Featuring 2020 Episode Clips from Evandro Nunes (The Lion and when to let him out), Matt Thornton (training with Rickson, Chris Hauter, fundamentals as universal concepts), Ricky Lundell (starting BJJ as a kid with Pedro Sauer, the time he “fought” Pedro’s daughter Taissa), Scott Nelson (Emotional Intelligence and its impact on his life and Jiu Jitsu), Clark Gracie (GM Carlos, GM Carley and how the term Gracie Jiu Jitsu came about), Ryron Gracie (Summary/Recap of the meet the listeners 2 episode)......

In This episode we talk about challenges, triumphs and lessons learned in 2020. Joining me for this episode I have Pedro Sauer Black Belts:

Randy McElwee Gracie Jiu Jitsu Athens (Athens, GA)

Mark Cukro Integrated Martial Arts (concord, NC)

Alan Baker  Atlanta Martial Arts Center, (Woodstock GA)

Dan Berry Integrated Martial Arts of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)

Chaz Valentine Bushin Martial Arts (Williamsburg, VA)

Rondel Benjamin Gracie Jiu Jitsu Trinidad/Tabago

Andy Bryant Gracie Jiu Jitsu Commerce (Commerce, GA)

Richard Bresler is back on the show. Bichard is a 6th degree black belt and Rorion Gracie’s first US student. In this interview he discusses his new book, Worth Defending: How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life, and the process of writing it with Scott Burr; stories of the original UFCs, receiving his black belt; biggest influences on his life;  Pedro Sauer’s impact on him and the Professor Sauer - Oleg Taktorov connection; having Rickson as his bodyguard in Brazil; What’s next for him……

Jim Kelly, Pedro Sauer Black Belt, and owner and head instructor of Cincinnati Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, discusses his life growing up, his time in the Marine Corps (forced recon), his martial arts journey, including discovering BJJ while looking for Tae Kwon Do, stick fighting at The Gathering with the Dog Brothers, training with Paul Vunak, The “martial arts bum community,” Mark Denny, Shawn Owens; “Challenging” Jake Johnston;  competing at the Mundials in Brazil; The magical early days with Pedro Sauer and the crew (where he met Alan Hopkins, Jeff Curran, Rockson Gracie, Flavio and Silva Bhering, Matt Strack, Jorge Jiminez, Ricky Lindell);  Learning to be broad minded, finding your own style and  understanding the “why” things work from Pedro Sauer; What he learned from Rickson; training with Scott Smith; most important aspects of self defense; bringing realistic methodologies in training; keeping emotion out of fighting; His girlfriend and the wonderful story of how they met and their story over time….

Scott Burr is a black belt professor and the first person to earn the rank of black belt from legendary BJJ pioneer Professor Steve Maxwell.  He also holds black belts in Kodokan Judo and the Kuk Sul Do, and is a MaxwellSC-certified Pro Trainer, holding Level 1 and Level 2 certifications in both the MaxwellSC Kettlebell and Bodyweight Training systems. Scott is the author of the numerous books on strength & conditioning and martial arts books, and In recent years has had the opportunity to train with and learn directly from Master Rickson Gracie. In this interview we talk about his history in martial arts, including MMA training and going from Jiu Jitsu to Judo; his relationship with Steve Maxwell; his books, and how he got into writing; his current projects including Robert Drysdale’s book - Opening Close Guard and Richard Bresler’s book -  Worth Defending;  his invention-the Knot Lock; training with Rickson Gracie, his Jiu Jitsu philosophy, and more

Ryron Gracie Returns to surprise callers with a phone call. Listeners called include Jarod Zieffling, Greg Nelson, James Guynn, Danial Raza, Joel Ambrosia, Loren Files, and Jean Soares

Evandro Nunes is an instructor at Gracie University HQ. He’s a highly successful former competitor, winning numerous high level competitions, including world championships. He is a genuine, authentic, and highly insightful person, and this was a very interesting interview. In This interview he discusses what the Lion is and when to let it out, lessons learned in Jiu Jitsu, favorite submission and aspect of Jiu Jitsu, what gives him a sense of Joy in his life, thoughts on Spirituality, Self Care-what it really means, Peak experiences, Impactful books, favorite movies, Life regrets,  and more! Don’t miss it!

EP 130   Clark Gracie is the grandson of Grand Master Carlos Gracie and oldest son of GM Carley Gracie. He is a BJJ world champion and a world renowned instructor. 

In this episode we discuss how  he’s coping with the current covid 19 situation and his thoughts on moving forward, his philosophy on training, sport vs competition focus, building “insurance,” academy culture, creativity in Jiu Jitsu, what makes him so successful in competition, balancing the pressure with becoming the best you can be, most common mistakes in competition prep, importance of mindset, putting yourself in bad positions intentionally, his new BJJ Fanatics video program- Automatic Omoplata System, growing up as a Gracie, his grandfather GM Carlos Gracie and his father GM Carley Gracie and the impact they had on him, where the term Gracie Jiu Jitsu came from, the evolution of BJJ, Gracies that don’t do Jiu Jitsu, his girlfriend and son, what he’s most proud of and most grateful for, and more…..

