Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast BJJ Mental Models
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini Ep. 126: Visualization | 01 oct. 2026 | 00:05:48 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain visualization: the science behind it, its limitations, the difference between general and technique visualization, and how it applies to jiu-jitsu. | |||
| Ep. 410: Instructing Versus Coaching, feat. Hillary VanOrnum | 28 sept. 2026 | 01:00:15 | |
This week, we're joined by Hillary VanOrnum! Hillary is a third-degree black belt who runs Unicorn Jiu Jitsu in Portland, Oregon with her husband, and she just won her first Masters World Championship at black belt. In this episode, Hillary explains the difference between instructing and coaching, and how she uses questions to help students work out answers for themselves. Topics include: relating jiu-jitsu to sports students already know, building on each student's favorite techniques, letting go of control as a gym owner, turning Instagram clips into homework, and coaching students who only train twice a week.
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| Mini Ep. 125: Perception-Action Coupling | 24 sept. 2026 | 00:07:48 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain perception-action coupling: a sports science concept explaining how practice should give athletes the same cues they'd face in a real match. | |||
| Ep. 409: Super Mario Theory, feat. Nelson Puentes | 21 sept. 2026 | 01:01:29 | |
This week, we're joined by Nelson Puentes! Nelson co-founded Inverted Gear and runs Inverted Gear Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Nelson explains his Super Mario theory of jiu-jitsu: a good game teaches you how to play it by raising the difficulty one step at a time, and a good jiu-jitsu class works the same way. Topics include: game design, resource management, coaching without instructions, defensive jiu-jitsu, and intrinsic motivation.
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| Mini Ep. 124: Deliberate Practice | 17 sept. 2026 | 00:05:44 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain deliberate practice: a training method intended to improve performance by addressing your weaknesses and breaking through plateaus. | |||
| Ep. 408: Intention-Led Jiu-Jitsu, feat. Rob Cole | 14 sept. 2026 | 01:07:08 | |
This week, we're joined by Rob Cole! Rob has been training martial arts for over 35 years, 25 of them focused on grappling, and he coaches at Ascension Athletics in Connecticut, where he runs his practice through the ecological dynamics framework. In this episode, Rob explains the intention-led approach, where you give students a goal to work toward instead of specific things to focus on. Topics include: a plain-language primer on ecological dynamics, intention versus attention, win conditions as a driver of behavior, grip fighting as a warm-up, teaching leglocks without fear.
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| Mini Ep. 123: Differential Learning | 10 sept. 2026 | 00:06:02 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain differential learning: a training approach used in sports proposing that motor skills are learned by varying how the movement is executed rather than trying to get it identical every time. | |||
| Ep. 407: Day Zero Jiu-Jitsu, feat. Jesse Walker & Shelby York | 07 sept. 2026 | 01:09:42 | |
This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker and Shelby York! Jesse and Shelby own Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, a gym of about 200 students with an unusually high number of women and older grapplers (the average student is around 43). In this episode, they walk a complete beginner through what happens before your first jiu-jitsu class. Topics include: vetting a gym, what to bring, why you should tap early, panic and intensity, injury risk.
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| Mini Ep. 122: Gamification | 03 sept. 2026 | 00:08:09 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain gamification: the practice of adding game-like elements to something in order to motivate a certain type of behavior. It's a concept from software design with elements of applied psychology and is used for everything from marketing to products to (of course) jiu-jitsu. | |||
| Ep. 406: The Problem of Leadership, feat. Barbara Ruiken & Giles Garcia | 31 août 2026 | 01:09:47 | |
This week, we're joined by Barbara Ruiken and Giles Garcia! Barbara is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and the new head coach at Bergen Grappling in Norway, and she wrote her political science master's thesis on power and politics in jiu-jitsu organizations. Giles is the head coach and owner of Ronin Grappling in Rutherglen, just outside Glasgow, and a returning guest on the show. In this episode, Barbara and Giles explain why every gym has politics, whether the coach wants them or not. Topics include: informal power, accountability structures, setting your gym's culture on purpose, the jiu-jitsu cycle of abuse, and leadership burnout.
