First-Person Fighter

Teni Lopez-Cardenas is a freaking force of nature–a black belt in Krav Maga, an amazing dancer and dance teacher, an operational therapist in a NICU. She’s just walking around changing people’s lives like it’s easy. Listen to us zoom from idea to idea and back around again. Note: I recorded this via Zoom because she’s in Los Angeles and I’m in Austin. So the sound is a little wonky and there weird tappy taps all the way through. It’s not really distracting once you start listening to her stories, though.

Lauren Sears is freaking amazing. From high-level competitive triathlete through Crossfit, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, and MMA, all the way to jiu jitsu, she is one of the most dedicated and disciplined athletes I've ever known. Here she tells me about all of that, plus the highs and lows of just being a person. Listen up.

Leigh is an E-RYT500 certified yoga instructor and Krav Maga practitioner. We spend pretty much the whole interview talking about the intersection between Krav Maga and yoga and the different kinds of peace we get from each. We also talk about various teaching methods of each. If you want to hear a couple of mouthy broads with strong opinions about the practices that have changed and continue to change their lives, press Play. Find all the awesome things Leigh does: https://leighfishercreates.com And if you're in Austin, Texas, come see both of us on October 27, 2019, where you can engage in everything we talk about here: Strike, Flow, Meditate: Finding Your Calm in a Chaotic World. https://www.kravmagaatx.com/event/self-defense-yoga-techniques-for-calming-anxiety-in-a-chaotic-world Take some Krav Maga with Amy at Krav Maga ATX: https://www.kravmagaatx.com/

Nina Cutro-Kelly is a fifth-degree judo black belt and has won multiple international judo and sambo tournaments and she's hoping and training to be on the 2020 Olympic U.S. judo team. In this episode, Nina talks about the role of judo in her life, from when it helped her focus her wild energy at age 7 to when it was a solid base of support when she had a year full of personal hardships and tragedies. She's a thoughtful storyteller, and you'll want to hear what she's got to tell you. Visit her in San Antonio at Universal Judo.

Mike Segura is so nice that after I interviewed him, I messaged the friend who connected us and said, "Holy shit, that guy is nice!" He's also a talented martial artist and a reflective storyteller. This is a good one.

Derrick Garza talks about community, from when he first found BJJ to when he opened Dark Clan Fight Lab. He's a killer on the mats, and he's also a leader, building other people up. As he says in the interview, "I go out of my way to make sure that people feel welcome and included, even down to our slogan: We are the Dark Clan. "

Maria Lopez does all the things. She found MMA when she was in her 30s, and a few years later, she was starting a pro career. I've had the good luck to know her for most of that time. Maria talks about hard stuff in this interview--including successes and not-such-successes. She's reflective about her fighting career and grateful for who she is as a result of it.

Janeé Cox is a dedicated student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. She's a delight to talk to and a complete beast on the mats. Janeé is also a brown belt who loves helping new students learn to be confident BJJ beasts as well. Listen up. She's got good things to say.

Francisco Betancourt is back! A new Krav Maga Worldwide black belt, Francisco tells us all about his journey and has some encouraging words for those of us on the path.

Linda Tenberg is a martial artist and a former pro boxer. She shares her grounded philosophy and her fight stories. Listen up.

Kelly Barr used to be a skinhead. The good kind. The Nazi-kicking kind. He's now a tattooer and a student of Krav Maga, and he has some stories about the good ol' boot party days. (He also talks really fast.) Listen up.

Rachel Hammond is a dedicated Krav Maga student and photographer. She's always thrilled to be on that mat, and she's one of the most friendly, generous, and brave people I've ever met.

Joy Williamson is the Executive Director and Head Instructor at Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense. Under Joy's leadership, Sun Dragon is a safe haven for all. Joy has a sweet, calm presence that makes me think that she's super scary when she needs to be.

I talk to three other women who train Krav Maga with me. We talk about some bad things in each of our histories and how we've learned to say fuck off to those memories and anyone who helped make them. This one has some darkness and some light. Note: If you happen to know any of the women in this episode, please do not just walk up out of nowhere and ask them to talk about the traumatic things they talk about here. Let them decide where and how to tell their stories.

I know Travis Joyner as a friendly and scary-good practitioner and teacher of ground fighting at my Krav gym. He has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, experience in a lot of other martial arts, and an MMA record of 2-0 (a submission and an awesome head kick knockout). He's also a police officer with experience in several areas, and he works with Sheepdog Response. He's got thoughtful ideas about all of those things, so listen up. Support the podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/fpf. Check out the website, buy a t-shirt, read all the cool quotes from past guests, be inspired by the Monday Walkout Songs: firstpersonfighter.com.

