vrss Podcast

Liana
  • 5.0 (1)
  • SPORT

In the vrss podcast, we dive into the psychology, science, and soul of combat sports. We bring you conversations with people at the top of their fields: from world champions and legends of the game, to the doctors, neuroscientists, psychologists, and coaches pushing performance to new levels. At its heart, vrss means two things: You versus the fight, whatever form that takes. And the verses that get written through it.We’re here to go deeper into those stories. Into the internal fight, the philosophies, the truths. Into what fighting really teaches us. How it rewires the brain, the body, the mind. And what strength really means - on the mats, and far beyond them.Because the outside never tells the whole story. The real strength is from within.

Episodes

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Sarah Jeffries: How Sleep Cleans Your Brain and Shapes Performance

    In this episode of the vrss podcast, we sit down with Sarah Jeffries to unpack the science of sleep, brain health, and performance - and why sleep may be the most overlooked skill in combat sports and high-performance training. Sarah is a registered nurse with a Master’s in Nursing Science, a nurse educator, and a leading voice in sleep education. She breaks down what’s actually happening in your brain when you sleep, including how deep sleep and REM sleep work together to support recovery, learning, emotional regulation, and long-term brain health. We explore: Why sleep is a trainable skill, not a personality trait What “cleaning your brain” actually means from a neuroscience perspective How sleep deprivation affects focus, reaction time, mood, and performance The role of deep sleep in muscle repair, hormones, and recovery Why REM sleep matters for memory, learning, and emotional resilience How poor sleep disrupts appetite, decision-making, and training consistency Practical, evidence-based tools to improve sleep without biohacks or gimmicks This conversation is especially relevant for fighters, athletes, coaches, and anyone training hard - but it’s just as important for anyone navigating stress, pressure, or high cognitive load. Sleep is free. It’s foundational.And it’s one of the most powerful tools you have - if you know how to use it.

    48 min

  2. 10/12/2025

    John Wayne Parr: 347 Stitches, A Lifetime in Muay Thai, and the Legacy He Built

    John Wayne Parr is one of the most influential figures in modern Muay Thai. In this episode, he looks back on a lifetime in the sport: from sleeping on wooden floors in Thailand as the only Westerner in camp, to becoming the first Australian to fight at Lumpini Stadium, to surviving 347 stitches across a career defined by resilience, reinvention, and an unshakeable love for the fight. We talk about the culture of Thai gyms in the 90s, what poverty taught him, the fighters who shaped his style, the ghosts he swears visited him in his room, and the mindset that carried him through cuts, knockdowns, and some of the toughest athletes in the world. He also shares how he’s passing the torch to the next generation as his three children rise in boxing, BJJ and MMA. If you’re a fan of Muay Thai history, Australian combat sports, K1, or the evolution of striking, this is an entertaining, honest conversation with a pioneer who helped change the sport. Topics: • Training in Thai camps in the 90s • Fighting at Lumpini Stadium • K1 and the UFC • Humour, fear, superstition and ghost stories • Surviving cuts, knockdowns and 347 stitches • Raising the next generation of fighters • What legacy really means in combat sports

    1h 21m

  3. 22/11/2025

    Jonah Oliver: Discomfort, Pressure, and Performance

    Pressure doesn’t mean something’s wrong - it means something matters. In this episode, world-leading performance psychologist Jonah Oliver explains why discomfort is the gateway to growth, and why trying to control your thoughts or emotions is the very thing that undermines performance. With over two decades working across elite sport and high-stakes environments - from Olympic athletes, UFC fighters, and Formula One drivers, to AFL clubs, corporate leaders, surgeons, and top-tier teams - Jonah blends sports psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural science into a practical and deeply human approach to high performance. We explore: • the paradox of control (why fighting fear makes it stronger) • experiential avoidance and how it quietly sabotages performance • the relationship between arousal, attention, and decision-making • how values-based clarity creates real composure under pressure • why seeking discomfort trains the mind more effectively than “positive thinking” ever could • the difference between confidence and competence • what true game day readiness looks and feels like If you’re an athlete, coach, fighter, creator, or anyone who performs under pressure, this conversation offers a new framework for mental toughness - one grounded not in suppressing emotion, but in understanding it.

