The Voice Of Modern Jiu Jitsu - Guest Ryan Ford

A single VHS tape of early UFC fights can change your whole view of martial arts, and for Ryan Ford it set a compass he followed for decades. We start with the human side: growing up high-energy in Georgia, chasing martial arts influences from the 90s, and finally finding a jiu-jitsu home after years of false starts. Then we get into the moments that made him stay when it would have been easy to quit, and how the mats became a true meritocracy when the rest of life felt unstable. 

We go deep on podcasting in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world. Ryan breaks down how Grappling Central Podcast grew through long-form interviews, consistency, and asking the questions a confused white belt would actually want answered. We talk sponsorships, ad limits, why most podcasts never make money, and how BJJ Fanatics became an exclusive partner without hijacking the show’s voice. If you care about building a jiu-jitsu podcast, growing an audience, or protecting your listener experience, this section is loaded with hard-earned lessons. 

Ryan shares what brought him back to seeing jiu-jitsu as a fighting art, how training under Damian Maia in São Paulo reshaped his perspective, and what it takes to adapt your game after injuries. We close on one of my favorite ideas: jiu-jitsu doesn’t just teach techniques, it teaches you how to learn anything. 

If you enjoy thoughtful jiu-jitsu stories and practical takeaways, subscribe to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu, share this with a training partner, and leave a review that tells us what topic you want next.

To connect with Ryan find him on Instagram @gringoryan

Also, be sure to check out BJJ Fanatics podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bjj-fanatics-podcast/id1044753097

Help support the podcast! Be sure to grab the new Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu & Rubber Bones collab shirt by visiting https://rubberbonesrashguards.com/collections/caffeinated-jiu-jitsu-x-rubber-bones

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Check out Rubber Bones at the website link in the show notes, and remember to use the discount code Caffeinated10 when ordering. 

Transcript

Welcome And Coffee Warmup

Joe Motes (Host) 0:53

And welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu. Today's episode, everyone, is one of those very special, memorable milestones in podcasting for me. My guest today is someone that I've spent my entire jiu-jitsu journey listening to, either driving to work, stuck in traffic, or uh going home at night after getting smashed as a white belt uh in the early days on the map. And there's a good chance that you've heard him too. Uh Ryan Ford is one of the most recognizable voices in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has spent several years interviewing some of the most influential figures uh in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He's a host and creator of the first or one of the first uh BJJ podcasts, the Grappling Central Podcast, and now is the voice behind the BJJ Fanatics podcast. But beyond the microphone, he is a black belt under the legendary UFC fighter Damian Maya. He has been featured in BJJ magazine. He is the creator and producer of an awesome YouTube documentary, which I watched last night, Ryan, and I hope we get to talk about that. But the uh saint of Crackland, he's a proud father, and it is my absolute honor to welcome Ryan Ford to the show. Ryan, welcome.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Joe, thank you so much. What an introduction, buddy. I appreciate that. And first and foremost, man, I really do appreciate you listening to the show. I'm glad to hear that it helped you through the white belt phase and that you've been listening for a long time. If you're married, I apologize to your wife for having to hear my voice all the time if you're listening that frequently, but it does mean a lot that you tune in, buddy. Thank you.

Joe Motes (Host) 2:40

Yeah, absolutely. And here's something weird. Uh, and I hope it's not too weird. So when I I write my introductions for the show, I like I hear kind of how you do your introductions, and it's kind of like I hear your voice when I'm giving my intros, man. It's I know that's a weird thing.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

I appreciate that. Um I appreciate that, brother. Well, dude, I'm in the spirit of the show here. I I'm ca I'm caffeinated up. I don't know. So here's the interesting fact about me. Dude, I love everything about coffee except for the way it makes me feel. I love the smell of coffee, I love the taste of coffee. I like coffee culture. I think like cafes and things like that is cool. But if I drink coffee, I get jittery. Like I'm just too, I'm too naturally hyper as it is, I think. And uh I can't have coffee. But dude, what I can have is tea. I don't know if you've seen this before. Have you seen mate before? Have you seen these before?

Joe Motes (Host) 3:29

No, I haven't. No.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

So, dude, this is something I've only seen. So in southern Brazil and in Argentina and Uruguay, they have this thing called mate. In Brazil, they call it chimihon. And so it's basically green tea leaves that are ground up and put into this gourd, and it absorbs differently into your body than calf than coffee does. It goes like through your liver rather than hitting your bloodstream, it it processes more like food. So it's a more gentle caffeine. So I still get my spike of caffeine just without being off the wall and seeing colors and stuff, so or seeing sounds. So it's uh it's manageable. But I caffeinated myself up in spirit of the show.

Joe Motes (Host) 4:07

Yeah, well, I appreciate that. And I I uh I can't, so I have five boys, man.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Oh my god, you have five kids.

Joe Motes (Host) 4:14

Five, dude. Jeez, five kids. You got a small boys. I've had quieter days in downtown Baghdad, dude. Like it's insane. I can imagine. So it used to be coffee and whiskey, but then you know, you get older, you can't do that. Um because your body will be. But no, I have to stay caffeinated. Um, but funny story. I uh so have you ever heard of this uh coffee called Death Wish Coffee?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Yes, I have. I've never had that would probably kill me, but I've I've heard of it.

Joe Motes (Host) 4:48

Yeah. All right. So so I I thought it was just a cool like bag and like graphics, and I I think they're veteran on too. And I was like, I'm gonna grab me a bag, but I didn't pay attention to the caffeine count, like the MGs or MLs or whatever. So I was still trying. I was like, I can drink three cups a day. I'm gonna use this. One cup, one cup, is equal to one and a half of the like max an adult should take in. Oh, I was drinking three of those, and I did that for two days, and man, I started like having these heart palpitations. And I was like, what is going on?

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Eventually you reach Nirvana, I'm sure. Two.

Joe Motes (Host) 5:28

I mean, what a way to go, though, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:33

The first time I ever came to Brazil was to propose to my wife. Um, we were together for a while at that point. So I came down here to meet her family, and they had like a yeah, they had like a whole barbecue and a celebration. It was fun. But the first night, uh, she's I'm there by myself. I didn't speak any Portuguese. This was 2012. I was a bluebelt. And uh I wake up in the morning, my wife's in the shower, we're in her mom's house, and her mom's there. And so she's looking at me, I'm looking at her. We don't, there's a language barrier, and she goes, Okay, cafe. Like, do you want coffee? And I was like, Cafe. Oh, coffee. And I didn't want to be rude. So I'm like, Yeah, sure, I'll have some coffee. I didn't know coffee here is like cocaine grade. So she gives me like this little cup of coffee, and I'm thinking, oh, okay, cool. It's a little cup, I should be fine. Dude, by the time my wife gets out of the shower, I'm sitting there sweating, I'm red and I'm like trembling. And she's like, Are you okay? I'm like, Yeah, I said some of that coffee your mom made. And she was like, Oh my god, mom, you can't give him that. He can't even drink Folgers. Like, you can he can't have this. So I didn't, I didn't sleep for the first two days I was I was here the first time. It's there's levels to just like jujitsu, there's levels to coffee, bro. There's levels, and it sounds like the death with shit, the death wish thing that you

Ryan Ford Origin Story

SPEAKER_01 6:40

took is up there, high brown belt, black belt level.

Joe Motes (Host) 6:43

Oh yeah, I it's uh it's uh it's uh I won't say it's a never again because I'm not a quitter, but you know, it's definitely I'm not going to uh to be taking in three cups a day, right? No. Um well again, thanks for joining. Uh, but let's start out, right? Uh, as as we do here in the the podcast, and it's so cool to be talking to another podcaster. It's uh I want to get into your origin story, right? Like who you are, kind of away from the mic and and how obviously you got into jujitsu and you you have some other uh training and martial arts uh background. Can you share a little bit of about that?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yeah, man, absolutely. So uh so originally my family's from the Chicago area. Uh we moved to Atlanta when I was a kid. Um I was a very uh and still am high ADD, kind of high energy person. So as a kid, it was, you know, times 10. So my pa my family needed something for me to do throughout the day. They needed a way to burn some energy. And I was very influenced as a true 90s kid in uh martial arts because I was huge into Ninja Turtles. Uh professional wrestling was a big thing. I was like mandatory as a kid in the 90s. And then uh, yeah, we had things like you know, movies, blood sport, mortal combat, street fighters. So there was lots of things as a kid in the 90s that were related to martial arts that were in style. And so uh I was very attracted to martial arts early on. My we started with Taekwondo when I was a kid. That's just what was available. Um where in Georgia are you, by the way? Because it's it's a huge coincidence that we're both uh that's where I grew up and that's where you are.

Joe Motes (Host) 8:19

Yeah, so you you may know, you may not, uh, about 50 minutes outside of Atlanta, a small town called Brazulton, Georgia, and I grew up in commerce.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Okay, cool, cool.

Joe Motes (Host) 8:29

If you know where Atlanta is, you have an idea. You've at least heard of Brazzleton before.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

No, I I know Brazulton, I know where that is. So I grew up in like East Roswell, kind of Norcross.

Joe Motes (Host) 8:37

Yeah, that's that's the Alliance I trained, uh trained at with Hodrigo Moncio. They opened one in Roswell. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Oh, cool, dude. Cool. Awesome. That's a more that's a newer location, isn't it? It is, it's about three years old now.

