Published by Fighting Matters
Fighting fascism and the far-right in combat sports like MMA and BJJ.
Listen on Apple PodcastsIn this episode of Fighting Matters, Jesse Walker and Mike Mahaffey catch up on a run of recent news where powerful people did awful things and faced no real consequences: Andrew Tate arrested on 42 charges he may never answer for, ICE killings at traffic stops with the FBI reportedly stepping back, an FDA food-safety scare that ended in an apology to a Trump donor, and a Kentucky senator who has vanished while still collecting his seat. What ties it together is a question that hits close to home for two jiu-jitsu coaches: what happens to a country, or a gym, when people only look out for themselves? ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Andrew Tate's arrest in Florida and the 42 charges waiting for him in the UK - Why the manosphere and the administration still hold him up as a model of masculinity - Two ICE killings at traffic stops, deaths in detention, and who answers for them - Voting your pocketbook, and what a community loses when people only care once it hits them - Class versus culture: who is actually making your life harder - The "diarrhea lettuce" scandal and the FDA's apology to a major Trump donor - Mitch McConnell's disappearance, Kentucky's empty seat, and the octogenarian problem - Team-first versus me-first, in politics and in jiu-jitsu ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00:00 — Judo at an advanced age and teaching EMS crews to fall 00:02:40 — Andrew Tate arrested, 42 charges, and the purple blouse 00:11:44 — Two ICE killings and the accountability that isn't coming 00:21:03 — Detention deaths and what you'd do if they came for you 00:25:00 — Coaches cheering this on while their communities suffer 00:28:44 — Why people only wake up when it hits their wallet 00:32:06 — Phone banking and the voter just trying to survive 00:37:11 — Nobody survives alone, and who's really to blame 00:40:04 — Diarrhea lettuce and the FDA's apology to a donor 00:44:03 — The jiu-jitsu parallel: team-first beats the selfish island 00:47:31 — Where is Mitch McConnell, and the octogenarian problem 01:00:08 — Photobombing Master Worlds and signing off
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ to talk about Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate whose campaign has come apart under a run of scandals: a Nazi-associated tattoo, credible sexual assault allegations, and more. They use his collapse to get at a harder question that runs through both politics and jiu-jitsu: why we keep excusing disqualifying behavior from people we want to believe in, and what it costs us when we do. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Who Graham Platner is and how his campaign fell apart - The Totenkopf tattoo and the "I didn't know what it meant" defense - AIPAC, the rise of antisemitism, and where criticism of Israel ends and conspiracy begins - Why we keep handing passes to people with disqualifying histories - "Due process trolls" and why a courtroom standard isn't the bar for who we associate with - How tolerating bad behavior normalizes it, and the Trump parallel - The same rot in jiu-jitsu: protecting bad actors because they win or teach well - Term limits, aging politicians, and elevating grassroots talent over big names ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Why Fighting Matters isn't a left-wing podcast 01:11 — Who is Graham Platner? 03:24 — The Totenkopf tattoo and the "I didn't know" defense 05:23 — A campaign in freefall 09:15 — AIPAC, antisemitism, and drawing the line 14:11 — Nazi tattoos are disqualifying, even accidental ones 16:38 — Two sets of rules and the Fetterman problem 20:00 — Purity tests vs. keeping your moral compass 24:10 — The jiu-jitsu parallel: bad teammates and PEDs 25:54 — Due process trolls 32:02 — Mamdani and elevating outsider talent 44:34 — Supporting bad actors in jiu-jitsu (Josh Saunders) 49:24 — Being good at jiu-jitsu is not a competitive edge 53:29 — Geriatric politicians and term limits 59:07 — Wrapping up: accountability in practice
In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ and Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ on the eve of America's 250th Fourth of July. They open with whether there's anything left to celebrate and end up somewhere harder: the same instinct to look away that got the country here is alive in jiu-jitsu too. The clearest example is Izaak Michell, invited to ADCC while wanted in Texas on sexual assault warrants, and the string of accused and convicted men the sport keeps platforming anyway. 🔗 Links Mentioned: - The Find Out Podcast, "Ex-MAGA influencer explains why he abandoned Trump" — https://youtu.be/ylPlpgQygdU - Magic BJJ — https://magicbjj.com ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - America's 250th and the state of the July 4th "celebration" - Rebuilding the country instead of defending the old institutions - The normalization that links national politics to jiu-jitsu - Izaak Michell, his ADCC invite, and the Texas arrest warrants - Josh Saunders, Nazi salutes, and the "keep it non-political" excuse - Why "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't settle the ethics - How the sport risks going radioactive the way MMA once did - Redemption tours, silence, and what speaking up actually does ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Big heads, Ace of Bass, and July 4th 02:40 — America's 250th: did the country even make it? 06:33 — Rebuilding the country, not restoring it 10:29 — Mask-off politics, the courts, and the truth 18:23 — How a MAGA influencer's fever broke 20:36 — Holding your nose, in politics and on the mats 24:10 — Who is Izaak Michell, and why ADCC invited him 30:01 — Josh Saunders and "keep it non-political" 35:34 — "Innocent until proven guilty" isn't a free pass 40:15 — What happened to MMA could happen to jiu-jitsu 44:47 — What will you tell your grandkids? 