Mike The Cop is a police officer, Jiu Jitsu practitioner, and public figure/entertainer who makes videos to entertain people and build good relations between law enforcement and the community. He’s also the author of You Can’t Make This Stuff Up. In this interview we discuss the recent incident where an officer was kicked onto train tracks, what led him into law enforcement and what’s best thing about being LEO, the biggest challenges of being LEO, the importance of social media on perceptions about law enforcement officers, why he started Jiu Jitsu and the  biggest lesson learned through it, how much training officers get and why don’t they train more on their own, his thoughts on bad cops, his videos, mass shootings, what the movies and TV get wrong and right about police work, citizens’ arrests, his podcast Tales of Valor, and what the Sheepdog Nation is and more….

Scotty Nelson BJJ pioneer. He formed  OTM, one of the first successful JJ websites and technique platforms back in 1997, and has traveled the world contributing to BJJ in a multitude of ways. He’s a blackbelt under Jeff Glover and has had a huge impact on various aspects of BJJ and MMA. In this interview we discuss. In this interview we discuss his cancer hospital chipsa-what it is and how he got involved in it, complementary therapies and treatments,  Gerson diet, stem cells, The power of integrative medical care, Mind Body Medicine, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and the impact it’s had on his life, his relationship with Henry Akins, living in Brazil in the early days of BJJ/MMA, his GI company/brand-Lucky GI and the innovations he made in that industry, something that had a huge impact on his life, the need to change with the times, what he’s most proud of and what he wants to be remembered for, and there’s also a cameo from one and only Jeff Glover...

Matt Thornton is the founder, CEO and Head coach of Straight Blast GYM (SBG) International. He has trained countless martial artists and coaches, and has worked with some of the best MMA fighters, grapplers and combat athletes in the world. 

In this interview we discuss several subjects including his start in martial arts, serving in the Army, his size (6’8” and if it ever affected/dictated  his martial arts style), his challenge match with Fabio Santos, meeting Rickson Gracie the first time, the biggest thing about martial arts (and Jiu Jitsu) that people just don’t get, Randy Couture’s impact on SBG, training under Chris Haugter, Aliveness, having solid fundamentals, the importance of connection, the value and weakness of traditional martial arts, Henry Akins’ recent move to SBG, and Henry’s impact on his training, his unique approach to teaching seminars, the most interesting book he’s read in the past year, being a father as a younger man and being a father as an older man, and more!

After the interview stick around for the

Professor Ricardo Almeida is a Renzo Gracie black belt, a retired UFC and Pride FIghter, and founder of Ricardo Almeida BJJ Academy. In this episode he discusses the power of Jiu Jitsu in people's lives and who Jiu Jitsu  is for, overcoming fear through Jiu Jitsu , how to get through this current self isolation situation, growing up with his brothers Flavio and Andre, the early days in Brazil and competition between schools, matches that stand out, Carlis Gracie JR s impact on him, fighting MMA in Pride and UFC, best American Jiu Jitsu guys right now and best Jiu Jitsu guys in MMA, being a MMA judge and challenges for judges, being a father and how Jiu Jitsu helps  kids with autism and kids in general, his relationship with Renzo Gracie and the impact it’s had on his Jiu Jitsu and life, training as you get older, and more. 

 Ricky Lundell is FILA world champion, a 2 time Pankration world champion, and a Jiu Jitsu world champion. He’s a former D-1 Wrestler and the youngest person to receive a black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the US. He is a world renowned wrestling, BJJ, and MMA coach, and 4th degree BJJ Black Belt under Master Pedro Sauer. Ricky is a prominent coach, trainer, and motivational speaker, and is also founder of One Percent Better Every Day ™

. In this episode Ricky discusses starting BJJ as a child including time he “fought” Pedro Sauer’s daughter Taissa), early days with Pedro, how he became the youngest black belt in the US, early MMA (NHB), things that he did to become world champion 

(importance of visualization and drilling), early Grapplers Quest days, FILA and Pankration world championships, how ended up on the Iowa State wrestling team and his relationships with Cael and Cody Sanderson, the University of Grappling, working with UFC fighters and champions, taking a personal diagnostic daily, The 1% Better Every Day movement ™ and philosophy and how it can change your life, how personal tragedy forced him to dig deep, how he set out to squat 500 lbs in 500 days (at 149 lbs body weight). Ricky is an incredible human being so don’t miss this episode! 

Michael Heinz is a Jiu Jitsu instructor, yoga & meditation expert, and owner of SBG Texas. In this episode he discusses his jiu jitsu and life journey, living and teaching overseas & how living abroad can help you grow and broaden your perspective, training in Korea under John Frankl, the UFC’s influence on him, his thoughts on competition, training with Henry Akins, his friendship with Rob Wolf, how he was led to move to Texas to open SBG Texas, his hobbies off the mat, and more…

In this episode Marty has a discussion with Professors Keith Owen, Greg Nelson, and Mark Cukro about starting the year off strong and staying strong throughout the year.  They discuss 

How not to fizzle out half way through the year; Goals versus Resolutions; The importance of goals and the biggest mistakes in doing goals; Accountability; Leading by example and bringing out the best in others; Helping each other raise our levels; Getting out of our comfort zones; Celebrating our success; When to share your goals and when not to, and much more!