Shows
Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 10 - With the Emergence BoysSend a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-02-271h 42
Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 9Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-02-261h 01Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 8Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-02-051h 04Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 7Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-02-021h 02Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 6Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-01-2959 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 5Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-01-081h 02Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 4Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2026-01-0553 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 3Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2025-12-1955 min
Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillLearning to Fight - Episode 2Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'.Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2025-12-1056 min
Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill'Yappin about Scrappin' - Primal MMA Podcast relaunchSend a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, and refocused as the Learning to Fight Podcast: Conversations in Combat Skill.Your hosts are:Adam Singer — Co-owner and head coach at SBG Athens, BJJ black belt, long-time MMA coach, with years of developing novice to elite level fighters. Student of Matt Thornton and SBG's philosophy of 'aliveness'. Scott Sievewright — Co-Owner at Primal MKE, MMA...
2025-11-282h 00Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#53 - Philosophy, physics and phighting! - Andy from the School of Grappling FINALLY joins me to chat.Send a textIn this episode, I’m joined by Andy from the School of Grappling, a coach and physicist whose analytical approach to no-gi grappling and wrestling has made him a respected figure in the sport. We discuss the science behind skill development, biomechanics, and training methods that align with the ecological approach. As the podcast nears its conclusion, I’m grateful to have one of my dream guests on the show. Tune in for a deep dive into the art and science of grappling! Catch more of Andy and his insights on the grea...
2024-10-231h 49Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#52 - Getting Emotional! - Dr Laura Cuijper's talks about the emotional aspects of training and performance.Send a text In this episode of the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Laura Cuijpers, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, to explore the emotional and psychological aspects of martial arts training. We dive into Dr. Laura's work on agency, resilience, and the application of the ecological approach in self-defense, with a particular focus on women's self-defense. We discuss the challenges of moving away from choreographed methods and the importance of improvisation under pressure. This conversation is packed with insights relevant to anyone interested in martial arts, self-defense, or ecological dynamics.
2024-10-151h 26Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#51 - Beyond Eco! - Sony Sahota on bridging Ecological Psychology with an Active Inference Framework.Send a textToday I welcome Sonny Sahota from Praxis Gym in Canada. Sonny, a judo black belt and manager of Kensington Judo Club in Vancouver, shares his insights on integrating Ecological Dynamics and the Active Inference Framework (AIF) into martial arts coaching. Sony introduces some of the tenets these approaches, discussing how they inform skill acquisition, practice design, and the balance between training under fatigue and maintaining motor learning. Sonny highlights the importance of understanding athletes' individual narratives and emotional engagement. This conversation offers valuable perspectives on how these cutting-edge theories can complement each other and...
2024-07-301h 47Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#51 - It's complex, keep it simple! - Coach Rob Cole on playing the ecological long game.Send a textCoach Rob Cole joins me today to talk coaching within an ecological dynamics framework.Rob is a long time mixed martial artist, globetrotters BJJ coach and a regular coach at Ascension Athletics in Connecticut.
2024-06-2850 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#50 - Exploring Eco Psych and perception - Gray Thomas of U-Con on ecological Psychology and it's implications for practice and development.Send a textGray Thomas joins me today to talk about the Ecological Psychology side of ecological dynamics. Gray is a PhD student at the university of Connecticut where he studies and researches Ecological Psychology. I enjoyed my chat with Gray and learn more about eco psych. The ecological approach really hangs on the theory of direct perception. Gray took some time today to talk about this and it's implication for sport and movement. As plugged in the intro. Some more resources worth checking out are:The Constraints Collective P...
2024-06-111h 12Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#49 - Pitching and Punching - Pittsburg Pirate Coach John Baker on an eco approach to Baseball, BJJ & MMA skill development.Send a textToday's chat was with Pittsburgh Pirate's coach John BakerJohn is a former MLB player and current performance and skills coach alongside Andy Bass in the Pirates Baseball organization. Also a BJJ purple belt, Ecological dynamics advocate and MMA fan. We had a fun chat covering all things eco, baseball and combat sports.
