Send us a text In this episode, I’m joined by Andy from the School of Grappling, a coach and physicist whose analytical approach to no-gi grappling and wrestling has made him a respected figure in the sport. We discuss the science behind skill development, biomechanics, and training methods that align with the ecological approach. As the podcast ne…

Send us a text In this episode of the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Laura Cuijpers, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, to explore the emotional and psychological aspects of martial arts training. We dive into Dr. Laura's work on agency, resilience, and the application of the ecological approach in self-defense…

Send us a text Today I welcome Sonny Sahota from Praxis Gym in Canada. Sonny, a judo black belt and manager of Kensington Judo Club in Vancouver, shares his insights on integrating Ecological Dynamics and the Active Inference Framework (AIF) into martial arts coaching. Sony introduces some of the tenets these approaches, discussing how they inform …

Send us a text Coach Rob Cole joins me today to talk coaching within an ecological dynamics framework. Rob is a long time mixed martial artist, globetrotters BJJ coach and a regular coach at Ascension Athletics in Connecticut.

Send us a text Gray Thomas joins me today to talk about the Ecological Psychology side of ecological dynamics. Gray is a PhD student at the university of Connecticut where he studies and researches Ecological Psychology. I enjoyed my chat with Gray and learn more about eco psych. The ecological approach really hangs on the theory of direct percepti…

Send us a text Today's chat was with Pittsburgh Pirate's coach John Baker John is a former MLB player and current performance and skills coach alongside Andy Bass in the Pirates Baseball organization. Also a BJJ purple belt, Ecological dynamics advocate and MMA fan. We had a fun chat covering all things eco, baseball and combat sports.…

Send us a text The boys from emergence are back to discuss their recently accepted and published paper on "Applying an ecological dynamics framework to mixed martial arts training". This paper followed their previous publication from 2023 "(Re)conceptualizing movement behavior in sport as a problem-solving activity". Both of these papers were suppo…

Send us a text In this episode I talk with Coach James de Lacey of Sweet Science of Fighting. While most discussions on the podcast have been biased toward the perceptual half of the perception-action loop. Coach James talks about how we can support the action side through science informed exercise programming. While James doesn't offer a specific …

Send us a text Today I talk with Dr Andy Bass. Andy is a researcher, educator, former pro baseball player and is currently a performance coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andy talks about both the mental side and motor learning side of skill development. How the two can be separate but also generally integrate. I have linked several episodes that …

Send us a text Today I chat with Irish National Kickboxing Coach Jon Mackey about the role of training tools in striking sports. We'll explore whether these tools actually support skill acquisition and debunk some of the popular training gimmicks that are flooding social media. Coach Mackey brings not only an extensive coaching experience, but his …

Send us a text Today I welcome Kit Dale and Greg Souders on to the show. Kit is well know in the jiu-jitsu world for his rapid development in the sport and his achievements at high level no-gi grappling in a short few years. An advocate of 'learning through trial and error and one that has been preaching the anti-drilling message for years' it seem…

Send us a text Today, I chat with Noah Shaffner from the Standard Jiu-Jitsu Grappling Team, mentored by Greg Souders. Unlike my usual guests who are coaches or academics, Noah stands out as a student who has embraced the ecological approach to skill development. Despite being only 17, his insights into the sport and its methodologies are profound. …

Send us a text Today I talk with Coach Rory Singer. Rory is the younger brother of Coach Adam Singer and together they have run and coached MMA in Athens Georgia for several Decades. Rory is an UFC Vet and lifelong martial artist. In this convo we spoke about the expectations we have for new students entering the sport and particularly those who ha…

Send us a text Emergence founder, NFL skills coach and MMA superfan Shawn Myszka joined me to discuss Strickland's win over Adesanya last week. As stated during intro. Must of this analysis is somewhat speculative given we are not privy to the innerworkings of both fighter's camps, preparation and day to day training methodologies.…

Send us a text Today I am chatting with Ed Ingamells. (Aka the Partybear). Ed is a black belt and coach at the Institute of Grappling in North London, UK. As a former Neuroscience PhD student, Ed has a deep understanding of cognitive psychology. Ed talks about his shift in recent years to a more ecological approach and how ecological psychology and…

Send us a text Adam Singer joins me today to talk coaching, culture and continuing the SBG philosophy of aliveness through an ecological lens.Oleh Scott Sievewright and Ben Schultz

Send us a text Today I am joined by Coach Josh Root from Gravitas Martial Arts in Arkansas. Josh has recently re-visited an Eco D approach to grappling after initially abandoning it due to uncertainty. With a deeper understanding and support from Standard's Greg Souder's, Coach Josh is not looking back and has been all in on the approach. Enjoying …