Joe Motes (Host) 8:49

Yeah, and when I had gotten there, they just made a year.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Perfect. Awesome. Well, alliance is part of my story too. So I'll we'll get we'll get there in a second. So so basically I yeah, I grew up in uh in uh East Roswell, kind of Norcross area, and at the time there was uh Taekwondo. There was a Taekwondo studio that wasn't far from where I from where we were. And so that's where I started. Uh loved it, competed, had a lot of fun as a kid. Um, and then um through the funny thing is at the time, like we're talking uh 1994, 95-ish, uh, there was a lot of the martial arts landscape in general was very different than it is now. MMA was hadn't quite blown up globally yet. It was just the very beginning. And there was still very much the question of style versus style. Like, does a karate guy beat a judo guy? Does a boxer beat a so there was not any like proving ground. So there was a lot of mystique and mysticism. Everyone knew someone that was apparently had some kind of ninja training that no one could verify. And like you could go to literally like established schools and you have no idea who this guy is, where he came from, whether he's a snake oil salesman or whether he's a legitimate martial artist. And there wasn't a lot of ways to prove that. So my point with that is there was a lot of navigating uh that needed to be done on your own part as a martial artist in the early 90s, uh, because we didn't have as much of a track record in martial arts that we do now. Now we know there's styles that are more martial arts and like spiritual kind of training, and then there's combat stuff, and then there's sport stuff, and there's you know, there's a little bit less um uh mystique out there.

Joe Motes (Host) 10:28

It's better defined, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Yeah, exactly. And so so basically, yeah, I started with started with Taekwondo, uh, did that, and then um one day next door to the Taekwondo dojo, I guess you'd call it, there was a video rental store. And for anyone that's uh you know that was born after 2000, you probably don't know what VHS even is. So it's a VHS, they used to rent out VHS tapes, right? And we were, I as I said, as a kid, I was a huge professional wrestling fan. I was like just all in on pro wrestling. And my dad and I, after classes, used to on the weekends grab a movie and a professional wrestling pay-per-view tape to watch over the weekend. Well, one day I go in there and I see a different tape, and it's and I was looking at it, and uh, or no, actually, my dad found it and was looking at it. He said, Hey, Ryan, look at this. He says, I don't think this is pro wrestling. I think this is like real fighting. I I don't think this, and I and then of course my seven-year-old, I'm like, well, wrestling's real. Hulk Hogan's a total, he's a real fighter. My dad's like, Oh, right, yeah, yeah, my bad, of course. He's like, I think these guys are using martial arts, is what I should have said. And so, uh, and so we rent, so then we we rented it. And he goes up to, I remember he goes up to the counter and the guy at the desk looks at him and he goes, he goes, he goes, you know, this is pretty violent. You know, he looks at my because he sees I'm I'm seven years old. My dad goes, Oh, I don't know. And so I have to like go into salesman mode, like, oh dad, don't worry, I rent your Roddy Piper and Brett Hart had like blood all over them, and I was fine. I watched it before. So my dad was like, all right, don't tell your mom, we'll watch this when she goes to bed. So we so we uh we watch it at home that weekend, and uh my whole worldview, even as a little kid, was totally open because you know I'd seen all the physiques and the characters of pro wrestlers. Now you're seeing like actual guys that are fighting. And there was a lot of characters in that early UFC, you know, you had sumo wrestlers, you had like karate guys, you had guys in great shape, guys in not so great shape. Uh there's like a guy, like a ninjutsu guy with a mullet and an ACDC shirt. It's just like a wide.

Joe Motes (Host) 12:21

Straight out of the truck, uh yeah, the trucker's cab. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Dude, yeah, he's just out there fighting. Yeah, it was awesome. And then there was this guy, Hoy's Gracie, and he was the skinniest guy, and that resonated with me because I was always real small for my age. Uh, I had a growth spurt later in life. Um, but as a kid, I was always the smallest one in the class. I was skinny. And so I see Hoyce Gracie, and he ironically looked just like the Dominican dude that worked at our post office locally that we really liked. I was like, hey, it looks like Domingo. And so he's he's just a normal looking guy. Like Hoyce Gracie could have been like a substitute math teacher or something. And he's standing like an accountant to me. Yeah, like an accountant. Yeah, that's a perfect, yeah, exactly, exactly. And so we're thinking, oh, well, this guy's gonna get killed, man. Let me look at all these other guys and look at this guy. And then all of a sudden he uses jujitsu. And it's like this style erases other styles. Like you because I hadn't seen it before. I'd seen wrestlers and stuff, like like you know, amateur freestyle wrestlers, but I hadn't seen them fighting against

UFC 1 And First BJJ Hook

SPEAKER_01 13:20

people trying to punch and kick them. And so when you see a grappler bring a striker to the ground, it's like, oh my god, that this is like a crocodile dragging uh uh a larger animal into water, and now there's nothing this thing can do because it can't swim, you know? And so it was really eye-opening. And I told my dad right away, I'm like, man, I I want to learn jujitsu. So my dad breaks out the yellow pages because obviously before Google and all that, so he's flipping through the yellow pages like dude, there's nothing in Georgia that I can find jujitsu. Uh, I think Jockaray from Alliance, uh head of Alliance, he came to Miami, I think in '95. And then a year later moved up and opened up Alliance HQ in Atlanta, but that was till 96. So we're talking still 1994. I think I was in fourth grade at this time. So there was no jiu-jitsu for the other two years. I didn't find out that jujitsu was even in Atlanta until another God, eight years after that. So um eventually, um I quit Taekwondo uh as at about 12 years old, started wrestling in middle school, only did that for about a season and then quit. One of my greatest regrets in life, uh, my excuse was lame too. I just wanted to play with my friends after school. I didn't want to go to the wrestling room. Uh looking back, God, I wish I stayed in wrestling. Um, but I just quit wrestling. My dad was kind of frustrated with me because I'd quit Taekwondo, then I quit wrestling. And one day I'm hanging out in the apartment complex, and uh, we had this bulletin thing on the mailboxes, and there was a little rip-off where you rip off the phone numbers and stuff, and there was an alligator logo wearing a gi. And it said Brazilian Jiu Master Brazilians before he could before Jacques Ray changed the name to Alliance, it was Masters Master Jiu-Jitsu. And so it was said Master Jiu-Jitsu, and I was like, Oh my god, that's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That's the thing Hoy's Gracie does. So I was you're supposed to tear a little number. I took the whole flyer and like ran home with it. And I showed my dad, I'm like, Dad, look, there's jujitsu here. And he's like, nah, he said, you just you just quit Taekwondo and wrestling back to back. I'm not gonna pay for you to quit something else. So he was pissed at me, rightfully so. And so I didn't get to, I didn't didn't start. I was I would have been about 13 at that point, 13 or 14 at that point. And uh didn't start jujitsu officially until I was about 21. It was later in life. I started uh 2005 was my first class, and that's kind of what led me to training.

Joe Motes (Host) 15:36

So yeah, I I I think the first time I heard about it, um I didn't start to like actual start until I was 42. And um, so way later in life. Uh but I heard about it, you know, in my uh probably in my 20s, maybe early or mid-20s, when I was in the military, uh the army combatives, uh I guess the core of it, it has some jujitsu, right? Like they teach Mount Escape, the arm trap role, all of that, right? So that's the first time I kind of heard about it. And then a lot of the uh so I uh my uh role in the military at the time was combat service support. So I supported at Fort Bragg a lot of the uh the SF groups and the teams and stuff. And some of those guys did it. But uh that's great.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

I appreciate your service, by the way, man. Thank you.

Joe Motes (Host) 16:28

Yeah, yeah, thank you. Uh but like super important question here, man. When did you when you were a kid, did you have uh the wrestling ring and the the rubber? Oh, dude, I had dude, I had them all I had the cage, man.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

So here's the funny it's still in my parents' attic somewhere, and my son, who's now bro, I've been passing this down. I've been I've been totally brainwashing my kids into like vintage wrestling. So like they have no idea who like these new wrestlers are. They know macho man, they know Hulk Hogan, then Ultimate Warrior, Sergeant Slaughter. It's Jake the Snake. Remember Jake the Snake? Dude, of course, Jake the Snake, another Georgia guy. Uh no, so it's it's it's cool because I've been able to pass that with my kids. And back then it was very PG and kind of cartoonish almost. So it's very, it's not like it didn't get into the attitude area yet, which I I, you know, with my kids being as young as they are, they're only four and six, but they love it, dude. And I told my kids just now we're coming to the states. Uh we come to the states every year for a Christmas to stay with the movie with my parents. And I just told my son that I actually have like a few boxes of wrestling stuff, so he's just counting down the days. He can't wait to see all the access.

Joe Motes (Host) 17:31

It's gonna be like a uh second uh two uh what early Christmas, right?

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Like two Christmases in one, yeah, absolutely. I might not even I might not even shop for gifts this year. I'm just gonna like hand him these boxes, you know. Yeah, keep it on a budget, right?

Joe Motes (Host) 17:44

God, those things were so like cool. I yeah, I I don't even know. Man, I had I I don't even know how many whole toy toy chest full of them. Um yeah, yeah. But no, go ahead, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

No, no, no, no, no. I was just gonna say, plus you had you had WWF and then you had WCW. So there was there was two different two different branches to go into and follow as well. So you mentioned uh you mentioned your your time uh doing combatives. I don't know if you know uh uh first class uh uh sergeant first class Matt Larson. He's the one he's the one that designed the combatives program. Did you know he's a black belt under Jocker?

