Early lineages of jiu-jitsu in Brazil 31:02 - The...

Today I talk with Mr Frank Wolf, a member of first two person team to paddle across Canada in a single season.  He has undertaken amazing expeditions throughout North America both in the summer and the winter, and has some amazing tips for getting out into the deep wilderness on the cheap.  I guess you could call him a wilderness travel hacker who is willing to share his secrets!   On an entirely...

Full contact fighting is inherently risky, especially when you consider the traumatic brain damage that's so common in boxing, kickboxing and MMA. And competing in sports where head shots and brain trauma are abundant ramps those risks up exponentially. While I totally support your right to take risks (and have taken many myself) there comes a point when the risk outweighs the reward. So what is t...

On today's episode I'm interviewed by Randy Brown on his podcast about my journey through Kung Fu and how I found jiu-jitsu.  Lots of nuggets about training safely and effectively in this one!   Follow Randy at https://www.youtube.com/c/Mantisboxers/videos https://www.instagram.com/randybrownmantisboxer/ https://randybrownmantisboxing.com/ Tweet me: @StephanKesting Check out my Instagram: @Stephan...

Is it safe to train BJJ in a pandemic? I wish it were a simple yes or no answer, but as I discuss in this episode (which is also available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjyivFxPJMU&feature=youtu.be) it depends on a number of factors including... Your age, health, pre-existing conditions Your tolerance for personal risk The age and health status of your family Your health insurance...

Only aligning your chakras can save you from the satanist deep state... Derek Beres is an author and former reporter who cohosts the Conspirituality podcast which investigates the convergence of left-wing spirituality in Yoga and wellness culture with feverish right-wing conspiracy theorists. I wish this podcast could have been a light hearted traipse down the kookier aspects of Yoga and spiritual...

Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models comes onto the podcast to discuss cult behaviour in BJJ, good and bad club cultures, and the big picture behind effective jiu-jitsu training. "I consider cults to be any organization that uses unscrupulous tactics to manipulate the members for the benefit of the founders or the people higher up in the chain." "People always tell you that jiu-jitsu builds character...

I talk with clinical psychologist and BJJ black belt David Ley about the psychology of jiu-jitsu, recent advances in psychology, the neurochemicals released when grappling, recovered memories, the prevalence of conspiracy theories in the martial arts, and much more. If you want to focus on the jiu-jitsu specific portion of the podcast listen to the intro then jump to the 45 minute mark.  Dr David...

Today I talk with BJJ black belt world champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins about finding a way to win in difficult situations, and why you need to have a long range guard.  Check out our brand new bestselling book Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu on Amazon, links at https://www.grapplearts.com/nonstop-jiu-jitsu-book/

How to organise your strategies, techniques and tactics in the butterfly guard so you alway know what you should do next.  A highly applicable podcast with black belt jiu-jitsu world champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins.  Check out our bestselling book 'Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu' here: https://www.grapplearts.com/nonstop-jiu-jitsu-book/

Black belt world champion Brandon Mullins and I talk about the fundamental movements of jiu-jitsu and their advanced applications in almost every technique you'll ever use on the mat.  Check out our bestselling book, 'Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu' on Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kwkHRH or go here to get the links if you live in Canada, the UK, Japan, Italy or Germany: https://www.grapplearts.com/nonstop-jiu-j...

Dr Nicholas Tyau is an internal medicine specialist who was working at a hospital in the Bronx, the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in North America, during the spring of 2020.     He's also a BJJ black belt, so he's no stranger to training and adversity!   In this podcast we talk about the chaos that the pandemic created in the NY hospitals, the controversy over death certificates, hydroxychlo...

Deliberate practice: if you try to get good at every aspect of your sport all at once then you'll get good at nothing. Instead break it down into specific skills, then break those skills down into components, and then refine those components before putting it all back together again. Not e: this was r ecorded outside in the wind, so the message is good but the audio is a bit fuzzy. Sorry about tha...

Medical doctor and famed BJJ competitor Dr Chris Moriarty is back on the podcast with a major update to the protocols for safe training during Covid-19.  The biggest changes include the addition of monogamous training pods and class cohorts, and are applicable to just about any form of martial arts training. Check out Dr Moriarty's updated guidelines in written form at https://www.grapplearts.com/...

Jessica Cox was born without arms but she didn't let that stop her from becoming the first woman to get her pilot's license using her feet to fly the plane. And she has a couple of black belts as well.  Check out this episode; I'm sure you'll come away super-inspired and ready to smash your own limits!

Jeff Shaw and I geeked out about Jiu-Jitsu history at first, but then at about the 27:00 minute mark we pivoted to his school's innovative outdoor classes with dedicated training partners during coronavirus and how we can get back to normal in the sport. I hope you enjoy this episode.  Please share it with your friends and training partners who are looking for ideas about how to continue training...

Robert Drysdale is one of the most highly decorated American grapplers in history.  He remains the only person not born in Brazil to win both the IBJJF World Championships with the gi and the ADCC Open Division without the gi. Today we talked about the difference between Jiu-Jitsu in competition and in the gym, his research on the early history of jiu-jitsu in Brazil, and his upcoming documentary...

Adam Shoalts is a professional adventurer and explorer.  He has completed a 4,000 km solo trip across the Canadian Arctic, explored unknown rivers in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and is a fellow in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.  I hope you enjoy his tales of adventure as much as I did! More about Adam at https://adamshoalts.com/ and follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/adam_...

Here's how to organize a BJJ training pod to keep yourself and, more importantly, other people safe during the coronavirus pandemic.   1:11 - What is a Training Pod 1:38 - Why Are Training Pods a Good Idea Right Now, and Reasons for Hope 7:51 - How Many People Should Be In Your Pod and Who Do You Choose? 12:20 - When is a Training Pod Appropriate? 14:20 - Where Can Your Train with Your Pod? Articl...

I was recently featured on The Old Rollers Podcast hosted by Harrison Helterbrand and we dove deep into maintaining your longevity in the sport, skill development, learning styles and taking charge of your own learning process. Check out The Open Guard System with Jon Thomas at https://www.grapplearts.com/openguard Download The Grapplearts BJJ Master App for free at https://www.grapplearts.com/mas...

Dominyka Obelenyte was born in Lithuania, emigrated to the United States at a very young age, and became a 4 time Pan-Am and World Championship gold medalist.   In this interview we talk technique, injury recovery, mindset, effective training, the use and misuse of 'loyalty' in the BJJ world, mental resilience and more.  I think you'll really like this one. Follow Dominyka on Instagram @domdabombu...

Did you know that there were 'anti mask leagues' in the USA to protest masks during the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic?  Neither did I until I started listening to Mitch Lerner.  Mitch is a professor of history at Ohio State University who specialises in 20th century American History and in today's episode we look at the history and politics of pandemics in the United States. I learned a lot during thi...