Warrior's Edge Podcast

Kayvon Derak Shanian is an award winning documentary filmmaker and a black belt in Karate. We talk about starting his Karate training at a young age, knowing legendary Karate master Fumio Demura and later working on his documentary film based on him, meeting Pat Morita (Mr Miyagi from the original Karate Kid movie), making his award winning documentary More than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story, and much more!

Tarik Hopstock is a BJJ black belt from Norway and one of the most exciting competitors today. We talk in depth on his development of the technique he created the Tarikoplata, what an average week of training looks like for him, what it was like coming up in the ranks of elite world competition, and much more!

Xande Ribeiro is a 5 time World Champion and legendary BJJ competitor. We talk about some of his personal insight on some of his biggest victories over Roger Gracie and Marcelo Garcia, training concepts and mindset, Jiu-Jitsu movement, his average weekly training regimen when he was competing, his two fights in MMA, and much more!

Kaiwi Lyman is a brown belt in BJJ and a successful actor. We talk about his Jiu-Jitsu journey all while working as an actor, behind the scenes stories, training concepts and motivation, and much more!

Stephen Koepfer is a Master of Sport in Sambo. He also holds black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Judo and a purple belt in BJJ. He is also a stunt performer and filmmaker working on some of the biggest tv shows and movies like John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Ray Donovan, NOS4A2, Blacklist and The Crowded Room to name a few. We talk about training concepts, behind the scene stories working on tv shows, what it was like working on John Wick 3, how he got started in the film industry and stunts, and much more!

Kenny Florian is a 3 time UFC title challenger and UFC veteran, 4th degree black belt in BJJ and an outstanding commentator. We talk about his athletic and martial arts origins, a fateful near death experience that changed his course to becoming a professional martial artist, highlights of his professional MMA career, great points on mindset, becoming an in demand commentator and much more! 

The TWINJAS are in the house! Jonny & Ollie Ho are young martial artists that train in multiple styles. We talk about their perspective as life long martial artists training and competing in BJJ, wrestling, Judo, Muay Thai, Boxing, Capoeira and MMA. Their average weekly training regimen under the guidance of their dad actor, fight coordinator and martial arts champion Steven Ho. Being on the 2020 Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg, a role as Jedi in the Star Wars Obi-Wan tv series, running their own successful YouTube channel they built themselves, being on one of the most popular kids YouTube shows they actually grew up with called Ninja Kidz, their first upcoming kids MMA fight, there upcoming appearance on the smash hit tv show Americas Got Talent, and much more!

Kris Van Damme is an actor and martial artist. We go into his martial arts training, his fitness regime and diet, what it was like growing up the son of famous bodybuilder Gladys Portugues and legendary action star Jean Claude Van Damme, at a young age having the dream to work in movies and his path to accomplishing that as an actor, shooting movies and telling story with cinema, writing films with his brother, what he learned and how he changed his life for the better from a bar fight, strong mindset on life and how to take that and effectively put that to achieving your goals, and much more!

Henry Akins is a 3rd degree black belt in BJJ under legendary Master Rickson Gracie. We deep dive into how he sought out and studied under Rickson Gracie, what Hidden Jiu-Jitsu is and how to use it to improve your training, the importance of basics and how to raise them to an elite level, amazing lessons and concepts he learned along the way that will greatly help others, Gracie breathing techniques, how to make yourself feel much heavier when you roll and increase your pressure, being long time friends and training partners with Maynard James Keenan (lead singer of TOOL), surviving a deathly motorcycle accident and much more!

Erik Paulson is one of the most sought out martial arts instructors in the world. We talk about great training concepts, training with Rickson Gracie and Rigan Machado, his professional MMA career, his friendship with long time buddy Chad Stahelski (the director and creator of the John Wick movies), his spiritual side and helping people with exorcisms - yes exorcisms - which is a must listen to section, and more!

