I talk to Andy from School of Grappling and Greg Souders from Standard Jiu-Jitsu about their perspectives on the ecological approach to teaching grappling. We explore the theoretical foundations and practical applications of this method, discussing key concepts like experience, perception, consciousness, and intentionality. Andy shares insights on the phenomenological perspective and subjective experience, while Greg delves into ecological dynamics and the environment's role in shaping behaviour. The conversation also touches on self-directed learning, explicit instruction, observation and imi ..read more

I talk to Andy from School of Grappling about the rising trend of the ecological approach in BJJ coaching and its implications. We explore the interplay between culture, coaching methods, and individual motivation in training. Andy shares insights on the limitations of singular approaches and the need for a holistic perspective in creating supportive training environments. We discuss the impact of social media on Jiu-Jitsu culture, the importance of caring as a coach, and the delicate balance between business and coaching. Andy also delves into the transformative power of grappling, the role o ..read more

I talk to Matt Lindland, the head coach of the USA Greco Roman wrestling team, Olympic silver medalist & MMA Pioneer. We discuss his experience coaching wrestlers from a folkstyle background and how to alter their risk-taking intuitions to suit Greco roman. How coaches can simplify their coaching to help their athletes learn more and a lot faster How failure and questioning athletes can help them learn, his time coaching BJ Penn for his MMA fight against GSP and what BJJ can learn from wrestling ..read more

I talk to Wim Deputter who is Belgium based Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We discuss how Jiu-Jitsu is a principle that means a Boxer could be doing Jiu-Jitsu, but you could be a BJJ player and not be doing Jiu-Jitsu. How Wims "Mirroring Principle" is an algorithm and fundamental movement rule that guides BJJ, MMA, Striking and self-defence situations. How constraints placed on any art will determine what that art can become and how constraining beginners to focus on control and then to allow controlled chaos can be the best way for them to develop. Wim is a life long martial artist also f ..read more

I talk to Luke Martin, a Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt who runs Sydney West Martial Arts. He recently switched his academy from a mix of gi and no-gi training to only no-gi for adults. We discuss how he feels the culture of no-gi jiu-jitsu is progressing and John Danaher's influence on the sport and himself. We also discuss how he views the impact of external vs internal effects on the grappling culture ..read more

I talk to Luke Martin, a Jiu-Jitsu coach currently preparing his athletes for the ADCC world championships out of the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu camp in Texas with John Danaher, Gordon Ryan, Gary Tonon, Nicholas Meregali and the rest of the New Wave ADCC competitors. In a special emergency broadcast edition of the Sonny Brown Breakdown podcast, he gives us a rare insight into what that experience is like and how John Danaher prepares his athletes for the biggest competition in grappling ..read more

I talk to Sam Kressin, a Black Belt in BJJ who also trained extensively with catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson. Sam is also a talented visual artist who holds a degree in exercise and sports science. We discuss how he came to find jiu-jitsu and catch wrestling in his martial arts journey and his time spent training both, and the process of combining them. He also coaches grappling and runs catch wrestling workshops for Scientific Wrestling and gives an excellent insight into his coaching philosophy ..read more

I talk to Jeremy Skinner, a Jiu-Jitsu black belt, coach & competitor who recently won the ADCC Oceana trials, which will see him compete at the 2022 ADCC World championships. We discuss his preparation for competition while managing his coaching responsibilities and how he can determine quality in jiu-jitsu instruction and teaching. We also discuss his thoughts on current competition formats and how he feels a shift to a more team-based competitive format will lead to the technical evolution of the sport ..read more

I talk to Rob From McDojoLife. Rob has been a lifelong martial artist with a black belt in Karate and a Purple Belt in Jiu-Jitsu. McDojo life has a massive social media presence that you have likely seen before where it exposes fakes, frauds and phoneys of the martial arts industries. We discuss the elements that make a McDojo, the warning signs and dangers of fake martial arts, and how you can avoid these as a student and coach.    ..read more

I talk to Lachlan Giles about his instructional style. He experimented with using the reverse classroom model to teach jiu-jitsu which involves students watching videos before attending class and then directing portions of their training over what they want to learn. We discuss this experiment, his thoughts and readings on skill acquisition in general for grapplers, and the launch of his new online learning platform Submeta.  ..read more