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The best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) podcasts for 2023

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Marc
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Lift your jiu jitsu game with the best BJJ podcasts around

There are now several great BJJ and grappling-specific podcasts available for free. Some are hosted by well known personalities and instructors like Nick “Chewy” Albin or Stephen Kesting, and others are hosted by professional BJJ athletes like Keenan Cornelius. 

Regardless of who hosts them, many of these podcasts include interviews with jiu jitsu greats, rising stars and everyone in between. This gives you a great range of perspectives and ideas about jiu jitsu to incorporate into your own journey.

We’ve decided to include in this list only podcasts which are active and regularly releasing new episodes. If we’ve missed a good podcast, let us know.

The best BJJ podcasts for 2023

The Raspberry Ape

The Raspberry Ape Podcast Cover

The Raspberry Ape podcast is an interview-style podcast hosted by Daniel Strauss, a black belt under Roger Gracie. Daniel is an avid competitor with numerous championships and high level matches in his career, and he’s also a strongman. 

Most episodes are in-person interviews, which are always better conversations compared to skype/phone interviews, and Daniel injects his own personality into the conversation too. Episodes cover a great depth of topics relating to each guest but are also flowing and conversational.

Good episodes to start with:

  • Episode 38 – Sebastian Brosche. Sebastian is the founder of Yoga for BJJ, a website and app which gives you different yoga programs for different body parts. As you can imagine, the episode explores how yoga can benefit you when doing BJJ. Sebastian also talks about how yoga helped him heal a back injury, how you should approach yoga when you train BJJ, nutrition, sleep and even breathwork.
  • Episode 71 – Braulio Estima. Braulio is one of the greatest BJJ competitors of all time, so this episode focuses a lot on his history and road to becoming a champion. It also includes his thoughts on drilling vs rolling, the evolution of his game style, mindset, visualisation, injuries and the mental comedown after an important competition. 
  • Episode 69 – Lachlan Giles. Lachlan Giles is one of Australia’s great BJJ coaches and competitors. This episode is a great conversation about his thoughts on leg lock popularity over the past few years, different competition rulesets, BJJ fads, BJJ in Australia, specifics training, gradings and more. Lachlan is also a qualified physiotherapist so the conversation also delves into injuries in BJJ.
  • Episode 74 – John Will. John Will is one of the original “dirty dozen”, the first 12 non-Brazilians to earn a blackbelt. He has a rich history in jiu jitsu, and this episode includes great stories about Chuck Norris, the Machado’s and the Gracie’s during the early decades of Brazilian jiu jitsu. It also explores John’s thoughts about teaching jiu jitsu and much more.

Listen to The Raspberry Ape on:

BJJ Fanatics Podcast

BJJ Fanatics is the leader in BJJ video instructionals, and its podcast is a high quality who’s-who list of the biggest names in the art.

The podcast is hosted by brown belt Ryan Ford, who previously hosted the Grappling Central podcast, which also used to be on this list. In 2021, Ryan joined BJJ Fanatics and brought his old Grappling Central episodes into the BJJ Fanatics Podcast, so there are over 510 episodes to listen to at the time of writing!

Each episode is a lengthy interview with a well known BJJ athlete or personality, and Ryan is an attentive host with great questions. The best thing about the BJJ Fanatics Podcast is that there’s no filler – from start to finish each episode is packed with questions and answers. There’s also a great segment in the middle of each episode called “The Pummel” where Ryan asks quick fire questions about BJJ and other interesting topics too.

Guests on The BJJ Fanatics Podcast include Demian Maia, Pedro Sauer, Craig Jones, Gordon Ryan and much more.

Good episodes to start with:

  • Episode 353 – Gordon Ryan. Gordon Ryan is always an interesting guest on any BJJ/MMA podcast or show. In this episode Gordon talks about how he got into BJJ, how he trains, techniques vs concepts, balancing ego as an elite athlete, leg locks and the common issues he notices, and how to get BJJ into the mainstream.
  • Episode 357 – Bernardo Faria. Bernardo Faria is one of the co-founders of the hugely popular BJJ Fanatics instructional video website. He’s also a very successful competitor, known for his half guard attacks and over under passing. In this episode Bernardo talks about finding the right game style for your body type, the power of specialisation, the progression of Bernardo’s game, over under passing and half guard, the importance of taking your time in a match, plus the story of BJJ Fanatics.

Listen to BJJ Fantics Podcast on:

Beyond Jiu Jitsu

Beyond Jiu Jitsu is a general BJJ podcast featuring two Australian hosts: Alliance Sydney instructor and black belt Adam Childs, and Kieren Lefevre. Adam has many years of experience training under Fabio Gurgel, and Kieren is a sports nutritionist and blue belt.

Episodes are usually an hour long and consist of Adam and Kieren chatting about a specific BJJ topic, such as fear of injury, nutrition advice and rolling against larger opponents. 

