Super Upper Punch

Mike Steadman of Ironbound Boxing joins Rich and Lance in studio to talk about boxing in the naval academy, how POC have been told to conform to succeed, and opening Newark’s first and only nonprofit boxing gym for youth.

Rachel Washington joins Rich and Lance in the studio for this long-overdue episode. They talk about transitioning from performing arts to boxing, growing up with a pro football player father, and her upcoming fights in the Olympic trials.

Muay Thai practitioner and BJJ purple belt Chris Alfonso aka Puerto Rican Chris joins Rich and Lance in the studio. They talk about Chris’s time at American Top Team in Florida, picking up jiu-jitsu, being overweight before picking up martial arts, and his upcoming trip to Vegas for the IBJJF World Master Championship. They also foolishly try to watch the UFC during the recording. This one is all over the place, but it’s a good time!

On this episode, Rich and Lance are joined by amateur heavyweight boxer Ronnie Love. Ronnie talks about growing up with a boxing promoter mother, switching from football to the sweet science, and his journey to going pro. They also talk about training under the same shady coach and beating the hell out of tough guys in the gym.

On this episode, Rich is joined by....nobody. Just Rich and Lance working the boards. But Lance steps up, and the guys get into some interesting talk about drug testing, femininity in male-dominated sports, and more.

Big Sherm from the Let’s Be Real Sports podcast joins Rich in studio fresh off his first ever jiu-jitsu class! The guys talk about the popularity of MMA in the mainstream, interim belts, horses, and how the traditional ball sports grow compared to combat sports. Plus, Rich goes on a tangent about Hawaii.

“SUP Season 2! We’re starting off strong with Rob from McDojoLife calling in. Rob talks to a VERY sleepy Rich about his criteria for finding bad martial arts practices, receiving death threats, and infamous self-defense videos, and more.

Sayer and Erik from Secret Roll Club come in to tell Rich about how they grew from a clandestine crew of BJJ outliers but grew into one of the most popular events in the grappling world.

14-year old judo brown belt Tara Sanchez and her father Blue Sanchez join Rich in studio to talk about competing on the national youth circuit, balancing competition and school, and how to grow up loving martial arts. Plus Lance learns about Tara’s anime-style rivalries!

Guitarist extraordinaire and BJJ black belt Flavio Silva talks to Rich about the marriage of performing arts and martial arts, growing up in Brazil, and the NYC jazz scene.

Edwin “Junny” Ocasio joins the show to talk with Rich about overcoming adversity and addiction, the explosion of various competitive grappling organizations, and the importance (and difficulties) of self-promotion.

MMA fighters Jaime, Humberto, and Katie come in studio to tell Rich about competing on the amateur circuit, weight issues, and how to look cool in jiu jitsu spats. Plus we all learn about Katie’s former life as a private investigator!

Karate black belt Alex Mann joins Rich in studio to talk about how he uses his own experiences learning in his youth to help him teach children today, the unique problem-solving abilities of children, and how all the retro movies we love are now unwatchable in the era of #metoo

Stephen Koepfer aka Sambo Steve joins Rich in-studio to talk about doing stunts on TV and film, what early grappling tournaments were like, and more. Plus Meke takes over the engineer seat for Lance this episode and asks how martial arts and law enforcement intersect. Follow Steve on Instagram and Twitter @sambosteve Find out more about New York Combat Sambo at ussambo.com Learn more about Breakfall Studios and their stuntwork at breakfallstudios.com or on the gram @breakfallstunts

Brazilian jiu jitsu black belts Alex Ecklin and Van Flores join Rich in the studio to talk about their gym Masterskya, community-minded martial arts, and the early days of BJJ in NYC. And Lance learns what dojo storming is!

Jon Thomas from Tap Cancer Out, calls in to tell us about building his own non-profit from selling t-shirts at MMA events, all the way to partnering with organizations such as Alex’s Lemonade Stand to raise over $900,000 to date for cancer research.

Two guys talking about martial arts, fighting, and bullshit. Wrap your hands and bring your baby wipes, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!