The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
What is it that allows some people to push themselves beyond their limitations? Why can some people survive situations others do not? On this podcast we try to find out the answers. Stephan Kesting, is a lifelong martial artist, BJJ black belt, career firefighter, and outdoorsman. Join us as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers and other people living the strenuous life. Stephan also runs Grapplearts.com, where he has published many hundreds of martial arts videos, articles and tutorials. His free guide to learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, A Roadmap for BJJ, has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has become a foundational text for the art.
Episodes
Today I'm joined by wrestler, jiu-jitsuka, and author Chris Jessulat (https://www.thewrongsideof35.com/) to discuss the best practices for staying relevant on the mats as you enter your fourth decade and beyond...
00:00 Training as an Older Grappler
02:48 The Transition from Competitive to Recreational Training
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Rob Biernacki has some very impressive competition victories, including black belt masters gold at both No Gi Worlds and ADCC.
In this podcast episode he reveals...
- Why people sometimes just don't perform up to their potential and how to fix it,
- How to reframe tournament nerves,
- The optimal state of arousal for competition,
- Building and executing on gameplans,
- Why some people just shouldn't compete,
- His best advice for first-t...
It started as an April Fool's joke and then morphed into a BEAST of a book complete with 967 illustrations called "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Ultimate Illustrated Guidebook". In episode 424 I chat with renowned BJJ black belt, illustrator and designer Seymour Yang (better known as Meerkatsu) and his partner in crime Graham Barlow (the creator of the Tai Chi Notebook) about the core techniques of BJJ, modern vs traditional jiu-jitsu,...
Bryan Rumble is a 2nd degree belt and a working scientist. In this episode we start out by talking about BJJ traditions, the depth of the art, and how the scientific method might be applied in jiu-jitsu. Then, at about the 23 minute mark, Bryan and I nerd out SUPER hard on Dungeons and Dragons and how it relates to martial arts training. You've been warned!
Check out Bryan's school in Brantford, Ontario at the links below
The fight-or-flight reflex is always lurking just below the surface. When things get sufficiently stressful, our hormonal system dumps enormous amounts of adrenaline into our bloodstream, and—BOOM—suddenly we’re ready for action.
That adrenaline serves a purpose: it elevates your heart rate, makes you much stronger, more pain tolerant, and able to ignore injury. If you ever have to lift a car off a child...
Three time IBJJ World medallist James Deirmendjian joins me to discuss optimal training methodologies and the science behind strength and conditioning for sport. We cover hacks to improve recovery, debunk common myths in the Jiu-Jitsu community, and go deep into the need for a more scientific approach to training and nutrition.
Follow and get in touch with James via https://www.instagram.com/fight_fit_training/ on Instagram.
And c...
Frank Wolf is an explorer, a writer, and one hell of an adventurer. In this episode we cover what he learned about endurance and survival during his travels in the Arctic, Central America, and Antarctica.
Check out his fantastic book Two Springs, One Summer anywhere you get books in including Indigo and Amazon.
I've got something special for you today: a true adventure story set in the Far North featuring that I underwent a few years ago after a kidney transplant. I ended up learning a LOT about mental toughness, resilience, and strategies for making progress when I was absolutely at the end of my rope, lessons that I think are universally applicable.
The book out today in hardcover, Kindle, and Audible audiobook formats. Since this is a...
I was thrilled to have Jeff Nelson on the show to talk about Spartans, Samurai, Ninja, developing confidence through jiu-jitsu, fight scenes in movies that drive us crazy, and pro-training at some of the best BJJ schools in the world.
Follow Jeff on Instagram (@thoughtandmindjj) and check out his book Ninja Punks, @*&% OFF! on Amazon!
Also check out my new book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic on Amazon, Barnes and...
Paul Kindzia describes himself as a "homeschooled, non-denominational, it takes a village black belt" and had a very unique route to getting his BJJ black belt. He was a ronin, training at different schools and did a lot of his training in his home dojo. This paid off because he was a top IBJJF Masters competitor at blue, purple, and brown belt, before being awarded his black belt by a coalition of other black belts (myself includ...
Jost Kobusch is just back from Everest, where he is doing a multi-year project to climb the tallest mountain in the world... by himself... without oxygen... up the incredibly difficult West Ridge route in the middle of winter.
In winter, the effective altitude of Everest is over 9,000 meters, and the winds can reach 250 km/hour (155 mph). And - on top of that - the mountain was hit by a powerful earthquake while he was on it.
F...
Tyson Larone is a BJJ belt, a Muay Thai teacher, TEDx speaker, and a strongman competitor. In this episode he and I dive deep into exploring how BJJ can be used for self defense, including how context changes everything in self defense… adaptations that women and smaller people need to make… the problems with the one time self def...
The standard BJJ approach of throwing newcomers to the wolves may work for young and talented athletes, but it's definitely not optimal for most older, non-athletic, or female grapplers (otherwise known as the vast majority of people). In today's episode I'm joined by Jesse Walker from Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, to discuss the training methods and school culture that'll make jiu-jitsu accessible to (almost) everyone....
Kalle Beck has competed, coached and commentated in Strongman events and has helped thousands of people become much, much stronger. Here's how some of the lessons learned from Strongman apply to other sports...
Check out Kalle's site at https://startingstrongman.com/ and the Facebook group he runs (the biggest strongman community in the world) at https://www.facebook.com/groups/startingstrongman/
One of the biggest trends in BJJ right now is the so-called "ecological approach." In episode 412 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I'm joined by renowned coach Rob Biernacki to discuss the do's and don'ts of game-based training. Check out Rob's instructional BJJ Games here https://www.grapplearts.com/bjj-games/ for more information.
Erin Herle is a BJJ black belt under Cobrinha and is a certified Mental Performance Consultant. In her work she uses an evidence-based approach and has a master's degree in sport and performance psychology. In this episode we cover overcoming the biggest barriers holding you back from performing to your potential, dealing with burnout and overtraining (and why they are different), hero worship in martial arts, and living the jiu-ji...
Would you like a behind-the-scenes peek at what really goes on at one of the most successful grappling teams in the world as they get ready for ADCC and CJI, the Olympics of grappling?
Today I'm joined by Chris Wojcik, a standout grappler and the author of The Grappler's Diary, and we cover...
- The qualifying process for ADCC, the Olympics of Grappling
- Training with a herniated disk
- Read more
Denis 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 he opens up about the mindset shift that took him to a 22 fight undefeated streak... how he dealt with the death of his fiance while competing for the biggest MMA organisation in the world... how fighters should know when it's time to quit fighting... and how MMA training has change...
Ramsey Dewey is an MMA coach now based in Shanghai, China. I really enjoyed our conversation which included...
- How wearing headgear in sparring actually makes things WORSE for your brain
- His controversey with Master Wong
- Why China could take over MMA
- What self defense 'experts' get wrong
- What happens to martial arts that don't spar
- Ramsey's experience on The Ultimate Self Defense Championship
I just did a 19-day solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic, and here are the 3 big lessons I learned!
If you want to see photos and a day-by-day description of the trip please go here: https://essentialwilderness.com/lost-in-the-barrens-a-solo-canoe-trip-on-a-remote-arctic-river/
Order my book "Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic" at the following places:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Step...
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