BJJ Mental Models

Steve Kwan
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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.

  1. 14 hr ago

    Ep. 397: Risk Management in BJJ, feat. Jake Luigi

    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. Subscribe to Less Impressed More Involved on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LIMIBJJ Check out OutlierDB: https://outlierdb.com Mental models discussed in this episode: Return on Investment https://bjjmentalmodels.com/return-on-investment Building Your Triggers https://bjjmentalmodels.com/building-your-triggers Double Trouble https://bjjmentalmodels.com/double-trouble Cognitive Load https://bjjmentalmodels.com/cognitive-load Constraints-Led Approach https://bjjmentalmodels.com/constraints-led-approach Availability Heuristic https://bjjmentalmodels.com/availability-heuristic Points of Control https://bjjmentalmodels.com/points-of-control Terminal Positions https://bjjmentalmodels.com/terminal-positions Invariants https://bjjmentalmodels.com/invariants Grips Dictate Position https://bjjmentalmodels.com/grips-dictate-position Kuzushi https://bjjmentalmodels.com/kuzushi Rotational Control https://bjjmentalmodels.com/rotational-control Goodhart's Law https://bjjmentalmodels.com/goodharts-law ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels Music by Enterprize: https://enterprize.bandcamp.com

    1hr 3min
  2. Mini Ep. 112: Coiling

    4 days ago

    Mini Ep. 112: Coiling

    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. Staying coiled is a smart "default" position if you're not sure what to do. But there are times when you need to uncoil, and that is when: #1: there's a productive reason to do so, and #2: you can do so safely and without giving up a lever. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels

    7 min

  3. 22 Jun

    Ep. 396: Relative Strength, feat. Will Weisser

    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. Get Will's book, Scientific Jiu-Jitsu: A Unified Theory of Grappling: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594390355 Check out JiuJitsu.net: https://jiujitsu.net Follow Will on Instagram: https://instagram.com/weisserwill Mental models discussed in this episode: Theory of Alignment https://bjjmentalmodels.com/theory-of-alignment Dominant Angles https://bjjmentalmodels.com/dominant-angles Anatomic Hierarchy https://bjjmentalmodels.com/anatomic-hierarchy Kuzushi https://bjjmentalmodels.com/kuzushi Controlling the Distance https://bjjmentalmodels.com/controlling-the-distance Dilemmas https://bjjmentalmodels.com/dilemma Kinetic Chains https://bjjmentalmodels.com/kinetic-chains Overwhelming Force https://bjjmentalmodels.com/overwhelming-force ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels Music by Enterprize: https://enterprize.bandcamp.com

    1hr 7min
  4. Mini Ep. 111: Porcupine Strategy

    18 Jun

    Mini Ep. 111: Porcupine Strategy

    In this mini-episode, we discuss porcupine strategy: the art of making your defense so painful that your aggressors think twice. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels

    6 min

  5. 15 Jun

    Ep. 395: Take the Slack Out, feat. Jesse Walker

    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. Train with Jesse at Rough Hands BJJ: https://roughhandsbjj.com Follow Rough Hands on Instagram: https://instagram.com/roughhandsbjj Mental models discussed in this episode: Breaking Mechanics https://bjjmentalmodels.com/breaking-mechanics 3 Joint Rule https://bjjmentalmodels.com/3-joint-rule Double Trouble https://bjjmentalmodels.com/double-trouble Core Mechanics https://bjjmentalmodels.com/core-mechanics ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels Music by Enterprize: https://enterprize.bandcamp.com

    52 min
  6. Mini Ep. 110: Mind the Gap

    11 Jun

    Mini Ep. 110: Mind the Gap

    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. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels

    8 min
  7. Mini Ep. 109: Overwhelming Force

    4 Jun

    Mini Ep. 109: Overwhelming Force

    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. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels

    11 min

  8. 1 Jun

    Ep. 393: Submission Series: The Woj Lock 2.0, feat Chris Wojcik

    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. Get Woj Lock 2.0 from BJJ Fanatics: https://bjjfanatics.com/products/woj-lock-2-0-completing-the-leg-lock-game-by-chris-wojcik Subscribe to the Grappler's Diary: https://thegrapplersdiary.substack.com Get the Grappler's Diary book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRS9K6LQ Follow Chris Wojcik on Instagram: https://instagram.com/chrismwojcik Mental models discussed in this episode: Constraints-Led Approach https://bjjmentalmodels.com/constraints-led-approach 3 Joint Rule https://bjjmentalmodels.com/3-joint-rule Proximal and Distal Pathways https://bjjmentalmodels.com/proximal-and-distal-pathways Kuzushi https://bjjmentalmodels.com/kuzushi ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJJ Mental Models? Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter Learn more mental models in our online database: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database Follow us on social: https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels Music by Enterprize: https://enterprize.bandcamp.com

    55 min
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Kwan
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    529
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 BJJ Mental Models
  • Show Website
    BJJ Mental Models

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