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| Mini Ep. 121: Constraints-Led Approach | 27 août 2026 | 00:06:28 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain constraints-led approach (CLA) in simple terms, and how it impacts your jiu-jitsu training. | |||
| Ep. 405: Solving Procrastination, feat. Itamar Shatz | 24 août 2026 | 00:52:24 | |
This week, we're joined by Itamar Shatz! Itamar is a jiu-jitsu black belt and a Cambridge University researcher whose new book, Solving Procrastination, is published by Penguin Random House. In this episode, Itamar explains why we procrastinate, and walks through the strategies research shows will help. Topics include: the self-control fallacy, hard conversations with your coach, if-then rules for unsafe rolls, perfectionism, and burnout.
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| Mini Ep. 120: Ecological Dynamics | 20 août 2026 | 00:11:52 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain ecological dynamics in simple terms, why it's misunderstood, and how it impacts your jiu-jitsu training. | |||
| Ep. 404: Cross-Grip Passing, feat. Rosie Miller & Jeff Shaw | 17 août 2026 | 00:51:40 | |
Jeff Shaw is guest hosting this week, and he's joined by Rosie Miller! Rosie is a jiu-jitsu educator known for explaining complicated positions in plain language. In this episode, Rosie walks through how the cross-grip pass works, and why she now teaches it starting from the tripod position instead of the entry. Topics include: collapsing the knee shield, counterattacks like the omoplata, gi versus no-gi differences, and teaching with games.
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| Mini Ep. 119: Trading Up | 13 août 2026 | 00:05:46 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss trading up: the strategic importance of getting more than you give in any jiu-jitsu exchange. | |||
| Ep. 403: Learning from Kids Class, feat. Brennan Strimple | 10 août 2026 | 00:46:42 | |
This week, we're joined again by Brennan Strimple! Brennan and his wife founded Rochester Jiu Jitsu in 2014, and almost all of their kids classes are taught by black belts. In this episode, Brennan explains why kids don't grapple like adults, and what the rest of us can learn from teaching them. Topics include: teaching goals instead of moves, coaching cues kids actually understand, how slowly kids process instruction, treating the tap like a video game respawn, and building young athletes.
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| Mini Ep. 118: Labeling | 06 août 2026 | 00:09:17 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss labeling: the practice of attaching a name, category, or descriptor to something in order to make it easier to identify and understand. | |||
| Ep. 402: Dichotomies of Jiu-Jitsu, feat. Charles Harriott | 03 août 2026 | 01:14:07 | |
This week, we're joined by Charles Harriott! Charles has been doing martial arts since he was four years old, and after years of traveling the world teaching seminars for BJJ Globetrotters and BJJ Fanatics, he recently opened his own gym, Lofi Dojo, in Gainesville, Florida. In this episode, Charles walks through the dichotomies of jiu-jitsu, the apparent opposites that often turn out to be sliding scales. Topics include: climbing versus leaping, gameplans versus improvisation, following the meta versus innovating, concepts versus techniques, and fun versus adversity.
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| Mini Ep. 117: Mnemonics | 30 juil. 2026 | 00:04:50 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss mnemonics: memory shortcuts that help you remember what you learned in jiu-jitsu class. | |||
| Ep. 401: Escaping Positions, feat. Rosie Miller | 27 juil. 2026 | 01:01:49 | |
This week, we're joined by returning guest Rosie Miller! Rosie is a black belt out of San Diego who built a following teaching jiu-jitsu beginners the things she wishes she'd known at white belt. In this episode, Rosie explains why survival has to come before escape, and how to spot the tipping point where a bad position turns into real danger. She also gets into why she steers beginners away from closed guard, and how small, constant movement keeps the person on top working until an escape opens. Topics include: positional escapes, tipping points, surviving bottom side control, escaping mount and back control, and the "black belt shimmy."