2024-05-301h 42Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#48 - Hot Off The Press - The Boys from Emergence talk about their recently published Ecological Approach to MMA Journal Article.Send a textThe boys from emergence are back to discuss their recently accepted and published paper on "Applying an ecological dynamics framework to mixed martial arts training". This paper followed their previous publication from 2023 "(Re)conceptualizing movement behavior in sport as a problem-solving activity".Both of these papers were supported and co-authored by Professor Keith Davids himself a titan in the skill acquisition community and a pioneer of ecological dynamic. SBG's Adam Singer, The Academy's Andy Grahn and myself were also able to provide modest contributions by...
2024-03-271h 35Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#47 - "ACTION ~ perception" Coach James de Lacey on building action capacities for combat sports.Send a textIn this episode I talk with Coach James de Lacey of Sweet Science of Fighting.While most discussions on the podcast have been biased toward the perceptual half of the perception-action loop. Coach James talks about how we can support the action side through science informed exercise programming. While James doesn't offer a specific program for combat athletes, he does give valuable insight and his opinions on where the best bang for the buck comes with regards to S&C for fighters. He also offers some practical and measurable ways...
2024-02-2256 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#47 - All Choking Aside - Dr Andy Bass talks about self-talk, attention and focus and how these can interfere with us all on game day.Send a textToday I talk with Dr Andy Bass. Andy is a researcher, educator, former pro baseball player and is currently a performance coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andy talks about both the mental side and motor learning side of skill development. How the two can be separate but also generally integrate. I have linked several episodes that Andy features on in the podcast description, and would recommend you check them out if what Andy talks about today interests you. Slappin Glass PodcastBeyond Baseball Coach Y...
2024-02-051h 35Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#46 - The gimmicks of the Gram - Coach Jon Mackey returns to discuss agility ladders and other questionable training tools.Send a textToday I chat with Irish National Kickboxing Coach Jon Mackey about the role of training tools in striking sports. We'll explore whether these tools actually support skill acquisition and debunk some of the popular training gimmicks that are flooding social media.Coach Mackey brings not only an extensive coaching experience, but his academic perspective as a PhD is skill acq candidate. Jon gives his thoughts on the effectiveness of tools like noodles, ladders, flashing lights, and frisbees for improving athletic performance. He'll explain why these tools may not be as b...
2023-11-161h 49Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#45 - Game on! - Kit Dale and Greg Souders on ditching the drills to become better quicker!Send a textToday I welcome Kit Dale and Greg Souders on to the show.Kit is well know in the jiu-jitsu world for his rapid development in the sport and his achievements at high level no-gi grappling in a short few years. An advocate of 'learning through trial and error and one that has been preaching the anti-drilling message for years' it seemed fitting that I get him on to talk with Greg Souders.Greg himself has emerged as a leading advocate of the ecological approach and in doing so, brought a...
2023-11-012h 44Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#44 - A student's perspective - Standard's Noah Shaffner talks about learning to grapple at the black temple.Send a textToday, I chat with Noah Shaffner from the Standard Jiu-Jitsu Grappling Team, mentored by Greg Souders. Unlike my usual guests who are coaches or academics, Noah stands out as a student who has embraced the ecological approach to skill development. Despite being only 17, his insights into the sport and its methodologies are profound. While many might assume he's echoing Coach Souders, Noah showcases a unique understanding. He's definitely one to watch in the sport's future.After recording with Greg and Kit Dale, known for championing live resistance training, I spoke with Noah...
2023-10-241h 29Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#43 - Managing Expectations - Rory Singer on playing the long game in developing Mixed Martial Artists.Send a textToday I talk with Coach Rory Singer. Rory is the younger brother of Coach Adam Singer and together they have run and coached MMA in Athens Georgia for several Decades. Rory is an UFC Vet and lifelong martial artist.In this convo we spoke about the expectations we have for new students entering the sport and particularly those who have the aspirations to fight at a high level. We talk about gym culture, duty of care for fighter and of course our philosophies of aliveness and ecological learning.