49:19 — No clean leagues left for ethical athletes 51:44 — The redemption tour: Tyson, McGregor, and ADCC 53:07 — What we can actually do about it 56:50 — Closing thoughts and where to find everyone
In this episode of Fighting Matters, co-hosts Jesse Walker and Mike Mahaffey take on Conor McGregor's UFC comeback and the media tour selling it: a man found civilly liable for sexual assault, platformed on Jimmy Fallon like none of it happened, with no apology and no amends. They get into what redemption actually requires, why comedians stopped holding power to account, and the jiu-jitsu community's own habit of looking the other way when the person on the podium has hurt people. ⸻ 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Old Bastard BJJ on Patreon — https://patreon.com/oldbastardbjj - Old Bastard BJJ on Instagram — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://magicbjj.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Conor McGregor's UFC comeback and the media tour behind it - Why the media keeps platforming people who have caused harm - What real redemption requires, and why owning the harm is the price of it - Whether some actions put someone past the point of a comeback - How late-night hosts and comedians stopped holding power to account - What your attention and your money actually endorse - The jiu-jitsu community's habit of platforming people it shouldn't ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Welcome and teeing up the topic 01:16 — McGregor's comeback, and how he got here 04:47 — Turning MMA trash talk up to eleven 08:25 — Pro wrestling, except the harm is real 10:27 — The fall and the Hollywood comeback 13:23 — Does anyone deserve a comeback? 15:27 — Redemption means owning the harm 20:43 — What Mike learned in vocational rehab 26:12 — Our court jesters are failing us 32:36 — When "comedy is back" means punching down 36:37 — No redemption, and whose pocket you fill 47:33 — The IBJJF problem, and being a thoughtful consumer 55:38 — Where to find Jesse and Mike
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ to talk about the fallout from UFC Freedom 250, the fight card staged on the White House lawn for America's 250th anniversary. Neither of them watched it, because the fights were never the issue. They get into the corruption, the crypto payouts, the comment aimed at Michelle Obama, and why "keeping politics out of fighting" was never a real argument once the President turned the country's 250th birthday into his own fight night. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Why UFC Freedom 250 was a problem even if the fights were good - The difference between promoting a sport and running a propaganda event - Crypto payouts and the "company store" comparison - The comment aimed at Michelle Obama, and why it was deliberate - Free speech absolutism as a dodge - The alleged Daniel Cormier and Eric Trump text exchange about fixed fights - The paradox of tolerance and why you can't platform extremists - What the UFC would have to do to win fans like Steve and Jesse back ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — What UFC Freedom 250 actually was 05:05 — A for-profit event on the people's lawn 09:10 — Defending the UFC as legitimate sport 14:48 — Propaganda, grift, and crypto payouts 16:40 — The Obama basketball tournament test 22:29 — Was it worth it for the UFC? 27:05 — MMA is an immigrant story 31:05 — The Michelle Obama comment was deliberate 41:26 — Free speech absolutism as moral cowardice 45:52 — The alleged Cormier and Eric Trump texts 51:54 — You can't break bread with extremists 59:33 — What would fix the UFC? 01:07:56 — Where to find Jesse Walker
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jeff Shaw is joined by Jesse Walker, Mike Mahaffey, and Stephan Kesting to take apart UFC Freedom 250, the card being staged on the White House South Lawn on June 14th. Four martial artists who spent decades loving this sport walk through why an event at the people's house, held on the president's birthday and billed as a celebration of America's 250th, leaves them cold. They get into the spectacle, the money, the sportswashing angle, and the version of this card that could have meant something. ⸻ 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Old Bastard BJJ Pride Month Fundraiser — https://patreon.com/oldbastardbjj - Salus Center — https://www.saluscenter.org - Growing Veterans — https://growingveterans.org ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Jeff Shaw — https://bellinghambjj.com - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj - Stephan Kesting — https://grapplearts.