“I’m not afraid of getting punched in the face. That’s my love language” Dan Joseph, Dan Zia Joseph is a BJJ practitioner, Army veteran, and author of Backpack to Rucksack: Insight into Leadership and Resilience by Military experts. In this interview he discusses How his buddy got him into BJJ, his navy seal friends influence on him, joining the Army at 32 years old, training at Dean Lister and Jocko’s academy, how BJJ philosophy Carries over to the rest of life. Battling anxiety, what Jiu Jitsu taught him about himself and how it forced him to deal with past trauma, how training blindfolded developed his game, the staggering impact of veteran suicide, his friend Eric’s impact on his JJ during the pandemic, facing the “boogie man” of  fear, having your stress “beat” out of you by people you trust, why there are no bad positions in Jiu Jitsu, being there for and listening to veterans, why he wrote the book, deferent types of leaders and how they affect their people, his mentors’ impact on him, the importance of resilience, the concept of the ruck sack, and more! Listen on all major podcast platforms or at GracieJiuJitsuRocks.com.

An “Active attempt to be humbly aware of how limited my knowledge is” lets me be a student in the truest sense.  ~Chris Haueter

Chris Haueter is a  6th degree Black belt, member of the dirty dozen and founder of Combat Base. He is an insightful and skilled teacher as well as a gifted artist.  In this interview he discusses Reassessing your game as you get older, what the slogan Think street, Train Sport, Practice Art means,kKeeping an open mind and maturing in your attitude and perspective, being an amateur scientist, artist, and historian, staying humble, the Hegelian dialect mode, being conditioned how to age, Importance of free speech (and what it means), knowledge vs disinformation, scientific method and inquiry, the dunning kruger effect, the theory of 3s, environment vs will, how the rules of a competition influence how an art is practiced/performed, how GI and No Gi compliment each other, his love for cultural anthropology, the analogy of Rock and Roll to Jiu Jitsu’s development, traveling the world teaching, how society views older people, being part of the Dirty Dozen, JKD,  Rigan Machado and Rickson Gracie’s impact on him, his wife Melissa and how they met, having fun in Jiu Jitsu…

“In combat simplicity succeeds and complexity kills.” Lt Col. Jason Mills

Jason Mills is a Pedro Sauer Brown belt and a Certified Gracie University instructor. He recently finished his military career and will be the new manager of Gracie Sacramento  (a new CTC) in the Sacramento area of CA. In this interview he discusses his military career, how he found Jiu Jitsu and his Jiu Jitsu philosophy, hard vs soft training, the importance of mastering the basics at a high level, the instructors who’ve had the biggest impact on him, how Helio emphasized the self defense mindset and how Professor Sauer, Ryron and Rener are carrying it forward, advice for people starting Jiu Jitsu, other martial arts he practices, his favorite book and the meaning it has for him and his life, and more….

Listen on all major podcast platforms or at GracieJiuJitsuRocks.com

Marty shares his journey and experience of becoming a certified Wim Hof Method instructor

Dr. Peter Warshawski, Lifelong martial artist, Periodontal dental surgeon, fitness enthusiast, and recent author,  discusses his new book: Blows, and why he wrote it, overcoming all the childhood negative programming and discovering his power, Becoming a periodontal dental surgeon, what to look for in a great dentist, the importance of dental hygiene has on other areas of health including cardiovascular health, the importance of food and nutrition, being diagnosed with RA, how he met his wife Audry and the gift she is to him, the importance of self care and resilience, the role that BJJ has played in his life and who have been the biggest influencers on his BJJ including Henry Akins, why boxing is so important to him and the role James Lights Out Toney has had on him, what he wants his legacy to be, and why anyone can achieve great things with the right mindset

Todd Fox, Security & Expert and 3rd BJJ Black Belt, is a former Marine, law enforcement officer, BJJ black belt, and Author. After his military service, he began his career in EP (Executive Protection) and has spent the past two decades providing executive protection and safety services to high level clients including  some of the most recognizable names in music and movies including Guy Ritchie, Madonna, Motley Crue, nine inch nails, Janet Jackson, and Tool, to name a few. 

