Leverage Radio Leverage Works

The Bob & Weave Collective is here. We speak to Himanshu & Priya - the force behind the Bob & Weave family. They are trying to create a new ecosystem for athlete management, enabling them to focus on their training without getting flustered by the noise & the bright lights. The Bob & Weave team provides Housing, Martial Arts coaching, Media Training and Fight Camp Management for their team. We discuss their upcoming BAWNC event (Bob and Weave Night of Champions) where they plan to showcase MMA talent in a unique event, unlike anything we would have seen in Indian MMA. We talk about production do's and don'ts, their inspiration for going down this path and what they've learned in the MMA space in their short time in the game. They have lofty goals, big dreams and a passion for the sport. In fact, BAWNC will next host the South India edition of Leverage as we look to collaborate and create more exposure for combat talent across the country. The sport is hard enough as is and can always use People like Himanshu & Priya (Bob & Weave) to step up and create opportunities that didn't exist before. Hope you enjoy this episode. 

This episode we speak to Bonny the Boxer. A juggernaut of a person, Bonny has been working tirelessly to develop a strong Martial Arts base in Goa. A former K1 Kickboxing Champion, President of WKO India & Head coach of Tribal Warriors, Bonny works tirelessly to train, teach and organize to help grow Martial Arts in Goa. 
To facilitate this growth, Bonny started ArtofCombat - A Fight Promotion aimed to help bring exposure to higher level competition for the local fighters in Goa. 
On the 22nd of Dec, AOC will be hosting their 6th Edition and will be contesting multiple fights in Kickboxing and MMA. There are Junior, Women, Amateur and Pro-bouts on the fight card. Several state champions will collide to determine supremacy and there are WKO India titles at stake. It is shaping up to be a promising night of Combat. The event will be streamed live & for more info follow @artofcombat & @tribalwarriors pages! 

We wish Bonny & her team the Best of luck!  

Finally the stars have aligned, the powers that be have allowed us to put together this episode for an inside look @Stranglebyrebel - India's Largest Cash Prize Jiujitsu tournament. 
In this Part 1/2 we host Sanjay Nambiar & Peeyush Pandey, these two have been working tirelessly on and off the mats to help get the word out about Strangle. The guys discuss the tournament, their training under Coach Ashwin Hoon and the importance of such competitions. We discuss their ruleset, their  strategy to win as they share their excitement about the prospect of facing high level competition. 

This tournament has both beginner & advanced divisions across multiple weight categories. All matches will be contested under ADCC rules wherein the first half of the match there are no points awarded, the points kick in only once half the time limit is up. 

Winners of the Beginners Divisions will Earn INR 20,000
Winners of the Advanced Divisions will Earn INR 40,000

These opportunities are few and far between for those who work tirelessly to train. Platforms & tournaments like Strangle are meant to support your training, to test yourself and your ideas against others. Registrations are still open, so book your slot now!

Season 3 of the podcast kicks off with Professor Brian Glick. A legend of the Renzo Gracie Academy and training partner to several giants of the game. We speak with Professor Glick about his career, all the way from his initial days training to how he innovates today and keeping pace with the evolving landscape of the sport. We discuss his time training with Prof. John Danaher and his experiences with the former Death Squad. An absolute privilege to speak with someone of his caliber. Hope you enjoy it!

We had the opportunity to speak with Professor Adam Benayoun. Blackbelt under Ryan Hall, Adam is a highly decorated competitor and teacher at the 50/50 Academy in Virgina. 
We pick his brain on everything including his teaching and learning methodology, his journey in jiu-jitsu, the importance of expanding one's horizons in learning and his training with legends of our sport.

Adam talks about the necessity for persistence in jiu-jitsu, singling it out as possibly the most attributable quality required to achieve a blackbelt and proficiency. We discuss his upcoming match for @thirdcoastgrappling and a heck of a lot more. Truly an honour to speak with him and gather such valuable insight. We hope you will too!

In this episode of Leverage Radio, we speak to Arko & Ratul. Both involved heavily in the promotion of MMA in Kolkata albeit in very different capacities. Over the years, this has resulted in some animosity and differences between the two. Last year, we were supposed to speak with Ratul and have him share his side of the story but due to cyclone Amphan we just didn't ge that opportunity. Today we managed to get both men to agree to a sit down discussion so that their point may be heard and we can get a good result for the sport of MMA in their region.
Fighting is hard enough a sport as is, glad we could help provide a medium for discussion and confrontation without letting it get out of hand. Hope you enjoy it!