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| Mini Ep. 116: Mental Gatekeeping | 23 juil. 2026 | 00:03:57 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss mental gatekeeping: the practice of guarding your mind against negative thinking and low-quality information. | |||
| Ep. 400: Always Timeless, feat. Rafael Lovato Jr. | 20 juil. 2026 | 01:11:21 | |
This week, for our 400th episode, we're joined by Rafael Lovato Jr.! Rafael is a multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion, a former Bellator middleweight MMA champion, and the creator of the Timeless Jiu-Jitsu philosophy. In this episode, Rafael makes the case that consistency beats intensity, and shows how a game built on timeless fundamentals lets you dominate opponents no matter your age. Topics include: consistency over intensity, competing in your 40s, playing the long game, mastering the fundamentals, and the case for the mount.
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| Mini Ep. 115: Incremental Learning | 16 juil. 2026 | 00:04:44 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss incremental learning: the practice of breaking down a new concept to learn it piece by piece. | |||
| Ep. 399: Breaking Through Plateaus, feat. Giles Garcia | 13 juil. 2026 | 01:02:26 | |
This week, we're joined by Giles Garcia! Giles is a black belt competitor and the head coach and owner of Ronin Grappling in Glasgow, Scotland. In this episode, Giles explains how to break through training plateaus: how to spot one, how to name the specific problem hiding underneath it, and how to build a plan to solve it. Topics include: overtraining, the elevator theory, naming your plateau, and treating training partners as collaborators.
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| Mini Ep. 114: Goodhart's Law | 09 juil. 2026 | 00:05:28 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss Goodhart's Law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure. | |||
| Ep. 398: Old Bastard Sweeps, feat. Mike Mahaffey | 06 juil. 2026 | 01:00:02 | |
This week, we're joined by Mike Mahaffey! Mike is a second-degree black belt under Chris Haueter, best known for his Old Bastard Jiu-Jitsu style: a conservative approach built for older and less athletic grapplers. In this episode, Mike explains how to sweep from the bottom by disrupting your opponent's base instead of relying on speed or strength. Topics include: maintaining your base from the bottom, making them carry your weight, fulcrum sweeps, and the scissor and tripod sweeps.
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| Mini Ep. 113: Availability Heuristic | 02 juil. 2026 | 00:05:17 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss the availability heuristic: a mental bias toward information that is easy to recall. | |||
| Ep. 397: Risk Management in BJJ, feat. Jake Luigi | 29 juin 2026 | 01:02:38 | |
This week, we're joined again by Jake Luigi! Jake is a jiu-jitsu analyst who made his name studying professional match footage, and he runs OutlierDB, an analytics database for grappling. In this episode, Jake lays out a three-part framework for managing risk: name the worst-case scenario, watch for the key indicators that it's coming, and only attack hard once those indicators are in your favor. Topics include: risk-reward analysis, points of control, grip fighting, terminal positions, and Goodhart's Law.
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| Mini Ep. 112: Coiling | 25 juin 2026 | 00:06:50 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss coiling, or retracting your limbs and neck. It denies access to our body's vulnerable levers and positions us to explosively generate force. | |||
| Ep. 396: Relative Strength, feat. Will Weisser | 22 juin 2026 | 01:07:24 | |
This week, we're joined by Will Weisser! Will is a jiu-jitsu black belt, co-founder of the competition-tracking site JiuJitsu.net, and author of the new book Scientific Jiu-Jitsu: A Unified Theory of Grappling. In this episode, Will lays out that unified theory: the idea that every jiu-jitsu technique exists to raise your own strength or reduce your opponent's. Topics include: relative strength, frames and misdirection, body alignment, and why being strong works.
