The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

This is the Stephan Kesting's Grapplearts Radio Podcast where we discuss BJJ, Grappling, MMA, and all manner of martial arts training.

Stephan 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. Click here to download that book for free as well.

Stephan has a lengthy career in martial arts, spanning more than 3 decades. He has dedicated many years to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and you can find his accessible and practical expertise on all BJJ matters at Grapplearts.com

A black belt in multiple martial art systems, he brings a range of approaches to self defense, and a critical eye for what works in the street.

Stephan has been featured in Black Belt Magazine, Ultimate Grappling, Tapout Magazine and Ultimate Athlete.

He is also a frequent guest on martial arts related podcasts, including The Fightworks Podcast, Atlantic MMA, Combatives Corner, The Warrior’s Den, The Spartan Underground and many more.

328 - The Russians Are Coming - Combat Sambo, MMA and Jiu-Jitsu with Steve Koepfer

May 29, 2021

Steve Koepfer is a Master of Sport of Russia in Combat Sambo and the head coach of New York Combat Sambo. In episode 328 we talk about the impending wave of combat sambo specialists coming to the UFC and other MMA events, the differences between training in Russia and North America, the prevalence of leglocks, and...

327 - A Revelation That's Helped Me Win More Than 10 Streetfights

May 27, 2021

Here's a story about the first time I 'won' a streetfight when I realised that the other guy - an older, shabbily dressed, homeless man - was almost certainly mentally ill.

A good streetfight is one that you walk away from or de-escalate, because even if you KO the other guy you could still lose (as I discussed in...

326 - Bringing Jiu-Jitsu into Public Schools, with Dom Hoskins

May 18, 2021

Dom Hoskins is a BJJ black belt, coach and fierce competitor who is helping bring the lessons of jiu-jitsu to public schools in California's East Bay.

Follow Dom Hoskins on Instagram @dominat10n

Check out his school at @dominat10nma

And follow the Youth Jiu-Jitsu Collective at

325 - Wrestling with Trust, Propaganda, and Conspiracies, with Ami Palmer

May 7, 2021

Ami Palmer is a wrestler, judoka, and an adjunct professor of philosophy at Ohio Northern University. The topics he researches include how widespread conspiracism and science denialism affect democratic policy making. I was thrilled to have him on the podcast and I think it's a very important conversation!

00:51 -...

324 - Evolutionary Theory and BJJ, with Brazilian Biologist Marcio Pie

May 6, 2021

Today's conversation with Marcio Pie was a blend of two of my favorite topics: the science of biology and the science of BJJ. Marcio is a professor of zoology at UFPR and practices Jiu-Jitsu in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

01:17 - Introduction to evolution

06:20 - Runaway selection

09:44 - Jiu-Jitsu strategies

14:28 -...