Joe Motes (Host) 18:17

I didn't know that. No, I didn't know that I know the name, obviously. From I was I was level one, I I didn't go to level two because I uh on one of my trips uh to Iraq, I got injured and I had to take more of a desk job. Um so I got into recruiting my profession. But uh yeah, I've I've heard the name. I didn't know he was a black belt under Jacquaret.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

He is, in fact, when he I I actually interviewed him on the podcast years ago, very interesting guy. Um, he was actually working alongside Jacquere on a lot of the combative stuff. One of my one of my best friends is actually a sergeant uh in the Ranger uh Ranger group, and um he's down at he was down at Benning for a long time, and uh I think he's moved off into doing something else now, but he was showing me his hand-to-hand combat book that they that they have. I'm like, dude, this is all jujitsu. It's like 90% jujitsu. And and then I realized, yeah, I realized later, it's like, oh, that's because one of Jock Ray's black belts is the guy that created the whole thing. And then McMap, the the Marines version, is all based off of that too. And he was part of he was actually Marine also. Uh so yeah, yeah, it's interesting how it all came kind of from the same tree, and then locally for us being Atlanta guys, you know.

Joe Motes (Host) 19:30

Yeah, yeah, it is. I and thinking back now to the stuff we went over in, you know, level one, and now knowing like at least the fundamentals of jujitsu, like the armbars in there, the triangle chokes in there, the mount escapes, uh like a lot of the and it's like you see, and I do I have the manual still, and you can go back in and see, right? Yeah, obviously they're not in geese, but they're using like the LBE and the collars and stuff for the you know, it's just cool, man. No, I uh I appreciate you sharing that uh that story. Um I want to talk a little bit um if you're okay with it, kind of uh talk a little bit here uh uh about kind of podcasting. I know there's some areas that you want to talk about as well, things that are going on kind of new with you and in your life, but uh really want to start here with the the Grappling Central podcast. And I wish I was doing jujitsu back then, uh but you know what uh what what did the the landscape look like when you started uh the grappling central podcast? And I think it was around was it 2014 or 15? I think

Finally Starting Jiu Jitsu

Joe Motes (Host) 20:40

I can't like it. I mean that's yeah I were there any jujitsu podcast out at that time?

SPEAKER_01 20:47

There was, there was, there wasn't a lot, but there was. So the original jujitsu guy who deserves lots of shout out and praise, he's actually no longer with us, unfortunately. Uh his name was Paul Moran, and Paul Moran had a show called uh On the Map Podcast, and uh really good guy, he passed away uh several years ago. But he had the I think I think he was the very first. He was like the OG jujitsu podcast guy. And then there was a few others out there. There was a few others that they were more kind of in the in the realm of MMA and jujitsu or just MMA. Uh and there were some other jujitsu shows. What what what gave me the idea was that as I was um coming up with the idea to start a podcast, which is an interesting story within itself, uh I noticed that there weren't a lot of people doing long-form interviewing, uh like like one-on-one guests, just specifically one-on-one guest. It was usually like a host and a co-host or a group of guys talking about jujitsu. Uh occasionally they'd have guests in. But I thought, you know, I I I I as as a as a young guy, I always enjoyed um things like like Charlie Rose and and uh and uh Larry King, like like one on one interviews. I always found those to be kind of interesting. Um and I thought, man, that would be kind of cool to see someone talking to big. Names in jujitsu and picking their brains and hearing their stories. Because we all know these like legends of the sport and stuff, but you don't know a whole lot about them as people and where they came from and how they tick. So it was it was an idea that I had initially was just that, yeah, that would be a cool thing to have like just specifically a long form interview with one host, one guest, um, and do it that way. And uh it ended up being a pretty great formula. It worked worked really well for for the last decade. So um but yeah, but as far as how the show started, so I'll actually go back a little further back in my past because it it is relevant. So growing up both jujitsu and the podcast uh came into my life at really the perfect time. Um jujitsu, I I I say I wish I found jujitsu sooner sooner in life, but as I reflect back, I'm actually glad I didn't find it sooner. Like when my dad said, I'm not signing you up because you just quit wrestling. I'm actually glad that that happened because I probably would have quit jujitsu. As a young guy, I just I was not disciplined, I was not focused, I was all over the place. Um, I was also um candidly speaking, uh I had kind of a troubled kid, I was kind of a troubled kid, you know. I was I was a very angry kid uh growing up and I was a little lost. I didn't have any direction. Took some tours of the juvenile justice system and uh spent a little time in a boy's home and ended up uh, you know, having trouble in school and stuff. And so I was very aimless. I ended up dropping out of high school eventually. And basically, due to that, I bounced from job to job. I would just do various warehouse jobs. I ended up working security at bars and nightclubs and stuff, doing like bouncing work uh in my earlier 20s, and really just didn't have any direction or plan or anything for myself. And I found the gym that I eventually just signed up at uh to learn jujitsu. The timing was perfect because I more than ever at that point in my life needed something to pull me on a better trajectory. And one of the cool things that you know through jujitsu is you can walk into any any mat, and there's like cops, lawyers, ex-cons, doctors, college students. It's a mixture of kind of everybody. And and and everyone gets along and everyone has respect for each other. And it's a place where there is a true meritocracy where it doesn't really matter what your education level is, it doesn't matter what your financial success has been in life. Um we're all equal, and and and what matters really is your abilities on the mats and how how you are as a teammate. And so uh that was cool to have because there's no other place in the world at that point in my life where I would have been uh anything besides the the the bottom rung and the entry-level guy, kind of, you know. So the reason I mentioned that is that um it jujitsu gave me a kind of a guiding star to follow, you know, and it gave me healthier people to be around. Uh it it started, I started shedding some of my bad habits I had. I started um, you know, cutting ties with social connections I had that maybe weren't benefiting me very well, that definitely weren't benefiting me very well. And I just it's maybe a healthier person. And I think that took me in a direction where I was kind of like, okay, well, maybe I should think about being better in a career sense as well. So I started, you know, I went back to uh to technical to college, went to tech school, um, started straightening myself out a little bit. When I first showed up in jujitsu, I was and still am big into like punk rock and the hardcore scene and stuff. And so when I showed up, I was, you know, mohawk. I was a total knucklehead. In fact, that's a funny story. So when I first got to jujitsu, there was a girl. Uh, I don't know if you've heard this name before, but her name was Mary Ellen Kano. And she was like the star female MMA fighter in Georgia at the time. She was like, this is right before Rhonda Rousey and like the women's division of the UFC was even a thing. Had it been a thing, she would have for sure been in the UFC and everyone would have known her. She was phenomenal. But at the time, women's MMA hadn't quite blossomed yet. And she was part of the team. She was 125, 130 pounds, purple belt, super technical. And they had this thing at the academy that I didn't know about at the time, but it's basically the Mary Ellen test. And what they would do is they'd bring in someone that looks like a knucklehead, like I was, and they would have you roll with her. And if your ego could take it, then you were cool and you were welcome back. So they put me with her, and at the time I was like 210 pounds, something like that. She's 130. I'm thinking, dude, what are they putting me with her for? Like, this is you know what I mean? Like, this is shouldn't they be putting me with like a dude my size or whatever? Bro, she was like a rabid squirrel. I could not hold on to her, I couldn't

Building Grappling Central Podcast

SPEAKER_01 26:40

stop her. There was nothing I could do, even if I was using my strength and my weight and everything, she'd slip out, take my back, choke me, just over and over. And and afterwards, so apparently what happens, most people that that happens to, if they if they're a knucklehead, you don't see them again. That's their last time they show up, they're gone. All I could do was sit there afterward, being like, I have to learn this. I have, dude, this is amazing. I have to learn how to do this, it's incredible. And that's what really hooked me into jujitsu because I was really looking not for jujitsu at the time, I was interested in getting into MMA.

SPEAKER_03 27:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

So I was pursuing uh uh learn to learn MMA. It was that experience that made me say, okay, hang on, MMA can pause. I'm gonna this, I'm gonna do this. This is what I want to focus on first. So jujitsu really locked me in, and that's what took me on a healthier direction in life. Now that takes me to my to the career thing in the podcast. So I was uh I bounced from job to job. Uh my my my goal as a blue belt eventually was that, hey, I want to own my own school. I want to become a black belt, open an academy. That would be a cool job. Don't have to work in warehouses anymore, throw drunks out of bars, right? And so um, but what happened over time is uh uh I got a job working in a in an office doing what's called fiber optic drafting, which sounds fancy. I'm basically drawing lines on Google Maps to show Comcast where to install where to install fiber optic cable. Yeah. So it's really, really, as you can imagine, just like after a week of that, you're just like, oh my God, your brain's just melting. And so I exhausted my music playlist, and I finally said to my buddy in the cubicle next to him, I'm like, dude, how do you do this without blowing your head off? And he goes, I listen to podcasts, he goes, I listen to podcasts. And I was like, What's a podcast? He's like, Oh, it's like it's like radio, but it's for the on the internet. It's like, oh, okay. So I that's how I discovered what a podcast even was. And so that's when I started exploring jujitsu stuff. So okay, yeah, there's there's the oh, the open the on the map podcast, but it doesn't look like they're adding new episodes anymore. And there's a couple others, but man, there's not any where they're like doing one-on-one long-form interviews. That would be kind of a cool thing. About six months after that, this company I was working for went under. And they I had been there literally two days within the range to get a severance package. So they gave me so yeah, so I was like, barely. Yeah, yeah, like they almost didn't want to give it to me. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So so they gave me the severance package, which was good for about three months of rent. And I told my wife, we were newly married at the time. I said, Look, babe, I I I have gone from one soul-sucking job to another in the last five years. Can I just take like a couple months to regroup and just figure out what I want to do? I I don't know, I don't know what I want to do exactly, but I want to do a kind of a passion project. I need like a sabbatical. I need like a couple months. Is it cool if I use this severance package, just pay a couple of months' rent? The bills will be covered by both of us work by both by that money and you're working. And then I swear to God, I'll go find a job in just a couple months. I just need like 60 days to just kind of take a breather. She goes, You got 60 days. So during so during that time, I started the podcast. I I got a hold of whatever equipment I could afford at the time and um put it all together. And then through just years of training at that point, I'd been training for God, at that point, about eight or nine years. Um, I just seemed to know people that knew people that could put me in touch with someone to interview. So my first handful of guests were pretty impressive. I mean, I had like Hoyce Gracie and uh Bernardo Faria, and wow that my first my first episode was with Dan Severn from the from the UFC. That's a that's a very funny story. That's remind me to come put a pin in that one. So that's a funny, that's a funny story. Uh, but yeah, I had like a pretty decent lineup for my for the first batch, and then I threw it out there and I just thought, okay, look, this is just something I want to put out there, and if it takes off and becomes something cool I can do on the side, then great. Uh and then uh it dude, it really took off. Like within the first year, it became the number one ranked uh jujitsu podcast on Apple Music, on Apple Podcasts, and uh stayed that way ever since, pretty much. And um, yeah, I was still working a side gig for the first couple years. I wasn't making any money at all with it. Um and then started collecting sponsors eventually, and and the rest is history. So it's yeah, but there's many days where like I was working as an electrical assistant with a friend of mine installing uh security lights and down in the south side, south side of the city. So I come home like covered, do you keep the show clean, or do you can we swear? Or can we Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. Covered in bird shit, covered in like just because I'm up on a gutter and on a ladder. And so uh I'd rush home still covered in crap and like interview Hodger Gracie. I'm just sitting there like he has no idea because the Q might before video, I was just doing audio. But I'm like, dude, I'm covered in bird crap and interviewing Hodger Gracie, but that's how it went for the first couple of years. And yeah, it just continued to grow, man, and it became my full-time thing after only a couple of years.

