On this epsiode, I welcome Dr Mike Piekarski aka. @doctor_kickass about to talk about S&C for MMA.

As I discuss with Mike, I've believe that in being so focused on skill development in practice, I've been  guilty of undervaluing the role of S&C, in particular when it comes to competition.

My concern with not cutting into valuable 'learning' time, inevitably had me neglect and deemphasize  the importance of S&C. 

As part of rebalancing  and moving forward with my team. I reached out to Mike for some insight, advice and direction.

Being a BJJ blackbelt, a former MMA fighter and an active Dr of Physical Therapy, Mike seemed to be an obvious choice to invite on for discussion.

I very much enjoyed talking with him, and encourage anyone in the MMA space to give him a follow on IG where he posts most of his content. 

I do plan to have more S&C coaches and scientists on going forward as a part of my rebalancing of training focus. 

Onwards and Upwards! Enjoy the convo with Dr Kickass!

On this episode we delve a little more into the underpinning science of Ecological Dynamics.

I recently read 'Introduction to Ecological Psychology' written by Dr Julia Blau and Dr Jeff Wagman which was a terrific read. The book was just recently published in the summer of 2022. Had this book been available years ago, it might have saved me countless hours of confusion and frustration.

While there is little talk of MMA or Grappling in this episode, it does offer a teaser of the fascinating area of ecological psychology and how we interact  and move in our world.

Our discussion lends support to what many of the guest coaches and academics that have been on the podcast are telling me. That we are complex systems and we must let the body acquire skillful movement solutions trusting it to do what it is designed to do. Solve movement problems.

Dr Blau and Dr Wagman also recently appeared on the Perception Action Podcast to discuss the book.  As mentioned countless times, Dr Gray's podcast is a treasure trove of contemporary sports science and any coach that wants to better understand the human system and how it learns should absolutely subscribe and listen to it. 

Thank you to all who support and listen. And especially all those who took time to talk to me an participate in the discussions. 

In this episode, I talk with again with Coach Greg Souders of Standard Jiu-Jitsu , Rockville MD (Maryland).

Greg is a black belt who founded Standard Jiu-Jitsu several years back following many years of training and competing with Team Llyod Irvin.  A product of the high repetition and traditional development approach, Greg largely abandoned the conventional ways in favor of a more ecological approach to skill development.

This time, we recorded with Greg in Milwaukee where he came to visit for a day.  Greg was in the area with his team-mate and student, Alex Nguyen, who came to clean up at the Midwest Finishers tournament in Lombard IL, (Where she did so handedly and took home the 115lb female pro-bracket belt and cash).

Today we discuss practice design from a learning vs teaching perspective and Greg's four pillars of good practice.

I. Considering the historical Emergence of  the Grappling arts.
II. Starting with the end in mind.
III. Low to high variability.
IV. Playing the whole game every day.

Greg for me, is a coach's coach and really seems to be a trailblazer for the growing ecological minded schools out there.

Should anyone want to get in touch (I recommend they do). He is reachable on his social media links here. IG and Facebook and of course via his website 

Andy Lane is a professor and researcher in sports psychology at the University of Wolverhampton UK.  Andy joined me to discuss strategies and methods for developing and building psychological skills in training and competition.

A former boxer with 50 fights, Andy is an advocate for responsible and ethical training/sparring and suggests alternative and effective ways to battle ready and pressure test fighters.

Andy is most active on twitter @andylane27 and also shares content on his youtube channel.

I was introduced to Andy after hearing him talk on the 'Sport Psych Show' podcast with Dan Abrahams. (An excellent podcast worth checking out!)

Dr. Tom Parry is the founder and owner of Kestrel Performance Psychology. He has a Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University with specializations in Skill Acquisition and Psychology.

​He wears many hats including Professor, Father, Coach and Consultant. These roles have blessed him with a detailed understanding of human behavior from various perspectives and the nuanced nature of performance.

 He has worked with numerous individual athletes, sports teams and businesses to improve their performance and meet their desired outcomes.

