Breaking The Guard Podcast

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Episodes

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

Mar 10, 2025

BTG 129 - Gun Shy

Mar 10, 2025

32 min

We all have seen it happen at some point, perhaps even to ourselves. A fighter enters the cage, and is just absorbing shots, not firing back any offense. Any attacks they make and half pumped, and don't have any heat on them. They are gun shy.

I'll discuss possible reasons why fighters get gun shy, and what we can do from a coaches perspective and as the athlete.

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Mar 3, 2025

BTG 128: My Most Humiliating Losses

Mar 3, 2025

36 min

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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Feb 24, 2025

BTG 127 - Eye Pokes Are Too Common To Be Accidental

Feb 24, 2025

34 min

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.

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Feb 17, 2025

BTG 126 - How I Teach a Seminar

Feb 17, 2025

38 min

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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Feb 10, 2025

BTG 125 - How to Drill like a Pro

Feb 10, 2025

45 min

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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Feb 3, 2025

BTG 124 - How I Teach a Class

Feb 3, 2025

1hr 1 min

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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Jan 27, 2025

BTG 123 - The Ecological Approach to BJJ

Jan 27, 2025

45 min

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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Jan 20, 2025

BTG 122 - UFC 311 Analysis

Jan 20, 2025

38 min

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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Jan 13, 2025

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

Jan 13, 2025

40 min

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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Jan 6, 2025

BTG 120 - Hero's Death Denied

Jan 6, 2025

32 min

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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