2023-09-291h 43Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#42 - Demystifying Strickland's win over Adesanya - Shawn Myszka joins me to discuss last week's UFC title fight.Send a textEmergence founder, NFL skills coach and MMA superfan Shawn Myszka joined me to discuss Strickland's win over Adesanya last week.As stated during intro. Must of this analysis is somewhat speculative given we are not privy to the innerworkings of both fighter's camps, preparation and day to day training methodologies.
2023-09-151h 26Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#41 - Grappling with memory and perception - Ed Ingamells onSend a textToday I am chatting with Ed Ingamells. (Aka the Partybear). Ed is a black belt and coach at the Institute of Grappling in North London, UK.As a former Neuroscience PhD student, Ed has a deep understanding of cognitive psychology. Ed talks about his shift in recent years to a more ecological approach and how ecological psychology and direct perception make more sense to him from a skill development and motor-learning perspective. If you enjoyed the convo you can find other podcast appearances by Ed here and here.
2023-07-132h 30Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#40 - On the shoulders of the "Aliveness" Giant! - SBG's Adam Singer on alive training environments.Send a textAdam Singer joins me today to talk coaching, culture and continuing the SBG philosophy of aliveness through an ecological lens.
2023-06-262h 12Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#39 - 'Second Guessing the Traditional Approach' - Coach Josh Root on doubling down on the Ecological Approach.Send a textToday I am joined by Coach Josh Root from Gravitas Martial Arts in Arkansas. Josh has recently re-visited an Eco D approach to grappling after initially abandoning it due to uncertainty.With a deeper understanding and support from Standard's Greg Souder's, Coach Josh is not looking back and has been all in on the approach. Enjoying some early success he is starting to get his team on board and trusting the practice design.Josh talks about his switch from a highly prescriptive and high volume drilling approach to...
2023-06-131h 01Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#38 - 'It takes two to Tango' - Professor Alan Dunton on 'information rich' training practice to develop metastability.Send a textProfessor Alan Dunton is back. Alan is a lecturer and researcher at MTU Cork, Ireland. With a PhD in Skill Acquisitor and having been a long time martial artist himself and a National TKD team competitor, Alan is well informed on both the theory and practical sides of the sport and training. Alan and I discuss developing metastability. Metastability occurs when an athlete is able to maintain a stable position or movement pattern while simultaneously having the flexibility and adaptability to respond and adjust to a highly dynamic environment and conditions (Think Fi...
2023-05-181h 02Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#37 - 'Light for Learning' - Coach Jon Mackey on Kickboxing Training and Sparring Culture.Send a textIn today's podcast, we're honored to have Jon Mackey as our guest, a celebrated coach in both Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing. With a career that began in 1987, Jon has trained numerous national, European, and world gold medalists in Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing, including Amy Wall, Lauren Bradshaw, and Robyn McDonnell. As the founder of Red Star Kickboxing and the National Director of Coaching for Kickboxing Ireland, Jon has significantly contributed to the Irish national team's success. When he's not coaching kickboxing, Jon works as High Performance Director for Canoeing Ireland and is an avid researcher in...
2023-05-101h 49Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#36 - Developing wizards from Oz - Ricky Pachon on taking his Gracie comp team ecological.Send a textIn this episode I speak with Coach Ricky Pachon . A young coach from Gracie Barra, Bondi Beach, Australia. Ricky leads a successful youth competition team and is himself an avid competitor on the Australian BJJ/Grappling scene. Recently a parent of a student of Ricky reached out to me to introduce him. Following several years of employing a high-repetition traditional approach to developing his youth team. Ricky has in recent months been another coach to fall down the ecological rabbit hole. Ricky's enthusiasm and energy spills out when h...
2023-02-181h 52Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#34 - On the other side of the mic - My interview with Brian Willis talking about Primal's approach to practice design for striking and MMA.Send a textThis episode is the first of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy.Brian reached out to both myself and Standard Jiu-jitsu's Greg Souders to talk about our application of Ecological Dynamics to Striking and Grappling respectively. With Brian's blessing he allowed me to share these interviews here on my podcast, given his interviews (over 350 of them) are available for his subscribers to his online platform. Brian was a very engaging and great interviewer and both Greg and I were thankful for the opportunity...