Tom joined me to discuss and elaborate on a recent twitter thread he posted recently. It was a thread that really resonated with me and I wanted to find out more.

Tom actively shares and posts content on his twitter page and is well worth a follow!

In this episode, I talk with Coach Greg Souders of Standard Jiu-Jitsu , Rockville MD (Maryland).

Greg is a black belt who founded Standard Jui-Jitsu several years back following many years of training and competing with Team Llyod Irvin.  A product of the high repetition and traditional development approach, Greg largely abandoned the conventional ways in favor of a more ecological approach to skill development.

This episode was recorded with Greg in person when I visited his gym (nicknamed the Black Temple). After a couple of days training there, it was apparent how incredibly well developed his team are and how engaging and high quality the training is.  Greg's team have a unique way of communicating their understanding of the sport and interacting with each other.

Greg for me, is a coach's coach and really seems to be a trailblazer for the growing ecological minded schools out there.

Should anyone want to get in touch (I recommend they do). He is reachable on his social media links here. IG and Facebook and of course via his website 

I look forward to seeing Greg's name being tossed around in the discussion of up and coming progressive and high-level coaches. If his team keeps developing at the same rate, I imagine this won't take long!

For 30 years, Coach Greg Nelson has overseen the training and development of thousands of combat sports athletes at his gym The Academy in Minnesota.

Among these fighters and champ that he has helped produce, Brock Lesnar, Kaitlin Young, Brock Larson, Sean Sherk, Dave Menne and Nick Thompson. He is also a regular part of UFC Straw-weight former reigning champ Rose Namajunas team.

Coach Nelson talks about his approach, philosophies and methods that he employs from entry level novice hobbyists all the way up to UFC World Champions.  He talks both about how training and the sport has evolved and changed,  and what attributes and features are remain ever present in High-Level elite performers.

I was happy and reassured to hear that many of principles and approaches that Coach Nelson has employed so successfully, are very much aligned with the broader underpinnings of ecological dynamics.

I particularly appreciated the apparent autonomy and creativity he fosters in his training environment and his approach to ethical and sensible training to promote longevity and skill development.

For more info on Coach Nelson and or the Academy. Visit www.theacademymn.com

You can also hear Coach Greg drop nuggets of fighting wisdom on his own podcast "In the Clinch"

Follow Coach Nelson and his team on IG or Twitter.

I finally snagged the boys from Emergence to come and talk to me about MMA.

I have been following Shawn Myszka AKA @movementmiyagi since coming across his youtube channel several years ago. Shawn is an NFL skill coach and movement consultant, co-founder of Emergentmvmt.com, regular podcast and skill conference presenter and co-author of the recently published paper "Applying an ecological approach to practice design in American Football".

His biz partner Tyler Yearby also a co-author of the same article and is an educator and speaker on sport science and skill-development for American Football. 

Both Tyler and Shawn are regular guests on Rob Gray's Perception Action Podcast and are considered to be well informed and passionate advocates of the ecological approach to sport. They also somewhat uniquely straddle both the academic and on-field coaching spaces which arm them both with a deep theoretical and practical knowledge and understanding.

Be sure to follow them both and stay tuned for their soon to be launched Patreon community which will be a fantastic resource and information sharing space for progressive coaches and sports academics alike. 

Should you wish to get in touch with either Shawn or Tyler, they are very receptive and helpful and best reached on twitter or at their website. (See names above for links).

I was very grateful for their time and consider them coming on as another scalp, as this duo were on my original shortlist of wanted guests when I started the Podcast a few years back. 

UFC vet and UK MMA pioneer Leigh Remedios returns to chat on the Primal MMA podcast.

Ireland's 'Team Torres' Coach Martin McLaughlin also joined the chat. Martin is diving deep into the Ecological Approach and speaks about how he is implementing the theory and principles of the Eco D practically on the mats.

This was largely an informal chat between the coaches and we shared lots of ideas and challenges we've experienced as we try to get the most out of our training time.

