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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

Monday Mar 03, 2025
BTG 128: My Most Humiliating Losses
Monday Mar 03, 2025
Monday Mar 03, 2025
Suffering a loss is tough. But suffering a humiliating loss can be especially tough on your ego. I look back at some of my most humiliating losses in my sporting career, and reflect on how I was able to bounce back from them.
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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 24, 2025
BTG 127 - Eye Pokes Are Too Common To Be Accidental
Monday Feb 24, 2025
Monday Feb 24, 2025
UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song was a great card, except for the main event, where Henry Cejudo suffered what appeared to be a serious eye poke. I talk about my stance on eye pokes and fouls in general, and why I think there is a lot more cheating than accidents.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
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Monday Feb 17, 2025
BTG 126 - How I Teach a Seminar
Monday Feb 17, 2025
Monday Feb 17, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Feb 10, 2025
BTG 125 - How to Drill like a Pro
Monday Feb 10, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Feb 03, 2025
BTG 124 - How I Teach a Class
Monday Feb 03, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
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Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Jan 27, 2025
BTG 123 - The Ecological Approach to BJJ
Monday Jan 27, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Jan 20, 2025
BTG 122 - UFC 311 Analysis
Monday Jan 20, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Jan 13, 2025
BTG 121 - How I nearly drowned 90ft deep in the ocean
Monday Jan 13, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Jan 06, 2025
BTG 120 - Hero's Death Denied
Monday Jan 06, 2025
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard

Monday Dec 30, 2024
BTG 119 - How I Fix Weight Cutting
Monday Dec 30, 2024
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.
Visit our sponsors:
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.
Follow me on Facebook: https://Facebook.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/DavidAvellan
Follow me on X: https://X.com/DavidAvellan
Tag us on Social Media with #BreakingTheGuard