Joe Motes (Host) 31:24

So yeah, it's it's funny hearing you talk uh about these early days because this is all the things that I'm going through, right? In the sense of uh, you know, really actively, probably about a year and a half here on Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu. I had a podcast before, but it was more focused on what like my profession and recruiting. It did really well, and that's that's where I fell in love with podcasting. But um, yeah, man, it's just it's just crazy. Uh and and and I'm unemployed right now, so I got laid off back in April. So I'm going through this whole job search thing. And then like I wish the job search was going as well as the podcast. Like, I got an email the other day from uh Larry Shayley, and I didn't know who that was, but uh I guess he's uh uh the CEO and president of the new Mach 5, uh I think Heegan Machado, I think. Yeah, Heegan Machado, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they they're uh launching something coming up and they want to come on the podcast. So it's just it's just awesome. And then there's there's been a shift in uh where caffeinated jujitsu is now to where it started because I just started it because I was a white belt and confused and overwhelmed, and I wanted a place for you know those of us of white belt stature or early in our jiu-jitsu journey to kind of come together and talk about uh things. Uh, but what happened was you know, uh it picked up uh some steam and and now it's more focused on exactly the things we're talking about, like the transformation of of jujitsu and um it it more of a uh a broader uh kind of martial arts, if if if that makes any sense. Yeah, yeah. Um but it's been exciting. Uh and I'll tell you, um I don't think people under uh understand the power of podcasting and conversation and how important it is, not just in jujitsu, but any type of uh community or uh regardless of what it is. So yeah. Absolutely voice no no no thanks for thanks for sharing that. And um what I'd like to do is is you know, kind of before we uh move on to some other topics, is understand um this is selfishly, understand how the move happened between you know the Grampoline Central podcast and BJJ Fanatics. And you know, uh also one thing I would love to learn, again, this is selfish. I hope the listeners like it, but I'm I'm gonna be a little selfish here. Uh like like what did you have to kind of change about maybe yourself and your approach or your perspective, even if anything, uh as you moved into now, you know, this this big name and and things like that. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Yeah, yeah, no, great question, man. So, so yeah, basically uh where I was leaving off before is that I I I was not making any money with it for the first couple of years. And then it slowly started picking up sponsors. Well, one of those sponsors over time uh ended up being my biggest one ever is BGJ Fanatics. And uh I guess Bernardo had been listening to the show for a while, which meant a lot to me and uh was interested in working with me. And so they were basically just uh a sponsor on Grappling Central for several

Turning Sponsors Into A Career

SPEAKER_01 35:29

years, uh, ran commercials, things like that. And then uh in 2021, uh they reached out and said, Hey man, we you want to fly up to Boston and talk to us? We want to talk. And I was like, okay. So I went up there and basically they wanted to do a deal where it's like, hey, we just want to, you know, do an exclusive deal where we're like we're the name, we you know, put brand the show, keep the show as is, just brand it as uh with our name and we're the only sponsor, we're the only name on it, and then just keep doing your thing as as as is. We just want to do like an exclusive thing. I was like, dude, yeah, great. Like that means I don't have to make any cold calls to like to sell advertising or anything. Like so it takes all the work off my hands. And so um, so I was thrilled, and it's it's been outstanding. I mean, Bernardo and Michael are two just the best guys, and um, they do a lot for jujitsu. There's so much that the guys at VJ Fanatics do for the community of jujitsu that most of the community has no idea about. So they've really um helped keep this community afloat in a lot of ways and provided lots of opportunity for a lot of people. Uh, but anyway, um, yeah, that's basically how that all came together. They were my sponsor, they were just a normal sponsor on the show. Then they became like kind of the exclusive sponsor, and we kind of branded the show and everything. And so um nothing really changed because you asked you if I had to change anything about myself or the way I do the show. Nothing changed. I mean, they've really given me like complete, like, hey, like, dude, it's your thing. Just put on put you know, put put our banner on it and just keep doing it. And I'm like, okay, so it's the same show it's always been, same formula, um, just with uh different introduction and a different name on the show, you know. So it's uh it's been super cool. It's been super cool. And um, yeah, that's that's pretty much how that all how that all went. I had I had a few other sponsors at the time of that of that deal, uh, who I also really appreciated. One of them was AK Athletics. They make uh mats, they're out of Ohio, they make uh wrestling and and and training mats. Eat Clean Bro was uh was a uh uh food prep service uh out of New Jersey uh that is now also in Atlanta. I think they got billboards all over Atlanta now. And um, yeah, there's been another senso senso geese. There's been a lot, there was a lot of uh uh uh jujitsu and slightly adjacent like nutrition protein type stuff that was also working with me. But um yeah, but the but nothing really changed that much as far as the structure or how I present the show. The the mission for the show has always been the same thing. You mentioned that you started yours uh as a white belt, wanting to you know have a place where white belts can connect. My my thought going into the podcast was always what would white belt Ryan want to, what questions would he want to hear? What would he want answers to? What kind of stories would he be interested in? Um and that's that was always my focus of of the show is to create a place, a a library of knowledge and insight from people who are much more accomplished at this than I am.

Joe Motes (Host) 38:23

So yeah, yeah, I um I it's and I enjoyed the first several episodes that um that kind of had that theme. And I um it's really interesting to hear that you know going into a uh one of your sponsors turning into kind of like your full-time gig, like they didn't come in and try to control your content, and you have to do a plug every five. Like I I listen a lot to podcasts, and Theo uh this weekend with Theo Vaughn is one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

I love my favorites too.

Joe Motes (Host) 38:59

Well he does like five plugs of advertisements every time. And I think uh again, BJJ Fanatics is the the podcast I listen to the most. And if I had to listen to you do ads every 12 minutes, I would probably be a little frustrated.

SPEAKER_01 39:14

I tried to keep I I I did put a limit because there were there was yeah, there was a point where I had like five sponsors uh at a time. And and and I was even telling my wife, I'm like, oh man, this is heavy. This is getting heavy. I think for a lot of people this is gonna be kind of so I tried to do quick uh 10, 15 seconds in the beginning, 30 seconds in the middle, 30 seconds to a minute in the middle. But then I eventually got to the point where it's like, hey, once when I had five and two fell off, I'm like, look, I'm not gonna try to add any more. Let's just keep these three, let's keep three at a time. Um the only, the only exception I made to that was my first, one of my first sponsors was uh Lao Optics, uh the the uh sunglass company out of California. Uh great guy that that runs I think's in Lionel. Um he was he was one of my very first sponsors back when I was like almost having to shut down because I just wasn't it was it was just not not growing uh after a couple of years. It was growing, but I wasn't making any money and it was kind of becoming a strain. He came in and was like, yeah, man, I'll I'll I'll I'll I'll buy advertising. And so he came in and his price basically never changed. No matter how big the show got, I kept him at the same rate as as I did in 2016 and or 2017. And anytime that there he wanted to come back and advertise, even if there was three, I'd let him jump on as a fourth because, you know, loyalty. So, but yeah, I I tried to always keep it a limit to three because otherwise it gets a little happy after that.

Joe Motes (Host) 40:31

Yeah, and this is an area that that's new to me that I'm starting to get in because I have uh two affiliate sponsors, right? That we just so rubber bones, uh Rose Guards, which I'll do. We're doing uh Maria and I are doing who owns rubber bones, we're doing a collab, and we're about to probably next week uh launch um pre-orders for the caffeinated jujitsu rubber bones t-shirt. So she's done some amazing artwork. I'm excited for that. And then also Grappler Die uh just kind of uh partnered with them. But as far as paid uh you know sponsors, that that's where I'm kind of at in the journey and figuring out and navigating uh that. Um it's coffee shops are reaching out to me, which is kind of cool. Like I think it's a caffeinated, right? Atlanta coffee shops had Ed reached out. But anyway, no.

SPEAKER_01 41:24

Find a coffee shop that's near a big school and then just have some kind of uh have some kind of coupon code or something with them where if a jujitsu guy comes in, they give you some kind of kickback or something.

Joe Motes (Host) 41:34

Yeah, well, there's there's a coffee shop where the owner actually trains. Oh purple belt. There you go. And he's got a series up in Gwyneth. So um I I just haven't had the time to kind of develop that out, but uh that's that's on a the priority list.

SPEAKER_01 41:49

Uh that's been uh that's been an interesting thing that happens with me too with this with the podcast. I get messages a lot from people with just general podcasting questions. And I always kind of have to say the same thing because I feel like I I've been um it's partially luck, it's partially timing. And then I think the rest is I I do have to credit myself that I think I've stayed with a consistent formula that's worked well. But the luck part of things is that uh the timing in which I started the show, I've been able to build up a big library and a big following. That that that's obviously the number one thing you have to do to get advertisers to take it seriously to pay for it. Um, and even then, making money in podcasting, if you're getting into podcasting to have a career and make money, I tell people, dude, you you should just do something else. I mean, honestly, you're you're you'll you mo

Hard Truths About Podcast Money

SPEAKER_01 42:38

the the the odds, I mean, I'm not saying don't quit. I'm not saying quit. I'm not saying don't try. I'm saying if you really enjoy this, then dude, do it to the fullest of your potential. And I pray for you that it goes off and you become rich and that's awesome. Uh, but the truth is there's a there's a group out there called um uh uh what are they called? The Edison Institute. Edison, yeah, Edison Institute, I think they're called. And they do research on media and and and and uh and uh trends and things like that. Every year they do it, they have like a report that comes out that talks about listener behavior, consumer behavior, things like that. Well, with podcasting, uh the statistic is 90% or something like that of podcasts, it's some crazy number, like 90%, won't make it past seven episodes. So if you make it past seven episodes, you're ahead of like 90% of people who's ever started a podcast.

Joe Motes (Host) 43:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

Of those 10% remaining people, uh, it's something like 90% again won't make any money ever. And then of the sliver that's inside that, the people that make money, there's obviously a spectrum from you can pay your cell phone bill doing this to Joe Rogan, right?

unknown 43:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:49

So it's everything making a hundred. And needless to say, Joe Rogan is at like the 1% of the 1% of the 1% of the 1%, right? And so, so I always tell people if you're doing this because you think you're gonna replace a job or this is gonna be a dude, you're doing just don't even number one, your motives are not in the right place. Number two, um the statistics, it would be the same as if I told a kid in in middle school, dude, try to be in the MBA. It's like, okay, well, the getting into the NBA, that's like one percent of kids in the world in the country that that end up being able to get close. And so with that said, uh, there are avenues, there are ways to do this. Um, I think that you should be passion and mission driven more than anything. If you, for example, in your shoes, you and I were both the same. We love talking about jujitsu. We're very passionate about jujitsu. We like stories, we like insights and learning and stuff. Well, then, dude, that makes this easy. If if I wasn't making a penny, this is something I could just do on Saturdays because I like it, you know?

SPEAKER_03 44:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:49

Um, so yeah, that's the first. Question I often get is like, Man, how do I make money? And it's like, dude, that I'm not even gonna go there. I'd rather give you the insight on how to set up technically so that you sound and look as best as you can with your equipment, uh, interviewing tactics, uh, interviewing techniques, rather, uh, things like that. But if when it comes to making money, like, dude, it that that's that it's tough. It's a tough racket. It's it's I got lucky that number one, I was able to do it for as long as I did. The timing of when my show started was important. Um, the connections I was able to make were important. And then also uh I got lucky with fanatics being a sponsor and and then you know doing an exclusive deal with me for as long as they have. So um, yeah, I guess that my point is I do get questions about that a lot. That people email me, message and email me asking for pointers, and usually if it starts with how do I make this my job, it's like it's like dude, I I don't want to burst your bubble. I really don't. I like I want you to be able to do this for a living. Like that would be awesome. I'd be happy for you. It's just that I would also hate to puff you full of smoke and you know, tell you that it's easy because it's not, it's it's it's a very small fraction of people that you know that make money doing this.

Joe Motes (Host) 46:03

So yeah, and that and that's a truthful uh truthful statement from me for sure. Because I think uh that may have been on the list of questions that I even sent you when we first connected because that's how we connected, right? I was like, I had all these questions about podcasts. I was like, yeah, I I um but but money I think for me is is the furthest. I mean, obviously, I uh I mean you're not gonna take care of five kids on a podcast, right?

SPEAKER_01 46:26

Right, they can't just send you, they can't just send you ghys and samples of protein powder and someone.

Joe Motes (Host) 46:32

But I I mean obviously I would love to do this full time, but it's it's a passion. And I think if you do something that starts as a passion and it turns into your career, I mean it it can you have to be careful with that because then you start to dislike it a lot, I think, or a little, or at least enough for it to be an annoyance. So uh it's awesome hearing you um hearing you share how to uh make sure to put things in perspective. One of my good friends who I met in my first competition, I competed against him and he won. We we became uh friends. Uh David McWilliams, he hosts the uh he just created the BJJ uh Charleston podcast. And he's looking forward to listening to this episode because he he sent me a list of questions. Hey, ask him this, ask him this. So but uh one of the things he was talking about was sponsorship. So thank you so much for taking time and spending on that.

Returning To Jiu Jitsu For Fighting

Joe Motes (Host) 47:29

And I I know we've spent time here talking about podcasting, which is uh something obviously we're gonna talk about, but let's talk about some other topics, some topics that you and I discussed that you wanted to talk about. Now you you shared with me about uh rediscovering jujitsu as a fighting art. Yes, right? Um what what do you mean by that, right? Like uh talk me through that and then kind of what's going on uh with that in your life.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

Sure, sure. Yeah. So basically what I've found, I I think that, and this is gonna be true for everyone that sticks around in jujitsu long enough, you're gonna find that your why for training changes over time. Uh when you're when you're young and single and full of piss and vinegar, you probably want to be a competitor, or maybe you want to be an MMA fighter, or whatever. Um that can change over time. You you the your purposes for why you're training and what what what uh scratches the itch, so to speak, um can change for why you show up to jujitsu. And I think I kind of went through the full gamut of it. I think that I I initially came in with an interest in MMA. Uh that changed more to an interest in the sport of jujitsu. Uh competed a lot as a as a as a white, blue, and purple belt. Um and then uh that sort of over time, as I as I as the podcast took off and as I started a family, and I'm now 41. Um, so I'm I'm uh in the over 40 crowd now. Um my focus has changed again now to being kind of back to the to the I'm really fascinated by the idea of jujitsu being a fighting system again, which is initially what it what attracted people in the first place. So back in the day, it was it was it was they saw Hoyce Gracie do his thing. Um, and and that was what appealed to a lot of people. So I've spent almost 20 years training now. Um, got my black belt under Damien uh a few years ago, uh bounced around a lot. That's a whole nother story. Um but yeah, I think I think that my my my focus is now it went from being real focused on MMA application to then being real focused to the sport of jujitsu, which I think if I'm being real, the sport of jiu-jitsu and jujitsu versus jujitsu as I call it is probably the deepest depths, in my opinion, of jujitsu because the variables just multiply massively. It's it's when we get into gi and glications and the variables that change depending on whether you're in a gi or not. Um, the tactics and the strategies and the positions that only really happen in jujitsu versus jujitsu situations. Like if you're in a fit in a street fight or something or in a self-defense situation, you probably don't have to worry about the guy pulling daily Hiva guard on you and having to deconstruct Daily Hiva and then defend the X-guard when he switches from Daily Heva to X-guard. It's so so there is a deeper, more human chess uh vibe to jujitsu versus jujitsu. Uh, whether you want to call that the sport of jujitsu or whether you're just training in the academy often and focused exclusively on using your jujitsu against other people's jujitsu. I did that for a long time. I'm really I started boxing again as an adult. Uh I hadn't boxed since I was in high school and uh found jujitsu in my early 20s and then kind of just went away from everything else and just kind of went all in on that. But I'm now back to boxing again on a weekly basis. And it's brought me kind of back to like the idea of using striking to get a clinch, to get a takedown, to then dealing with someone on the ground trying to punch and fight and get away. It's kind of a I don't know, I'm just in the I'm I'm I'm back into this kind of enjoying the idea of jujitsu being for fighting and for combat. Um and I feel like that's something that a lot of the jujitsu community has grown away from. And again, I get it. I get it because jujitsu versus jujitsu is just it's badass. It's awesome. It's this really deep, deep, deep, deep uh ocean of of of possibilities and things to learn and things to improve. And uh, but yeah, I'm kind of I'm kind of uh in that phase right now where I'm back towards kind of the uh the fighting side of things. I'm trying to um explore a little bit more how to apply jujitsu, I guess, in a self-defense, kind of a self-defense uh application more. Um, but yeah, I think I think that happens. I think that's natural. I think as people go through over, especially over time as you get older and as your priorities change, you know, your why and what excites you changes as well. So if you talk to me in a year from now, I'll probably be right back to doing you know, X guard again and you know whatever else.

