Breaking The Guard Podcast

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A Mixed Martial Arts talk show featuring Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts David Avellan (creator of the Kimura Trap System and ADCC 2009 Bronze Medalist) and Robert Drysdale (2005 IBJJF World Champion, ADCC 2007 Absolute Champion, co-founder of Zenith BJJ). Both of them have extensive backgrounds in MMA and BJJ as students, competitors, coaches, and school owners - pulling on their combined experiences to discuss the mental aspect of training, proper preparation, championship mindset, and more.

Episodes

2 hours ago

BTG 126 - How I Teach a Seminar

2 hours ago

I returned from a week long trip in Miami to teach at my academy, and reflect on what I call seminar style teaching. It's a slightly different approach, which I outline in more detail, while also going over what I consider optimal ways of structuring content, note taking, and participation in classes.

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DavidMMA.com - David Avellan's new website, where he is posting new articles daily, new courses being posted frequently, covering techniques, news, fitness, breakdowns, and much more. You can join as a guest for free to see what the site has to offer.

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Monday Feb 10, 2025

BTG 125 - How to Drill like a Pro

Monday Feb 10, 2025

After doing an episode on criticizing the Ecological Approach, I had people ask how to structure drills that were productive and not just static. I'll talk about the difference between static and rehearsed drilling and how to incorporate them into your training.

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Monday Feb 03, 2025

BTG 124 - How I Teach a Class

Monday Feb 03, 2025

Last episode I criticized the Ecological Approach to teaching martial arts, so it's only fair I share how I teach a class in what I consider the traditional model of teaching. I outline a sample class structure from start to finish, and explain what components it consists of and why they are there.

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Monday Jan 27, 2025

BTG 123 - The Ecological Approach to BJJ

Monday Jan 27, 2025

It seems that my social feed has been getting more posts and articles about the Ecological Approach to training BJJ as opposed to the traditional model of instruction. The ecological approach focuses on setting up games or tasks, and setting constraints and conditions for the players to engage in, instead of teaching individual techniques. I do my best to describe it and give my take on this approach to coaching.

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Monday Jan 20, 2025

BTG 122 - UFC 311 Analysis

Monday Jan 20, 2025

The UFC 311 main card was a great night of fights, with a mix of submissions, knock outs, and tough fights. I review each of the fights, highlighting the co-main event, Merab vs Umar, as it was the fight of the night and lived up to the hype.

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Monday Jan 13, 2025

BTG 121 - How I nearly drowned 90ft deep in the ocean

Monday Jan 13, 2025

The water was very cold for a guy from Miami, at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. My breathing was deep and slow, which was all that I could hear. After swimming around for a few minutes, I felt the ocean floor once again. I could feel the current moving around me and making it very hard to navigate underwater. I had no idea how much air I had left in my tank, and I was completely alone. I was also completely blind. I was about to make a decision that would decide whether I would live or die.

If you have followed my old blog for a long time, chances are you might have come across this story I shared about my misadventure in scuba diving. I decided to elaborate more on this story and share it on the podcast. There are a lot of lessons I have learned from this near-death experience, I feel it's a good story to revisit.

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Monday Jan 06, 2025

BTG 120 - Hero's Death Denied

Monday Jan 06, 2025

I usher in the new year by recounting some old competition stories I had from a few decades ago, revolving around the BJJ Legend Saulo Ribeiro. I share the adversities, the thoughts going through my head, and the lessons learned from my matches against him and others.

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Monday Dec 30, 2024

BTG 119 - How I Fix Weight Cutting

Monday Dec 30, 2024

My social feed has had quite a few posts from MMA journalists about fighters "not training seriously" because they are 30-40lbs over their weight class - something that anyone who is in the field knows is a standard weight cut now. I talk about what the current weight cutting situation is, the consequences, and a system I believe could fix it all.

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Monday Dec 23, 2024

BTG 118 - How NOT to spoil your athletes

Monday Dec 23, 2024

Every coach has a sob story about how that athlete that betrayed them, used them, or got away. I will go into a few personal anecdotes and explain why it happens, and how to avoid it and help create better relationships with our team.

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Monday Dec 16, 2024

BTG 117 - Timing Closed Guard Ankle Locks

Monday Dec 16, 2024

The final UFC Card of the year started slow but ended with a lot of blood and violence, ending with Colby Covington in one of his worst performances to date, while Joaquin Buckley shined like a diamond. I talk about the importance of striking while the iron is hot in regards to timing your career, then move into the role of closed guard in modern MMA and BJJ. Finally, I remark on the resurgence of straight foot locks in grappling.

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