2023-01-131h 11Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#35 - The Black Temple's Greg Souders - Coach Souders interview with Brian Willis.Send a textThis episode is the second of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy.Brian reached out to both myself and Standard Jiu-jitsu's Greg Souders to talk about our application of Ecological Dynamics to Striking and Grappling respectively.With Brian's blessing he allowed me to share these interviews here on my podcast, given his interviews (over 350 of them) are available for his subscribers to his online platform.Brian was a very engaging and great interviewer and both Greg and I were thankful for the opportunity...
2023-01-131h 07Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#33B - Battling the Biases! Josh Peacock on resistance to change in combat sports training.Send a text(PART 2) Today my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock.Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of an ecological approach to combat sports training.A real student of the science of skill development, teaching methodologies and the history of combat sports, Josh is also a 4th degree TKD coach/practitioner and more recently a student of BJJ and submission grappling.In this episode Josh and I discuss some of the common pushbacks and arguments we hear against the ecological...
2023-01-0550 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#33A - Fighting the fallacies! Josh Peacock on resistance to change in combat sports training (PART 1 of 2).Send a textToday my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock.Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of an ecological approach to combat sports training.A real student of the science of skill development, teaching methodologies and the history of combat sports, Josh is also a 4th degree TKD coach/practitioner and more recently a student of BJJ and submission grappling.In this episode Josh and I discuss some of the common pushbacks and arguments we hear against the ecological approach...
2023-01-0359 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#32 - Embodied and Embedded! Danny Hatcher talks about Ecological Dynamics and how we learn skills.Send a textDanny Hatcher joined me to talk more about ecological dynamics for sport.Danny is a Podcaster, youtuber, educator, coach and sport scientist from the UK. We connected after I watched his terrific youtube video on Ecological Learning. Among his many endeavors, Danny has spent a lot of time researching in the areas of psychology and learning. This has given him a robust understanding of both the information processing approach of cognitive psychology and the Ecological approach of ecological psychology. Danny is active on twitter and is well worth and follow...
2022-12-152h 24Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#31 - Another Drill Ditcher! Kaboom's Kabir Bath talks to me about going full ecological!Send a textIn this episode I welcome on Coach Kabir Bath, founder and owner of Kaboom Jiu-Jitsu in Surrey, British Columbia. Kabir is a Raphael Lovato Jr Black belt/affiliate and was a Lovato associate coach of the year 2017.As Kabir explains in the episode, he recently and abruptly shifted to an ecological approach while abandoning the more typical traditional format for learning and teaching jiu-jitsu.I can't give enough credit to an already successful and established coach who is not only open to change, but who has done so, s...
2022-12-021h 44Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#30 - The Reddit Technique Debate! Greg Souder's clarifies some misconceptions.Send a textToday I welcome back Standard Jiu-Jitsu's coach Greg Souders.Greg and I were chatting about a very recent reddit post aptly named, 'Training at a gym that doesn't teach technique'. The post was specifically posing the question about Standard's training approach and garnered many perspectives and opinions.Greg, and I decided to talk about the post, some of the comments and record our discussion for an episode. As usual the editing and sound quality of the episode is a little rough and unpolished, but I hope the quality o...
2022-12-011h 59Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#29 - Shifting the Red line! @Doctor_Kickass on increasing physical capacities.Send a textOn 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...
2022-11-171h 11Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#28 - If Fred learned to fight! Professors Blau and Wagman discuss their new book, 'Introduction to Ecological Psychology'.Send a textOn 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...
2022-10-311h 12Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#27 - Play the whole game every day! Greg Souders is back to talk about practice design.Send a textIn 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 an...
2022-09-261h 16Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#26 - Pugilist turned Professor! Dr Andy Lane, chats about developing psychological skills for combat, in and out of the ring.Send a textAndy 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...
2022-09-211h 16Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#25 - Thoughts on Coaching! Dr Tom Parry talks about his recent twitter thread on effective coaching.Send a textDr. 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...
