The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting
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  • WRESTLING
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What is it that allows some people to push themselves beyond their limitations? Why can some people survive situations others do not? On this podcast we try to find out the answers. Stephan Kesting, is a lifelong martial artist, BJJ black belt, career firefighter, and outdoorsman. Join us as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers and other people living the strenuous life. Stephan also 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.

  1. 1D AGO

    445 - The Most Dangerous Day of My Arctic Journey and What It Taught Me About Satisfaction and Happiness

    In today's episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I share the story of dealing with storms, giant tides, and the ever-present threat of polar bears on the remote Hudson Bay coast at the mouth of the Thlewiaza River in Nunavut, Canada and what I learned about physical, mental, and emotional performance in extreme circumstances.   This is an excerpt from my book "Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic", the story of the trip in the podcast above and a damn good read, available at Amazon in phyiscal, Kindle and audibook formats: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/ Also available at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/perseverance-stephan-kesting/1145682384 Indigo in Canada: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/perseverance-life-and-death-in-the-subarctic/9781639368617.html And in many independent bookstores all around the world (they can always order it in if they don't have it). Thanks so much, Stephan Kesting P.S.  If you enjoyed this episode check out the beginning of this journey in episode 419 of The Strenuous Life Podcast (links below).  For everything in between that episode and this one you'll have to check out the book though... Episode 419 on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/419-perseverance-life-and-death-in-the/id320705565?i=1000697659908 Episode 419 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2eKjiJs9G3SVa6ERGXLhAo

    21 min

  2. MAR 4

    444 - Stoicism and BJJ, with Adisa Banjoko

    How your journey through BJJ can intersect with and is helped by Stoicism, with Adisa Banjoko. It gets pretty personal as we go beyond the sound bites of Stoicism and dig into the actual practices you can use to develop the four virtues of Stoicism, namely wisdom, discipline, justice and courage. Along the way, we also tackle the importance of character in jiu-jitsu, the recent spate of scandals in the sport, dealing with pain and loss, and the importance of your whys.   Check out Adisa on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bishopchronicles/ and subscribe to his Substack at https://adisabanjoko.substack.com/! Check out my book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic.  It has a lot of overlap with today's discussion, and is available everywhere including Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612 Thanks Stephan Kesting

    1h 16m

  3. FEB 24

    443 - Twenty-seven Red Flags to Avoid When Picking a BJJ Club

    Telltale traits of toxic schools by Stephan Kesting, a BJJ black belt for 20 years.  Did he miss any red flags? RED FLAGS 01:24 No cross-training 01:41 Separating you from friends and family 02:30 No trial classes 03:35 No talking to current students 03:55 No watching classes 04:14 Instructor's name + SA = positive  05:19 "Master" 06:27 No sparring till blue belt 07:27 No questions in class 09:07 Poor hygiene and dirty mats  10:48 High-pressure sales tactics 12:53 No talking in class 14:27 Gravy Seal bootcamp 15:24 "Every other school sucks" 16:13 Instructor chronically dates students 17:18 Financial-medical-astronomical-astrological advice 17:27 No competition / in-house tournaments only 20:22 Peaked in high school 22:57 Focusing only on top competitors 23:20 Focusing only on hot women 23:45 Focusing only on their phones 24:55 Can't pause your membership 25:41 "We don't tap to THAT here..." 27:26 Mat bullies are tolerated ORANGE FLAGS 29:46 Mandatory and expensive uniforms 30:52 Ranking and promotion fees 32:19 I see dead people (and bow to them) 33:30 Instructor doesn't roll 35:01 No colored belts (or women) 35:21 "Professor" (see video below) RELATED RESOURCES The infamous "Don't Call Me Professor" video - https://youtu.be/-TeE3tYMiJM Grapplearts instructionals in streaming and app formats: https://www.grapplearts.com/instructionals/ My best-selling book: Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/ My book co-written with BJJ black belt world champion Brandon Mullins: Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu: https://www.amazon.com/Non-Stop-Jiu-Jitsu-Champions-Aggressive/dp/B08CPNPNDD