Joe Motes (Host) 52:05

Yeah, I um it's really really cool to hear you hear you talk through that. Do you think, and again, this isn't well you let me back up a little bit. So you and I have trained at at different areas in different yeah uh times in our journey. I I I got my blue belt through Alliance, and then now I'm full circle back with the here in Brazzelton training at the place that I started, right? Which is uh uh Iron Wolf uh Academy. It's a kind of a Oh with Caleb.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

Oh, you know Caleb. Oh, dude, Caleb's my boy. I've known Caleb for years. That's awesome. Is that where you is that where you train now? Yeah, that's where I started. That was a two-string. Dude, tell Caleb I said, hey. No, Caleb's awesome, dude. Me and my brother. My brother my brother's Chris Ford, he's a black belt too, under Paul Creighton. And Caleb and Chris go way back. I actually know Caleb through my brother. So oh, that's cool.

Joe Motes (Host) 52:53

Yeah, love Caleb, but he's what a coincidence.

SPEAKER_01 52:55

Awesome.

Joe Motes (Host) 52:56

Yeah, I I still remember my first day or first night on the mat, and we learned X-Guard. Can you imagine being a white belt and or like your or not a white belt, but your trial class?

SPEAKER_01 53:10

You're still wearing the leather belt when you come in. Yeah, you're wearing your normal pants.

Joe Motes (Host) 53:14

Oh man, I'll tell you about uh he's built such a great community there. And actually, he's getting ready to build new location, and that's no way. Yeah, it is outgrown it, man. Oh, that's great. He does every bit of it.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Do you know you know you know the rash guard you guys have? That maroon one with the wolf and the in the in the it's like silver. My wife designed that. She's the graphic designer that made that.

Joe Motes (Host) 53:36

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_01 53:37

Yeah, yeah. And my wife did my wife's a graphic designer. She's the one that did all the faces for grappling central. Like you remember the animated faces, like the comic book style characters of every guest. She did that, and then she also designed Caleb's Iron Wolf. Uh, she's done a lot of work in jujitsu in the jiu-jitsu world for graphic design and stuff. Yeah.

Joe Motes (Host) 53:56

Yeah. I'm I'm working with him. I'm not going to put too much of this out, but on uh kind of a syndicate program, and there's some new artwork going out. But that's awesome, man. Small world. Small jiu-jitsu world.

SPEAKER_01 54:08

Yeah, jujitsu world's even smaller. Yeah.

Joe Motes (Host) 54:11

Well, so to the question, and I'm glad I remembered the actual question I had. Um, do you think academies are are paying, and this is a uh broad, right, throughout jujitsu. Sure. Uh paying attention to if they're drifting away from the self-defense part of jujitsu and focusing more on the sport. I mean, because sometimes it feels like it, right? Yeah, I mean, the Gracie uh gyms they have they solely focus on self-defense. I think that's something they stayed with throughout the years. Yes. Um, but as a whole, like what are your thoughts? Is that is that kind of a clear question?

SPEAKER_01 54:52

This is a great question because it goes in a couple different directions and it's something I have opinions on on all different directions.

Joe Motes (Host) 54:58

So let's hear it.

SPEAKER_01 54:59

Yeah, the initial question, the the first slice, I'll call it the first slice of the question is ours, is jujitsu in general floating away from self-defense? I would say without a without

Sport Growth No Gi And Self Defense

SPEAKER_01 55:09

a doubt, yes. Um I think that a lot of schools out there are still focusing on self-defense, and a lot of schools still offer both, but I think in general, the ex the popularity of jujitsu and the sport has caused it to go into more of a sportive direction, which in my opinion is not necessarily a bad thing. Uh in fact, I think, I think it's really a good thing. I think that the the growth of sport of the sport of jujitsu has not only brought more people in, it's it's it's allowed the level of jujitsu to increase higher and higher. Like, dude, when I look now at 16-year-old bluebelts rolling, I just think like, dude, these guys would, these kids would have murdered me when I was a blue belt. Like their levels just, it's totally, it's not even the same thing. They would have killed me. Um, I feel like the the level, the the tides have risen so much uh in jujitsu as a result of greater emphasis on jujitsu versus jujitsu, problem solving and strategizing. As one trend comes up, the new trend has to be taking that one out and dealing with it. And now the next one piles on and piles on, and the level and and and and and and uh evolution keeps occurring. So it's been a good thing, but yes, I do think it's pulling away from the self-defense aspect, which I think is also a really important thing not to lose. Look, if you're if you're I'm all I've always been someone that is a fan of the entire tree of jujitsu. I don't want to leave out any branches. I do gi, I do no-gi, I do self-defense jujitsu, I do sport jujitsu. I love including wrestling and judo. That's why I called my podcast the Grappling Central Podcast, not the jujitsu central podcast. Because I wanted to include judo and wrestling and Sambo and yeah, I even had sumo wrestlers on. I love grappling. And I think it all fits together. And I and I don't like this idea of being on one branch of the tree saying this is the best branch. I don't agree with that. But if you're gonna be a master of jujitsu, man, you don't want to be an expert home builder that doesn't know how to prepare wiring for the electricity. You know what I'm saying? Like you don't want to not know how a roof is applied to things like that. So you you want to know it all. You can have your specialty and your focus and your passion, but you should know it all, especially if you're teaching it. And that brings me to the self-defense side. I think that it's there's two routes that are kind of shameful that can happen. One is if you're an exclusively jujitsu versus jujitsu-focused person, and you train and all that. In my opinion, your odds of being able to protect yourself on the street are significantly higher than your average guy on the street that knows nothing, obviously. But man, it would be a shame if someone started throwing punches at you while you're out with your girlfriend at a bar or something and you don't know how to clinch and cover and do a proper takedown on side on the sidewalk or on the ground that doesn't hurt yourself, and you end up getting your ass kicked when you're a jujitsu guy. That that would be pretty shameful. Same thing goes if you're an exclusive self-defense jujitsu guy and you walk into a gym and you don't know how to pass a daily Heaviguard because you've never seen it or you don't practice it. It's like, dude, come on, man. Like learn jujitsu, man. Jiu-jitsu is all of this. You can have your focus and your thing that, as I said, scratches your itch. But man, if you're gonna be a master, if the goal is to be a master, I would say explore all branches. And so um that's the first slice. I think that I think that it's important to even if you're focused exclusively on just being a jiu-jitsu competitor, it would only take you like a couple months of focusing on like clinch and distance control and how to do simple takedowns that don't uh cause you to hurt yourself if you're if you're um taking the fight to the ground on on on concrete or something. It's just minor adjustments and it just enriches your own knowledge. Uh, and then of course, what matters more? Protecting yourself while you're being attacked in a in a in a street situation or winning a medal at a tournament. I would say that winning a medal is great, but dude, not getting hospitalized is probably better, right? So, you know, so it's good to know both. Um the second part of your question, I have now forgotten, and I apologize. I need more caffeine here. What's what would it was it was it was, are we floating away from self-defense?

Joe Motes (Host) 59:15

Um Yeah, I think I think that's a um I think that's the broad question, right? Or we're or we're floating away, or or Jim's paying attention to that. But uh I'm gonna plug in and add here. Like, do you think um the that well we think that that is happening, right? We've established that. Do you think that's uh kind of led to the increased interest, and you know this better than me because you've been training way longer, uh, but the increased interest in nogi in gyms? Yeah, probably. Oh, probably.

SPEAKER_01 59:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I actually do remember what I was gonna say before. Um, so so we were talking about how bluebelts now, when I watch a 16-year-old bluebelt training, 99% 9% of the time that kid would have absolutely slaughtered me when I was a blue belt in my early 20s. Uh, and I think part of that, part of the the growth of jujitsu, which which I do credit to the sport of jujitsu more than anything. Um part of that, it is, it has brought along a tremendous amount of structure to the everyday academy. So we were you were asking whether or not self-defense stuff is still being taught in academies and whether or not that's something we're floating away from. It is, but at the same time, on the positive, structure, organization, and uh teaching methods have by far improved. Like, dude, I remember work walking into the multiple jujitsu gyms uh in in the early 2000s, uh, both here and in Brazil. And it was just like, dude, you basically are just a you're you're you're chum. They it's like here's a bunch of sharks, go have fun, go get murdered. And if you come back tomorrow, you'll learn how to not get murdered the same way eventually. And and it really was, it was it was very reminiscent of boxing gyms. That's that's one of my complaints, my main complaint about the boxing industry is that there still are not, even in 2026, I don't feel like there's boxing gyms that have a proper like white belt sort of program where like new people are not just punching bags for the people that are intermediate level and and above. Um, I feel like jujitsu has structured beginner classes much better. There's structure in curriculums that didn't exist, that was not what it that is now what it not was before. Um and that I think has led to less people quitting, more people sticking around, and more people improving. So while we have floated away from the original roots a little bit as far as it being a self-defense-focused thing and more of a martial arts type of thing, we've moved into this sport thing, which, man, as Americans, we are a sporting nation. We're sporting, we have coaching and sporting, it's it's it's what it's what USA does really well. And that's something that that I think that as it's grown in the States, we've applied the same structures that we have to in American football or soccer or baseball or or or gymnastics programs or wrestling programs. We've taken a lot of these same structures of or of of uh curriculums and and programs and applied them into jujitsu. The other thing uh that's very obvious uh as far as jujitsu's overall level rising is the introduction of streaming video. I mean, oh yeah, dude, I remember when I first started competing as a white belt, um, I think my first tournament was like 2007, something like that, 2006, 2007. It was in Florida. And like, dude, you there were every gym had their secrets and like their specialties and like their things that they did. And it was kind of like they'd protect that. There was no cross-training, like cross-training was really looked down upon, and like every gym kind of had their little things. Now everything's out in the open, dude. Any aspect of jujitsu you want to learn, not only can you pick it up on an instructional, you can find footage of competitions at the press of a button. There's nothing out there now that's really a secret in jujitsu anymore. And that's also helped the levels of technique and skill rise the way that it has. So very long, convoluted answer to your question, my friend. But the answer is basically yes, we floated away from self-defense. At the same time, the sport structure has increased the efficiency of learning, teaching, business structure, and everything in between. So it's kind of a double-edged sword.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:03:27