2022-09-091h 40Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#24 - Raising the Standard! Greg Souders on an ecological approach to elite level jiu-jitsu.Send a textIn 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 a...
2022-08-231h 46Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#23 - 'Show up, have fun, figure shit out' UFC Coach Greg Nelson on developing fighters from scratch to the big shows.Send a textFor 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 a...
2022-07-301h 44Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#22 - Let Those Skills Emerge! Shawn Myszka & Tyler Yearby look at MMA through an ecological lens.Send a textI 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...
2022-06-221h 37Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#21 - Less Teaching, More learning! - Black Belts Leigh Remedios and Martin McLaughlin talk shop about practice design and development.Send a textUFC 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...
2022-06-182h 33Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#20B - Turn ons & Turn offs! Todd Fossey talks about managing arousal levels in training and competition.Send a textTodd 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...
2022-05-1648 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#20A - Turn ons & Turn offs! Todd Fossey talks about managing arousal levels in training and competition.Send a textTodd 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...
2022-05-061h 19Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#19B - Not all reps are created equal! Cal Jones on how 'Representative Learning Design' can help supercharge practice.Send a textCal 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 @CalJonesJudoThis is the part one of a two part episode where we discuss RLD and its implications for effective practice design...
2022-04-2946 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#19A - Not all reps are created equal! Cal Jones on how 'Representative Learning Design' can help supercharge practice.Send a textCal 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 @CalJonesJudoThis is the part one of a two part episode where we discuss RLD and its implications for effective practice design...
2022-04-291h 12Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#18 - Less is more! Will Massey PhD talks about cultivating an independent learning environment.Send a textMy 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 pers...
2022-02-181h 27Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#17B - Context is King! PART 2. Dr. Alan Dunton, on moving along the continuum of representativeness.Send a textToday'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 mor...
2022-01-3149 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#17A - Context is King! Dr. Alan Dunton, on moving along the continuum of representativeness.Send a textToday'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...
2022-01-261h 08Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#16 - Viva La Revolution! Dr. Rob Gray on how we learn to move skillfully.Send a textI 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 .
2022-01-141h 01Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#15 - Disagree to agree! Finding common ground with Coach Leigh RemediosSend a textCoach 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 som...
2021-11-031h 37Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillJust a Quickie! #2. Time: Our second most valuable training asset.Send a textMaking the most of our valuable training time with the help of Ecological Dynamics. www.primalmke.com
2021-10-0803 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat SkillJust a Quickie! Primal's Ecological Approach.Send a textA bite sized and unsophisticated synopsis of Ecological Dynamics, and how it underpins our training approach at Primal MKE. www.primalmke.com
2021-09-2904 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#14 - A Flipped Classroom Approach! With Coach Bruce Hoyer, BJJ blackbelt.Send a textCoach Bruce Hoyer is the owner and Head coach at Next Edge MMA, Sioux Falls, ND. After listening to Bruce talk on the Combat Learning Podcast, I reached out to ask him to further explore his flipped classroom model for BJJ. Optimizing Jiu-Jitsu practice and balancing the technical and theoretical with the live and dynamic practice can be a great challenge. Bruce seems to have addressed this largely with a 'flipped classroom mode' where he avoids much of the typical "one size fits all' lesson plan by giving his st...
2021-08-311h 15Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#13 - Show and Tell! Dr Nicola Hodges and the science of demonstrations.Send a textMy discussion with Professor Nicola Hodges was all about demonstrations! Dr Hodges researches and teaches out of the motor skill lab at the University of British Columbia. I reached out to Dr Nicola to ask for her to lend her expertise and insight into the science of demonstrations and learning in sport. Being such a big part of our sport and coaching, I was interested in how we might make the most of the demonstration time while increasing the effectiveness of them. Professor Nicola did not disappoint, other than remi...
