Ep. 268: When to Optimize, feat. Edwin "Junny" Ocasio

This week we're joined again by 3x world champ and Marcelo Garcia black belt, Emily Kwok! Fresh off winning the 2022 Pans, Emily joins us to talk about what it's like to compete after the age of 40. A great chat about what competition looks like as you get older, take on more responsibilities, become more concerned about your health, and achieve a broader life perspective. Emily's website: https://emilykwok.com/ Emily’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/emilykwokbjj/ Emily's pod...

1 Aug 20221h 9min

This week we're joined by Sonia Sillan! Sonia is a black belt under Hannette Staack and is the owner of Combat Arts Academy of Seattle. In this episode, Sonia shares her honest advice on how to build a BJJ business. Topics include financing, business partners, affiliations, customer onboarding, customer contracts, trial classes, class safety, and volunteers vs. employees. Sonia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soniasillan/ Combat Arts Academy Instagram: https://www.i...

25 Juli 20221h 8min

This week we're joined again by Malachy Friedman! Malachy breaks down mental models for the knee shield half guard. Get Malachy's knee shield instructionals on Jiu Jitsu X: https://jiujitsux.com/profile/malachyf/ Malachy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malachyfriedman/ Mental models discussed in this episode: Controlling the Distance https://bjjmentalmodels.com/controlling-the-distance/ Predictable Responses https://bjjmentalmodels.com/predictable-responses/ Funneling https...

18 Juli 20221h 11min

This week we're joined by Ryan Hurst! Ryan is the head coach at GMB Fitness, the creators of the popular Elements program for strength & flexibility. In this episode, Ryan introduces GMB's concepts for expanding your range of motion, shares tips on injury prevention, and explains why most BJJ warmups are suboptimal. GMB on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GMBFitnessSkills GMB's Website: https://gmb.io/ GMB on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gmbfitness/ Contact GMB: ...

11 Juli 202259min

This week we're joined by Micah Brakefield! Micah holds dual BJJ black belts under Don Whitefield and Nabil Salameh, and is the head coach at 10th Planet Etobicoke. Micah joins us to discuss the importance of unorthodoxy and creativity in Jiu-Jitsu. Micah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micahbrakefield/ Micah’s Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/micahbrakefield/ Train with Micah at 10th Planet Etobicoke: https://10thplanetetobicoke.com/ Mental models discussed in this...

4 Juli 20221h 1min

This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki! Following up on a previous episode, Rob introduces Island Top Team's proprietary system for constraint-based training. He calls it "F**k Your Jiu-Jitsu," because he's Rob Biernacki, so of course he does. FYJJ has four categories: sweeping, passing, top control, and submission control. BJJ Concepts: https://bjjconcepts.net/ Rob on Instagram: https://instagram.com/islandtopteam/ Mental models discussed in this episode: Constra...

27 Juni 20221h 23min

This week we're joined by Robert Drysdale! Robert brings his extensive experience, both as an elite grappler and historian, to discuss the BJJ "generation gap" and how he's witnessed the art evolve. A really insightful conversation about the importance of history, the evolution of coaching, how rulesets have changed the sport, and fundamentals vs. trends. Opening Closed Guard - the book & film: https://www.closedguardfilm.com/ Robert's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ro...

20 Juni 20221h 14min

This week we're joined again by Matt Kirtley! Matt, better known by his internet handle Aesopian, is a lead moderator on Reddit's /r/bjj and an instructor at Inverted Gear Academy. During the day, he's also a web development and search engine optimization (SEO) specialist. In this episode, Matt draws on his BJJ and SEO experience to share some website best practices for BJJ gyms. We talk about website hosting services, gym management software, email, digital security, hirin...

13 Juni 20221h 20min