    1h 2m

  4. 18/11/2025

    Dr Michelle Pain; Tilt, Triggers and Emotional Control

    When everything starts to go wrong - bad calls, unfair moments, missed shots - what separates fighters who spiral from those who stay composed? Performance psychologist Dr Michelle Pain has spent decades helping athletes build mental toughness and regulate emotion under pressure. She helped establish one of Australia’s first sport psychology programs at Monash University, introduced psychological testing to the AFL draft, and has coached Olympians, professional club players, and esports competitors to perform at their peak. In this episode, we dive deep into tilt - the emotional hijack that happens when expectations and reality collide. Together, we unpack: Why anger and frustration spike when things feel unfair What your TILT type reveals about your triggers How to develop quick “anti-tilt” resets to regain focus and composure The difference between telic and paratelic states (and how to use music to control energy) Why awareness and introspection are the ultimate mental-skills tools for fighters and high performers Whether you’re an athlete, fighter, coach, or competitor, this episode gives you practical tools to stay composed under pressure and master emotional regulation in the heat of competition. This is Dr Michelle Pain, and this is the vrss podcast.

    1h 2m

  5. 09/11/2025

    Tyson Harrison: What a Fighter Finds in the Silence

    This episode was recorded on 8 October 2025, five days after ONE Championship Friday Fights 127. Tyson Harrison, one of the most exciting fighters in ONE Championship’s Bantamweight Division, sat down with us still carrying the weight of his loss - the silence, the anger, the processing. What followed wasn’t an interview. It was a conversation about truth, resilience, and what it means to face yourself after the lights go out. Tyson spoke about the fight, his relationship with pain, the legacy of “John Wayne Noi,” and the purpose he’s still writing for himself. This is the fight after the fight. This is Tyson Harrison, and this is the vrss podcast.

    52 min

  6. 08/10/2025

    Vinh Le: The Fight to Build a Community from Chaos

    This isn’t a story about opening a gym - it’s a story about building a community through chaos. When the Monash City Council shut down his new gym just a week after opening, Vinh Le, founder of Honour Martial Arts in Melbourne, faced the toughest fight of his career - one that had nothing to do with the ring. For nine months, his doors stayed closed while he battled permits, panic attacks, and the fear of losing everything he’d built. But through that chaos, Vinh discovered a different kind of strength: faith, resilience, and the power of community. In this episode, Vinh shares how he rebuilt from the ground up, turning setback into purpose and building a gym that’s become a family. We talk about what it means to lead with empathy, to hold your values when everything’s falling apart, and why the soul of martial arts lies in the people, not the punches. Listen for: The absurd 9-month shutdown storyHow faith helped him find clarity in chaosThe values behind Honour Martial ArtsWhat it takes to build a true martial-arts community

    1h 13m

  7. 28/09/2025

    Luke Howard: Lessons from a Fighter Turned Coach

    What if training isn’t about becoming your best self, but making sure your worst self can still win? That’s the philosophy of Luke Howard: a judo black belt, jiu-jitsu brown belt, and former pro MMA fighter who’s competed across nearly every discipline. By the time he was 18, he had qualified for the judo world championships. After breaking his back and enduring shoulder reconstructions, Luke shifted into MMA, fighting professionally from his very first bout. Today, he’s grown to be one of the most respected coaches both in Bali and beyond, cornering fighters from around the world and building an online community of nearly half a million followers. In this conversation, Luke opens up about: The mental toughness behind stress drills designed to make you lose How to shorten the feedback loop so fighters actually improve-What nerves really mean - and how to harness them on fight night This episode dives deep into the mindset shifts that every fighter faces - lessons that reshape how you approach both training and competition.

