The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we have a Pioneer of American BJJ practitioners David Meyer. David started Jiu-Jitsu is 1991 and was one of the first americans to reach the rank of black belt.

We talk about:

• His early experiences with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Competing at some of the first BJJ competitions in the united states
• Being an athlete and a vegan
• Kicking ass and saving animals
• Getting more out of each class
• Doing BJJ home work
• Doing a tabata workout
• How to push yourself when you are tired
• BJJ for MMA
• Early MMA
• Performing better at competitions
• Developing new techniques
• Being a good training partner
• The importance of a game plan
• Training with Eddie Bravo
• Adopting a pet

Links:

• fuel for the fighter
• Training for Competition
• BJJ America
• Adopt a pet

Quote of the week: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle, Presented by Ryan Hall

Article of the week: "4 Ways Submission Grapplers Can Apply Wrestling Concepts to Their Practice"

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week on the podcast we have an interview with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Stephan Kesting.  Stephan has written some of the best articles about BJJ.  He is very well know for teaching BJJ on his websites Grapplearts.com, BeginningBJJ.com and his newsletter.

We talk about:

• His start with Martial Arts
• Doing BJJ before it was popular
• Content vs context when learning BJJ online
• Taking responsibility for your own training
• Your training environment
• The overall role of a BJJ coach
• Learning from lower belts
• The firefighting and BJJ
• BJJ and self defense
• Advice for people who can only train 2 or 3 times per week
• The ideas for a BJJ roadmap

Links:

• A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  How to Progress FAST in BJJ
• Grapplearts Facebook page
• Grapplearts.com
• Twitter
• Youtube

Quote of the week: "never give up, and believe in yourself" Franjinha

Article of the week: 5 Difficult Concepts For BJJ Beginners To Grasp, check out the authors site here

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

This is the best video I could find for Hammer Pants. Mc. Hammer make an appearance at 3 min.

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we have an interview with one of the top BJJ coaches Ricardo Miller.  Ricardo is also known as Franjinha.  You can find a full bio on Franjinha here.  Check out his school Paragon website here.

We talk about:

• A brief history of Franjinha
• His coaching style
• His 32 Black belts under him
• Jeff Glover and Bill "The Grill" Cooper
• How BJJ is always changing
• He has 10,000 people that have came to his gym, and out of that he has made 32 Black belts that is one person per every 312
• His goal of when he has a new student
• Helping his students
• What Paragon means
• The small percent of people that actually compete
• Advice for the first time competitor
• Advice for the person who can only train once a week
• Comparing BJJ to a puzzle

Links:

• Jiu-Jitsu Pedia
• Paragon

Quote of the week: "respect all, fear none" Danny Alvarez

Article of the week: "Does Technique Really Conquer All? 3 BJJ Masters Give their Opinion" BJJEE.com

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

Danny Alvarez is a 2nd Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. Danny is affiliate under 4th degree Black Belt Bruno Bastos. Check out his full bio and huge competition history here.

We talk about:

• Dealing with a loss
• Coaching kids
• Why it is important to set a schedule to train
• The growth of BJJ
• Training only once a week
• Note taking
• Balancing your personal life and BJJ

Links:

• Alvarez BJJ
• Alvarez Facebook page
• Twitter @alvarezbjj
• Instagram

Quote of the week: "If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.” Theodore Roosevelt

Article of the week: "5 Tips To Take Your BJJ Sparring To The Next Level"

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

Danny Alvarez is a 2nd Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. Danny is affiliate under 4th degree Black Belt Bruno Bastos. Check out his full bio and huge competition history here.

We talk about:

• His start with BJJ
• Leaving a good full time job to teach BJJ
• Balancing work and family
• His aggressive style of BJJ
• Doing BJJ as a family
• Overcoming travel difficulties
• Cutting weight as you travel
• How to use internet to help your training
• The importance of doing private lessons
• Avoiding frustration when learning a new technique
• Advice for doing your first tournament

Links:

• Alvarez BJJ
• Alvarez Facebook page
• Twitter @alvarezbjj
• Instagram

Quote of the week: "Shoot for the moon and even if you miss you will be among the stars" Bernardo Faria. This is a must listen to quote! it starts at 2min 30sec.

Article of the week: Rickson Gracie “Should Put More Value On Learning Than On Competing With Your Training Partner”

The video Gary was talking about "Kid Destroys Bully With Punch And Double Leg"

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we have part 2 of our interview with Tim Sledd. Tim is a 1st degree black belt under  Andre Galvao. Tim not only runs his own gym Small Axe BJJ, he is also the Director of affiliates for Atos. Tim shares lots of information about what is going on behind the scenes at Atos.

If you missed part 1 of this interview check it out first here!

In part 2 of this interview we talk about:

• What Atos does differently than other BJJ teams
• Systems building with your techniques
• Drilling, and how to drill properly
• Specific sparing and how it is used
• Speed drills, flow drills, and fine motor skills drills
• The culture of Atos
• The culture of Small Axe BJJ
• Left brain right brain confusion
• Advice for a student doing a first tournament
• How to start off a match strong
• The Leg Drag

Links:

• Email Tim Sledd: smallaxebjj@gmail.com
• Small Axe website
• Essays by Tim Sledd
• Leg Drag Workshop Dvd by Tim Sledd

Quote of the week: ”Everything Should Be Made as Simple as Possible, But Not Simpler” Albert Einstein- Presented by Matt Thorton

Article of the week: "BJJ Promotions, and Lack Thereof" By: White Belt Survival Strategy

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we have an interview with Tim Sledd. Tim is a 1st degree black belt under  Andre Galvao. Tim not only runs his own gym Small Axe BJJ, he is also the Director of affiliates for Atos. Tim shares lots of information about what is going on behind the scenes at Atos.