Yeah, I um I mean, these are even things I see in in my early part of my journey. And and I think it's something for all academy owners to be aware of, and that that's kind of where the

Damian Maia Training And Moving Brazil

Joe Motes (Host) 1:03:38

the fix is, or to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. So, but no, it's it's good uh, you know, hearing your perspective on it. So thanks for sharing. Um I hope you have a little more time to spend with me. A couple sections.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:51

I got all day, dude.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:03:52

You know, you're there's a there's there's a few sections, uh, a couple sections I want to make sure we explore. And uh, you know, we it would be a a a missed chance if we didn't talk about uh your time training with you know UFC legend Damian Maya. Oh yeah and your black belt under him. And uh, you know, like how how did that even how did that opportunity come up? It had to be one of those like life moments, especially in a jiu-jitsu journey. Like if you're like a striking guy and Chuck Lidell says, hey, you want to go train with me?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:29

That's kind of how did that come about, man? It dude, it is still very surreal to me. And uh I I joke about that a lot, actually, is that um if you had told Ryan Ford as a white belt that eventually the person tying the black belt around him would be Damian Maya, I would have said you were crazy. And it's interesting how it all happened. So yeah, I started I started jujitsu uh in Roswell. I got my purple belt from Eddie Camden, and then I got my brown belt from Paul Creighton. And I spent a lot of time, I actually spent more time with Paul Creighton, I think, than anybody. No, no, yeah, I guess, well, yeah, I'd have to, I'd have to sit and count the years. But I was at I was I was with Paul Creighton, who's a black belt under Henzo Gracie, uh, one of the best kept secrets in jiu-jitsu. He's a super humble guy and doesn't do a lot of self-promotion. But anyone that knows who Paul that you, if you know, you know, Paul Creighton is the man, uh, unbelievable person, coach, teacher, and jujitsu skills are just off the charts. Uh, so I was real lucky to be a uh a student of his for a long time. My brother's a black belt under him, uh Chris Chris is a black belt under Paul. So I was at I was at Creighton MMA uh in outside Atlanta for a while. And what ended up happening was it's kind of interesting. So I first trained with Damian Maya as a blue belt way before I was even at Paul Creighton's. This is back when when I was uh this was 2012. So I went to Brazil. I told you that story about how my mother-in-law gave me coffee and it almost killed me. So that same trip, we were in Sao Paulo. Uh to I was in Sao Paulo to propose to my wife and meet her family and stuff. And I told her, I said, hey, I obviously, needless to say, I brought my ghee with me and my belt and everything, and I want to I want to train in Brazil. It's been like a life uh bucket list thing to do, but I didn't know anything about jiu-jitsu in Sao Paulo, like all the jujitsu I'd ever heard of was from Rio. You know, Rio de Janeiro is where all the Gracies were, it's it's where a lot of the uh early Valetuto stuff came from, um, you know, all that stuff. So I didn't really know Sao Paulo. So I got on Google and I just said, okay, what like jiu-jitsu in Sao Paulo? And a few academies popped up and then it said Damien Maya. And I was like, wait a minute, that's not like Damien Maya actually has a school in Sao Paulo. And and so we looked it up and he did. And I was like, Oh my god, I that's where we gotta go. Like we have to go. It was on the opposite side of the city. I don't know if you know about Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is the biggest city in all the Americas. It's I think it's about six Atlantas.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:06:50

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:50

Uh yeah, and it's Two and a half New York cities. It's real big. Or it's almost no, it's one and a half New York cities. It's really, really, really big. We're on one side of the city, Damien's is on the other. We took the train. It took us like an hour and a half, two hours to get there. But we got there and trained and uh had a great time. Uh really cool meeting Damian. He's a very down-to-earth, cool guy. Um, and then I went back to the States. I was only here for a couple weeks at that time just to visit uh my wife's family and stuff. But then every time we came back annually, uh, I would drop in. I would say I would train. So I've trained at Damien's since Bluebelt. He's actually had three different schools uh during all those years. So I was at his first school, his second school, and his school that he has now, um, always visiting. And so what eventually happened was in 2019, my wife and I got pregnant with our daughter, and she didn't really know any doctors in the States. And she was like, Listen, my my doctor in Brazil is like a family friend. I've known him since I was a little girl. I it would mean a lot to me to just have a baby, have the baby down there. Um, I I know him. It's like yeah, I'll be with family and stuff. And so for me, it's like, well, that's an excuse for me to train jujitsu more down in Brazil, so let's go, you know? So we uh so we went down here. Uh my daughter was born. We stayed for a year. Uh I was running the podcast, she was doing her graphic design, and uh then COVID hit. So we said, okay, well, we should probably head back to Atlanta while this all simmers down. So we left. Uh, then we got pregnant with my son during the pandemic. Um, less less things to do, right? So we got pregnant. And so so we're gonna be. Yeah, look, I was stationed in Kansas, man.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:08:25

That's where like what are you gonna do with the time, man?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:27

Yeah, what else are you gonna do? What else are you gonna do? And so we uh so we came back and uh had my son with the doctor again because it went so well the first time. And my wife was like, look, this time we're only staying for three months. We're gonna have our son and we go back to Georgia. That was about six years ago, so we we haven't left. And so uh so naturally I the Damien's school was kind of always home base as far as jujitsu goes uh over the last 12 years that I've been coming down here. And so when we made the decision to stay permanently, um, you know, I told I had a talk with Paul Creighton, my my my teacher back home, and he was like, dude, totally get it. Just you know, do your thing and he was happy for me and all that. And then I told Damien, hey, look, if it's okay with you, I'm already a brown belt, but I'd like to, you know, continue earning rank down here. And I plan on staying here for the long haul, it looks like. And so he was like, Yeah, great. So he did make me wait about six years or so of training with him, which is normal. I think if you're showing up as an advanced rank anywhere they want to you know, you gotta earn a little more, yeah, which I think is reasonable. Uh, but yeah, after about five years of, well, about four and a half years of being here, uh, he tied the black belt around me and the rest is history. So training with um training with Damien's unreal. I mean, it's it's unreal. We were talking earlier about the levels of coffee and the levels of jujitsu. Needless to say, Damien's like a Jedi among Jedi.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:09:43

And so it's like death wish times five.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:45

Dude, it's it's it's I I almost don't have words. Like it's kind of funny. Like back at Creighton, uh, when I would train with Paul, there's there's uh a handful of guys in the academy that would kick my ass. Of those guys, there was a smaller group that were just like untouchable, like I could literally do almost nothing. Paul would roll with them, and they could do nothing to Paul. Then Paul would talk about rolling with Henzo Gracie and how he can do nothing to Henzo. So it's just like so there's these levels and levels and levels, and then uh, so it's kind of the same thing with Damien. Like, like there's guys that that murder me in training here that Damien can literally like almost sip coffee and just like triangle these guys and stuff, not even like no effort almost. And then there's also like I won't name names, but there's very recognizable names that come through our academy all the time. Um we just had Terere was just here, uh, he's an old school guy. Bucecha was just here. Now I'm not talking about those two, but there are other names I won't name that come in to train with us, and Damien just makes them look like white belts. It's just and it's just like, like, do you know who that guy even is? You know what I mean? Like Damien just like and and the guy, of course, is just sitting there like, like, what what just happened? So there's these, there's these levels, and yeah, training with training with Damien has just been uh you realize that there are certain levels that probably are not going to be obtainable in in in the in my lifetime from here out, but I at least aspire to do the best I can and get as close as I can, you know.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:11:12

Yeah, I and I'm glad we we've taken time to talk about this because I mean this is life-changing. I mean, you you moved to Brazil, yeah, right? And this is a huge part of why. And you know, um that that's that's a big commitment. And um I I think it's encouraging to hear like how you feel, especially as a black belt now, right? It's it's developing your game, I would imagine, even even further, right? And yeah, giving you the opportunity to learn jujitsu uh through different lens, and you probably would never, you know, learn. I mean, when you're training at like Alliance or Creighton Gym, I mean you're exposed to some amazing jujitsu.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:54

Oh god, yeah. I mean it's just unbelievable. It's like anybody, anybody I train with, right? Oh yeah, dude. Anybody I trained, like all the tough guys at Alliance in Atlanta or at Paul Creightons, if they came to Damien's, they'd fit right in. There's certain levels where when you're the upper echelon of of the room, like you you'd fit in in most places. But then there's the Jedi's, like your Paul Creightons

