Fighting Matters

Fighting Matters
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Fighting fascism and the far-right in combat sports like MMA and BJJ.

  1. PRIJE 2 D

    Why BJJ Camps Need Less Jiu-Jitsu

    In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker (Rough Hands BJJ), Mike Mahaffey (Old Bastard BJJ), and Niamh Bryn (Snowblind BJJ) for a recap of the recent Rough Hands spring camp in Louisville. The four of them argue that the best jiu-jitsu camps are not the ones that cram the most jiu-jitsu in, and that the celebrity instructor model has quietly priced out and burned out the people the sport depends on. 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Gi to Sea (Jeff Shaw, Bernardo Faria, Dominyka Obelenyte) — https://bjjmentalmodels.com/events ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://www.instagram.com/oldbastardbjj - Niamh Bryn — https://www.instagram.com/snowblindbjj ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Why the best parts of a BJJ camp happen off the mat - The celebrity instructor model and how it prices out the average attendee - Why regional and lesser-known coaches often deliver more value - Filtering out bad actors, harassers, and extremists at camps and gyms - Cultural guardianship: why a head coach can't enforce culture alone - People who train jiu-jitsu instead of getting therapy - The collaborative camp format vs the one-marquee-instructor format - How travel and out-of-region training expose your blind spots ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Welcome and intros 02:06 — Recap of the Rough Hands spring camp 04:13 — Less jiu-jitsu, more community time 05:21 — Niamh on jiu-jitsu peripheral events 07:21 — Why getting out of your regional bubble matters 09:15 — Mike: the friendships are why I keep training 12:20 — The celebrity instructor problem 20:54 — Reliable community as camp infrastructure 26:34 — Healthcare, insurance, and traveling for jiu-jitsu 28:36 — Filtering out the bad actors 35:47 — What we actually mean by filtering 41:00 — Niamh on training for the wrong reasons 46:56 — Cultural guardianship at scale 54:20 — The collaborative camp model 58:07 — Plugs, outros, and where to find everyone 1:00:53 — Plugging Gi to Sea with Jeff Shaw

    1 h 3 min

  2. 17. TRA

    How to Identify "Active Clubs" in BJJ

    In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who has tracked white nationalist and neo-Nazi movements since 2016 and also trains jiu-jitsu. They get into how active clubs and far-right groups use combat sports gyms as recruitment grounds, why most practitioners don't see it happening, and what coaches and gym owners can actually do about it. ⸻ 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Southern Poverty Law Center — https://splcenter.org - Hannah Gais on Bluesky — https://bsky.app/profile/hannahgais.bsky.social - Louis Theroux Manosphere documentary — https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81920687 - Global Project Against Hate and Extremism — https://globalextremism.org ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Hannah Gais — https://splcenter.org ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - How active clubs use gyms to recruit without revealing their intentions - The entryism playbook: how fringe movements infiltrate institutions - Warning signs that someone is testing the waters at your gym - Shifting the Overton window through sports and social media - Jake Shields, the Manosphere, and BJJ's far-right influencer problem - Where gym owners should draw the line - How people leave the movement, and what coaches can do to help ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Hannah Gais 00:54 — Hannah's work at the SPLC 04:18 — How big is the problem, really? 07:01 — Why the movement has gone mainstream 15:16 — The Overton window and how they shift it 17:45 — Jake Shields and the sane-washing of extremists 20:27 — Warning signs at your gym 24:50 — Immigration as an entry point 31:32 — What white nationalism actually means 39:32 — Entryism: how they build from within 43:05 — What gym owners should watch for 47:57 — Hiding your power level 53:31 — BJJ's far-right influencer problem 55:35 — Where to draw the line 01:00:21 — How people leave the movement 01:03:54 — Hannah's links and the Manosphere documentary

    1 h 6 min

  3. 9. TRA

    How HEMA Pushed Out White Supremacists (And What BJJ Can Learn)