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| Mini Ep. 111: Porcupine Strategy | 18 juin 2026 | 00:05:40 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss porcupine strategy: the art of making your defense so painful that your aggressors think twice. | |||
| Ep. 395: Take the Slack Out, feat. Jesse Walker | 15 juin 2026 | 00:52:19 | |
This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker! Jesse is the head coach and co-founder of Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, and a frequent BJJ Mental Models collaborator. In this episode, Jesse makes the case for loading a joint with tension before you ever start the breaking mechanics, so the finish takes a fraction of the effort. Topics include: adding traction before the break, the order of operations of a joint lock, backing up to retighten a loose position, fixing the much-maligned Americana, and leglock safety through control.
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| Mini Ep. 110: Mind the Gap | 11 juin 2026 | 00:07:47 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss "mind the gap:" a no-gi gripping concept that prevents your opponent from pulling or circling their hand free. | |||
| Ep. 394: Position Series: No-Gi Lasso, feat. Rob Biernacki | 08 juin 2026 | 00:54:53 | |
This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki! Rob is the head instructor of Island Top Team and the mind behind BJJ Concepts. In this episode, Rob breaks down how he built a working no-gi version of the lasso, a position long considered gi-only. Topics include: minding the gap in no-gi grips, the inverted grip, the omoplata as a control system, wedging, and hybrid lasso guards.
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| Mini Ep. 109: Overwhelming Force | 04 juin 2026 | 00:10:44 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss overwhelming force: the idea that we maximize our power by using the most of our body's weapons against the least of our opponent's. | |||
| Ep. 393: Submission Series: The Woj Lock 2.0, feat Chris Wojcik | 01 juin 2026 | 00:55:10 | |
This week, we're joined again by Chris Wojcik! In this episode, Chris rebuilds his approach to the Woj Lock around a few guiding concepts instead of a catalog of techniques. Topics include: the three points of control, proximal vs. distal control, redefining what counts as fundamental, and training leg locks through games instead of memorization.
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| Mini Ep. 108: Inertia | 28 mai 2026 | 00:05:34 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss inertia: a concept from physics explaining that objects are resistant to changes in velocity. | |||
| Ep. 392: The 90% That Matters, feat. Beatrice Jin | 25 mai 2026 | 00:50:25 | |
This week, we're joined by Beatrice Jin! Beatrice is a black belt competing in the IBJJF top 10 at lightweight and middleweight, and she's known across jiu-jitsu social media for her whiteboard reels. In this episode, Beatrice breaks down the 90% of jiu-jitsu that has nothing to do with sparring, and why the work around the mat is what actually builds a career. Topics include: what podium finishes actually feel like, building a women's open mat from three people to thirty, finding the niche only you can fill, and using social media to build trust before asking for the sale.
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| Mini Ep. 107: Emotional Contagion | 21 mai 2026 | 00:08:24 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss emotional contagion: a psychological and physiological concept that shows us how much our emotions and behavior impact others around us. | |||
| Ep. 391: Am I Getting Better? feat. Josh McKinney | 18 mai 2026 | 01:05:06 | |
This week, we're joined by Josh McKinney! Josh is a black belt, head coach at HeadNod Jiu-Jitsu in Southern Illinois, and the host of the I Suck at Jiu-Jitsu podcast. In this episode, Josh shares a framework for self-coaching beyond getting belt promotions, and explains why submission count and belt color are the wrong yardsticks for measuring whether you're getting better. Topics include: false metrics, the over-reliance on your A-game, learning to read old-school black belts, the Henry Akins "how many steps" test, and managing effort as a progress metric.
