Gracie Jiu Jitsu Rocks! Podcast

In this episode we celebrate the life of 4th degree Pedro Sauer Black Belt Professor Keith Owen through the eyes of his family,  affiliates,  fellow instructors, the people who loved him. Keith Owen was an incredible man. He was an incredible teacher, mentor, friend, husband, father, and an amazing human being who impacted so many people’s lives. He left this life too early but he was a true example of the belief of “it’s not how many years you live but the amount of lives you touch while you’re here.”    Featured in this episode are Ari Kay, Rob Magao, Carrigan Owen, Josh Arentz, Karlton Rowe, Todd Richards, James Foster, Alex Owen, Jeff Walther, Mark Cukro, Master Pedro Sauer, and Shirlane Owen (and clips of Keith himself).

Mark Schultz, olympic gold medal wrestler, UFC veteran, and Pedro Sauer black belt discusses Why he purposely threw the last match of the 1988 Olympics, Foxcatcher movie and why he didn’t like it, His book - Foxcatcher and the real story of Foxcatcher, His epic match with Rickson, How he got into UFC 9, Why he only fought in one UFC, Pedro Sauer’s epic fight against Lance Batchelor, What he learned from Master Sauer, His thoughts on Rickson’s fighting style, Cornering Tank Abbot in the UFC, His thoughts on wrestlers in the early UFCs, and much more!

Jamie Marich, Ph-d and Anna Pirkl, LMFT, authors of Healing Trauma with Jiu Jitsu, discuss what trauma is and how common it is, the toll it takes on our lives, how trauma shrinks our worlds, the link/relationship between addictions and trauma, importance of physical play, moving from victim mentality to warrior activist, the range of response in Jiu Jitsu and why Jiu Jitsu is can be so effective in healing trauma, what instructors should know about trauma and the trauma informed attitude, and more!

Rickson discusses  writing his book, how his philosophy about fighting has changed through the years, learning to fight without emotion, Representing the Gracie legacy, His early fights in Japan, the spirit of the samurai, being treated like a God in Japan, cold exposure, meditation and his fire ceremony during his fight prep, the incredible power of breathing/ breathwork, the importance of visualization, achieving “empty mind”, If he ever felt like he failed at anything, what he feels is his greatest accomplishment, cooperative versus aggressive environments for teaching/learning jujitsu, technology’s impact on people, The people that really need Jiu Jitsu, Ichi wan Ichi go - savoring the moment being present with no regrets, thoughts on modern BJJ, what’s next for him and what is mission is now, etc

In this interview Ricardo discusses his academy and how it got it’s name, the special things going on in addition to Jiu Jitsu out of his academy, working with wounded veterans and some modalities that have helped him, what he learned from Navy frog men, the KB1 foundation working with PTSD and suicidal ideation, the incredible variety of high level people he’s trained with that have impacted his Jiu Jitsu,  his career in the Navy, his medical career, his wife Heidi who is also a black belt, his family, his business advice for academy owners, the importance of a mentor, his Jiu Jitsu philosophy including his competition philosophy and strategy,  the biggest impactors in his life, and knowing the totality of Jiu Jitsu.

Randy McElwee is a Pedro Sauer Black Belt and owner / director of GRACIE® Jiu Jitsu Athens - Team Pedro Sauer at American Black Belt Academy in Athens, GA He also serves on the board of directors for the Pedro Sauer association. In this interview he discusses various subjects including going into the Army and straight to Special Forces; what it took to get through SF training and biggest lessons he learned in SF; early days of Jiu Jitsu and piecing things together with the old VHS tapes;  bringing Rorion in and learning Jiu Jitsu philosophy from him; getting his blue belt from Royce; driving 2 hours one way to train early in his jiu jitsu journey; Pedro Sauer’s impact on him;  opening and running his academy; the importance of spending time with his son and how Jiu Jitsu facilitates that; leadership, and the significance of a team; importance of realistic weapons training; serious but fun training; Going Commando-discovering your warrior type; feeling fear but not letting it own you; biggest impacts on his li

EP 144 Rick Ellis is a Roy Dean Black belt and founder of The Art of Skill. In this interview he talks about being a musician in his youth; his nomadic lifestyle; early days at Roy Dean’s academy and Roy’s effect on him; training with Luis Heredia in Maui;  training with Alexey Cruz in Maine; where the name 3rd Way Jiu Jitsu came from; the inner challenges; success and self growth of opening a new academy; collaborating with Roy dean on his original you tube videos; what JJ has given him, and more!