    In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting sit down with Eric Lowe, a 13-year HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) instructor and school founder. HEMA had a serious white supremacist problem, and they actually did something about it. Eric walks through what worked, what didn't, and what BJJ and MMA can steal from the playbook. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Stephan Kesting — https://grapplearts.com - Eric Lowe — https://crossroadsswords.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - How HEMA's early days were dominated by a near-Nazi gatekeeper (and how the community rejected him) - Why your gym's website and signaling matter more than you think - The Warriors of Ashe: Viking pagans with 30% transgender membership who keep turning away white supremacists - What "welcoming" actually means when your school has real beliefs - Constructing a version of masculinity the far right can't co-opt - Why every martial art sells a fantasy, and how that fantasy either attracts or repels extremists - What HEMA borrowed from Filipino martial arts (and why that matters) - Preserving European martial tradition without white supremacy ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Eric Lowe and what HEMA is 04:11 — The history of far right infiltration in HEMA 05:29 — John Clements and the "North Korea of HEMA" 09:17 — Viking martial arts and the white supremacist appeal 11:15 — The Warriors of Ashe: Viking pagans who reject Nazis 13:39 — Why how you signal your school matters 19:27 — Symbolism in BJJ vs HEMA 23:10 — The fantasy every martial art sells 27:45 — What positive masculinity actually looks like 37:30 — Building masculine identity without the far right 40:51 — Who gets to own masculinity 45:36 — Dueling culture and honour violence 52:43 — The performative side of all martial arts 01:00:17 — Preserving tradition without white supremacy 01:03:56 — Why women in HEMA matter for everyone 01:05:36 — Where to find Eric

    1 h 7 min
  4. Jiu-Jitsu in the Face of War and Economic Disaster

    22. OŽU

    Jiu-Jitsu in the Face of War and Economic Disaster

    Today, Jesse, Mike and Stephan discuss the impact of war on everyday life, particularly how the ongoing war in Iran could affect gas prices and essential goods if it continues. Conflicts in the Middle East can turn luxury activities into financial burdens, forcing people to prioritise their spending and making jiu-jitsu training and other leisure activities unaffordable as the cost of everyday living rises.

    58 min

  5. 19. OŽU

    Jiu-Jitsu Isn't Therapy

    In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Matt Tansey and Daniel Millstein: two licensed mental health professionals who also train jiu-jitsu. They attack one of the most repeated claims in the sport ("jiu-jitsu is my therapy"), what's actually true about it, what isn't, and why the distinction matters more than most people think. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com • Matt Tansey — https://matthewtansey.com • Daniel Millstein — https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/daniel-millstein-boston-ma/1239597 ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • What therapists actually do (and how they differ from coaches) • Why jiu-jitsu can be therapeutic without being therapy • The Dunning-Kruger effect and black belt overconfidence • How jiu-jitsu can help and harm people with trauma • Why male practitioners avoid therapy but embrace pseudoscience • SSRIs, psychedelics, stem cells, and the jiu-jitsu bro health pipeline ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Matt and Daniel 02:48 — Types of mental health practitioners 06:43 — Can jiu-jitsu be therapeutic? 12:31 — Competence, confidence, and the Dunning-Kruger trap 23:49 — When jiu-jitsu actually helps 26:12 — Overselling jiu-jitsu 28:31 — Trauma, PTSD, and proper disclosure 36:44 — What therapists can't say (but coaches can) 42:57 — Dudes will do anything except go to therapy 50:48 — Ethics, credentials, and the unregulated advice problem 01:00:17 — Psychedelics, stem cells, and anti-SSRI bros

    1 h 16 min

  6. 12. OŽU

    The Invisible Heart of BJJ (w/ Valerie Worthington)

