The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting
What is it that allows some people to push themselves beyond their limitations? Why can some people survive situations others do not? On this podcast we try to find out the answers. Stephan Kesting, is a lifelong martial artist, BJJ black belt, career firefighter, and outdoorsman. Join us as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers and other people living the strenuous life.
Stephan also runs Grapplearts.com, where he has published many hundreds of martial arts videos, articles and tutorials.
His free guide to learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, A Roadmap for BJJ, has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has become a foundational text for the art.
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 47 minutes
- Episodes
- 427
- Years Active
- 2009 - 2025
027 - UFC Fighter Roxanne Modaferri's MMA Comebacks and Continuing to Improve
Stephan Kesting interviews Roxanne Modaferri about the differences between MMA training in Japan and the USA, continuing to improve after 12 years in the sport, snapping a 6 fight losing streak, and …
026 - Steve Whittier on SBG's Drills for BJJ Excellence
Steve Whittier is a cool guy. He manages to combine both thoughtful analyses and controversial opinions into one eloquent package.
In this interview we talked about lots of different BJJ and MMA re…
025 - BJJ Beginner Tips with Ritchie Yip
BJJ Black Belts Ritchie Yip and Stephan Kesting have a wide-ranging discussion, centered around tips that BJJ beginners need to know.
Material covered includes:
- Whether beginners should in their o…
024 - Elliott Bayev on BJJ Gameplan Development; from Self Defense to the Spider Guard
Here's a really cool video interview I did with my friend, BJJ blackbelt, renowned coach, and fierce competitor Elliott Bayev.
This interview is special because we break down the steps of building …
023 - Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins on Making Your Jiu-Jitsu Smooth: Competition, Gameplans and Transitions
This is a really cool interview with my friend, black belt, and fierce competitor Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins. Brandon and I originally worked together to create the highly acclaimed instructional H…
022 - Adam Singer on The Nitty Gritty of Modern MMA Training & Competition
Stephan: I’m here today with my friend,Adam Singer, who runs The HardCore Gym in Athens, Georgia. He is probably best known for being Forrest Griffin’s MMA coach during the formative years of Forres…
021 - Scotty Nelson's BJJ Adventures Around the World
Stephan Kesting interviews Scott Nelson from On the Mat about the history and evolution of BJJ in North America. Along the way Scott shares some pretty crazy stories from his travels around the worl…
020 - Ritchie Yip on The Art and Science of Teaching Martial Arts
Want to find out how to be a more effective martial arts teacher? Stephan Kesting interviews BJJ black belt Ritchie Yip about the art and science of teaching martial arts. Lots of tips and tricks fo…
019 - Clark Gracie on Training, Competing and Growing Up Gracie
Stephan talks with 2013 Pan American middlweight champion Clark Gracie about training, competition, growing up Gracie, and yes, that famous picture with the hair and the omoplata.
018 - John Perreti and The Secrets of MMA Matchmaking
Stephan interviews John Perretti, the matchmaker for the early UFC and the EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship). He put together some of the most iconic matches in the UFC before Zuffa took it over i…
017 - Rafael Lovato Jr on Training for High Level BJJ Competition
Stephan Kesting interviews Rafael Lovato Jr, one of the most successful North American BJJ competitors. They discuss technique, mindset, training, conditioning, and the keys to being successful in c…
016 - Philip Gelinas, Black Belt Hall of Fame Member
Stephan Kesting interviews one of his most influential teachers, 9th degree Kajukenbo black belt and Black Belt Hall of Famer Philip Gelinas. Topics include the evolution of Georges St Pierre, the re…
015 - Burton Richardson on Training and Performing under Pressure
Want to be an effective martial artist? Burton Richardson talks about training and performing under pressure in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, and Full Contact Stickfighting.
Plus he shares lessons learn…
014 - Keenan Cornelius on training, competition, and a life in BJJ
Keenan Cornelius is a BJJ phenomenon. Having won double gold medals at four of the biggest IBJJF tournaments - The World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Pan-American Championship, European Open Championship…
013 - Roy Dean on BJJ, Judo, Aikido, and Path of the Martial Artist
Proof that a serious BJJ competitor can still be classy; Roy Dean talks with Stephan Kesting about BJJ, Judo, Aikido, and Path of the Martial Artist.
Roy Dean has black belts in kodokan judo and aiki…
012 - BJJ World Champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins on Training & Competition Strategies for BJJ
How do you go from being the smallest person in the class to a BJJ world champion! This is a really interesting interview with my friend Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins. I first polled the Grapplearts.c…
011 - Vinicius 'Draculino' Magalhães on Surfing, Beach Fights and the History and Evolution of BJJ
Vinicius 'Draculino' talks with Stephan Kesting about how surfing beach fights brought him into jiu-jitsu, what it was like training with the top Gracie and Machado fighters in Rio in the 1980's, and…
010 - The Very First Grapplearts Q&A Podcast with Stephan Kesting
Answers for your BJJ questions! Stephan takes questions from his newsletter readers in the first ever Q&A Podcast. Find out how how to taper for competition, what to do when you're getting crushed …
009 - The Intersection Between BJJ, Submission Grappling and MMA with Ryan Hall
Ryan Hall is one of North America's most prolific competitors in BJJ and Submission Grappling. In this in-depth interview with Stephan Kesting he shares tips on training, competing, the 50-50 guard,…
008 - Adrenaline Dumps, Fear Management and Combat Psychology with Tony Blauer
Want to find out more about the psychology of combat? Tony Blauer is the head of Blauer Tactical Systems which specializes in close quarter tactics & scenario-based training for law enforcement, mil…