Clik here to view.
Alone on Everest with Jost Kobusch
On episode 392 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I’m joined by the amazing Jost Kobusch. Jost is a German mountaineer who spent two seasons on Everest trying to ascend the legendarily difficult West Ridge...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bareknuckle Boxing and Historical European Swordfighting, with Oz Austwick
In episode 393 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to Oz Austwick, who has extensively studied armed and unarmed combat systems in Europe. Topics we cover include… The origins of boxing in England,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BJJ Competition Preparation and Training Camp Design with Rob Biernacki
Rob Biernacki and his competition team are on a tear. Rob recently took gold in masters middleweight the Canadian ADCC Open, silver at the California ADCC Open, and gold in black belt M4 at the IBJJF...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Catchwrestling: from the Snake Pit in Wigan England, to Pride FC in Japan, to...
In episode 395 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to Oz Austwick, who has extensively studied armed and unarmed combat systems in England and Europe. Today we focus on the historical wrestling...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BJJ Longevity with Mike Mahaffey (Strenuous Life Podcast Ep 396)
In episode 396 of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I talk about BJJ longevity, weight training, practicing at home, and optimal training methods with BJJ old-timer Mike Mahaffey. There are a TON of valuable...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Training to Get Maximum Results from Your BJJ Training in Minimum Time
The traditional class structure of doing a warmup, learning a couple of new techniques, and followed by sparring is NOT an efficient way to learn jiu-jitsu. We can do much better if we use insights...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lessons Learned from Extreme Athletes Like Alex Honnold
From war-torn Africa to climbing remote peaks in Greenland with Alex Honnold, Matt Pycroft has built a very impressive career working as a journalist and filmmaker. In our conversation he goes into...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion
I’ve previously discussed breathing but have concentrated on unusual situations, like conscious hyperventilation and the Valsalva Maneuver. I should probably have started out by talking about something...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Innovation and Technical Refinement in Jiu-Jitsu
Rob Biernacki is my guest today to talk about how injury and physical limitations have led to some of the fastest technical development of his career and the refinement of entirely new techniques like...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BJJ for Women’s Self Defense
I really enjoyed talking with Rachel Honeyman about modifying BJJ for self defense, which techniques to focus on and which positions to avoid. Rachel has trained in BJJ, the Filipino Martial Arts,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Use BJJ Mentality to Get Through the Tough Times
On an instagram Q&A (@stephan_kesting) I was recently asked, “What is the most unlikely yet fortuitous place jiu-jitsu has come in handy for me?” You might think that the answer was using it to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Happened to the UFC?
Luke Thomas is one of the most influential MMA analysts in the game and the host of The Morning Kombat Podcast. I was delighted to talk to him on my own show, The Strenuous Life Podcast, today. We...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Has MMA Training Changed Since the First UFCs?
I was honoured to talk MMA with Denis Kang, an MMA pioneer with 55 fights in organisations ranging from Pride FC to the UFC. In this conversation, we covered how fighting off the wall, sparring with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo Trip in the Arctic
Earlier this summer I completed a beautiful and difficult 19-day solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic. There’s a lot of time to think on a trip like this, and here are the 3 big lessons I learned…...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ramsey Dewey on MMA Training and Self Defense
Ramsey Dewey is an MMA coach now based in Shanghai, China. I really enjoyed our conversation, including How wearing headgear in sparring actually makes things WORSE for your brain His controversey with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From Underground Bareknuckle Fights to the Biggest MMA Stage in the World,...
In the early 2000s Denis Kang was one of the top MMA fighters in the world with wins over Minoru Suzuki, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua, Akihiro Gono and Marvin Eastman. In this interview, Denis opens up about:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Daniele Bolelli on Fascism
In episode 379 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with podcaster, martial artist, and history professor Daniele Bolelli about the characteristics of fascism. This is a loaded topic for both of us,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Smashing Mental BJJ Barriers, with Erin Herle
This is an in-depth podcast on smashing the mental barriers holding you back from achieving your potential in BJJ with BJJ black belt and certified mental performance coach Erin Herle. Erin is great –...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ecological Training in Jiu-Jitsu and How to Do It Properly
One of the biggest trends in BJJ right now is the so-called “ecological approach”, typically involving the use of constrained two-person games where each participant has one or several outcomes they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Secrets of Strongman Training, with Kalle Beck
Fundamentally Strongman training is about lifting and moving heavy, ungainly objects, and when you think about it, that’s not so different from what we do on the mats every single day. So, maybe we can...
View Article