438 - Crafting Your Ideal Jiu-Jitsu Journey, with Tom Wortman
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Release Date: 11/18/2025
449 - Why Jiu-Jitsu is NOT for Everyone, with James Deirmendjian
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Thrilled to have James Deirmendjian on the podcast to discuss why jiu-jitsu might NOT be for everyone, the benefits of training with practitioners from diverse backgrounds, balancing training and a career, and creating camaraderie through jiu-jitsu. Follow James on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fight_fit_training/
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448 - The Forgotten Jiu-Jitsu Practitioner Who Taught Maeda (and Ultimately the Gracies) Groundfighting
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Most people know that BJJ descended from Kodokan Judo which came from traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu systems. But the Kodokan was initially quite weak at the groundfighting aspect of grappling, and it wasn't until it brushed up against other systems specialising in ne-waza or groundwork that it became a well-rounded art. In this episode we are joined by Martial Arts historian (and BJJ practitioner) Oz Austwick who has researched this cross-pollination extensively. Oz's research focussed on Sadakazu Uyenishi who was among the first to bring jiu-jitsu to Britain, where he performed under...
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447 - Making Your BJJ Training Safer and Much More Effective with Chris "The Villain" Paines
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Chris is a BJJ and Luta Livre black belt teaching in the UK and has many radical ideas about teaching and training BJJ which could change the sport for the better! In this episode we covered... - Training takedowns and dangerous submissions safely - A radical re-imagining of the BJJ belt system - Encouraging exploration in jiu-jitsu - The limits imposed by strength and power in grappling - And so much more. Check out Chris's personal Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/chrisvillainbjj/ and/or his school at https://www.instagram.com/fightingfitgrapplingbjj/
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446 - Building a Community BJJ Dojo in Kenya with Just Shiggi!
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Shiggi loves BJJ and thinks that it can build and change communities in Africa, and is on a mission to open a community dojo in Kenya aimed at empowering girls aged 12 to 18. Shiggi is a BJJ practitioner with a background in Shotokan karate, Taekwondo, Capoeira, and working the door as a bouncer in UK night clubs. Her ambitious goal is to establish a community dojo in Kenya that not only teaches Jiu-Jitsu but also provides a safe space for girls to learn self-defense and life skills to counteract some of the societal issues affecting young girls in Africa, such as child marriages,...
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445 - The Most Dangerous Day of My Arctic Journey and What It Taught Me About Satisfaction and Happiness
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
In today's episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I share the story of dealing with storms, giant tides, and the ever-present threat of polar bears on the remote Hudson Bay coast at the mouth of the Thlewiaza River in Nunavut, Canada and what I learned about physical, mental, and emotional performance in extreme circumstances. This is an excerpt from my book "Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic", the story of the trip in the podcast above and a damn good read, available at Amazon in phyiscal, Kindle and audibook formats: Also available at Barnes and Noble: ...
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444 - Stoicism and BJJ, with Adisa Banjoko
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
How your journey through BJJ can intersect with and is helped by Stoicism, with Adisa Banjoko. It gets pretty personal as we go beyond the sound bites of Stoicism and dig into the actual practices you can use to develop the four virtues of Stoicism, namely wisdom, discipline, justice and courage. Along the way, we also tackle the importance of character in jiu-jitsu, the recent spate of scandals in the sport, dealing with pain and loss, and the importance of your whys. Check out Adisa on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bishopchronicles/ and subscribe to his Substack at...
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443 - Twenty-seven Red Flags to Avoid When Picking a BJJ Club
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Telltale traits of toxic schools by Stephan Kesting, a BJJ black belt for 20 years. Did he miss any red flags? RED FLAGS 01:24 No cross-training01:41 Separating you from friends and family02:30 No trial classes03:35 No talking to current students03:55 No watching classes04:14 Instructor's name + SA = positive 05:19 "Master"06:27 No sparring till blue belt07:27 No questions in class09:07 Poor hygiene and dirty mats 10:48 High-pressure sales tactics12:53 No talking in class14:27 Gravy Seal bootcamp15:24 "Every other school sucks"16:13 Instructor chronically dates students17:18...
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442 - Building a Positive Gym Culture in BJJ, with Josh Peters
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
How to create a professional environment and a welcoming gym culture at your BJJ school, and what people do wrong, with Josh Peters. Josh is a 3rd degree black belt in BJJ, who has competed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Sanda, Sambo, kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts. He runs in Burtonsville Maryland. Follow Josh on Instagram at and/or on Facebook at . Support Josh's run for county council at . And if you want to comment on upcoming legistlation as suggested in this episode go to P.S. Check out my best-selling book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, available...
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441 - The Science of Fighting and Training MMA, with Ian Harris
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
How to train MMA effectively, efficiently, and safely, with Ian Harris from Fight Science. Ian has more than 40 years of martial arts experience and has been working with MMA fighters for more than 20 years. Today we discuss the changes that need to be made to MMA for it to be effective in a real fight, how to create a fight gameplan (and how to get a fighter to follow it), cutting weight intelligently, the best conditioning for a gas tank that never runs dry, and why fighters are so prone to pseudoscience and supplement scams. Ian runs Fight Science MMA Training Center...
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440 - Training Methods and Cross Training in Jiu-Jitsu, with Josh Peters and Stephan Kesting
The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Josh Peters and Stephan Kesting look at the evolution of effective teaching methods, school culture, risk, cross-training, and why you want your students to become better than you in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Follow Josh on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/joshcpmma/ and check out his school in the Maryland area at https://combatprinciplesmma.com/ And if you want concrete examples of how training in BJJ creates the skills to deal with the rest of life check out my best-selling book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, available anywhere you get physical, digital and audio books and...
info_outlineAOJ black belt Tom Wortman is a fierce competitor; he won IBJJ Pans, Euros, North Americans and Master Worlds in a single year as a brown belt. He's also a jiu-jitsu gypsy, typically training at a club for 3 to 6 months, then moving thousands of miles to see a new part of the country and training at a new club. Find out how he he does this, what the red and green flags are for training at new clubs, how to stay injury free even when training 7 days a week, and redefining success on your own terms. I hope you find Tom as inspiring and insightful as I did - enjoy!
Also, please rate and review this podcast on whichever podcast platform you listen to it - I can't emphasize enough how useful this is and how much I appreciate it.
Finally, if you're interested in my take on living life on your own terms please check out my best-selling book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, available anywhere you get physical, digital and audio books and also here: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/
Thanks!
Stephan