He holds three black belts in uniquely different arts. He is a former NHB/MMA fighter, as well as a black belt U.S. National Champion, U.S. Open Champion and Pan American Medalist in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He continues to actively train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. 

In this interview we cover a wealth of topics including his current situation and what protective/security services has been like for him,  the importance of building relations, working with Matt Damon on the Bourne Identity set, waking Madonna up on 9-11, most rewarding and most challenging aspects to his work,  why he joined the Marine Corps and what it taught him, fighting bare knuckle and NHB back in the day, his martial arts journey including training with Rodrigo Vaghi, his time with Rickson Gracie, living with and training with Henry Akins, sharing the mat with Sean Patrick Flanery, and how Renzo Gracie impacted him and his Jiu Jitsu, advice to new Jiu Jitsu practitioners, Security safety advice for the general public..in the areas of driving/road rage, airport/airplane, walking in a city (the 3 Cs), and firearms. We discuss his approach to learning  languages, and the books he’s written including his soon to be released book for Jiu Jitsu instructors wanting to teach law enforcement officers ( and the multitude of things they need to know), and much more. 

Sean Patrick Flanery, world renowned actor and 4th Degree BJJ black belt, discusses new movie Nefarious and all that went into doing it, his gratitude for his long movie career, training at Rafael Lavato Jr’s academy while filming the new movie, practicing Martial Arts since age 9, his deep obsession for Jiu Jitsu and why it will be the biggest part of his legacy,  training at Rickson’s academy, Henry Akins’ impact on him, his movie Born a Champion and how it came to be, his book Jane 2, meeting his wife and what drew him to her, the three questions that define old school JJ, adding realism to your training, the value of the the early UFCs, the most important things for kids to learn in Jiu Jitsu, the defend-escape-positional control-submission hierarchy, why Jiu Jitsu is unintuitive and a re-learn is needed, the early days at Rickson’s academy, why Renzo is the greatest person in Jiu Jitsu and the incredible impact he’s had on him, his faith and the importance it has for him, the importance of delayed gratification and why discomfort is key to growth and, how the way you live is “your thank you letter,” and more!

Charlie Vinch, BJJ black belt, expert striker and owner of Budo Martial Arts Studio in Ewing, NJ discusses his recent  Brazil trip and tips for those traveling to Brazil, training at the world renowned Chute Boxe academy and meeting Wanderlei Silva and others, his extensive martial arts journey, getting his Black belt from the Migliarese brothers and what he’s learned from them, his academy and philosophy, the importance of building technical foundation before adding power, what part emotions play in learning and development, the benefits of studying/training multiple martial arts, transitioning from fighter to instructor, goals for 2023 and lessons learned 2022, his thoughts on realistic training and what’s needed for someone to be great in striking, No Gi, GI, street self defense, and much more!

Matt Wahlstrom is a Tom DeBlass Black Belt, Entrepreneur, small biz owner,  licensed realtor, Crazy off road racer, inventor, and creator of the  lifestyle clothing brand, Epic Roll Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In this interview Matt discusses the Importance of balance in life, his BJJ journey, what fighting MMA taught him, training with Eric Silver and mario Yamasaki, landing at Team Renzo Gracie-team Tom Deblass (Silverbacks), how Jiu Jitsu has evolved, his thoughts on Tom Deblass, the challenges and what he learned from working in the corporate fitness world, how his young son helped him make a major career decision, living and running a business in Nashville, working in real estate and what it takes to be successful, starting the lifestyle clothing brand Epic Roll, his fitness and baby bottle product and the intricacies of the patent process, important lessons he’s learned from Jiu Jitsu, goals and what it takes to achieve them, his crazy off road racing adventures, and more!