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Why a UFC card at the White House reads as fascist spectacle - The June 14th birthday timing and the "America 250" cover story - The "keep politics out of sports" double standard - Empty seats, military tickets, and who foots the bill - Cage fights as diplomacy, and what sportswashing really is - Theodore Roosevelt, immigration, and the event this could have been - What MMA lost when it stopped being outsider art ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing the panel 02:40 — Fascism, spectacle, and macho posturing 04:30 — A birthday dressed as an anniversary 07:05 — Theater and a regime that believes in nothing 10:16 — Dead enthusiasm and a tourism slump 14:09 — Empty seats, military tickets, and June heat 16:32 — Rogan ringside and bread and circuses 18:53 — Who pays, and who gets held accountable 25:41 — But Roosevelt did it too 30:06 — Cage fights as diplomacy and sportswashing 34:53 — How you'd do it right, and why they can't 40:13 — Can this work at the White House at all? 46:18 — Outsider art and what's been lost
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan talks with Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ about the trans hate pouring out of combat sports, and the fighters who have figured out it pays. They start with Sean Strickland's AI video of himself beating up a trans woman, then get into why guys like Strickland and Jake Shields keep posting this stuff: it riles up a certain kind of fan, and that attention is the product. Recorded during Pride Month, it is also about what the jiu-jitsu community owes its trans members, who take the brunt of this. 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Old Bastard BJJ on Patreon (buy "Introduction to Base" in June, all proceeds go to the Salus Center) — https://patreon.com/oldbastardbjj - Salus Center, Lansing — https://www.saluscenter.org ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Sean Strickland's anti-trans AI video and the threat behind it - How the "fairness in women's sports" debate gets used as cover for violence - Active clubs, fascism, and the far right's foothold in fight sports - Mike's advocacy work and the threats it brings - The harassment trans grapplers face just for showing up to train - Why fighters profit from anti-trans content - Why "keep politics out of jiu-jitsu" is a cop-out - Raising a trans daughter and changing minds through storytelling ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Welcome and why a Pride episode 02:26 — The Strickland video and the "fairness" cover 08:47 — Active clubs and the far right in fight sports 11:20 — Mike's advocacy and the threats it draws 17:46 — Spite-based activism and trans grapplers under attack 22:30 — Why fighters monetize trans hate 30:04 — Staying neutral is a choice, and the politics myth 34:08 — Pride, gender, and changing norms 40:17 — You don't have to get it to defend it 42:36 — Mike on supporting your trans friends and family 47:35 — Why martial artists have to speak up 51:06 — Mike's fundraiser for the Salus Center
In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, Steve Kwan is joined by Jeff Shaw of Bellingham BJJ, Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ, and Dr. Clayton Green, a board-certified dermatologist and BJJ practitioner. They get into what happened at UFC BJJ when Mikey Musumeci defended his title against Kevin Dantzler with an active staph infection, went back to the hospital right after the match, and defended the decision by saying he had covered the infection with spats. The conversation covers why staph is more dangerous than people realize, how the UFC has stopped fights like this before but didn't this time, and what gyms and competitors can actually do to be safer. 🔗 Links Mentioned: - NFHS Wrestling Skin Lesion Form — https://a-us.storyblok.com/f/1022696/x/87b3155d73/2025-26-nfhs-wrestling-skin-lesion-form-final-april-2025.pdf ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Jeff Shaw — https://bellinghambjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://www.instagram.com/oldbastardbjj - Dr. Clayton Green ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - What happened at UFC BJJ and Mikey's hospital readmission - Why "I covered it with spats" isn't a defense - How close Ben Askren came to dying from MRSA - Whether BJJ is losing community knowledge about infection risk - How pandemic-era science denial is showing up in jiu-jitsu - How the UFC stopped fights like this before, and didn't this time - The wrestling skin check form and how gyms can use it - Institutional accountability vs dogpiling on the athlete ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing the panel 02:39 — What happened at UFC BJJ 05:16 — Spats aren't condoms 10:09 — How dangerous staph actually is 18:08 — Are we losing community knowledge about infection risk? 25:21 — Why didn't the UFC stop this? 26:34 — Pandemic-era science denial in BJJ 33:13 — The wrestling skin check form 36:45 — How gyms model and enforce safer behavior 40:48 — Advice for young competitors under pressure 50:22 — Institutional accountability vs dogpiling the athlete 53:02 — Closing thoughts
