BjjBrick Podcast- BJJ, no-gi and good times!

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

PJ Waicus joins us this week for an interview.  He has been training BJJ for about 5 years.  He trains at South Jersey Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy.  PJ has two children that have Angelman Syndrome.  This interview we talk a lot about BJJ, learn about Angelman Syndrome and we face off the mat challenges that life presents.

WaicusFamily

We talk about:

  • Starting BJJ at the age of 39
  • Size differences on the mat
  • How Angelman Syndrome is passed on
  • The effects of Angelman Syndrome
  • The Angelman community
  • Bipolar Disorder and BJJ
  • Training with a busy schedule
  • How BJJ is like a church to him
  • Training BJJ for the long term
  • Advice for parents that have kids with Angelman Syndrome

Pj Waicus BJJ

Links:

Quote of the week: Presented by: A double quote! Presented by Mark Mullen.

  • "It is not who is good, it is who is left. It's hours on the mat, if you put in the time natural athlete or not, practice the art you will be a black belt. "Chris Haueter
  • "I don’t have talent, I have tenacity. I have discipline, I have focus. And I know without any illusion, where I come from and where I can go back to"  Henry Rollins

Article of the week: "When Jiu Jitsu is Like Brushing Your Teeth"  From A Skirt on the Mat

First year of BJJ

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Direct download: Epi208420PJ20Waicus.mp3
Category:bjj -- posted at: 11:00am CDT

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

Mark Mullen
Mark Mullen

Mark Mullen is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in judo from Canada, now based in Taipei, Taiwan.

Mark Started training in judo in 1995 and inspired by Royce Gracie winning the early UFC's he became obsessed to learn BJJ.

When Marcus Soares 7th degree coral belt of the Carlson Gracie Team moved to Vancouver in 1997 (the first black belt to teach in Canada) Mark became on of the earliest students.

Mark discovered an early aptitude and love for teaching BJJ when head instructor Soares would return to Brazil and Mark would teach the class.

Mark started Training with Gracie Barra black belt Josh Russel when Josh moved back to Canada after training and living in Rio De Janeiro for several years.

Mark was one of the original founders of Gracie Barra Calgary and graduated to purple, brown and finally black belt under Josh Russell 3rd degree.

In 2014 Mark accepted an offer to relocate to Taipei, Taiwan to be the BJJ coach for 2 MMA gyms (Marital Armor and Tough MMA in Taipei and Hsinchu) and runs the BJJ program for the schools as well as coaching the fighters.

Mark writes for popular online BJJ blogs Gracie Barra Blog and Grapplearts.comMark is also available for writing on other blogs.

We talk about:

  • What got him started in BJJ
  • Changes in BJJ over the years
  • The 3 types of BJJ students (Competitors, BJJ lifestyle, Fitness)
  • His travels to Taiwan
  • Why most students come to his BJJ school
  • The differences between teaching and performing BJJ
  • Teaching class as a blue belt
  • Traveling to Brazil
  • BJJ master minds that change and advance the sport
  • BJJ before and after youtube
  • Making complex things simple
  • Doing BJJ as a life style
  • Mario Sperry - Day of the Zen Documentary
  • Life as a Jiu-Jitsu Bum
  • Diet advice
  • The development of BJJ in Asia
  • How overwhelming BJJ can be for beginners
  • Advice for white belts
  • The importance of movement drills

Links for Mark Mullen: TwitterFacebook

Quote of the week: "it's not supposed to be easy" Samuel Spiegelman

Article of the week: "3 Important Questions to Help Recalibrate Your Training Focus" By Valerie Worthington

First year of BJJ

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Direct download: Epi208320Mark20Mullen.mp3
Category:bjj -- posted at: 10:30am CDT

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

Sam Spiegelman
Sam Spiegelman

Sam Spiegelman is a author and strength and conditioning coach.  Sam is a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Mark Vives, he trains at New Breed Training Center.  He has written a bunch of great articles on Breaking Muscle.  Sam is also available for online consultations.

We talk about:

  • What brought him to BJJ
  • Strength and conditioning for BJJ
  • Strength and conditioning for people who are new to the mats
  • Training differently for your particular game or style.
  • Off the mat training for BJJ
  • Doing a self assessment of your strength
  • The importance of having your body strength balanced to help you be efficient
  • Why people gas out on the mats
  • Increasing your cardio for BJJ
  • Staying motivated with your off the mat training
  • The importance of having a healthy diet
  • Starting BJJ after having a sedentary lifestyle
  • Advice for doing your first tournament
  • Goals for students their first 6 months and year

Links for Sam Spiegelman:

Quote of the week: "Know your why? Chris Easter

Article of the week: 5 Competition Essentials

Support Amber as she chokes cancer out!

Your First Year Of BJJ artwork

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Direct download: Epi208220Sam20Spiegelman.mp3
Category:bjj -- posted at: 11:30am CDT

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

Chris Easter
Chris Easter

Chris Easter is a Black Belt and has been training BJJ since 1998.  Chris has a game that focuses on the basics.  Chris has moved many times due to being in the military, this has given him the opportunity to train with many amazing practitioners and share Jiu-Jitsu.  He is now training at Sergio Penha's. 

We talk about:

  • Moving and finding a new gym
  • Training in the military
  • The importance of drilling
  • Different types of drilling and what they will accomplish
  • How his off the mat training has changed over the years
  • Dealing with injuries
  • His favorite techniques
  • Training with Paul from Open Mat Radio
  • Finding an instructor that is a good fit for you
  • Coaching advice
  • "Its all about angles"
  • The amount of details for basic techniques
  • What he focuses on before a match
  • How BJJ helps you when you are going through problems
  • First tournament advice

Chris Easter Facebook Page

Links:

Quote of the week: "If you try to avoid responsibility people will push it back on you, if you take accountability when things go wrong people will take it away from you" Jay Bell

Article of the week: "10 Benefits of Playing Sports"

First year of BJJ

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Direct download: Epi208120Interview20with20Chris20Easter.mp3
Category:bjj -- posted at: 9:13am CDT

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