It's apparent that both Martin and Leigh are very progressive coaches and passionate about facilitating their team's development ethically and responsibly.

To reach out to Leigh you can find him on his gym's FB page

To link up with Matthew, you can get him here

Todd Fossey is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Integrative Defense Strategies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today he accepted my invite to chat with me about managing anxiety and arousal in training and competiton, and how getting the right levels can help promote learning, skill development and performance.

Todd has been in the sport coaching and motor-learning space for several decades, add to that movie producer, trained psychotherapist and high performance consultant and it's clear he has lived a very interesting a full life thus far.

Todd is also both a coach and a student of highly regarded MMA coach Greg Nelson of the "Academy' in MN where trains grappling and bjj. Todd has also built a firearms training and education business that combines gun handling with modern practical MMA techniques and skills.

Should you want to follow up or reach out to Todd you can contact him via his FB page, or email todd@gunclasses.net

You can also check out his website and his youtube page where he shares a ton of content about firearm training and personal saftey and protection skills.

Todd Fossey is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Integrative Defense Strategies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today he accepted my invite to chat with me about managing anxiety and arousal in training and competiton, and how getting the right levels can help promote learning, skill development and performance.

Todd has been in the sport coaching and motor-learning space for several decades, add to that movie producer, trained psychotherapist and high performance consultant and it's clear he has lived a very interesting a full life thus far.

Todd is also both a coach and a student of highly regarded MMA coach Greg Nelson of the "Academy' in MN where trains grappling and bjj. Todd has also built a firearms training and education business that combines gun handling with modern practical MMA techniques and skills.

Should you want to follow up or reach out to Todd you can contact him via his FB page, or email todd@gunclasses.net

You can also check out his website and his youtube page where he shares a ton of content about firearm training and personal saftey and protection skills.

Cal Jones is both a Judo coach and practitioner from North Wales (UK). He also recently completed his Master Degree in sports science with a thesis on "Representative Learning Design".

Cal is well connected in the skill acquisition community and is a frequent guest on the coaching podcast circuits.

Should you want to reach out or follow Cal, he can be reached on his twitter account @CalJonesJudo

This is the part one of a two part episode where we discuss RLD and its implications for effective practice design for skill development. 

Cal and I also discuss much of the dated and stubbornly held perspectives that are so prevelant in martial arts today.

Cal is an understudy of Keith Davis who is one of the giants and leading researchers in ecological dynamics and skill acquisition.

I look forward to Cal being a returning guest on the show as we had a fun discussion and clicked well. 

My appreciation to him and all my guest who work hard to bring the research and data from the labs to the mats. 

Let's be better at getting better!   Ancora Imparo!

Cal Jones is both a Judo coach and practitioner from North Wales (UK). He also recently completed his Master Degree in sports science with a thesis on "Representative Learning Design".

Cal is well connected in the skill acquisition community and is a frequent guest on the coaching podcast circuits.

Should you want to reach out or follow Cal, he can be reached on his twitter account @CalJonesJudo

This is the part one of a two part episode where we discuss RLD and its implications for effective practice design for skill development. 

Cal and I also discuss much of the dated and stubbornly held perspectives that are so prevelant in martial arts today.

Cal is an understudy of Keith Davis who is one of the giants and leading researchers in ecological dynamics and skill acquisition.

I look forward to Cal being a returning guest on the show as we had a fun discussion and clicked well. 

My appreciation to him and all my guest who work hard to bring the research and data from the labs to the mats. 

Let's be better at getting better!   Ancora Imparo!

My old pal and returning guest Will Massey PhD,  Sport Psychologist, educator, coach, and practicing martial artist.

In this episode, Will offers his insight into how we can foster and cultivate independent and self-directed learning within a group setting. 

We cover, learned helplessness, implicit learning, practicing for performance vs practice for learning.  Motivation theory and considerations. And finally Will gives some practical takeaways for coaches looking to support athletes becoming more independent and in control of their own development. 

