Podcast EP 34: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Principles with Rob Biernacki (plus Ninjas, Insane Martial Arts Instructors and Martial Arts Cults)

29 Mar, 2016

The latest episode of the Grapplearts Radio Podcast is out. In it I talk with Rob Biernacki, a friend, BJJ black belt, and contributor to Grapplearts (see the videos and articles he’s been involved with here).

Rob is known for his analytical style of teaching BJJ. He doesn’t focus on being a ‘technique collector, but rather specialises in sharing the underlying principles and concepts that make a technique work against bigger, stronger, or even more skilled opponents.

This is a fun, opinionated conversation in which I’m sure we’ll offend just about everyone! Some of the topics we covered in the 1:19 discussion include…

How the underlying principles of BJJ that make it easy to learn techniques, adapt to new situations, and transition effortlessly between gi and no gi training
Stories about cultish schools run by insane martial arts instructors
A narrow escape from vindictive ninjas in the 1980s
The role of competition in BJJ
Maintaining standards in the martial arts
Why suffering is a good thing for the development of martial arts skills

To hear this podcast episode in full, you have a couple of options. The first one is to just press play on the embedded player below – easy as 1,2,3!

The second (and better!) option is subscribing to The Strenuous Life Podcast so that you don’t miss out on any future episodes. To do this, you just need to click on your chosen audio player that is compatible with your device – one click and you’re on your way!