There are also interview episodes, usually with notable Australian-based jiu jitsu teachers, athletes or personalities. The vibe of each episode is conversational and feels like you’re just having a chat on the mats after class.

Good episodes to start with: 

Listen to Beyond Jiu Jitsu on:

The ROL Radio

The ROL Radio is a podcast hosted by blackbelt and head instructor of Rol Academy, Thomas Rozdzynski, and one of his coaches Gary Pond. 

Each episode is an interview with a notable BJJ personality or athlete, with past guests including Rorion Gracie, Fabio Gurgel, Braulio Estima and more. The questions are thoughtful, and the end of each episode includes a rapid fire question round which uncovers interesting and sometimes funny information about the guest.

The Rol Radio is also great because each episode is followed by a solo episode where the hosts unpack the key lessons from the previous interview. 

The Rol YouTube channel also hosts Thomas’ Ask a Black Belt show, as well as technique videos, in addition to The Rol Radio episodes.

Episodes to start with:

  • Episode 42 – Henry Akins. Henry Akins is a Rickson Gracie blackbelt with years of experience. He talks about the differences in BJJ over time, early UFC stories, self defence, why you should know striking, problems with current BJJ teaching and much more.
  • Episode 51 – Dean Lister. This interview with leg lock pioneer Dean Lister is an excellent dive into Dean’s more personal side. It dives into his recent health issues as a result of being hit by a car, the start of leg lock popularity in BJJ, how he prepared for ADCC, why he thinks defence is the best offence and more.
  • Episode 62 – Brandon Mullins. Brandon is one of the top rooster weight competitors in BJJ, but his start in combat sports as a child was shaky. This interview is a great dive into his early beginnings in wrestling and his mindset of “keep coming”. 

Listen to The Rol Radio on:

Bulletproof for BJJ

Bulletproof for BJJ is a podcast hosted by Joey and JT, who are two Australian black belts with years of experience and qualifications in strength and movement. 

The podcast covers general BJJ topics and interviews with special guests, but also specializes in BJJ from the perspective of longevity, injuries, recovery and strength training. Joey and JT make each episode relaxed and conversational, and have some interesting takes on how to train smarter.

The Bulletproof for BJJ YouTube channel has lots of extra content including videos on the best stretches and exercises for BJJ.

Episodes to start with:

  • Episode 2 – The Pillars of Bulletproof for BJJ. This episode does a great job of introducing listeners to the podcast’s approach to BJJ. Joey and JT talk about common BJJ issues including tight hip flexors, and give suggestions for how to get your hips feeling more mobile.
  • Episode 3 – Pain management and BJJ. This episode gives some great tips about the difference between pain and discomfort, which is a constant question as you train BJJ. It covers going to a doctor vs a physio/physical therapist, and the importance of stretching to balance out the flexion which is so common in BJJ. It also gives tips for how to fit these stretches into a busy work day. 
  • Episode 8 – The 5 things I wish I knew as a white belt. In this episode, Joey and JT delve into some more general tips for sustaining a healthy BJJ training journey. They cover injuries, ego, jealousy, overtraining and finding the right gym, and give tips for each topic to help those on their own BJJ journey.

Listen to Bulletproof for BJJ on:

The Strenuous Life Podcast

The Strenuous Life Podcast Cover

Many of us know The Strenuous Life Podcast host Stephen Kesting from his large library of YouTube videos covering most aspects of jiu jitsu. He also has one of the best free ebooks for those beginning BJJ and wanting to make sense of the major positions.

His podcast is broader than just BJJ and includes guests from a number of related areas. There are also shorter episodes covering single topics too.

Stephen is a great host and asks interesting and useful questions, and each episode is practical and includes entertaining side notes. Some of his older episodes sound like they’re phone call recordings but are still packed full of useful information.

Good episodes to start with:

Listen to The Strenuous Life Podcast on:

The Chewjitsu Podcast

The Chewjitsu Podcast Cover

The Chewjitsu Podcast is hosted by Nick “Chewy” Albin and one of his students Eugene. The podcast has a range of different episodes including shorter episodes covering one specific topic, longer episodes diving deeper into a single topic and also interviews. Overall the podcast (and the excellent Chewjitsu YouTube channel) cover topics in a simple but effective way, with plenty of great content for beginners.

The episodes are relaxed and conversational in nature, and the interview episode feature thoughtful questions. Most episodes also include many listener questions and answers too.

Good episodes to start with:

  • Episode 43 – Become the grappler you hate. There’s always a training partner in BJJ that you “hate” to roll with, not because you don’t like them but because their BJJ style is your kryptonite. This episode is all about harnessing losses in BJJ to motivate you to grow. There’s also a large number of listener questions and answers in this episode covering topics as diverse as considerations for belt promotions, the primary areas a white belt should focus on and how often to train weights.
  • Episode 47 – Preparing for your first BJJ tournament.  This is a great episode for beginners who are thinking of competing. Eugene and Chewy cover how to prepare for your first competition, how to ensure you won’t back out of a competition, rules around equipment and clothing, preparing for the unexpected, and much more about the philosophy behind competition and how to prepare for your match on the day.
  • Episode 40 – Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez. Richie Martinez is a jiu jitsu practitioner and competitor who earned his black belt in only three years. He’s part of Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu system, and has his own school in San Diego. In this episode Chewy and Eugene chat to Richie about how he got his black belt so fast, the role of individuality in BJJ, how his breakdancing career has impacted his BJJ and what he thinks is important for high level jiu jitsu.

Listen to The Chewjitsu Podcast on:

Jiu Jitsu Dummies

Jiu Jitsu Dummies is an interesting podcast with a mix of interviews with notable guests like Vagner Rocha or Rashad Evans, and also conversational episodes between the hosts themselves. 

The podcast is hosted by Milton Campis, a purple belt and marketing expert in his day-to-day life. This means that some of the episodes feature interesting marketing and branding tidbits relating to BJJ businesses and athletes. 

Jiu Jitsu Dummies has a high production value, great sound quality, and the tone is light hearted. Milton and the revolving cast of other hosts including Junior, Mauricio and Miguel are great at bantering while also asking guests thought-provoking questions.

Good episodes to start with: 

  • Episode 48 – Steven Williams. This episode is a great interview with one of the youngest John Danaher/Renzo Gracie blackbelts, and includes an interesting discussion around marketing and branding a BJJ business or athlete.
  • Episode 50 – Vagner and Fafa Rocha. This episode digs into Vagner and his wife Fafa’s life, from his beginning in grappling and MMA, to raising BJJ athletes and owning and running a BJJ gym. 
  • Episode 23. This is a hosts-only episode answering interesting reader questions on wide ranging topics including new school vs old school jiu jitsu, parenting a jiu jitsu athlete, and finding your own style in BJJ.

Listen to Jiu Jitsu Dummies on:

I Suck at Jiu Jitsu

I Suck at Jiu Jitsu is an excellent podcast from black belt Josh McKinney. As the name suggests, it’s targeted at those wanting to get better at jiu jitsu, including not only students but teachers too. 

Episodes alternate between solo podcasts where Josh talks about a tip or a specific topic, or interview episodes with accomplished grapplers and athletes like Ryron Gracie and John Will. Josh is an attentive host and his tips for getting better are practical and helpful. 

Episodes to start with:

Listen to I Suck at Jiu Jitsu on:

Listen to BJJBrick on:

BJJ Mental Models

BJJ Mental Models is a podcast by Steve Kwan, a black belt from Canada. Early episodes also feature Steve’s brother. The podcast delves heavily into the concepts underpinning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and each lengthy episode usually running over an hour dives into a core concept such as alignment, guard passing, mindset and more. There are also other episodes which explore less conceptual topics like the history of the Gracie family, ruleset differences between competitions and even content aimed at helping our instructors.

Great episodes to start with:

Listen to it on:

Talk-Jitsu

Talk-Jitsu is a new podcast launched by Jordan Preisinger from the excellent Jordan Teaches Jiujitsu channel. Jordan co-hosts the podcast with Joey and Mike, and the conversations are conversational, transparent and genuine. The topics so far are diverse and include:

Listen to it on:

Bonus podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience Cover

I’ve mentioned the Joe Rogan Experience so many times on this blog that I could fairly be accused of being a fanboy, but his podcast has a lot of value for grapplers. Joe himself is a black belt under Jean Jacques Machado, and has many guests on the show who train in BJJ. 

These include masters like Rickson Gracie, current and past MMA champions, visionaries like John Danaher and Eddie Bravo, and even comedians who now regularly train such as Russell Brand, Russell Peters and Joey Diaz.

Few episodes revolve solely around BJJ (I’ve listed these below), but many more involve broader topics which have tangents into BJJ/MMA depending on the guests.

Episodes to start with / guests that train:

Listen/watch The Joe Rogan Experience on:

Bonus #2: The Lex Fridman Podcast

The Lex Fridman podcast is a long form podcast with guests from a variety of backgrounds. Because Lex is a BJJ black belt, he’s spoken to some big names in jiu jitsu and grappling generally.

Episodes generally take a deep dive into the guest’s background, achievements and approach to grappling. They’re great if you really want to get to know some of the greats. Guests include:

Listen to it on:

Did we miss a good BJJ podcast? Let us know below.

7 thoughts on “The best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) podcasts for 2023”

  1. Hey, thanks for this great article, looking forward to listening to some of these podcasts!
    I also really like Grounded by Jocko Willink and Dean Lister.

    Reply

  3. Hi Marc,

    Great list, I am especially a fan of Rasberry Ape, BJJ Mental Models & The Strenuous Life. I have had both the BJJ MM Crew & Stephan Kesting on my own podcast “The Sonny Brown Breakdown” which you might check out for the list.

    Thank You,
    Sonny

    Reply

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