Forrest Caudill is a talented martial artist and all-around nice guy. He owns Austin Impact Jeet Kune Do, and he also explores any other fighting traditions he can find. Forrest runs a supportive Facebook group that brings together martial artists from all disciplines. He's also an amaaaaazing storyteller. Listen up.

Francisco Betancourt is a brown belt through Krav Maga Worldwide and the guy who is helping me along that path every week. He likes to pretend he is empty of sentiment, but he's one of the sweetest, dog-lovingest, violent people I know. In this episode, we talk about his early life as an Army brat, the difficulty of finding a community to belong to, and a tragedy that changed his life trajectory.

BJJ black belt Kat Harrison is strong and kind, wise and funny and foul-mouthed and amazing. Listen and be saved.

Parker Westbrook talks about overcoming self-doubt, kicking ass, being a corrections officer (and now the one who trains corrections officers to fight), kicking ass again, and more. Listen and be saved.

Jason Hughes tells us about starting martial arts early, growing up in the bayou, and his brutal fight with cancer. He's a genuine badass. Listen up.

I get to have a great conversation with Jeff Mount. He's a third-degree black belt in Krav Maga, the chief instructor and director of operations at Krav Maga Maryland, and a trainer of other Krav Maga Worldwide instructors, which is how I first met him. He's extremely thoughtful about training, particularly about training other instructors. Pretend there's a fist emoji and a heart emoji in this description.

Laura and I talk about jiu jitsu, ego, teaching, and being a female while dealing with all of those things. Laura juggles her day job, the gym she co-owns, raising two badass little girls, her own training, her dogs, and her jiu jitsu ambitions. She's doing all of it. Listen and learn.

I am so happy to bring you this episode with Matt Cabellero, one of my friends and also one of my favorite Krav instructors. He’s thoughtful, generous, and potentially lethal. We drank some rum and bourbon and talked about childhood bullying, finding where you belong, coming back from failure, and teaching people how to kick ass.

Pamela Baker—practitioner of Kung Fu, Hawaiian Kempo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (and massage therapist with gloriously heavy hands)—talks about street fighting as a young ‘un, reading good books, training with injuries, loving dogs, and defeating the ego (over and over and over).

I talk to BJJ enthusiast Genieva Croley, who--with an angel's face and a sweet voice and a light little giggle--will tell you her favorite masturbation joke and then triangle you into unconsciousness.

Josh and I talk about our persistent search for meaning in fighting, what you learn about yourself when the cage door closes, how much we like whiskey, and why the Diaz brothers are endlessly fascinating.

Jeff and I are good friends who are mercilessly mean to each other during training and all the rest of the time. But we got serious here and talked about learning who you are on the mat, living through a devastating breakup, and how pretty and strong Holly Holm is.

Rebecca Lee Varady, BJJ purple belt, talks about having patience and following a long path. We also compare notes on how it feels to always be the smallest person on the mat.

Cageside and backstage for the first card of the new Legacy Fighting Alliance.

Jeffrey Norrod talks about his combat injury and how doing Krav Maga can help with recovery from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and help manage post-traumatic stress. Also hear all about how to realign the bones of the skull, which sounds both awesome and terrible.

Leesa Daniel remembers when she went past a boxing gym with a woman's name on it and was confused because she didn't know women could box--and then she describes taking her opponents to pieces in the ring. She's got some good stories.

Cyborg Santos explains how he was inspired to fight by the never-quit roosters in the cockfighting rings of his childhood, how reading expands his world, and how he is staying happy now that his career as an MMA fighter is likely over.

Aaron Alexander—actor, fight choreographer, superhero—tells us about how his mom put him into gymnastics to direct his propensity for running up walls, how he found himself by watching martial arts movies, and his plans for being a 90-year-old badass.

Kaci Lambe, Krav Maga practitioner and aspiring digital nomad, tells us about the dark joy of destruction, the elation of sparring, the highs and lows of being an artist, and the pain and hope of leaving one life for another.

Lin Hughs, brown belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, relates how he got a stripe on his white belt after a year, what makes him laugh (everything), what he’s lost, what he’s gained, and how he’d like to fight John Wayne.

Brittany Anne Robertson tells what it’s like to train so hard you forget basic life processes, how it feels to pose like an action hero for art students, and why fighting is the best.