2021-08-211h 11Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#12 - Training in reality (today and beyond)!! A chat with Professor James StaffordSend a textAn information loaded discussion with Professor James Stafford. Dr Stafford has a PhD in experimental psycology with a keen interest in Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition and Virtual Reality. James and I discuss the incredibly sensitive and sophisticated calibration of the perceptual motor system as it pertains to movement in martial arts and sport more generally. James delivers a ton of fascinating insights into what we think is going on and why this is so crucial to the way we train and develop skills. Additionally James talks about the...
2021-08-061h 29Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#11B - Learn Skills, Not Drills!! Professor Ed Coughlan, aka; "Dr. Skill Acq"Send a textPART 2 of my discussion with Coach, Educator and Professor of Skill Acquisition Dr. Ed Coughlan. Ed and I discuss the growing non-linear approach to skill acquisition in sport and how it can help us design more effective training and development environments for MMA. A two part episode here discusses the slow moving paradigm shift in sports coaching and skill development. Dr. Ed helps clear up some of my nagging confusion and ambivalence in my own coaching methods. Coach Ed has a ton of content as podcasts, publications and You...
2021-06-021h 08Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#11 A - "Learn Skills, Not Drills!!" Professor Ed Coughlan, aka; "Dr. Skill Acq"Send a textI finally snagged Coach, Educator and Professor of Skill Acquisition Dr. Ed Coughlan. Ed and I discuss the growing non-linear approach to skill acquisition in sport and how it can help us design more effective training and development environments for MMA. A two part episode here discusses the slow moving paradigm shift in sports coaching and skill development. Dr. Ed helps clear up some of my nagging confusion and ambivalence in my own coaching methods. Coach Ed has a ton of content as podcasts, publications and YouTube videos and...
2021-05-311h 16Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#10 - "Catch them being Good!" Coach John Kessel on creating effective training environments.Send a textSeason 2 kicks off with a talk with Coach John Kessel. Coach John is an US Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee with over 50 years of coaching men's and women's volley ball at the collegiate, international and Olympic level.Coach Kessel is a strong advocate of specificity and authentic representative practice and empowering athletes through relationships and prioritizing a love for sport. John credits much of the success of US Volleyball to an era that embraced the science of learning and more specifically motor learning for sports. It was...
2021-05-191h 11Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#9.B - Down the Coaching Rabbit hole with Coach Sam Gaier. (UNEDITED AND UNCENSORED!)Send a textWhat was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for MMA and Sam's recent foray into the ecological non-linear space. (So we decided to upload it)Sam is a coach at Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire Wisconsin and has been rapidly gravitating towards the ecological and constraint led approach to martial arts training, in this three part episode we discuss the non-linear vs more traditional linear training approach. BE ADVISED LOTS OF BAD LANGUAGE!
2021-05-1949 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#9.C - Down the Coaching Rabbit hole with Coach Sam Gaier. (UNEDITED AND UNCENSORED!)Send a textWhat was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for MMA and Sam's recent foray into the ecological non-linear space. (So we decided to upload it)Sam is a coach at Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire Wisconsin and has been rapidly gravitating towards the ecological and constraint led approach to martial arts training, in this three part episode we discuss the non-linear vs more traditional linear training approach. BE ADVISED LOTS OF BAD LANGUAGE!!
2021-05-191h 14Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#9 - Down the Coaching Rabbit hole with Coach Sam Gaier. (UNEDITED AND UNCENSORED!)Send a textWhat was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for MMA and Sam's recent foray into the ecological non-linear space. (So we decided to upload it)Sam is a coach at Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire Wisconsin and has been rapidly gravitating towards the ecological and constraint led approach to martial arts training, in this three part episode we discuss the non-linear vs more traditional linear training approach. BE ADVISED LOTS OF BAD LANGUAGE!
2021-05-1853 minLearning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#8 - Learning is adaptation! Unpacking Ecological Dynamics with Stu Armstrong.Send a textIn this 8th episode I talk with "Sport England's" , Stu Armstrong.Stu is a educator, talent developer, forward thinking coaching activist and proponent of a non-traditional ecological dynamics approach to learning sport.With over 150 episodes of his own coaching podcast (The Talent Equation), Stu has collaborated with and interviewed some of the most successful coaches and trainers across a wide range of sports.With over 20 years of coaching experience, Stu's personal journey and coaching career has been refined by his persistent critical evaluation of coaching methods and continual...