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined again by Dr. David Riedman: 17-year jiu-jitsu practitioner, MIT-trained data analyst, and PhD researcher whose dissertation focused on measuring the accuracy of large language model outputs. David is also the author of the Riedman Report, one of the most popular Substacks on risk, AI, education, and security. The conversation is broken into three parts. Part one is a broad explanation of what modern AI actually is and how it works. Part two covers the cultural and social impact of AI on public life. Part three is about how AI will affect the business of jiu-jitsu and the people who train and run gyms. Steve walks out of the conversation with a take he didn't expect: martial artists may be in a stronger position than people working in tech. ⸻ 🔗 Links Mentioned: - The Riedman Report — https://riedmanreport.substack.com - K-12 School Shooting Database — https://k12ssdb.org ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Dr. David Riedman — https://riedmanreport.substack.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Why LLMs don't actually think, and why that matters - The political split on AI adoption and why both sides are partially right - Where AI genuinely helps a small business and where it creates risk - Model drift, context dilution, and how guardrails break down in long conversations - Why AI tutorials and AI video can't teach jiu-jitsu - What it means for a sport without a unified registry when anyone can fabricate credentials - The trillion-dollar lock-in: why we may be stuck with LLMs even if they don't work - Why human-service work like coaching may be more durable than tech work ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Reintroducing Dr. David Riedman 03:25 — PART 1: What modern AI actually is 15:39 — Why a confident-looking LLM output can still be wrong 23:12 — PART 2: The cultural and social impact of AI 35:09 — When the stakes are too high to outsource 42:09 — When AI is used to plan a war 50:54 — Model drift and how the guardrails erode 58:23 — PART 3: AI and the business of jiu-jitsu 01:03:11 — Automating the soul out of your gym 01:14:20 — The trillion-dollar bet on a tool that may not work 01:22:06 — Three futures and none of them are good 01:29:46 — What gym owners and practitioners should actually do
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Andrea Tang: novelist, brown belt at District Martial Arts, and host of BJJ Today on the BJJ Mental Models Premium Network. Three years ago, a serial home invader broke into Andrea's apartment at 4am and tried to sexually assault her in bed. She fought him off using day-one white belt basics. This is a conversation about that night, the years of court proceedings that followed, and what watching the BJJ community treat survivors has taught her about who actually has the courage to speak up. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Andrea Tang — https://andreatangwrites.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Surviving a home invasion at 4am using basic jiu-jitsu - What the court process actually looks like for sexual assault survivors - Why women don't speak up, even with airtight cases - The "porcupine strategy" and why white belt basics matter most in real attacks - Why stranger violence and instructor abuse should not be treated as the same problem - The identity crisis that hits women martial artists when they become victims - How women in combat sports absorb toxic masculinity (and why it costs them) - Busting the "no woman could beat a man" myth ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Welcome and book plug 02:29 — The night a stranger broke in 06:02 — The aftermath and the marks it leaves 09:26 — What the court process actually costs survivors 12:52 — Why so few women ever speak up 26:15 — When muscle memory wakes up before your brain does 33:53 — The porcupine strategy: being a hard target 39:50 — Stranger attacker vs. instructor abuser 44:28 — When the victim is a martial artist 48:56 — Toxic masculinity isn't a men's thing 55:47 — What jiu-jitsu is actually for
After yet another sexual abuse case in the BJJ community, the Fighting Matters crew works through a question every grappler eventually has to answer: "What can I, as just a student, actually do about this?" They get into voting with your wallet, the black belt blackmail trap, why we're great at sweating into each other's eyeballs but terrible at conversations, and Mike's framework for delivering hard feedback without lighting the gym on fire. 🔗 Links Mentioned: • Magic BJJ — https://magicbjj.com • Rough Hands BJJ — https://roughhandsbjj.com • BJJ Mental Models — https://bjjmentalmodels.com ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com • Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com • Mike Mahaffey — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • Why stewardship of the culture isn't just the gym owner's job • Voting with your wallet when your coach is the problem • The black belt blackmail trap and how to leave anyway • Why jiu-jitsu people are terrible at having actual conversations • Mike's framework for delivering hard feedback without making it personal • When to take it to the coach vs. when to take it public • Jesse's "spectrum of seriousness" and why proportionality matters • Culture guardianship vs. mat enforcer culture • Why culture is what you tolerate, not what you preach ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — A regular student's guide to fixing the sport 02:29 — Stewardship doesn't require owning a school 03:31 — Vote with your wallet 07:56 — Weeks from black belt and the school is rotten 11:17 — Belt blackmail and the myth of permanent lineage 14:45 — Jesse's wild Rio re-belting story 18:49 — We sweat together but won't talk to each other 20:27 — The basic social skills problem in jiu-jitsu 26:46 — Why exit interviews and gym feedback both fail 28:34 — How to receive feedback without killing the next one 30:49 — Jesse's conflict aversion confession 32:04 — Mike's framework: name the behaviour, use I-statements 38:59 — Going public vs. going to the coach first 43:47 — The spectrum of seriousness 50:53 — Spotlighting the good in the community 54:48 — Culture guardianship, not mat enforcement 59:39 — Culture is what you tolerate
