The Old Bastard's Guide to Surviving (and Thriving) on the Mats

Hey Friends!This week we are joined again by my good buddy, my ride or die purple belt partner in crime, Zach Robinson! Zach and I and our spouses and the team from Magic BJJ just got back from Las Vegas last week, where we attended the infamous IBJJF Master World Championships/Jiu Jitsu Con. This event is the biggest IBJJF tournament in the world, with over 8000 competitors total - over 6500 of them were Masters level athletes over the age of 30. It's where older grapplers, full of acai and Jesus, come to meet each other in the desert to test their arthritic joints in a battle of wills to get to the podium (and hopefully walk out uninjured). We discuss almost all the things an average practitioner needs to know before attending this event (at least all the things we find important): how to mentally prepare for competition; the importance of having the support of a team; just how much walking you ACTUALLY have to do at the event; the vibe in Vegas when it is filled with so many jiu-jitsu people; why my coach now has me listed as "Creonte" in his phone; Josh McKinney's gorgeous hair; and do margarita flights REALLY help you compete or not? Join us for this fun conversation with two old tired guys who love pajama wrestling, and were in bed by 10PM each night in sin city, and learn the secrets for surviving at IBJJF Master Worlds! Happy rolling!Mike

Hey friends! Today we have another awesome guest on the pod - Stephen Koepher - or, as many know him, "Sambo Steve". Steve is a life long martial artist and grappler, and one of the founders of New York Combat Sambo/Breakfall studios, where he trains both martial artists and stunt people for the film and entertainment industry. In this conversation we talk about his early years of training more traditional Asian arts and how this lead him to look for more and more practical ways to train; the influence of the first UFC on his training; the early days of the online Bullshido forums; how culture influences rulesets of combat sports; what his priorities are as a coach, and much, much more! So join us for this enlightening conversation with someone who has been a mainstay of the grappling community for decades, and also happens to be a really good human being! Thanks for listening, and happy rolling! Mike https://ussambo.com/On IG: @sambosteve

This week we have my good friend David Figueroa-Martinez joining us for a great conversation spanning a ton of fun topics! We discuss: how he started training jiu-jitsu at the age of 30 in an undergraduate university class; the culture shock going from that class to an actual academy; coming up in the age of no cross-training; how he found himself coaching at three gyms at once; what he looks for in a supportive coach and how that has influenced his coaching style; experiences at BJJ Mental Models camps; putting jiu-jitsu content online, and more! David is an awesome human being and a ton of fun to be around. Please join us for this conversation, and learn a little about the man who has made a meme out of playfully mufflering his students AND inspired me to start reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl series!Happy Training!Mike David's IG: @dfm.2099www.dfmcoachingbjj.comwww.patreon.com/DFMcoachingBjj

Hey friends! Today we have another very special guest - my friend from the podcast Lez Roll Radio, Kelly Schoenegge! Kelly is a brown belt in BJJ out of Kru Fit in Fishers, Indiana, and one of the hosts of the podcast Lez Roll Radio with her wife, Andrea. Kelly shares her jiu-jitsu story with us, including: how the WWE inspired her to start training; meeting her partner on the mats; starting Lez Roll Radio; starting an annual LGBTQ+ grappling camp; creating the Lez Roll Foundation; finding time to train with a toddler in the house; and more!Please join us for a fun chat, and learn more about this super cool human! https://www.lezrollradio.com/https://krufit.com/On IG @lezrollradio and @kellyschoenegge

Hey gang! I have a very special guest on today's show - Gwen Roote! Gwen is a brown belt in BJJ training out of the Pacific Northwest, an avid competitor, and an amazing advocate for the LGBTQ+ jiu-jitsu community. In this must-listen conversation, Gwen and I discuss: her introduction to jiu-jitsu; how jiu-jitsu helps us connect in meaningful ways to other people; why inclusive spaces in jiu-jitsu are so important; how to be a better LGBTQ+ ally in the jiu-jitsu space; and her insatiable thirst for competition. Give this episode a listen, and get to know this amazing woman and see what she is doing to make jiu-jitsu better for everybody! Thanks, and happy rolling!Mike Gwen's IG: @gwenjitsuSafe places to train BJJ for queer and trans people: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qj5jiarVAcAI83Q71GBolb6b1Lk5IAoGWrL9DY7a79w/edit?gid=0#gid=0