Ray Griffin, Pedro Sauer Black Belt and owner/head instructor of Griffin Jiu Jitsu Academy in Orem Utah, discusses his journey, including starting with karate and his grandfathers’ advice, How UFC 1 affected him, starting and training JJ with Pedro Sauer in Utah, his family and the parallels of  JJ and parenting, his academy and how it really is a family affair, empowering women,  situational awareness and self defense, importance of firearms training and safety, Griffin tactical, working in real estate and how Jiu Jitsu comes into play in this space, and his thoughts on getting older in Jiu Jitsu and how Jiu Jitsu is for everybody, and BJJ vs Gracie Jiu Jitsu, and more!

Ryron Gracie returns for a lively and interesting discussion. In this interview he discusses morning routines, his family and their recent move), cold plunges, the 32 principles (how they came about and the importance of them in learning and being efficient in Jiu Jitsu), Gracie Survival Tactics (GST) and the recent HBO show, sexual predators in jiu Jitsu, and more….

Miles Lukas, BJJ Black Belt, Certified Wim Hof instructor, & owner of Breath Fitness. In this interview we discuss his Jiu Jitsu journey-including training with Jerry Brewer, Phil Migliarese, Steve Maxwell, Relson Gracie, Ralph Gracie, Kurt Oseander, etc.; training with the heavy weight group at Dave Camarillo’s school and its effect on his development; training with Eduardo Tellis; matching the intensity of the training partner; Wim Hof breathing for competition anxiety; Fight to Win competition; learning from Rickson; breathing and breath-work; comparing Wim Hof and Rickson breathing; how important breathing is for BJJ; being connected to the earth’s energy, etc.

Dave Kama, 5th degree Rickson Gracie black belt and head of Kama Jiu Jitsu. Dave is one of the very few people to have trained under Master Rickson and have all his belts awarded to him by Rickson, blue belt through black belt. Dave Kama also #2 of the “Dirty Dozen”, a moniker given to the first 12 non-Brazilians to earn the coveted black belt. In this episode he discusses his stat in BJJ, the early days in Rorion Gracie’s garage, challenge matches, training with Rickson, starting his own academy, the importance of finding the right teacher for your style of learning, what new practitioners should focus on, his thoughts on older practitioner training, and more!

Roy Marsh, founder of Roy Marsh Jiu Jitsu and owner/head instructor of Gracie Schwarzwald, discusses his early days in NC with TEAM ROC; his move to Germany, and what that’s been like; his philosophy including competition type focus and self defense focus, why the ability to control your opponent is so important, information gathering while rolling, why he never sets timers at his school;  his instructional videos; people who’ve had the biggest impact on his BJJ and life, and much more

Sensei/Coach Erik Paulson is a champion fighter, world renowned instructor/coach, and founder of Combat Submission Wrestling. He discusses how he stayed productive this past year, transitioning from fighter to coach, changing universal energies, UFOs, being ready when the creative juices come, writing dvd project on a napkin on an airplane, changes he’s made in his association and programs, not living in fear, combining catch wrestling in his jj program, how he developed his scarf game (including the fat man choke), his intensive private sessions, his business coaching for school owners, sensei Uri Nackamura and Shooto, Pankration for kids, CSW and His current projects, how his break fall ability saved him during a bike accident, Combat Athletic Conditioning program, and more  

Featuring 2020 Episode Clips from Evandro Nunes (The Lion and when to let him out), Matt Thornton (training with Rickson, Chris Hauter, fundamentals as universal concepts), Ricky Lundell (starting BJJ as a kid with Pedro Sauer, the time he “fought” Pedro’s daughter Taissa), Scott Nelson (Emotional Intelligence and its impact on his life and Jiu Jitsu), Clark Gracie (GM Carlos, GM Carley and how the term Gracie Jiu Jitsu came about), Ryron Gracie (Summary/Recap of the meet the listeners 2 episode)......