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker (Rough Hands BJJ), Mike Mahaffey (Old Bastard BJJ), and Niamh Bryn (Snowblind BJJ) for a recap of the recent Rough Hands spring camp in Louisville. The four of them argue that the best jiu-jitsu camps are not the ones that cram the most jiu-jitsu in, and that the celebrity instructor model has quietly priced out and burned out the people the sport depends on. 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Gi to Sea (Jeff Shaw, Bernardo Faria, Dominyka Obelenyte) — https://bjjmentalmodels.com/events ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com - Mike Mahaffey — https://www.instagram.com/oldbastardbjj - Niamh Bryn — https://www.instagram.com/snowblindbjj ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - Why the best parts of a BJJ camp happen off the mat - The celebrity instructor model and how it prices out the average attendee - Why regional and lesser-known coaches often deliver more value - Filtering out bad actors, harassers, and extremists at camps and gyms - Cultural guardianship: why a head coach can't enforce culture alone - People who train jiu-jitsu instead of getting therapy - The collaborative camp format vs the one-marquee-instructor format - How travel and out-of-region training expose your blind spots ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Welcome and intros 02:06 — Recap of the Rough Hands spring camp 04:13 — Less jiu-jitsu, more community time 05:21 — Niamh on jiu-jitsu peripheral events 07:21 — Why getting out of your regional bubble matters 09:15 — Mike: the friendships are why I keep training 12:20 — The celebrity instructor problem 20:54 — Reliable community as camp infrastructure 26:34 — Healthcare, insurance, and traveling for jiu-jitsu 28:36 — Filtering out the bad actors 35:47 — What we actually mean by filtering 41:00 — Niamh on training for the wrong reasons 46:56 — Cultural guardianship at scale 54:20 — The collaborative camp model 58:07 — Plugs, outros, and where to find everyone 1:00:53 — Plugging Gi to Sea with Jeff Shaw
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who has tracked white nationalist and neo-Nazi movements since 2016 and also trains jiu-jitsu. They get into how active clubs and far-right groups use combat sports gyms as recruitment grounds, why most practitioners don't see it happening, and what coaches and gym owners can actually do about it. ⸻ 🔗 Links Mentioned: - Southern Poverty Law Center — https://splcenter.org - Hannah Gais on Bluesky — https://bsky.app/profile/hannahgais.bsky.social - Louis Theroux Manosphere documentary — https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81920687 - Global Project Against Hate and Extremism — https://globalextremism.org ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Hannah Gais — https://splcenter.org ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - How active clubs use gyms to recruit without revealing their intentions - The entryism playbook: how fringe movements infiltrate institutions - Warning signs that someone is testing the waters at your gym - Shifting the Overton window through sports and social media - Jake Shields, the Manosphere, and BJJ's far-right influencer problem - Where gym owners should draw the line - How people leave the movement, and what coaches can do to help ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Hannah Gais 00:54 — Hannah's work at the SPLC 04:18 — How big is the problem, really? 07:01 — Why the movement has gone mainstream 15:16 — The Overton window and how they shift it 17:45 — Jake Shields and the sane-washing of extremists 20:27 — Warning signs at your gym 24:50 — Immigration as an entry point 31:32 — What white nationalism actually means 39:32 — Entryism: how they build from within 43:05 — What gym owners should watch for 47:57 — Hiding your power level 53:31 — BJJ's far-right influencer problem 55:35 — Where to draw the line 01:00:21 — How people leave the movement 01:03:54 — Hannah's links and the Manosphere documentary