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| Mini Ep. 106: Cognitive Load | 14 mai 2026 | 00:07:13 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss cognitive load: our brain's working memory (like computer RAM), and how to manage it so we can learn jiu-jitsu more effectively. | |||
| Ep. 390: Making Jiu-Jitsu Accessible, feat. Ryan Rich & Max Corteggiano | 11 mai 2026 | 00:58:19 | |
This week, we're joined by returning champion Ryan Rich and first-timer Max Corteggiano! Ryan is a third-degree black belt who owns Granite Bay Jiu-Jitsu in California and was one of the early adopters of the constraints-led approach, and Max is a first-degree black belt from France who runs BJJ Flowcharts. In this episode, Ryan and Max break down what they've learned from building BJJ Games together, a project focused on making CLA simple and accessible for coaches and students. Topics include: simplifying the constraints-led approach, the blended ABC and eco method, designing games around invariants, attention spans in coaching, and ditching the warmup.
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| Mini Ep. 105: Double Trouble | 07 mai 2026 | 00:10:02 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss double trouble, a concept popularized by John Danaher. Double trouble teaches us that to fully control a near-side limb, we must also control a far-side limb. | |||
| Ep. 389: The Double Tap, feat. Drew Foster | 04 mai 2026 | 00:54:53 | |
This week, we're joined by Drew Foster! Drew is a black belt and coach at Elevate MMA in Durham, North Carolina, chief of staff at PGF, and host of State of the Meta on BJJ Mental Models Premium. In this episode, Drew breaks down the "double tap:" attacking a submission, releasing it, then re-attacking right when their defenses drop. Topics include: the double tap, pattern interrupts, the porcupine strategy, and the constraints-led approach.
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| Mini Ep. 104: Head Position | 30 avr. 2026 | 00:06:27 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss head position, or how to tell if your head and neck are at risk in jiu-jitsu. We use a 3-point framework to determine if our head is safe:
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| Ep. 388: Injury and the Stockdale Paradox, feat. Alex Sterner | 27 avr. 2026 | 01:00:00 | |
This week, we're joined by Alex Sterner! Alex is a black belt and the owner of Electrum Performance in San Diego, where he coaches strength and conditioning for jiu-jitsu and combat sports athletes. In this episode, Alex breaks down the psychology of injury rehab and the Stockdale Paradox: the marriage of optimism about recovery with brutal acceptance of where you actually are right now. Topics include: pain as a feature, the staircase model of rehab, healing it like you hurt it, short term versus long term risk, and a sample weight room program for jiu-jitsu.
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| Mini Ep. 103: Cracking the Whip | 23 avr. 2026 | 00:05:04 | |
In this mini-episode, we discuss "cracking the whip:" an external cue for better understanding the relationship between tension and slack in jiu-jitsu. | |||
| Ep. 387: Trips & Foot Sweeps, feat. Isa Friedlander & Chris Round | 20 avr. 2026 | 00:57:14 | |
This week, we've got a panel! Chris Round is the head judo instructor at High Noon in Alexandria, Virginia, and a judo and BJJ black belt who coaches athletes on the IJF tour. Isa Friedlander is a former Team USA judoka, a brown belt at Unity, and coaches judo at The Dojo in Bushwick and at Unity in Manhattan. In this episode, Chris and Isa break down foot sweeps and trips for grapplers, tied to their new instructional with MASTERs. Topics include: timing vs. structural setups, shape making, the role of the uke, variable drilling, and play.
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| Mini Ep. 102: Constant and Variable Tension | 16 avr. 2026 | 00:06:42 | |
In this mini-episode, we explain constant and variable tension, and the pros and cons of each in jiu-jitsu. | |||
| Ep. 386: Don't Make Them Feel Stupid, feat. Heather Morgan | 13 avr. 2026 | 00:56:03 | |
This week, we're joined by Heather Morgan! Heather is a jiu-jitsu black belt, competitor-turned-coach, and content creator based in San Diego who teaches in person at the Collective in Ocean Beach and online to students worldwide. In this episode, Heather shares how she coaches students to find their own game rather than copying hers, and why making people feel capable is the real job of a teacher. Topics include: developing individual jiu-jitsu style, psychological safety in the training room, the gap between being good at jiu-jitsu and being a good coach, gamification and constraint-led training, and coaching hobbyist students.
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