Send us a text Professor Alan Dunton is back. Alan is a lecturer and researcher at MTU Cork, Ireland. With a PhD in Skill Acquisitor and having been a long time martial artist himself and a National TKD team competitor, Alan is well informed on both the theory and practical sides of the sport and training. Alan and I discuss developing metastabilit…

Send us a text In today's podcast, we're honored to have Jon Mackey as our guest, a celebrated coach in both Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing. With a career that began in 1987, Jon has trained numerous national, European, and world gold medalists in Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing, including Amy Wall, Lauren Bradshaw, and Robyn McDonnell. As the founder of Red …

Send us a text In this episode I speak with Coach Ricky Pachon . A young coach from Gracie Barra, Bondi Beach, Australia. Ricky leads a successful youth competition team and is himself an avid competitor on the Australian BJJ/Grappling scene. Recently a parent of a student of Ricky reached out to me to introduce him. Following several years of empl…

Send us a text This episode is the first of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy. Brian reached out to both myself and Standard Jiu-jitsu's Greg Souders to talk about our application of Ecological Dynamics to Striking and Grappling respectively. With Brian's blessing he allowed me to share these interviews here on my…

Send us a text This episode is the second of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy. Brian reached out to both myself and Standard Jiu-jitsu's Greg Souders to talk about our application of Ecological Dynamics to Striking and Grappling respectively. With Brian's blessing he allowed me to share these interviews here on m…

Send us a text (PART 2) Today my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock. Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of an ecological approach to combat sports training. A real student of the science of skill development, teaching methodologies and the history of combat sports, Josh is also a 4th degree TKD c…

Send us a text Today my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock. Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of an ecological approach to combat sports training. A real student of the science of skill development, teaching methodologies and the history of combat sports, Josh is also a 4th degree TKD coach/prac…

Send us a text Danny Hatcher joined me to talk more about ecological dynamics for sport. Danny is a Podcaster, youtuber, educator, coach and sport scientist from the UK. We connected after I watched his terrific youtube video on Ecological Learning. Among his many endeavors, Danny has spent a lot of time researching in the areas of psychology and l…

Send us a text In this episode I welcome on Coach Kabir Bath, founder and owner of Kaboom Jiu-Jitsu in Surrey, British Columbia. Kabir is a Raphael Lovato Jr Black belt/affiliate and was a Lovato associate coach of the year 2017. As Kabir explains in the episode, he recently and abruptly shifted to an ecological approach while abandoning the more t…

Send us a text Today I welcome back Standard Jiu-Jitsu's coach Greg Souders. Greg and I were chatting about a very recent reddit post aptly named, 'Training at a gym that doesn't teach technique'. The post was specifically posing the question about Standard's training approach and garnered many perspectives and opinions. Greg, and I decided to talk…

Send us a text On this epsiode, I welcome Dr Mike Piekarski aka. @doctor_kickass about to talk about S&C for MMA. As I discuss with Mike, I've believe that in being so focused on skill development in practice, I've been guilty of undervaluing the role of S&C, in particular when it comes to competition. My concern with not cutting into valuable 'lea…

Send us a text On this episode we delve a little more into the underpinning science of Ecological Dynamics. I recently read 'Introduction to Ecological Psychology' written by Dr Julia Blau and Dr Jeff Wagman which was a terrific read. The book was just recently published in the summer of 2022. Had this book been available years ago, it might have s…

Send us a text In this episode, I talk with again with Coach Greg Souders of Standard Jiu-Jitsu , Rockville MD (Maryland). Greg is a black belt who founded Standard Jiu-Jitsu several years back following many years of training and competing with Team Llyod Irvin. A product of the high repetition and traditional development approach, Greg largely ab…

Send us a text Andy Lane is a professor and researcher in sports psychology at the University of Wolverhampton UK. Andy joined me to discuss strategies and methods for developing and building psychological skills in training and competition. A former boxer with 50 fights, Andy is an advocate for responsible and ethical training/sparring and suggest…

Send us a text Dr. Tom Parry is the founder and owner of Kestrel Performance Psychology. He has a Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University with specializations in Skill Acquisition and Psychology. ​He wears many hats including Professor, Father, Coach and Consultant. These roles have blessed him with a detailed understanding of human beha…

Send us a text In this episode, I talk with Coach Greg Souders of Standard Jiu-Jitsu , Rockville MD (Maryland). Greg is a black belt who founded Standard Jui-Jitsu several years back following many years of training and competing with Team Llyod Irvin. A product of the high repetition and traditional development approach, Greg largely abandoned the…