In part 1 of this interview we talk about:

• His training history
• Washing your belt and what your belt should mean to you
• Who helps you get better at BJJ (not just coaches and teammates)
• Leaving his job as a prosecutor to do BJJ full time
• Real world lessons matching up with things learned on the mat
• The name of his gym Small Axe BJJ
• The idea of a chain saw vs an axe
• Check out the Bob Marley Small Axe video
• His thoughts about the berimbolo
• Building systems in BJJ
• How purple belts begin to speak the BJJ language
• Comparisons of BJJ to learning a new language
• Organizing your jiu-jitsu

Links:

• Email Tim Sledd: smallaxebjj@gmail.com
• Small Axe website
• Essays by Tim Sledd
• Led Drag Workshop Dvd by Tim Sledd
• Learn more about Myelin check out our interview with New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle

Quote of the week: "The most important thing you can do to get better at jiu-jitsu, is jiu-jitsu" Presented by Eduardo Telles

Article of the week: "Focus on the Fundamentals: No Shame in Your Game" by A skirt on the Mat

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

"Small Axe" Bob Marley

Why boasteth thyself
Oh, evil men
Playing smart
And not being clever?
I said, you're working iniquity
To achieve vanity (if a-so a-so)
But the goodness of Jah, Jah
I-dureth for-I-ver

So if you are the big tree
We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down

These are the words
Of my master, keep on tellin' me
No weak heart
Shall prosper
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall fall in it, fall in it
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall fall in it (... fall in it)

If you are the big tree, let me tell you that
We are the small axe, sharp and ready
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down(To cut you down)(To cut you down)

These are the words
Of my master, tellin' me that
No weak heart
Shall prosper
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall fall in it, uh, bury in it
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall bury in it, uh (... bury in it)

If you are the big, big tree
We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down
If you are the big, big tree, let me tell you that
We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down
Sharpened

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we are excited to bring you an interview with Eduardo Telles.  Eduardo is well know for his creativity on the mat, he is always trying to surprise his opponents. Check out more of Eduardo's Bio here.

In the interview with Eduardo Telles we talk about:

• Training in both Sao Paulo and Rio
• Starting BJJ at 17 years old
• How having fun was so important to getting good at BJJ
• The use of the turtle guard
• The benefits of using the turtle guard
• Common mistakes when using the turtle guard
• How he attacks someone that is using the turtle guard
• His ideas about how points can distract opponents and lead to more submissions
• The idea of giving points for side control
• Advice for a first time student competing
• What he was like as a blue belt
• Some of his most favorite matches.
• Watch his match with Felipe Pena
• His online training academy

Links:

• 99 Jiu-Jitsu San Diego
• Turtle guard on line training here
• Nine Nine Jiu-Jitsu on Facebook
• Eduardo's sponsors Kingz Kimonos and Choke Republic, Tell them Eduardo sent you :)

Quote of the week: "The goal of Jiu-Jitsu is not to be undefeated but no to lose" Presented by Brian Freeman

Article of the week: When rolling with a visitor be aware of these rules of etiquette

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

Brian Freeman is back on the BjjBrick Podcast! His last appearance was episode 16. Brian is a disabled vet with a T4 spinal cord injury with Brown-Sequard syndrome. He is from Rockingham, North Carolina. Brian is now a blue belt under Renzo Gracie.

We talk about:

• What caused his injury
• Getting started in BJJ
• Doing some techniques in his chair, and training to not get separated from his chair in a self defense situation
• What it is like to be part of a BJJ team
• Competing with able bodied competition
• His game and strategies that he uses
• Why some techniques are difficult for him to defend, and how he deals with them
• His experience at IBJJF Pan 2015
• How everyone adapts Jiu-Jitsu to their bodies
• How he moves around differently off the mat because of Jiu-Jitsu
• His story of getting his blue belt
• Competing two weeks after getting his blue belt
• His goals when he competes
• Competing in the expert division
• His plans of teaching motivational and educational seminars

Links:

• Grapplers Heart
• Brian Freeman Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Email-Wheelchairjitsu@gmail.com
• Support Brian's sponsor deusfight.com/ Brian25 for 25% off

Quote of the week: "You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room" Dr. Seuss

Article of the week: "Injury Prevention in BJJ: Put the Odds in Your Favor"

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

Submission Series Promotions is the biggest submission only host in Canada.Their second event "The Takeover" takes place Saturday, June 20 in Halifax Ns.  In this episode we bring you interviews with two of the athletes that are competing in this event.

Jason Gagnon- Jason is a brown belt under Cobrinha.  You can find Jason training at Genesis Martial Arts in Abbotsford, BC. He will be competing against Hood Rich of Zuma MMA.  Jason's Facebook page.

Josh Wincey- Josh is a black belt under Kevin Taylor.  Josh trains at Titans MMA.  His is competing against Andris Brunovskis on The Takeover card.  Josh's Facebook page.

Quote of the week: Presented by James Puopolo "True strength is not always shown through victory.  Stand up, try again and display strength of heart." Rickson Gracie

Article of the week: "The One Secret Trick to Getting Good at BJJ"

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast