If your dad is a Navy Seal, chances are you’re going to learn how to defend yourself pretty quick — at least that was the case for today’s guest, Matt Lucas. Early on, his dad got him into martial arts as a way to practice discipline and personal responsibility. Since then, he has tried a multitude of styles out, settling on a rather unique one for the premise of his current school (The Open Matt), called: Yama Series Yoga. On top of that, Matt is also a Lead Stuntman for the show, Into the Badlands, on AMC — a show about a mighty warrior and a young boy searching for enlightenment in a ruthle ..read more

Today’s guest may very well be the most “connected” guest Wade has had on the podcast yet. He’s with Guardian Gym (of which the first guest of the podcast was a part); his LinkedIn has connections with about six other guests Wade has already featured; and on top of all that, he’s even had a professional bout against one of the people that have been featured on the podcast!   So who is he? Sacha Feinman is the Managing Director of Guardian Gym. Sacha has an interesting start in martial arts where he very quickly got drawn into the world of Jiu-Jitsu and soon came up with the idea of openin ..read more

Today, Wade is speaking with David Wei of Wudang West Cultural Heritage Center, a non-profit wellness ministry based in Oakland, California.   David Wei has a unique story. He started off as your average kid in the Bay Area but become so inspired by a certain western movie (can you guess?) that he went to the Wudang Mountains in China to study martial arts. After 20 years of studying, he returned to the Bay Area and was tasked by his master to start a Chinese cultural center — which is now the Wudang West Cultural Heritage Center. The center provides education in subjects like Chinese med ..read more

Today, Wade gets to interview Marcelo Caveirinha, a long-time Capoeira practitioner who originally came from Brazil and immigrated to the U.S. — and with him, brought the rich culture of Brazilian Capoeira.   In this episode, Marcelo gives describes some of the rich history of Brazilian Capoeira, how he first got introduced to martial arts and began practicing Capoeira, and some of the biggest differences between Capoeira in the United States compared to Brazil. He also explains why it is called “playing” Capoeira instead of sparring, how people generally learned about Capoeira when it fi ..read more

What do you get when you cross a Hell’s Angel with a marine and a musician? Master Rachael Evans of course.   Master Rachael Evans runs the nonprofit martial arts school, Quantum Dojo, in San Francisco, California. And in this episode, she shares her unique start in how she got into the martial arts; how she opened up her school, Quantum; and provides information on the programs and classes they provide, from adults to children. Rachael really highlights the idea that the martial arts are all about being a community — in fact, she says it best herself:   “We’re a community hub. We’re ..read more

If you’re anything like Wade, you’ve heard of Capoeira — but if you’re honest, you probably don’t know a ton. Wade’s guest, Armando Ibarra, will help you get that much more familiar with all things Capoeira in today’s episode. He talks about the history of it, what makes it so unique, as well as his own journey in it from 13 years old to professional practitioner.   Armando teaches Capoeira in San Francisco and has a long history of martial arts, it having been instilled in him from a young age. He started Karate when he was only four years old and got introduced to Capoeira in middle sch ..read more

Today Wade interviews James Kilpatrick. James is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and has a commercial real estate business in San Francisco. James perfectly represents the blending of martial arts and business by taking the same approach with both. He’s always open to trying new tactics and new ways of doing business —  the same goes for his training in BJJ.   James has practiced in the martial arts since an early age. In college, he boxed and wrestled but it was there that he discovered his true passion: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Since then, BJJ has taken up a large portion of his lif ..read more

Today Wade has a fun interview with his good friend, Raphael Gutierrez. Raphael is a lawyer on Uber’s legal team, leading the trademarks group, and has a black belt in Krav Maga. Raphael has a full life, from a day job of supporting the Uber trademark globally — whether that’s overseeing disputes, to managing licensing and domains — to balance his family life, and training in Krav Maga.   This episode, Raphael talks about his first introduction into martial arts, his journey to earning his black belt in Krav Maga, his day job as a lawyer, how Krav Maga has impacted his personal and profes ..read more

If you have any interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the history behind it you’re going to love today’s interview on The Bay Area Martial Arts Podcast. Wade interviews one of the original BJJ “Dirty Dozen”: David Meyer. He was one of the first twelve people to get their BJJ black belt outside of Brazil. Starting back in the ‘90s, he has a tremendous history from the more traditional side of Jiu-Jitsu to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He’s a major advocate for BJJ, the vegan lifestyle, and animal rights — as reflected in his role as CEO at AdoptaPet.com, North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption web ..read more

If you do a martial art and you enjoy watching the UFC, you may have pondered what it would be like to be in a professional fight. As Wade says though, if you’re anywhere around 155 lbs and you meet Danny Marks, you might have a second thought on that idea.   Danny is a seven-time professional fighter, six wins, one loss. He’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor and even has a small tech project on the side. Danny is incredibly humble with an interesting background and has many interesting stories from his days as a professional fighter.   Tune in this episode to hear all about Danny’s ..read more