Cameron Shayne is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and he is most renown for being the founder of Budokon Mixed Movement Arts and is widely considered the father of Mixed Movement Arts. In this interview we talk about movement for BJJ and martial arts, training BJJ and Budokon with Xande Ribeiro and Rafael Lovato Jr, healthy eating and healthy living, importance of breathing and the effective natural way of training that, mindset on the durability and longevity of training your body, how to grow and improve in martial arts as well as your health and fitness, and much more!

Mike Jaramillo is a 5th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie and John Danaher. He also teaches advanced classes at Renzo Gracie Academy. We deep dive into BJJ training concepts, thought provoking training mindset, insight on his and John Danaher's approach to teaching, how he got into BJJ, Renzo's first school in the US and the early years, and much more!

GET OVER HERE! Chris Casamassa is a high level Karate black belt and NASKA champion. We talk about his life long training and competing in Karate, running his families multiple successful academies Red Dragon Karate, behind the scene stories playing the iconic role of Scorpion in the original live action Mortal Kombat movie, behind the scene stories performing in the Batman suit as George Clooney's stunt double in Batman & Robin, working on the the movies Blade and the original Karate Kid movie, and much more!

Jacob "Stitch" Duran is the best cutman in the fight game. He returns to Warrior's Edge Podcast talking about his amazing career working with some of the best fighters and champions in boxing and MMA history! 

Enson Inoue is a legendary MMA fighter and 6th degree BJJ black belt. We talk about his amazing career, breakdowns of some of his biggest fights like his impressive win over UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture in his prime, his nickname Yamato Damashi and how he has been living that mindset since confronting bullies as a kid and how that mindset has helped him throughout his career, how he started his Purebred academies, surviving an incredibly dangerous car wreck, crazy Yakuza stories, and much more!

Egan Inoue is a 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and famous retired MMA fighter. We talk about his amazing career in BJJ and MMA, his beginnings as a professional racquetball world champion, how to overcome competition loss and improve, how to prepare for competition, what he does for recovery, martial arts training and fitness concepts, and more!

Konishiki is one of the greatest Sumo wrestlers in history! Native to Hawaii we talk how he started his amazing career at the age of 18 years old, going to Japan not knowing the language or even what Sumo was yet, his Samoan roots and upbringing that forged his strong mindset that helped him along his journey, his Sumo training and competition highlights working his way to the coveted Ozeki champion rank making him the first non-Japanese Sumo wrestler in history to achieve that high of a level in Sumo!

Oldest of the famous Machado brothers Carlos is a legendary coral belt and ambassador of BJJ. We talk about amazing training concepts, how to approach your training and steadily improve, getting started in the US with the help of Chuck Norris, living with BJJ founder Carlos Gracie and points of wisdom he gave, personal stories of perhaps the greatest family champion Rolls Gracie, competition stories and much more!

Steven Ho is a martial arts master, actor, stunt coordinator and stunt performer. We go into his martial arts training, being recruited by legendary action star Jet Li breaking into the film industry, performing stunts as Donatello in the original live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 & 3 movies, playing the brother of Liu Kang in the original Mortal Kombat movie, working on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on his popular stunt and fight segments, an interesting perspective and concepts as a parent training his twin sons in all forms of martial arts, and more!

The Omoplata King is in the house! Clark Gracie is one of the most successful and exciting BJJ champions and competitors active today. We talk about highlights from his amazing BJJ competitions, training concepts, developing his world famous omoplata system, what it was like groing up a Gracie and carrying on that rich legacy and much more. 

Sean Patrick Flanery is a 4th degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. We talk about his passion for steadily training BJJ since the early 2000's all while starring and featuring in some of the most successful tv shows and movies in his professional acting career. He has amazing stories on his life long martial arts journey, thought provoking training concepts, strong points on mindset and how BJJ has greatly enhanced his life.

Vlad Koulikov is a highly sought out instructor and World Champion. He is a Master of Sport in Sambo, 3rd degree Black Belt in Judo and BJJ Black Belt. We talk about great training concepts, ways to recover and increase your longevity in grappling, his training and competition mindset, both physical and mental barriers he overcame to win the Combat Wrestling World Championship in Japan making him a World Champion, being featured in and working on the first John Wick movie and the movie Salt starring Angelina Jolie, his playful approach to trianing, and much more. 