Injuries Inversions And The Documentary

SPEAKER_01 1:12:14

and your Damian Mayas and your and your people above all them. But yeah, yeah, no, but it's you're right. It's yeah, it's it's it's uh it's been very, very cool. There's uh there's an interesting phase I'm in right now where at 41, I'm just coming off of being out of jujitsu for about 10 months due to a neck injury I had. Yeah, and so I've had to kind of re-evaluate how I play jujitsu now. You know, it it's it's uh my neck's back to 100%, thank God. But I've lost all the curvature of my neck, uh just from years of almost 20 years of jujitsu. My neck is basically a straight line. They call it military neck. Uh I was never in the military, but I got it through jujitsu. Uh just constant crossfaces, I guess, getting smashed. Um, so I have no curvature in my neck. And so I'm more prone to herniated discs now as a result of that because all my discs just kind of sit on top of each other uh without any uh curvature. And so um my game for a long time. I've been very much an inverted guard. I use a lot of inversions both to to recompose and retain guard, but also to attack leg locks and things like that. And I'm hitting the point now where I have to kind of second guess whether I can invert. I have to I have to pick and choose who I invert with. If someone's, you know, I'm I'm about uh a hundred and uh I'm actually my lowest weight I've ever been in as an adult. I'm about 160 pounds right now. Uh but if I'm if I'm rolling with a guy over 200 pounds, I'm I'd probably not a good idea to stack to stack on my neck and invert to to prevent, just let him pass and try to escape and get back to half guard or something. So I'm kind of at a point now where I'm re-evaluating. I've spent 20 years building a certain game, and now it's kind of like okay, now we need to to readjust. So I'm I'm exploring things that are not my A game anymore, which at the end of the day I think is good for.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:13:54

Yeah, but so so the game that I see. So I went in and watched the documentary you made on YouTube, the Sana Crackling, which was amazing, by the way. So the inverting and the rolling that we see in the clips there, it's a little different than the the Ryan Portal and that now, right? Because I was like six inversions like this guy did. Like as soon as somebody passed this invert roll away, I'm like, I could never pass this guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:19

Nah, yeah, you watch watch me watch me rolling in that documentary, and you'll see why I've got herniated discs in my neck. Now, there's a time and a place. Obviously, there's a way to do it safely and smart and and intelligently. And then uh, and I just I just have to lean more into that now. I I have to be a little more selective. But yeah, I'm glad you liked the documentary, man. That was a really that was one of the coolest experiences of my whole jujitsu journey.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:14:43

Oh man, it was powerful. I loved it. Unreal. Like, yeah, and that's exactly you know the heart of this podcast is like how jujitsu can like those kids and those people in the in that area, man. I mean, they there's like no chance unless there's programs like that, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:15:00

So it's that's been a huge eye-opener just living outside the states is that um I'm not saying poverty doesn't exist in the US because poverty exists everywhere, but I do feel like there are certain levels of poverty. And when you leave when you leave the US, which does have a lot of safety nets for people and opportunities, even if you're at the bottom, you can you can often get yourself to a comfortable place through help or through effort. Um some countries that's not as that's not really a thing, right? There's there's there's not the same social assistance programs, there's not the same level of like homeless shelters, there's not the same level of food drives. And so, yeah, so when you're down and out in some places, uh it can, I mean, it's a different definition of down and out. And so being in that place for the listeners that had that don't know what we're talking about, the documentary is is uh I I came to Sao Paulo, a f uh a guy that listens to the podcast reached out to me and said, Hey man, you know, I'm here in Sao Paulo, I've got a I've got a social program uh and I'd really like you to check it out. So social programs are a thing in Brazil, they have it for every sport, they even have it for like ballet and like art, where a person can start a social outreach program for kids um and the government will give them like a a uh like a stipend, like a monthly or an annual stipend to help support it. And jujitsu is a big a big uh avenue for of that. So this guy has a kids' jujitsu program, and it happens to be located in like the absolute worst area of Sao Paulo. It's called Crocolangia, which translates to Crackland. And um it looks it's it you'll see if you watch the documentary. The documentary is called The Saint of Krackland, and it's a pretty rough area, I mean, to say the least. And this guy goes down there with his mats and gets kids off the street training in jujitsu and gets them in a safer place and helps them in a lot of ways. So it's very, very eye-opening. Um but yeah, man, it was it was definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had and yeah along the way is seeing how seeing that impact he's doing, you know.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:17:05

Yeah, I I would imagine. I mean, that that's even stuff that like I could see happening in some of the the areas here in the US. I mean, some of these major major metros, you know. Sure. I know, you know, states like Louisiana and even here in Georgia, right? There's there's areas, maybe not nearly as extreme.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:23

Yeah.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:17:24

But like my point, what I'm trying to say is like utilize the martial arts and jujitsu and stuff like that in that capacity of getting people involved and especially kids. I have a heart for kids, you know.

Learning How To Learn

Joe Motes (Host) 1:17:39

I I love teaching the kids at Caleb's, um, you know, working in it's just been so impactful. So that's really cool. Uh, love the documentary. And one of the last sections though, here, um as we start to wrap up, uh, I want to talk about you, your last guest, I believe, was Damien, right? I think he he was your last guest. And one of the things that you talked about, or one of the subjects you both covered here in that episode, is how jujitsu teaches you to learn. And this is something that's been uh noticeable in my journey because my mind kind of works in that step-by-step process. Yeah. Um, talk talk to me uh a little bit about you know the the positive benefits and and the impact that you know learning jujitsu has had um on your life and others. I know you play music. Uh you mentioned during that podcast and several others episodes that you're you're learning the guitar finally, you're buckling down. And I hope you can yeah, I see it in the background. Hope you can play at least Stairway to Heaven on it.

unknown 1:18:47

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:48

Now, if anyone out there has a band and they're looking for a really mediocre guitarist on your guy, I'm I'm trying, dude. I've been trying to learn guitar. I jokingly say I've been trying to learn guitar for like 30 years. And and and what happened with me, and this will answer your question. So, yeah, jujitsu has taught me how learning jujitsu has taught me how to learn everything else. And so, so 30 years ago, when I was like 10 years old, I wanted to learn guitar. And my dad, uh, for Christmas one year got me uh my it was a it wasn't a Marshall, it was a um, actually maybe it was a marshal. I can't remember. Anyway, he got me a guitar. And I played it for about a week and then it collected dust, and I think we eventually sold it off. Uh it was, it was, it was um the problem I had growing up and even as a young adult was that I didn't I didn't understand how to properly learn things. I I I I I I would I would, for example, with guitar, I wanted to just start shredding. I want to like, well, dude, I want to play like Dine Bag Daryl or like or like you know Kirk Hammett. Or you know, I want to, I want to just start shredding, dude. I didn't meant forget these like like I don't want to play like hot cross the buns and like you know learn chords. That's that's that's lame. You know, I want to shred. And what I didn't understand was that you can't shred or do anything cool until you learn the very basics and learn the fundamentals and structure it and practice it and repeat it a lot. And so jujitsu is the first thing in my life that I've really done that I've stuck with long enough to understand the process of going through fundamentals, basics, repetition, muscle memory, uh, improving techniques, finding your own rhythm, finding your own techniques, finding your own uh specialties, and then going from there. So, so jujitsu has kind of forced me and my weaponized ADD to focus on uh proper structure of learning anything. And I realize now that as I'm learning guitar much later in life, that okay, cool. I need to these things I'm doing, it's it's not that I need to just learn how to play one song after another and try to memorize exactly where to touch to play the song. I need to understand uh tone. I need to understand chords, I understand notes, I need to understand transitions with my fingers, I need to, I need to warm my fingers up, I need to understand how to play patterns and scales and and then and then in in doing that, I've just been able to apply that to pretty much everything else. I try to learn now. I try I try to look at it through the lens of starting with fundamentals, repeating those over and over again, learning to appreciate that and not just be bored with it. And um, yeah, it really it's one of those things that I'm able to apply to kind of everything now as I've become a black belt, you know.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:21:35

I I think that's one of the things I appreciate uh training in an alliance the most as as a white belt is just how structured it was and learning jujitsu in that way, right? Uh like I said at Caleb's, and this is no dig whatsoever on on Iron Wolf or or Caleb, uh they're phenomenal. Um, but like I didn't know how to like grip a gi and oh sure. Um, you know, just a very structured way of learning jiu-jitsu, and that's a hundred percent I I think uh the success in learning anything new is structured and thinking about all the little things you have to do to get to the big things. Yes um I I I thought that was an amazing uh part of uh your episode with Damien when you thank you uh when you started talking uh about that. So um well Ryan, we're we're here at a you know an hour and some change in, and I I look I really appreciate you coming on and of course and like I said, uh I fanboyed out a little bit before we hit record, but I don't mind uh fanboying out now, man. I love listening to everything that you do, the BJJ Fanatics uh podcast, every guest you bring on brings something new uh to me as a podcaster, and uh you know, and and I think if if all of us jujitsu podcasters are being honest, you know, there there's a golden standard, right? And I think you're you're you're probably that gold standard that we all want to uh you know kind of rise to, right? And we we're gonna leave out Joe Rogan because you know he does BJJ,

Wrap Up And Where To Connect

Joe Motes (Host) 1:23:08

but we know he's not a BJJ guy or a podcast guy.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:12

Yeah.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:23:12

Um but man, we just appreciate everything that you you do and have done. And uh yeah, just a thank you, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:19

Well, Joe, that really sincerely means a lot, buddy. Thank you very much for the kind words. And yeah, I hope you take this podcast as far as it can possibly go and uh and uh happy to uh lend insight however I can. And I really do appreciate you inviting me to be here. It was really a pleasure.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:23:34

Yeah, outstanding, man. And for those of you who want to connect with Ryan, uh Instagram, and again, if you're a Jiu Juju guy, you know where to find him because he's uh BJJ Fanatics podcast. Anything else you want to uh shout out or call out, Ryan, before we end?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:50

No, no, just uh yeah, my Instagram is at Gringo Ryan. Um if you guys are ever coming through Sao Paulo, uh I encourage you to check out Damian Maya's Academy. I'm there all the time. So drop in and train with us, and uh yeah, that's about it. Check out the BJJ Fanatics podcast.

Joe Motes (Host) 1:24:06

Awesome, awesome. Well, thanks again, Ryan. Appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:10

Of course, brother. Thank you.