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Fighting fascism and the far-right in combat sports like MMA and BJJ.
52 Episodes
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In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan sits down with UK political video essayist JimmyTheGiant and Truth Collective founder Chris Ingram to unpack how billionaire networks, social media algorithms, and post-truth politics are reshaping democracy across the globe. Links mentioned: • JimmyTheGiant on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTheGiant • The Truth Collective — https://truthcollective.global • BJJ Mental Models — https://bjjmentalmodels.com ⸻ 👥 Featuring: Steve Kwan — @...
When gym leaders stay silent, people get hurt. In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan, Stephan Kesting, and Jesse Walker speak with guest Sonia Sillan of Combat Arts Academy about what happens when Jiu-Jitsu coaches fail to protect their students. Together, they unpack the culture of silence in martial arts, the myth of “mat enforcers,” and how real leadership means building safe spaces and speaking up when it matters most. Combat Arts Academy — https://caaseattle.com Sonia Sillan o...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan (BJJ Mental Models), Jeff Shaw (Bellingham BJJ), and Mike Mahaffey (Old Bastard BJJ) sit down with journalist and Muay Thai fighter Karen Attiah. Karen was the founding editor of the Washington Post’s Global Opinions section and later a columnist covering race, gender, and culture. After 11 years at the Post, she was abruptly fired (by email) for “violating social media policy.” Her real offense? Speaking honestly about power, violence, and fre...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan (BJJ Mental Models), Jesse Walker (Rough Hands BJJ), and Stephan Kesting (Grapplearts) dive into the chaos of America’s accelerating news cycle. From Charlie Kirk’s assassination to Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, from RFK Jr.’s war on science to the weaponization of “cancel culture,” the team unpacks why democracy feels like it’s collapsing in real time. Together, they explore how “flooding the zone” with scandals makes it impossible to proces...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan (BJJ Mental Models) and Jesse Walker (Rough Hands BJJ) welcome special guest Dr. Derek Jones. Derek is a BJJ black belt, innovation educator, and retired philosophy professor whose work bridges martial arts, culture, and political thought. Together, the team explores how memes evolved from internet jokes into one of the most powerful tools of propaganda in modern politics. From Richard Dawkins’ Selfish Gene to AI-driven meme floods, from the sh...
In this special reaction episode of Fighting Matters, Jesse Walker and Mike Mahaffey respond to the shocking assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at a Utah event. While both hosts strongly condemn Kirk’s rhetoric as harmful and divisive, they emphasize that political violence is never the answer and only undermines progressive causes. They discuss the dangers of normalizing assassination as a political tool, the disproportionate fallout such acts will have on marginalized com...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, hosts Stephan Kesting and Steve Kwan engage with Derek Beres, a health and science journalist and co-host of the Conspirituality podcast. They explore the role of RFK Jr and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement's role in promoting conspiracy thinking, inaccurate health narratives, and spreading of misinformation about vaccines. Stephan, Steve and Derek examine the historical roots of the anti-vax movement, the role of individualism in health cons...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jeff Shaw (Bellingham BJJ) and Mike Mahaffey (Old Bastard BJJ) welcome special guest Jay O’Shea. Jay is a martial artist, scholar, and the author of Risk, Failure, Play: What Dance Reveals about Martial Arts Training. The team tackles one of the deepest questions in combat sports: what separates fighting from violence? From the role of consent in Jiu-Jitsu and self-defense, to the rise of fascist fight clubs and the political stakes of play, this conversa...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, we're joined by "Jane Doe," who expands on her recent allegations surrounding Adam Zugec and ZUMA Martial Arts in Victoria, BC. "Jane" recaps her story of training at ZUMA, her experiences with misconduct and boundary violations, why she decided to go public, and how that experience has impacted her. We discuss the importance of consent, power dynamics in martial arts, and how gym culture can either protect or endanger its members. We reached out to Mr. Z...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan of BJJ Mental Models, Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ, and Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ welcome special guest Eric Muntz to tackle one of the most self-destructive tendencies of the political left: the purity trap. We’ve talked plenty about the dangers of the far right, but tonight we turn the mirror on ourselves. Why do progressive movements so often collapse into circular firing squads, language policing, and purity tests that alienate al...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan of BJJ Mental Models is joined by Stephan Kesting, Mike Mahaffey, and former FBI special agent Mike German to uncover the truth about “Active Clubs” — far-right extremist fight clubs infiltrating martial arts. Mike German spent 16 years as an FBI undercover agent, including operations against neo-Nazi and militia groups. He explains how white supremacist networks operate, how they infiltrate sports like BJJ and MMA, and what the martial arts co...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan of BJJ Mental Models and Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ are joined by wrestling historian David Wolf to unpack how Donald Trump turned American politics into a pro wrestling storyline. From Trump’s long history with Vince McMahon and WWE, to the political weaponization of kayfabe, we dig into how the tactics of the squared circle, like manufactured rivalries, inflated numbers, and outrageous storylines, became the blueprint for his rise. We a...
The Fighting Matters crew gathers to discuss how Russian martial arts, such as Systema and Sambo, have been linked to far-right ideology and are being used by Russia as a tool for propaganda, recruitment, and spreading disinformation in foreign countries, including the US. We also discuss the evolving Trump-Epstein situation, right-wing ideologies in Hollywood, and how to curate the culture of your club to avoid it becoming a fascist hotbed. Thanks to Steve Koepfer from New York Combat Samb...
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan of BJJ Mental Models and Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ confront one of the most urgent challenges in martial arts today: the normalization of extremist rhetoric, abuse, and unethical behavior within the community. From Derek Moneyberg’s questionable black belt promotion by Jake Shields, to the broader cultural rot represented by figures like Jeffrey Epstein and their enablers, we dig into how bad actors gain power, and why silence enables the...
Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw are joined by Tyson LaRone (the "Warrior Philosopher" from TikTok) to look at the rise of fascism in modern times. Tyson shares his insights on the characteristics of fascist regimes, drawing parallels between historical figures like Mussolini and contemporary political leaders. We also explore the role of social media in shaping political discourse and whether it's possible to engage in meaningful dialogue in a polarized world. Tune in for a deep dive into the i...
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