In This episode we talk about challenges, triumphs and lessons learned in 2020. Joining me for this episode I have Pedro Sauer Black Belts: Randy McElwee Gracie Jiu Jitsu Athens (Athens, GA) Mark Cukro Integrated Martial Arts (concord, NC) Alan Baker  Atlanta Martial Arts Center, (Woodstock GA) Dan Berry Integrated Martial Arts of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) Chaz Valentine Bushin Martial Arts (Williamsburg, VA) Rondel Benjamin Gracie Jiu Jitsu Trinidad/Tabago Andy Bryant Gracie Jiu Jitsu Commerce (Commerce, GA)

Richard Bresler is back on the show. Bichard is a 6th degree black belt and Rorion Gracie’s first US student. In this interview he discusses his new book, Worth Defending: How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life, and the process of writing it with Scott Burr; stories of the original UFCs, receiving his black belt; biggest influences on his life;  Pedro Sauer’s impact on him and the Professor Sauer - Oleg Taktorov connection; having Rickson as his bodyguard in Brazil; What’s next for him……

Jim Kelly, Pedro Sauer Black Belt, and owner and head instructor of Cincinnati Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, discusses his life growing up, his time in the Marine Corps (forced recon), his martial arts journey, including discovering BJJ while looking for Tae Kwon Do, stick fighting at The Gathering with the Dog Brothers, training with Paul Vunak, The “martial arts bum community,” Mark Denny, Shawn Owens; “Challenging” Jake Johnston;  competing at the Mundials in Brazil; The magical early days with Pedro Sauer and the crew (where he met Alan Hopkins, Jeff Curran, Rockson Gracie, Flavio and Silva Bhering, Matt Strack, Jorge Jiminez, Ricky Lindell);  Learning to be broad minded, finding your own style and  understanding the “why” things work from Pedro Sauer; What he learned from Rickson; training with Scott Smith; most important aspects of self defense; bringing realistic methodologies in training; keeping emotion out of fighting; His girlfriend and the wonderful story of how they met and their story over time….

Scott Burr is a black belt professor and the first person to earn the rank of black belt from legendary BJJ pioneer Professor Steve Maxwell.  He also holds black belts in Kodokan Judo and the Kuk Sul Do, and is a MaxwellSC-certified Pro Trainer, holding Level 1 and Level 2 certifications in both the MaxwellSC Kettlebell and Bodyweight Training systems. Scott is the author of the numerous books on strength & conditioning and martial arts books, and In recent years has had the opportunity to train with and learn directly from Master Rickson Gracie. In this interview we talk about his history in martial arts, including MMA training and going from Jiu Jitsu to Judo; his relationship with Steve Maxwell; his books, and how he got into writing; his current projects including Robert Drysdale’s book - Opening Close Guard and Richard Bresler’s book -  Worth Defending;  his invention-the Knot Lock; training with Rickson Gracie, his Jiu Jitsu philosophy, and more

Ryron Gracie Returns to surprise callers with a phone call. Listeners called include Jarod Zieffling, Greg Nelson, James Guynn, Danial Raza, Joel Ambrosia, Loren Files, and Jean Soares

Evandro Nunes is an instructor at Gracie University HQ. He’s a highly successful former competitor, winning numerous high level competitions, including world championships. He is a genuine, authentic, and highly insightful person, and this was a very interesting interview. In This interview he discusses what the Lion is and when to let it out, lessons learned in Jiu Jitsu, favorite submission and aspect of Jiu Jitsu, what gives him a sense of Joy in his life, thoughts on Spirituality, Self Care-what it really means, Peak experiences, Impactful books, favorite movies, Life regrets,  and more! Don’t miss it!