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting sit down with Eric Lowe, a 13-year HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) instructor and school founder. HEMA had a serious white supremacist problem, and they actually did something about it. Eric walks through what worked, what didn't, and what BJJ and MMA can steal from the playbook. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: - Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com - Stephan Kesting — https://grapplearts.com - Eric Lowe — https://crossroadsswords.com ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: - How HEMA's early days were dominated by a near-Nazi gatekeeper (and how the community rejected him) - Why your gym's website and signaling matter more than you think - The Warriors of Ashe: Viking pagans with 30% transgender membership who keep turning away white supremacists - What "welcoming" actually means when your school has real beliefs - Constructing a version of masculinity the far right can't co-opt - Why every martial art sells a fantasy, and how that fantasy either attracts or repels extremists - What HEMA borrowed from Filipino martial arts (and why that matters) - Preserving European martial tradition without white supremacy ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Eric Lowe and what HEMA is 04:11 — The history of far right infiltration in HEMA 05:29 — John Clements and the "North Korea of HEMA" 09:17 — Viking martial arts and the white supremacist appeal 11:15 — The Warriors of Ashe: Viking pagans who reject Nazis 13:39 — Why how you signal your school matters 19:27 — Symbolism in BJJ vs HEMA 23:10 — The fantasy every martial art sells 27:45 — What positive masculinity actually looks like 37:30 — Building masculine identity without the far right 40:51 — Who gets to own masculinity 45:36 — Dueling culture and honour violence 52:43 — The performative side of all martial arts 01:00:17 — Preserving tradition without white supremacy 01:03:56 — Why women in HEMA matter for everyone 01:05:36 — Where to find Eric
Today, Jesse, Mike and Stephan discuss the impact of war on everyday life, particularly how the ongoing war in Iran could affect gas prices and essential goods if it continues. Conflicts in the Middle East can turn luxury activities into financial burdens, forcing people to prioritise their spending and making jiu-jitsu training and other leisure activities unaffordable as the cost of everyday living rises.
In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Matt Tansey and Daniel Millstein: two licensed mental health professionals who also train jiu-jitsu. They attack one of the most repeated claims in the sport ("jiu-jitsu is my therapy"), what's actually true about it, what isn't, and why the distinction matters more than most people think. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com • Matt Tansey — https://matthewtansey.com • Daniel Millstein — https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/daniel-millstein-boston-ma/1239597 ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • What therapists actually do (and how they differ from coaches) • Why jiu-jitsu can be therapeutic without being therapy • The Dunning-Kruger effect and black belt overconfidence • How jiu-jitsu can help and harm people with trauma • Why male practitioners avoid therapy but embrace pseudoscience • SSRIs, psychedelics, stem cells, and the jiu-jitsu bro health pipeline ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Matt and Daniel 02:48 — Types of mental health practitioners 06:43 — Can jiu-jitsu be therapeutic? 12:31 — Competence, confidence, and the Dunning-Kruger trap 23:49 — When jiu-jitsu actually helps 26:12 — Overselling jiu-jitsu 28:31 — Trauma, PTSD, and proper disclosure 36:44 — What therapists can't say (but coaches can) 42:57 — Dudes will do anything except go to therapy 50:48 — Ethics, credentials, and the unregulated advice problem 01:00:17 — Psychedelics, stem cells, and anti-SSRI bros
In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, host Steve Kwan sits down with Valerie Worthington: BJJ black belt, professor of educational psychology, and one of the sport's most thoughtful voices on culture and ethics. They dig into why the people doing the most good in jiu-jitsu are also the least visible, what it would actually take to fix BJJ's culture problems, and why opening a gym means signing up for a job nobody prepared you for. This is a conversation about leadership, accountability, and the quiet work of making the sport better. 🔗 Links Mentioned: • Gracie Philly — https://www.phlbjj.com • Saybrook University — https://www.saybrook.edu ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com • Valerie Worthington — https://instagram.com/worthingtonvalerie ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • Why the good people in BJJ stay invisible • The reality distortion field inside the gym • Why governing bodies might make things worse • Voting with your wallet and saying it out loud • What BJJ never teaches its future gym owners ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introducing Valerie Worthington 06:33 — Why the good in BJJ stays invisible 12:58 — Should BJJ have a governing body? 21:17 — The reality distortion field inside the gym 33:18 — How the algorithm buries the good stuff 39:28 — Voting with your wallet 43:27 — Modeling the culture you want to see 51:54 — Dunbar's Number and BJJ communities 53:35 — What BJJ never teaches gym owners
Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw explore the terrifying consequences of MAGA coopting Christianity and using misinterpretations of biblical ideas like the rapture, the apocalypse, and end times theology as justification for going to war with Iran. We also look into Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's religious denomination and find some truly disturbing details.