2020-10-221h 39Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#7. Getting specific! Discussing practice design with Dr. Israel HalperinSend a textIn this 7th episode I talk with Coach Israel Halperin. Dr Halperin has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science, and currently resides in Tel Aviv, Israel where he lectures and researches. With a rich history of participation in martial arts as a professional competitor and coach, Israel offers a rather unique academic and practical perspective towards training. In this episode, we discuss specific and non-specific training and how we might best balance effective skill development, risk/injury mitigation, and the value of various common training methods. Dr Ha...
2020-09-161h 11Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#6. Block Vs Random Practice! A conversation with Train Ugly founder and Learning OG Trevor Ragan.Send a textIn this 6th episode I talk with founder and creator of "Train Ugly'' and ''The Learner Lab'', Trevor Ragan.Trevor, is an educator, coach and practice design consultant across several sports, working including, basketball, baseball and rugby.For the last decade, Trevor has been at the forefront of a mission to optimize coaching, learning and training philosophies. In this discussion we explore the principles of randomizing and adding variability to practice and how it can be used to design more effective and authentic training environments. Trevor's...
2020-08-281h 07Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#5. What to say and when to say it! Exploring Feedback with Andy Driska PhD.Send a textIn this 5th episode I talk with Michigan State University's Coordinator of Sports Coaching and Leadership, Andy Driska PhD. Andy talks about different kinds of feedback, what is effective and what's not, and bridging some of the gaps between the Sports Science academics and the day to day sports coaches and practitioners. Andy is able to do so as both an academic/researcher/educator and long time coach of swimmers and water polo teams. As in previous episodes we discuss the challenge of balancing effective practice and risk...
2020-08-061h 35Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#4. Learning to fight by fighting; A conversation with MMA Shredded's Jeff ChanSend a textIn this fourth episode, I talk with Jeff 'Jackie' Chan. Jeff is the creator of the hugely popular MMA Shredded YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt1ZR07apYANZ3MmlbipIXg and a professional fighter currently signed to ONE FC.Jeff's training videos and tutorials differ from most typical coaching videos in that he demonstrates the skills in live and authentic situations. In the podcast we discuss the evolution of MMA Shredded and Jeff's training history. We also discuss the importance of sparring, authentic training methods and balancing the sparring vo...
2020-07-241h 03Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#2. Pad work; Pros and cons! A talk with TKD Coach Academy's Richie Forde.Send a textIn this second episode, we talk with Irish TKD coach Richie Forde. Richie is a former World Level competitive TKD competitor, coach, and the creator of a tremendous amount of content for the 'The TKD coach academy'. Richie and I discuss our perspectives on effective training and coaching and our embracing of the live, chaotic, and authentic training environment.Richie is a very progressive and forward-thinking boxing coach from Ireland and with his collaborators, is working hard to change training attitudes and approaches on the national TKD scene. A...
2020-07-031h 00Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#3. Motivation and Engagement! A talk with Sports Psych PhD Will Massey.Send a textIn this third episode, we talk with Will Massey. Will is a Sports Psychologist, educator, coach, and practicing martial artist.Will and I discuss the motivations of Martial Artists, how to foster sustained motivation and participation. We also talk about the types of athletes and students that step onto the mats.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 p...
2020-07-031h 05Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill#1. Can we do it better? A talk with UK Boxer, Coach and Educator Adam Haniver.Send a textIn this first episode, we talk with Boxing coach Adam Haniver. Adam is a former competitive boxer, coach, educator, and host of his own coaching podcast, 'The boxing coach podcast'. Adam and I discuss our similar journeys into coaching and our embracing of the a non-linear and constraints-led approach to coaching boxing and mixed martial arts.Adam is a very progressive and forward-thinking boxing coach from the UK and is constantly questioning and pushing back against the conventional wisdom and traditions of British Boxing coaching and training. A va...
2020-07-0250 min