This week we speak to Dani Vlad, Romanian Wrestling champion, coach at Elements BJJ, and a fantastic ambassador for the sport. We discuss wrestling in Soviet times, how wrestling got him through childhood and gave him discipline, and how he came to be coaching in the UK. Dani really opens up about the profound impact that wrestling has had on his life in this episode, so we hope you enjoy!

Episode 68: Growing Up with Wrestling w/ Dani Vlad

This week we explore the globetrotting side of BJJ with Oli from Elements BJJ. Oli gives us some background and a look into the influences on his life, before jumping into the matsurfing trip he took from Hong Kong, up the eastern coast of China, and through Asia to reach the Middle East. Check out his journey training BJJ along the silk road, along with a couple of the wilder stories about this travels - hope you enjoy!

Episode 67: Travelling The Silk Road and Training BJJ

This week we speak to John Hathaway, British UFC fighter, Catch Wrestling world champion, and co-owner of Umbra Performance. We discuss the state of British grappling, the reason for his time away from MMA, a bit about his origin story and his plans for the future. Hope you enjoy!

Check out all of our links and material here: https://linktr.ee/combat_thoughts 

Episode 66: John Hathaway

This week we get Ed 'Party Bear' Ingamells on. We initially met at the Catch Wrestling World Championships, and we got Ed on to discuss transitioning to Catch Wrestling as a BJJ player. We get into some interesting topics around learning modalities and the sorts of aptitudes that suit grappling, discuss the work of Pritt Mihkelson, Lachlan Giles, and Andy from School of Grappling, as well how Ed is going to filter out his students to create a super squad, and why kimuras don't work. Hope you enjoy! 

Episode 65: Ed Ingamells

edit: so clearly missed the mark on this one for a lot of people. I'm not discussing people who live or work in a dangerous environment, or people's initial reason to train. and I'm not saying that being able to defend yourself is a useless thing. this is in reference to people's ongoing primary training motivation, who are not constantly in danger (which I think applied to most bjj practicioners, but I may be wrong) - otherwise they wouldn't be a warrior in a garden at all 

There's a famous proverb that has become something of a joke in BJJ circles: 'It's better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war'. It's a joke not because of the message that it carries, but rather because it is overused and over-quoted by white belts the world over. Along with saying that the ground is their ocean, and that a back belt is a white belt that never quit, they make up a collection of sayings that nobody needs to hear but that so many will. But my real problem with the saying is not its overuse. It's that it conveys a terrible reason to learn BJJ. 

The warrior in the garden is a terrible analogy for BJJ 

This week we interview JP from elements BJJ. JP got into BJJ at about 39 years old with very little in the way of an athletic upbringing. At 48 he had achieved his black belt, which is a tremendous achievement, especially for someone with a full life to manage outside of BJJ. We discuss JPs journey, how he got into the sport, what inspired him to start, and why he loves it so much. Hope you enjoy!

Episode 64: BJJ For The Older Gentleman 

This week we dive into the weird world of NFTs and MMA. There's been a recent explosion in crypto that has been felt in the unregulated world of MMA, and we take a look at why that is, how fighters are jumping on it, and what we might expect to see in the future. Come and hear what fans of the UFC have in common with 1600's Dutch tulip merchants. 

Episode 63: NFTs, Crypto and Web3 in Combat Sports

This was originally published as a written piece. This looks at a history of leg locks in BJJ, starting from its origins in Judo and the teachings of Maeda, through to the culture war that followed and the eventual revolution and explosion of the techniques in high-level competition. Take a look at the history and politics of BJJ, and how the past hundred years have laid the foundation for the modern competition scene. 

Leg locks in BJJ: A short-ish history 

We have affectionately named this the Gulag episode. This week, we discuss the link between politics and martial arts, looking at the ways in which world leaders have used martial arts to convey messages, to speak to their supporters, and to build upon their popular base. We also have a look at who doesn't associate with martial arts, and why some societies are more open to combat sports than others. Hope you enjoy!

Episode 62: Politics and Martial Arts

We expand our grappling styles this week, looking at the 2000-year-old art of Sumo. Talking to British Sumo champion, Mandeep Singh Kundi a.k.a Deep, we talk about his reasons for practising the art, his journey through sumo, and some of the more philosophical points of grappling. Sumo is grossly misunderstood (especially in the UK) and I would recommend anyone interested in grappling to give it a listen. Hope you enjoy! 

For Deep's own content: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvKQFXH-nzVlM1v4nU-j7xQ
https://www.instagram.com/deep.sumo/

Episode 61: Sumo Wrestling w/ Mandeep Singh Kundi

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