    1 hr
  8. Dr. Sue Jackson: Flow State Explained

    21/09/2025

    Dr. Sue Jackson: Flow State Explained

    What does it really mean to be “in the zone”? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sue Jackson, co-author of Flow in Sports with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and creator of the Flow State Scale and Dispositional Flow Scale - the tools researchers still use to study peak performance. Together, we explore: What flow is, and why it matters in sport and life.The nine dimensions of flow and how athletes can access them.How tools like the Flow State Scale help fighters and coaches reflect and improve.Why anxiety, pressure, and distraction can kill flow, and how to manage them.Practical strategies to find flow more often, whether you’re a fighter, runner, or weekend athlete.Dr. Jackson shares insights from decades of research, showing how flow isn’t just a lucky state - it’s something you can learn to invite, train, and apply far beyond sport.

    1h 8m
  9. Tony Jeffries: What Happens When Your Dream Dies

    15/09/2025

    Tony Jeffries: What Happens When Your Dream Dies

    Olympic boxer Tony Jeffries - a 7-time British national champion and Olympic bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games - shares the fight of his life: what happens when boxing ends. In this episode, Tony opens up about: - Competing on the Olympic stage while battling fear and self-doubt - The depression, drinking, and identity crisis after his forced retirement - Moving to Los Angeles, being rejected from his first gym job, and building Box ’N Burn, later named California’s #1 gym - How he turned his fighter’s obsession into one of the biggest boxing fitness brands on YouTube, with millions learning boxing drills, workouts, and techniques in nine different languages - His philosophy of “Do hard things for an easy life”,  and how boxing shaped him as a man, husband, and father Watch more from Tony Jeffries on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TonyJeffries  This conversation touches on depression, mindset, and the mental battles fighters face outside the ring. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a trusted friend, family member, or professional. If you’re in crisis, please seek local support services in your country. You don’t have to go through it alone. 0:00 - Intro 3:28 - Fear as Fuel 10:20 - Forced Retirement 13:00 - Climbing Out 15:30 - Beverly Hills Rejection 20:30 - Building Box ’N Burn 24:00 - Boxing for Fitness 27:50 - The COVID Pivot 31:15 - Global Reach 35:40 - Obsession & Craft 46:00 - Impact Beyond Numbers 47:50 - What’s Next 51:40 - Advice for Fighters (Plan B) 54:15 - How Boxing Shaped Me 55:30 - Jiu-Jitsu & Family 59:50 - Do Hard Things, Easy Life 1:03:45 - Final Reflections

    1h 5m
  10. Vrss Podcast Teaser

    05/09/2025

    Vrss Podcast Teaser

    In the vrss podcast, we dive into the psychology, science, and soul of combat sports. We bring you conversations with people at the top of their fields: from world champions and legends of the game, to the doctors, neuroscientists, psychologists, and coaches pushing performance to new levels. At its heart, vrss means two things: You versus the fight, whatever form that takes. And the verses that get written through it. We’re here to go deeper into those stories. Into the internal fight, the philosophies, the truths. Into what fighting really teaches us. How it rewires the brain, the body, the mind. And what strength really means - on the mats, and far beyond them. Because the outside never tells the whole story. The real strength is from within. Coming, this September.

    1 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

In the vrss podcast, we dive into the psychology, science, and soul of combat sports. We bring you conversations with people at the top of their fields: from world champions and legends of the game, to the doctors, neuroscientists, psychologists, and coaches pushing performance to new levels. At its heart, vrss means two things: You versus the fight, whatever form that takes. And the verses that get written through it.We’re here to go deeper into those stories. Into the internal fight, the philosophies, the truths. Into what fighting really teaches us. How it rewires the brain, the body, the mind. And what strength really means - on the mats, and far beyond them.Because the outside never tells the whole story. The real strength is from within.

Information

  • Creator
    Liana
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Liana
  • Show Website
    vrss Podcast

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