Send us a text For 30 years, Coach Greg Nelson has overseen the training and development of thousands of combat sports athletes at his gym The Academy in Minnesota. Among these fighters and champ that he has helped produce, Brock Lesnar, Kaitlin Young, Brock Larson, Sean Sherk, Dave Menne and Nick Thompson. He is also a regular part of UFC Straw-we…

Send us a text I finally snagged the boys from Emergence to come and talk to me about MMA. I have been following Shawn Myszka AKA @movementmiyagi since coming across his youtube channel several years ago. Shawn is an NFL skill coach and movement consultant, co-founder of Emergentmvmt.com, regular podcast and skill conference presenter and co-author…

Send us a text UFC vet and UK MMA pioneer Leigh Remedios returns to chat on the Primal MMA podcast. Ireland's 'Team Torres' Coach Martin McLaughlin also joined the chat. Martin is diving deep into the Ecological Approach and speaks about how he is implementing the theory and principles of the Eco D practically on the mats. This was largely an infor…

Send us a text Todd Fossey is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Integrative Defense Strategies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today he accepted my invite to chat with me about managing anxiety and arousal in training and competiton, and how getting the right levels can help promote learning, skill development and performance. Todd has been in the …

Send us a text Todd Fossey is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Integrative Defense Strategies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today he accepted my invite to chat with me about managing anxiety and arousal in training and competiton, and how getting the right levels can help promote learning, skill development and performance. Todd has been in the …

Send us a text Cal Jones is both a Judo coach and practitioner from North Wales (UK). He also recently completed his Master Degree in sports science with a thesis on "Representative Learning Design". Cal is well connected in the skill acquisition community and is a frequent guest on the coaching podcast circuits. Should you want to reach out or fol…

Send us a text Cal Jones is both a Judo coach and practitioner from North Wales (UK). He also recently completed his Master Degree in sports science with a thesis on "Representative Learning Design". Cal is well connected in the skill acquisition community and is a frequent guest on the coaching podcast circuits. Should you want to reach out or fol…

Send us a text My old pal and returning guest Will Massey PhD, Sport Psychologist, educator, coach, and practicing martial artist. In this episode, Will offers his insight into how we can foster and cultivate independent and self-directed learning within a group setting. We cover, learned helplessness, implicit learning, practicing for performance …

Send us a text Today's guest brings both a practical and theoretical perspective to skill development in marital arts. Dr. Alan Dunton is a former Irish National TKD team competitor and now a researcher and lecturer at Cork institute of technology. Alan received his PhD in Skill Acquisition under the guidance of former guest, professor Ed Coughlan.…

Send us a text Today's guest brings both a practical and theoretical perspective to skill development in marital arts. Dr. Alan Dunton is a former Irish National TKD team competitor and now a researcher and lecturer at Cork institute of technology. Alan received his PhD in Skill Acquisition under the guidance of former guest, professor Ed Coughlan.…

Send us a text I finally snagged him! After months of pestering, Professor Rob Gray joined me to chat and answer some of my questions on skill development in martial arts. Rob is a giant in the skill acquisition space, and his voice has become all too familiar to me after spending much of my last few years working through his huge catalogue of podc…

Send us a text Coach Leigh Remedios is the owner and head coach of VT Jiu-Jitsu in England UK. He is a life long martial artist, former professional fighter and UFC vet, and a recipient of 4 different black belts. My first contact and introduction to Leigh was an exchange over a post I'd made on a BJJ FB group about shrimping and bear crawling in j…

Send us a text Making the most of our valuable training time with the help of Ecological Dynamics. www.primalmke.comOleh Scott Sievewright and Ben Schultz

Send us a text A bite sized and unsophisticated synopsis of Ecological Dynamics, and how it underpins our training approach at Primal MKE. www.primalmke.comOleh Scott Sievewright and Ben Schultz

Send us a text Coach Bruce Hoyer is the owner and Head coach at Next Edge MMA, Sioux Falls, ND. After listening to Bruce talk on the Combat Learning Podcast, I reached out to ask him to further explore his flipped classroom model for BJJ. Optimizing Jiu-Jitsu practice and balancing the technical and theoretical with the live and dynamic practice ca…

Send us a text My discussion with Professor Nicola Hodges was all about demonstrations! Dr Hodges researches and teaches out of the motor skill lab at the University of British Columbia. I reached out to Dr Nicola to ask for her to lend her expertise and insight into the science of demonstrations and learning in sport. Being such a big part of our …

Send us a text An information loaded discussion with Professor James Stafford. Dr Stafford has a PhD in experimental psycology with a keen interest in Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition and Virtual Reality. James and I discuss the incredibly sensitive and sophisticated calibration of the perceptual motor system as it pertains to movement in marti…