Brahim Chab is a high in demand stunt performer and actor appearing in films with some of the biggest action stars in history! We deep dive into his martial arts training, his dynamic skillset in tricking, working in multiple movies with Jackie Chan like The Foreigner, what it's like working with and being directed by Keanu Reeves in Man of Tai Chi, working with Jean Claude Van Damme in multiple films with a crazy behind-the-scenes story you have to hear, working with action star Scott Adkins in multiple films, and much more. 

Rigan Machado is a legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion. We cover his concepts of training, the famous match against his cousin Rickson Gracie, working with Chuck Norris to establish the first Machado US academy, training celebrities like Keanu Reeves for John Wick, working on movies, and more. 

Joel Bane is the founder of Snake Pit USA one of the world's largest Catch Wrestling associations. He is a master in multiple martial arts including BJJ, Judo, Catch Wrestling, and Muay Thai. We dive deep into Catch Wrestling training, concepts, history and much more. 

Gokor Chivichyan is an undefeated Judo champion and fighter, master in Sambo/Judo/Wrestling, and the founder of Hayastan MMA. He has also helped train some of the greatest fighters like Karo Parisyan, Manny Gamburyan, and Ronda Rousey. We talk about his martial arts training, Hayastan training concepts, training with Gene LeBell, training Ronda Rousey for Judo and MMA and much more. 

Chris Haueter is a 5th degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Rigan Machado. He is one of the Dirty Dozen, the first 12 Americans to receive a BJJ black belt. In this interview we go into Chris's training with Rickson Gracie and Rigan Machado, how he got into BJJ, old school BJJ vs modern BJJ and it's evolution since coming to the US, training old vs young with guidelines for both, training focus at each belt level, and much more. Listen and learn from a pioneer of the art of BJJ!  

Anthony Marquez is a life long and accomplished martial artist. You may know him as the original Kung Lao actor in the smash hit video games Mortal Kombat 2 and 3. We deep dive into his martial arts training, training concepts, behind the scene stories on making the iconic Mortal Kombat games, stories on his Wushu competition days and much more. 

Wade Schalles is a legendary wrestler and wrestling coach. He holds multiple records in NCAA and Guinness Book of World Records, including the world record for the most pins! We deep dive in this three part interview in his amazing wrestling career as a competitor and coach, eye opening grappling concepts, amazing stories, wrestling history, and so much more. These interviews are PACKED with amazing knowledge, insight, and wisdom that will delight grapplers from all styles. 

Wade Schalles is a legendary wrestler and wrestling coach. He holds multiple records in NCAA and Guinness Book of World Records, including the world record for the most pins! We deep dive in this three part interview in his amazing wrestling career as a competitor and coach, eye opening grappling concepts, amazing stories, wrestling history, and so much more. These interviews are PACKED with amazing knowledge, insight, and wisdom that will delight grapplers from all styles. 

Wade Schalles is a legendary wrestler and wrestling coach. He holds multiple records in NCAA and Guinness Book of World Records, including the world record for the most pins! We deep dive in this three part interview in his amazing wrestling career as a competitor and coach, eye opening grappling concepts, amazing stories, wrestling history, and so much more. These interviews are PACKED with amazing knowledge, insight, and wisdom that will delight grapplers from all styles. 

Jake Shannon is a Catch Wrestler who runs Scientific Wrestling. In this interview we deep dive into the rich history of Catch Wrestling, famous wrestler stories, how Catch Wrestling has influenced other grappling styles and cultures throughout history, and more. 

Shintaro Higashi is a high level Judoka who has a lifetime of training and competing in Judo and other styles of grappling. In this interview we go into his Judo training, concepts to improve your Judo and grappling, and other interesting stories from his lifelong martial arts career. 

Erik Paulson is a very accomplished martial artist that has fought in MMA and trained with some of the best fighters. In this interview we go into his amazing career as a MMA fighter, Catch Wrestling training and history, training BJJ with the Gracies and Rigan Machado, and much more. 

