BJJ Mental Models

Mar 27 2025 393 ep. 58 mins 1.7k
BJJ Mental Models Podcast artwork

Your guide to a conceptual and intelligent Jiu-Jitsu approach.  BJJ black belt Steve Kwan and a slate of expert guests explain the concepts, strategies, and tactics behind the gentle art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

  Sports  Health & Fitness
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Mini Ep. 47: Investing in Loss

Mar 27 2025 6 mins  
In this week's mini-episode we explain investing in loss, a learning mindset often attributed to Tai Chi and other internal martial arts. In his excellent book The Art of Learning, Josh Waitzkin discusses the concept and its relevance to the martial arts. Investing in loss means reframing our thinking to view failure as an investment in our skill development, rather than as a loss.

Ep. 329: Rolling From Home, feat. Paul Kindzia

Mar 24 2025 64 mins  
This week we're joined by Paul Kindzia, a BJJ black belt under Emily Kwok training out of Atlanta, Georgia. Most notably, he's a "homeschooled" black belt who carved out his own path in the art. Paul now trains out of a private gym, "The Bunker," that he built in his home. In this episode, Paul discusses how "rolling from home" has allowed him to take total ownership of who he trai

Mini Ep. 46: Beginner's Mind

Mar 20 2025 7 mins  
In this week's mini-episode, we explain beginner's mind! Known in Zen Buddhism as shoshin (初心), beginner's mind is a concept present in belief systems, philosophies, psychology, and martial arts. It teaches us to approach every learning opportunity with the curiosity and humility of a beginner. It's a mindset that helps us shelf the ego, focus on skill development, and better e

Ep. 328: Training Intensity, feat. Dr. Mike Israetel

Mar 17 2025 94 mins  
This week we're joined by Dr. Michael Israetel! Mike is a PhD in sport physiology and newly minted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Josh Vogel. In this episode, Mike teaches the intricacies of training intensity in Jiu-Jitsu. Topics include: the different intensity zones (light, moderate, and hard), their respective roles in skill acquisition, training intensity during competit

Mini Ep. 45: Spaced Repetition

Mar 13 2025 10 mins  
In this week's mini-episode, we explain spaced repetition! This concept helps us set a dynamic schedule for how frequently we should review old material to maximize our ability to recall information. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium! If you love the podcast, you'll

Ep. 327: Perseverance, feat. Stephan Kesting

Mar 10 2025 56 mins  
In this episode, legendary Jiu-Jitsu instructor Stephan Kesting joins us to discuss the concept of perseverance. It's both a critical mental model for success in martial arts, and also the title of his new Amazon best-selling book, Perseverance: Life and Death in the Subarctic. Stephan shares his remarkable journey following a health crisis that led to kidney failure and transplant

Mini Ep. 44: Effortful Retrieval

Mar 06 2025 8 mins  
In this week's mini-episode, we explain effortful retrieval! It's a concept from cognitive psychology proposing we can improve our ability to recall information — a critical skill during live rolling — by creating a recall practice that forces our brains to work. For more information on effortful retrieval, check out: BJJMM Ep. 287: Automatic Grappling, feat. Cal McDonald https

Ep. 326: Dropping In, feat. Rob Biernacki

Mar 03 2025 80 mins  
This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki! Rob shares advice for getting the most out of BJJ gym drop-ins, seminars, and camps. Topics include the importance of prior communication before attending, safety and etiquette during training, addressing issues with aggressive partners, the mindset needed to ensure a positive experience, and Island Top Team's visiting student program.

Mini Ep. 43: Interleaving

Feb 27 2025 7 mins  
In this week's mini-episode, we explain interleaving! It's a concept proposing we learn faster by cycling through several topics rather than focusing on a single one at a time. For example, instead of training AAA BBB CCC, we would train ABC ABC ABC. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro Don't forget to check out BJJ Ment

Ep. 325: Economy of Motion, feat. Mike Mahaffey

Feb 24 2025 56 mins  
This week we're joined again by Mike Mahaffey! Best known as the "Old Bastard BJJ" guy, Mike joins us to discuss economy of motion in Jiu-Jitsu. We define economy of motion as: All else being equal, prefer the option that requires less movement. We unpack why this mental model is important, and how more athletic grapplers can violate this concept in favor of a movement-based game.