I talk to Matt Kwan, a Canadian black-belt, coach of On Guard BJJ and co-host of BJJ Mental Models. Matt traces his path from chef to full-time instructor, explains why he aligned his academy with Rob Biernacki, and shares the training program he uses to build...
I talk to Chris Paines, a Staffordshire-based black-belt who built a “concept first” style while running an isolated club with no senior coach, about reverse-engineering Jiu-Jitsu by asking why each sweep, choke, and guard exists. Forced to learn from YouTube and...
I talk to Priit Mihkelson about reshaping Jiu-Jitsu rituals with evidence-based coaching, the psychology of motivation and his “defensive BJJ” teaching framework. We dig into why he objects to the ubiquitous “3-2-1 clap”, how he designs progressive-resistance games to...
I talk to Vlad Koulikov about his lifelong quest to blend the best of Sambo with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We cover the martial art’s military origins, rule-sets, leg-lock culture and ranking system, then dig into Vlad’s coaching philosophy, his time at the famed Sambo 70...
I spoke with Robert Degle, a BJJ Black Belt from New York who trains under John Danaher and is also a philosophy major. We discuss how he started BJJ in the blue basement with Danaher, His start with philosophy and existentialism and how this led to him pursuing an...
I talk to Ruadhán MacFadden who runs a project titled The Hero with a Thousand Holds, which looks at the culture and practice of folk wrestling styles worldwide. In particular, the people and places that the styles have emerged from and not just the techniques they...
I talk to Robert Drysdale, ADCC Champion, Mundials Champion and has also coached many other legends of the sport. Also a History major, he has spent his recent time delving into the history of the sport for a documentary entitled Closed Guard: The Origins of Jiu-Jitsu...
I talk to Steve Kwan, black-belt co-host of BJJ Mental Models and tech-sector efficiency expert, about using mental models to fast-track Jiu-Jitsu learning, why setting tight parameters accelerates skill acquisition and how to filter the flood of instructionals so you...
I talk to Matt Thornton. Matt is the founder of Straight Blast Gym International or SBG and is a 4th-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under Chris Hauter. We discuss how coming up in the 90s lead him to emphasise training against resisting opponents in a concept...
