Libsyn Directory

410: How B Team Prepared for ADCC and CJI, with Chris Wojcik

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Release Date: 09/23/2024

419 - Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic (Audiobook Format)

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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 podcast, I thought I'd give you the first three chapters in audio form, including an incident so embarrassing that I almost didn't include it in the book at...

418 - Spartans, Samurai and Ninja with BJJ Black Belt Jeff Nelson

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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 () and check out his book ! Also check out my new book, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo, or your favorite local bookstore!

417 - Can You Get Your BJJ Black Belt Without Affiliating with a Specific School?

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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 included) in October of 2024. In this episode we talk about so many things, including - How to get really good if you don't train at a top-tier school - Key aspects...

416 - How to Climb Everest, with Extreme Alpinist Jost Kobusch

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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. Find out... How Jost Kobusch optimises his training The relative importance of physical vs mental attributes in extreme sport How he overcame a...

415 - BJJ and Self Defense, with Tyson 'The Warrior Philosopher' Larone

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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 defense seminar model… the need for force-multipliers and whether guns can act as that force multiplier… the single biggest thing any man can do to keep the women in his life safe and more. We also perceptions and expressions of...

414 - Optimized BJJ Training for Non-Athletic Grapplers, with Jesse Walker

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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. Check out Rough Hands BJJ training center in Louisville, Kentucky at https://roughhandsbjj.com/ and/or get in touch with Jesse on most social media...

413 - Strongman Training Secrets, with Kalle Beck

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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 and the Facebook group he runs (the biggest strongman community in the world) at Check out Stephan Kesting's latest jiu-jitsu instructional, No Gi Pin Escapes at and also his book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, with links for more information here: Cheers, Stephan Kesting

412 - Eco-Adjacent Training and How to Do It Correctly, with Rob Biernacki

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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.

411 - Smashing the Mental Barriers Holding Back Your Jiu-Jitsu

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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-jitsu lifestyle. Find out more about Erin and her coaching programs at Check out No Gi Pin Escapes, your masterclass at getting out from the bottom and...

410: How B Team Prepared for ADCC and CJI, with Chris Wojcik

The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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 How to go from enthusiastic amateur to dedicated professional What natural athletes need to do differently to compete in a sport rife with steroids How to train smarter, not harder Why B Team brought in an...

More Episodes

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
How to go from enthusiastic amateur to dedicated professional
What natural athletes need to do differently to compete in a sport rife with steroids
How to train smarter, not harder
Why B Team brought in an external trainer to prepare for ADCC and CJI
ADCC vs CJI rule sets and strategies
The future of CJI
The role of wrestling and wrestling up in submission grappling
Outside vs inside leglocks
Top 3 leglock entries and top 3 leglock finishes
The connection between leglocks and wrestling up
Advice for practitioners feeling overwhelmed with the pace of change in the sport
The mindset required for continual improvement in jiu-jitsu
And more

Follow Chris Wojcik on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thegrapplersdiary/ and/or on his substack https://thegrapplersdiary.substack.com/

Check out my podcast-only leglock instructional special at https://www.grappplearts.com/leglocksale

And finally, check out the video version of this episode on my Strenuous Life Podcast Youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/aahJznxxEsE

Cheers!
Stephan Kesting

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