BJJ Mental Models
Steve Kwan
Your guide to a conceptual and intelligent Jiu-Jitsu approach. BJJ black belt Steve Kwan and a slate of expert guests explain the concepts, strategies, and tactics behind the gentle art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
- 8 minutes 7 secondsMini Ep. 88: Table Selection
In this week's mini-episode, we discuss table selection: a concept from poker teaching us that choosing the right environment greatly increases our odds of success.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta8 January 2026, 8:00 am - 1 hour 10 minutesEp. 371: Building on a Curriculum, feat. Todd Richards
This week, we're joined by Todd Richards! Todd is a black belt under the great Keith Owen, who tragically passed away in 2022. In this episode, Todd shares his experience building atop and evolving an existing curriculum, sharing stories from how a group of Keith Owen's black belts took over gym instruction following his passing.
Find Todd online at Flow Frame Jiu-Jitsu:
https://flowframejiujitsu.com
Train with Todd at Team Rhino Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Meridian, Idaho:
https://teamrhinoidaho.com
Mental models discussed in this episode:- Technique Chaining
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/technique-chaining - Labeling
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/labeling - Goodhart's Law
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/goodharts-law - Invariants
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/invariants - Third Place
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/third-place
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta5 January 2026, 8:00 am - Technique Chaining
- 6 minutes 39 secondsMini Ep. 87: Opening Salvos
In this week's mini-episode, we discuss opening salvos: the tactics and strategies you use when entering into an engagement. Ensuring your opening salvo is successful helps tremendously for standup and the engagement phase of guard.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta1 January 2026, 8:00 am - 52 minutes 20 secondsEp. 370: The Gift Wrap, feat. Nick Volpe
This week, we're joined again by Nick Volpe from Dark Bear Jiu-Jitsu! In this episode, Nick breaks down a very holiday-relevant technique: the gift wrap!
Follow Nick on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/darkbeardojo
Train with Nick at Dark Bear Jiu-Jitsu in Staten Island, NY:
https://darkbearjiujitsu.com
Mental models discussed in this episode:- Crossing the Center
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/crossing-the-center - Priit's 45° Rule
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/priits-45-degree-rule - Predictable Responses
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/predictable-responses - Center of Gravity
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/center-of-gravity - Asymmetric Warfare
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/asymmetric-warfare - Probabilistic Thinking
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/probabilistic-thinking
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta29 December 2025, 8:00 am - Crossing the Center
- 5 minutes 13 secondsMini Ep. 86: Do What Works
In this week's mini-episode, we discuss the importance of doing what works. If a) you can do it against good opponents, b) you can do it repeatedly, and c) it aligns with your goals, then it's a good technique regardless of what anyone else says.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta25 December 2025, 8:00 am - 1 hour 14 minutesEp. 369: Real Talk About Humility, feat. Nick Salles
This week, we're joined by Nick Salles! Nick is a black belt under Mikey Musumeci and co-founder of Movement Art Jiu-Jitsu. In this episode, Nick discusses epistemic humility: a scientific philosophy reminding us that our knowledge is always incomplete. Topics include: democratic learning environments, creating conditions for exploration, constraints-led training, recoverable vs. unrecoverable errors, gym culture, and the limits of AI in skill acquisition.
Follow Nick on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thatnicksalles
Train with Nick at Movement Art Jiu-Jitsu in Warminster, PA:
https://www.movementart.online
Learn online with Nick at Movement Art Online:
https://movementartonline.com
Mental models discussed in this episode:- Silver Bullet Fallacy
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/silver-bullet-fallacy - Growth From Discomfort
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/growth-from-discomfort - Zone of Proximal Development
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/zone-of-proximal-development - Reframing
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/reframing - Self-Organization
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/self-organization - Recoverable vs. Unrecoverable Errors
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/recoverable-vs-unrecoverable-errors - Discipline Equals Freedom
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/discipline-equals-freedom - Effortful Retrieval
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/effortful-retrieval
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta22 December 2025, 8:00 am - Silver Bullet Fallacy
- 7 minutes 9 secondsMini Ep. 85: Certainty Heuristic
In this week's mini-episode, we discuss the certainty heuristic: the natural human tendency to prefer answers that offer a simple, easy solution... even if that solution is wrong.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta18 December 2025, 8:00 am - 56 minutes 56 secondsEp. 368: Lazy Wrestling, feat. Thomas & Phillip Barreiro
This week, we're joined by Thomas and Phillip Barreiro! They're both Division 1 wrestlers and multi-time Canadian national champions, plus the operators of Good Mind Grappling: an organization using wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to address youth trauma. In this episode, Thomas and Phillip break down their "lazy wrestling" framework. They explain how effective stand-up grappling doesn’t require explosiveness, but instead relies on frames, hand fighting, pressure, and positional control. This episode reframes wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu athletes seeking safer, more sustainable ways to stay on top and dictate the match.
Support Good Mind Grappling:
https://goodmindgrappling.com
Follow Good Mind Grappling on social:
https://facebook.com/goodmindgrappling
https://instagram.com/goodmindgrappling
Join the Lazy Wrestling mailing list:
https://lazywrestling.com
Mental models discussed in this episode:- Inside Channel Control
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/inside-channel-control - Controlling the Distance
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/controlling-the-distance - Core Mechanics
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/core-mechanics - Grips Dictate Position
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/grips-dictate-position - Opening Salvos
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/opening-salvos - Asymmetric Warfare
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/asymmetric-warfare
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta15 December 2025, 8:00 am - Inside Channel Control
- 7 minutes 28 secondsMini Ep. 84: Probabilistic Thinking
In this week's mini-episode, we discuss the importance of probabilistic thinking: viewing Jiu-Jitsu as a game of probabilities where your goal is to create (and maintain) the greatest possible chance of success.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta11 December 2025, 8:00 am - 58 minutes 5 secondsEp. 367: The Weight of Expectations, feat. Jesse Phillips
This week, we're joined by Jesse Phillips! Jesse is a BJJ black belt under Brian Johnson and the head coach at Gentle Giant Jiu-Jitsu. In this episode, Jesse explores burnout in martial arts and real life, often caused by the crushing weight of personal expectations that we place upon ourselves.
Follow Jesse on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/gentlegiantjiujitsu
Train with Jesse at Gentle Giant Jiu-Jitsu in Seattle, WA:
https://www.gg-jj.com
Mental models discussed in this episode:- Survivorship Bias
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/survivorship-bias - Self-Competition
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/self-competition - Compartmentalization
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/compartmentalization - Keep Your Identity Small
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/keep-your-identity-small - Stress and Recovery
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/stress-and-recovery
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta8 December 2025, 8:00 am - Survivorship Bias
- 6 minutes 7 secondsMini Ep. 83: Learning Modalities
In this week's mini-episode, we discuss the idea of learning modalities. The old concept of "learning styles" has been debunked; here's what we use instead.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
Learn more mental models in our online database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database
Follow us on social:
https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels
https://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodels
https://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.social
https://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodels
⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta4 December 2025, 8:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App