    In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, host Steve Kwan sits down with Valerie Worthington: BJJ black belt, professor of educational psychology, and one of the sport's most thoughtful voices on culture and ethics. They dig into why the people doing the most good in jiu-jitsu are also the least visible, what it would actually take to fix BJJ's culture problems, and why opening a gym means signing up for a job nobody prepared you for. This is a conversation about leadership, accountability, and the quiet work of making the sport better. 🔗 Links Mentioned: • Gracie Philly — https://www.phlbjj.com • Saybrook University — https://www.saybrook.edu ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com • Valerie Worthington — https://instagram.com/worthingtonvalerie ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • Why the good people in BJJ stay invisible • The reality distortion field inside the gym • Why governing bodies might make things worse • Voting with your wallet and saying it out loud • What BJJ never teaches its future gym owners ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Valerie Worthington 06:33 — Why the good in BJJ stays invisible 12:58 — Should BJJ have a governing body? 21:17 — The reality distortion field inside the gym 33:18 — How the algorithm buries the good stuff 39:28 — Voting with your wallet 43:27 — Modeling the culture you want to see 51:54 — Dunbar's Number and BJJ communities 53:35 — What BJJ never teaches gym owners

    1 h 1 min
  7. How MAGA is Using Religion to Go to War

    5. OŽU

    How MAGA is Using Religion to Go to War

    Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw explore the terrifying consequences of MAGA coopting Christianity and using misinterpretations of biblical ideas like the rapture, the apocalypse, and end times theology as justification for going to war with Iran. We also look into Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's religious denomination and find some truly disturbing details.

    54 min

  8. 3. OŽU

    Discord & Roblox: The pipeline to school shootings (w/ David Riedman)

    School violence researcher and Homeland Security expert David Riedman joins Steve and Jesse to break down the radicalization pipeline feeding modern school shootings. David covers how isolated kids get pulled into nihilistic violence through deregulated social media, grooming on Roblox, and private Discord servers, and why your BJJ gym might be one of the most powerful interventions available. 🔗 Links Mentioned: • Riedman Report (Substack) — https://riedmanreport.substack.com • K-12 School Shooting Database — https://k12ssdb.org • Difference Between Political Violence, Mass Shootings, and Terrorism — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/difference-between-political-violence • Rise of Purposeless, Non-Ideological Gun Violence by Young American Men — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/rise-of-purposeless-non-ideological • Riedman Report Ep 43: Forensic Psychologist Explains the Nashville School Shooter's Journals — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/ep-43-forensic-psychologist-explains • Riedman Report Ep 33: Let Kids Fight (Safely) with Guardian Founder Ben Kovacs — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/ep-33-let-kids-fight-safely-with ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — @bjjmentalmodels (Host) • Jesse Walker — @roughhandsbjj (Host) • David Riedman — https://riedmanreport.substack.com (Guest) ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • The Tumbler Ridge shooting and the pattern behind it • How the True Crime Community radicalizes teens online • Roblox as a grooming and recruitment platform • The Discord pipeline from mainstream social media to extremism • Trans shooters and what the data actually says • Nihilism vs. ideological terrorism • Why expelling a troubled kid can make things worse • How BJJ gyms provide the belonging that prevents violence ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction 00:35 — Meet David Riedman 02:13 — Tumbler Ridge and the True Crime Community 08:02 — Understanding nihilistic violence 10:17 — Extremism, terrorism, and how to tell them apart 14:15 — Active clubs and decentralized radicalization 18:40 — Trans shooters: what the data says 22:23 — The Nashville manifesto breakdown 27:51 — Has social media changed anything? 31:45 — The Roblox grooming pipeline 38:40 — Can martial arts gyms use these same tactics for good? 41:53 — Everything that feels new is really old 49:58 — Warning signs for parents and gym owners 54:43 — Closing thoughts

    59 min
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Opis

Fighting fascism and the far-right in combat sports like MMA and BJJ.

Informacije

  • Autor
    Fighting Matters
  • Aktivne godine
    2025. - 2026.
  • Epizode
    79
  • Ocjena
    Eksplicitno
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Fighting Matters
  • Web‑stranica emisije
    Fighting Matters

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