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The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting: Daily Summaries Delivered
by 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 him as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers, and other people living the strenuous life. 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.
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- 4 days ago59 min
447 - Making Your BJJ Training Safer and Much More Effective with Chris "The Villain" Paines
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/
- Apr 7, 202648 min
446 - Building a Community BJJ Dojo in Kenya with Just Shiggi!
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, domestic violence, and lack of educational opportunities. The community dojo will be situated in Kenya and serve as a retreat space where tourists can engage in Jiu-Jitsu camps and go on safaris to see lions, elephants and giraffes. Camp attendees will generate funds to support the dojo and its programs. This model not only benefits the local economy but also provides an enriching experience for visitors. The best place to get updates about the African community dojo is by signing up for Shiggi's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JustShiggi Follow her martial and personal journey on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.ronin.storm/ and https://www.instagram.com/justshiggi Finally, follow Shiggi on YouTube as well: https://www.youtube.com/@justshiggi Thanks! Stephan Kesting
- Mar 19, 202620 min
445 - The Most Dangerous Day of My Arctic Journey and What It Taught Me About Satisfaction and Happiness
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: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/ Also available at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/perseverance-stephan-kesting/1145682384 Indigo in Canada: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/perseverance-life-and-death-in-the-subarctic/9781639368617.html And in many independent bookstores all around the world (they can always order it in if they don't have it). Thanks so much, Stephan Kesting P.S. If you enjoyed this episode check out the beginning of this journey in episode 419 of The Strenuous Life Podcast (links below). For everything in between that episode and this one you'll have to check out the book though... Episode 419 on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/419-perseverance-life-and-death-in-the/id320705565?i=1000697659908 Episode 419 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2eKjiJs9G3SVa6ERGXLhAo
- Mar 4, 20261h 15m
444 - Stoicism and BJJ, with Adisa Banjoko
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 https://adisabanjoko.substack.com/! Check out my book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic. It has a lot of overlap with today's discussion, and is available everywhere including Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612 Thanks Stephan Kesting
- Feb 24, 202639 min
443 - Twenty-seven Red Flags to Avoid When Picking a BJJ Club
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 Financial-medical-astronomical-astrological advice17:27 No competition / in-house tournaments only20:22 Peaked in high school22:57 Focusing only on top competitors23:20 Focusing only on hot women23:45 Focusing only on their phones24:55 Can't pause your membership25:41 "We don't tap to THAT here..."27:26 Mat bullies are tolerated ORANGE FLAGS 29:46 Mandatory and expensive uniforms30:52 Ranking and promotion fees32:19 I see dead people (and bow to them)33:30 Instructor doesn't roll35:01 No colored belts (or women)35:21 "Professor" (see video below) RELATED RESOURCES The infamous "Don't Call Me Professor" video - https://youtu.be/-TeE3tYMiJM Grapplearts instructionals in streaming and app formats: https://www.grapplearts.com/instructionals/ My best-selling book: Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/ My book co-written with BJJ black belt world champion Brandon Mullins: Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu: https://www.amazon.com/Non-Stop-Jiu-Jitsu-Champions-Aggressive/dp/B08CPNPNDD
- Feb 2, 202657 min
442 - Building a Positive Gym Culture in BJJ, with Josh Peters
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 combatprinciplesmma.com in Burtonsville Maryland. Follow Josh on Instagram at instagram.com/joshcpmma and/or on Facebook at facebook.com/combatprinciplesmma. Support Josh's run for county council at friendsofjoshuapeters.com. And if you want to comment on upcoming legistlation as suggested in this episode go to www.dol.gov/agencies/oasp/regulatory-programmatic-policy P.S. 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/
- Jan 20, 20261h 27m
441 - The Science of Fighting and Training MMA, with Ian Harris
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 in Mid-City Los Angeles (fightsciencemma.com). Get in touch with Ian at facebook.com/comediocre and check out his videos on critical thinking at youtube.com/@IanHarrisComedian.
- Dec 16, 20251h 0m
440 - Training Methods and Cross Training in Jiu-Jitsu, with Josh Peters and 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 also here: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/. That journey wouldn't have been possible without my jiu-jitsu training, and there were lessons I learned on that trip that inform my life to this day.
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About 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 him as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers, and other people living the strenuous life. 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.
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