School violence researcher and Homeland Security expert David Riedman joins Steve and Jesse to break down the radicalization pipeline feeding modern school shootings. David covers how isolated kids get pulled into nihilistic violence through deregulated social media, grooming on Roblox, and private Discord servers, and why your BJJ gym might be one of the most powerful interventions available. 🔗 Links Mentioned: • Riedman Report (Substack) — https://riedmanreport.substack.com • K-12 School Shooting Database — https://k12ssdb.org • Difference Between Political Violence, Mass Shootings, and Terrorism — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/difference-between-political-violence • Rise of Purposeless, Non-Ideological Gun Violence by Young American Men — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/rise-of-purposeless-non-ideological • Riedman Report Ep 43: Forensic Psychologist Explains the Nashville School Shooter's Journals — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/ep-43-forensic-psychologist-explains • Riedman Report Ep 33: Let Kids Fight (Safely) with Guardian Founder Ben Kovacs — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/ep-33-let-kids-fight-safely-with ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Steve Kwan — @bjjmentalmodels (Host) • Jesse Walker — @roughhandsbjj (Host) • David Riedman — https://riedmanreport.substack.com (Guest) ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • The Tumbler Ridge shooting and the pattern behind it • How the True Crime Community radicalizes teens online • Roblox as a grooming and recruitment platform • The Discord pipeline from mainstream social media to extremism • Trans shooters and what the data actually says • Nihilism vs. ideological terrorism • Why expelling a troubled kid can make things worse • How BJJ gyms provide the belonging that prevents violence ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction 00:35 — Meet David Riedman 02:13 — Tumbler Ridge and the True Crime Community 08:02 — Understanding nihilistic violence 10:17 — Extremism, terrorism, and how to tell them apart 14:15 — Active clubs and decentralized radicalization 18:40 — Trans shooters: what the data says 22:23 — The Nashville manifesto breakdown 27:51 — Has social media changed anything? 31:45 — The Roblox grooming pipeline 38:40 — Can martial arts gyms use these same tactics for good? 41:53 — Everything that feels new is really old 49:58 — Warning signs for parents and gym owners 54:43 — Closing thoughts
In this Presidents Day episode, Fighting Matters connects two explosive stories: Gordon Ryan’s inappropriate DMs and the growing fallout from the Epstein file releases. We debate accountability, conspiracy culture, institutional corruption, and whether justice can survive political power. The conversation turns to Jiu-Jitsu’s own culture, red flags in gyms, and what responsibility communities have when systems fail. ⸻ 👥 Featuring: • Stephan Kesting — @stephankesting (Host) • Mike Mahaffey — @oldbastardbjj (Host) • Jesse Walker — @roughhandsbjj (Host) ⸻ 🧠 Topics Discussed: • Gordon Ryan DM controversy • The Epstein file releases and redactions • Conspiracy culture vs. evidence • Civil vs. criminal accountability • Power dynamics in martial arts • Red flags when choosing a gym ⸻ 📖 Chapters: 00:00 — Presidents Day cold open 02:17 — Gordon Ryan controversy 03:30 — The Epstein files breakdown 21:27 — Justice, collapse & consequences 32:03 — Jiu-Jitsu governance debate 52:03 — Would you recommend Jiu-Jitsu to women? 01:01:50 — Closing thoughts