    39 min

  4. FEB 2

    442 - Building a Positive Gym Culture in BJJ, with Josh Peters

    How to create a professional environment and a welcoming gym culture at your BJJ school, and what people do wrong, with Josh Peters. Josh is a 3rd degree black  belt in BJJ, who has competed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Sanda, Sambo, kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts. He runs combatprinciplesmma.com in Burtonsville Maryland. Follow Josh on Instagram at instagram.com/joshcpmma and/or on Facebook at facebook.com/combatprinciplesmma. Support Josh's run for county council at friendsofjoshuapeters.com.  And if you want to comment on upcoming legistlation as suggested in this episode go to www.dol.gov/agencies/oasp/regulatory-programmatic-policy P.S. Check out my best-selling book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, available anywhere you get physical, digital and audio books and also here: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/

    57 min

  5. JAN 20

    441 - The Science of Fighting and Training MMA, with Ian Harris

    How to train MMA effectively, efficiently, and safely, with Ian Harris from Fight Science.  Ian has more than 40 years of martial arts experience and has been working with MMA fighters for more than 20 years. Today we discuss the changes that need to be made to MMA for it to be effective in a real fight, how to create a fight gameplan (and how to get a fighter to follow it), cutting weight intelligently, the best conditioning for a gas tank that never runs dry, and why fighters are so prone to pseudoscience and supplement scams.   Ian runs Fight Science MMA Training Center in Mid-City Los Angeles (fightsciencemma.com). Get in touch with Ian at facebook.com/comediocre and check out his videos on critical thinking at youtube.com/@IanHarrisComedian.

    1h 28m

  6. 12/16/2025

    440 - Training Methods and Cross Training in Jiu-Jitsu, with Josh Peters and Stephan Kesting

    Josh Peters and Stephan Kesting look at the evolution of effective teaching methods, school culture, risk, cross-training, and why you want your students to become better than you in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Follow Josh on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/joshcpmma/ and check out his school in the Maryland area at https://combatprinciplesmma.com/ And if you want concrete examples of how training in BJJ creates the skills to deal with the rest of life check out my best-selling book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, available anywhere you get physical, digital and audio books and also here: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/.  That journey wouldn't have been possible without my jiu-jitsu training, and there were lessons I learned on that trip that inform my life to this day.

    1 hr

  7. 12/02/2025

    439 - The Real Catch Wrestling and What it Can Teach Jiu-Jitsu, with Val 'The Crippler' Childs

    Catch wrestling was a brutal method for settling disputes on the American Frontier as well as one of the largest, most respected spectator sports prior to the modern era.  In this episode Val Childs - who has been training in catch wrestling since he was 5 - takes us on a tour through the historical roots of catch, the modern catch competition circuit, and the training methods that can be adopted to make any combat athlete much more effective. Incidentally, catch wrestling has had a significant impact on my own development. For example it has had a strong influence on my submission game as you can see in something like the Kimura Roadmap. https://www.grapplearts.com/kimura. Follow Val Childs on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cc_catchwrestling or check out his school in San Antonio, Texas at https://combatcitysa.com/

    1h 4m

  8. 11/18/2025

    438 - Crafting Your Ideal Jiu-Jitsu Journey, with Tom Wortman

    AOJ black belt Tom Wortman is a fierce competitor; he won IBJJ Pans, Euros, North Americans and Master Worlds in a single year as a brown belt.  He's also a jiu-jitsu gypsy, typically training at a club for 3 to 6 months, then moving thousands of miles to see a new part of the country and training at a new club.  Find out how he he does this, what the red and green flags are for training at new clubs, how to stay injury free even when training 7 days a week, and redefining success on your own terms.  I hope you find Tom as inspiring and insightful as I did - enjoy! Also, please rate and review this podcast on whichever podcast platform you listen to it - I can't emphasize enough how useful this is and how much I appreciate it. Finally, if you're interested in my take on living life on your own terms please check out my best-selling book, Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic, available anywhere you get physical, digital and audio books and also here: https://www.amazon.com/Perseverance-Death-Subarctic-Stephan-Kesting/dp/1639368612/ Thanks! Stephan

    59 min
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4.8
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376 Ratings

About

What is it that allows some people to push themselves beyond their limitations? Why can some people survive situations others do not? On this podcast we try to find out the answers. Stephan Kesting, is a lifelong martial artist, BJJ black belt, career firefighter, and outdoorsman. Join us as he talks to fighters, adventurers, competitors, coaches, firefighters, trainers and other people living the strenuous life. Stephan also 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.

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