Will is able to pair an academic and theoretical perspective with a practical understanding as both a student and coach of the sport. 

This valuable discussion given retention, motivation and participation involve creating a positive and engaging psychological training environment.

Today's guest brings both a practical and theoretical perspective to skill development in marital arts.

Dr. Alan Dunton is a former Irish National TKD team competitor and now a researcher and lecturer at Cork institute of technology.  Alan received his PhD in Skill Acquisition under the guidance of  former guest, professor  Ed Coughlan. (aka. Dr SkillAcq) .

I really clicked with Alan and we went down several rabbit holes and discussed a whole lot of different aspects of training and skill development.

Alan is advocate and proponent of a more ecological approach to skill development, but also sees utility and in more traditional approach and frameworks.

This is part 2 of 2 - and we carry on from where we left in part 1. Exploring disguised and deceptive actions.

Alan was extremely receptive and enthusiastic to collaborate when I reached out and i encourage all that enjoyed his insight to follow him or reach out to him on his twitter profile. 

Today's guest brings both a practical and theoretical perspective to skill development in marital arts.

Dr. Alan Dunton is a former Irish National TKD team competitor and now a researcher and lecturer at Cork institute of technology.  Alan received his PhD in Skill Acquisition under the guidance of  former guest, professor  Ed Coughlan. (aka. Dr SkillAcq) .

I really clicked with Alan and we went down several rabbit holes and discussed a whole lot of different aspects of training and skill development. 

Alan is advocate and proponent of a more ecological approach to skill development, but also sees utility and in more traditional approach and frameworks.

This is part 1 of 2 - and we flesh out a lot of the topics discussed on the previous episode with Dr Rob Gray.

Alan was extremely receptive and enthusiastic to collaborate when I reached out and i encourage all that enjoyed his insight to follow him or reach out to him on his twitter profile. 

Part 2 should drop in next week or so!

I finally snagged him! After months of pestering, Professor Rob Gray joined me to chat and answer some of my questions on skill development in martial arts.

Rob is a giant in the skill acquisition space, and his voice has become all too familiar to me after spending much of my last few years working through his huge catalogue of podcasts of his show 'The Perception Action Podcast" .

Rob is an Associate Professor of Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University and recently published and released his book MOVE .

While Rob's podcast is very technical and academic, he has delivered in his book a wonderfully concise and digestible summary of how we learn and acquire movement skills.

Rob's outreach and coach educational resources have profoundly shaped and influenced my perspectives and understanding of skill acquisition which spills over into all aspects of my life.

Life is movement.... Why not be better at it!

In a rush to make the most out of the opportunity I tried to squeeze a lot in this 60 min slot. So this episode moves quick and covers a lot. But he's been busy on the podcast tour these last months. So if you are hungry for more. Follow him on twitter @shakeywaits or search for him on your podcast directory.

 




 

Coach Leigh Remedios is the owner and head coach of VT Jiu-Jitsu in England UK. 

He is a life long martial artist, former professional fighter  and UFC vet, and a recipient of 4 different black belts. 

My first contact and introduction to Leigh was an exchange over a post I'd made on a BJJ FB group about shrimping and bear crawling in jiu-jitsu practice being a waste of time.

What started off as a terse back and forth led to a more substantive exchange, where Leigh was receptive to some articles and resources I sent him. 

A couple of months later we hopped on the zoom to chat about training. This chat is episode #6 and was a fun discussion, one in which we found much more similarities in our training approaches than differences. 

Leigh, as apparent is a very accomplished coach and competitor and decades later is clearly still in love with martial arts and looking to learn and improve. So a great guest and a an enjoyable chat was had.

Leigh can be found on FB, and at his gym's webpage www.vtjj.co.uk 

Making the most of our valuable training time with the help of Ecological Dynamics. 

www.primalmke.com

A bite sized and unsophisticated synopsis of Ecological Dynamics, and how it underpins our training approach at Primal MKE. 

www.primalmke.com