Definitely one of the coolest and biggest personalities in BJJ, Kurt Osiander is a world class fighter and sought out instructor. We get to catch up with him on his recent health issues, training concepts, great stories on BJJ and MMA from back in the day, and more.

Chinzo Machida is a very accomplished professional martial artists specializing in his families martial art Machida Karate. In this interview we go in depth on his training concepts, his amazing fights in Bellator MMA, coaching his brother UFC Champion Lyoto Machida, mindset and much more. 

Stitch Duran is a legendary cutman that has worked with some of the biggest champions in boxing, MMA and kickboxing history. We deep dive into his amazing lifelong career working with the Heavyweight Boxing Champion Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali, Heavyweight Boxing Champion Tyson Fury, Forrest Griffin for his UFC Light Heavyweight title victory vs Shogun Rua, working with Michael B Jordan in the Creed films and much more! 

Travis Stevens is a very accomplished USA Judo athlete having won the Silver medal in the 2016 Olympics Games a feat achieved only by a few Americans. In this interview we deep dive into training concepts, stories from his life long career in Judo, competition, mindset and approach to training. Let's go inside the mind of what it takes to be a Judo Olympian.

TJ Booe is a sports performance specialist with decades of experience training athletes. In this interview we deep dive into the different aspects of training to help you as a martrial artist to improve your performance and increase longevity in your training. 

Master Daniel Pesina is a kung fu master and also the original actor for Johnny Cage, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Smoke and Noob Saibot in the smash hit video games Mortal Kombat 1 and 2. We go into his training in kung fu, training in China, training concepts, filming the original Mortal Kombat game and more!

Legendary MMA coach Greg Jackson has trained some of the best and most successful fighters in mixed martial arts history. He has coached UFC Champions Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Holly Holm and many more. In this interview we deep dive into his training concepts, fight philosophy, and stories on his amazing career as an MMA coach. 

This episode is all about the GUARD! One of if not THE most important components of BJJ. We dive into guard training concepts for top and bottom applications, sweeps, subs, passes and more! 

In this episode we dive into the pros and cons of training in Gi vs No Gi and training in both. There are some interesting training approaches and concepts we go into that will help you better navigate your overall viewpoint on training.

On this week's episode we talk about a subject near and dear to our grappling hearts...SAMBO! How we each got into Sambo, how it's helped our BJJ training, and more. 

This is from an interview I did a while ago with The Warmaster himself Josh Barnett! We dive into his amazing career as a MMA Champion, Catch Wrestling history and training, his Profressional Wrestling career, movies he's been in and more. Josh has done it all, check it out!

Jimmy Pedro is a USA Judo Olympian, World Champion and Olympic coach. Listen to his amazing stories competing in Judo on the world stage and coaching some of our biggest champions. 

The World's Most Dangerous Man: Ken Shamrock. This is from an interview I did with him February 2021. He has some amazing stories on the early days of the UFC & MMA, his famous fights, professional wrestling, his martial arts training and more. 

What is "too old"? Is age just a number? This week we have one of our students on the show with an interesting point of view. He started training Jiu-Jitsu with us at the age of 64! He's coming up on one year of training Jiu-Jitsu and preparing for his first competition. Hear his insight starting this amazing journey in his 60's that is guarenteed to motivate you at any age level to get on the mats and train!

On this week's episode we talk about the effects of BJJ in pop culture including movies and tv shows. We also go into other martial arts styles and their effects on our culture. 

We're back! After a hiatus we tackle our first subject which is a topic that comes up quite often and that is the BJJ Belt System for adults and kids. 

Today we have a special guest Dr David Hopper. He is our team chiropractor and we get insight how to do BJJ for a lifetime, healthy ways to take care of yourself to keep training, preventatives, rehabilitation, and a valuable new tool HRV. He has helped me personally and our team to keep on the mats and train better. Plus he himself was a MMA fighter and he's a Purple belt in BJJ. This is a great conversation that can help you on your BJJ journey.