Podcast
Fighting Matters
Hosted by Fighting Matters · EN
Fighting fascism and the far-right in combat sports like MMA and BJJ.
10episodes
Episodes
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Why did UFC BJJ let Mikey compete with a staph infection?
2w ago01:01:27Tap to summarizeIn 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 panel02:39 — What happened at UFC BJJ05:16 — Spats aren't condoms10:09 — How dangerous staph actually is18:08 — Are we losing community knowledge about infection risk?25:21 — Why didn't the UFC stop this?26:34 — Pandemic-era science denial in BJJ33:13 — The wrestling skin check form36:45 — How gyms model and enforce safer behavior40:48 — Advice for young competitors under pressure50:22 — Institutional accountability vs dogpiling the athlete53:02 — Closing thoughts
Transcribe →How Jiu-Jitsu Survives the AI Era
3w ago01:34:49Tap to summarizeIn 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 Riedman03:25 — PART 1: What modern AI actually is15:39 — Why a confident-looking LLM output can still be wrong23:12 — PART 2: The cultural and social impact of AI35:09 — When the stakes are too high to outsource42:09 — When AI is used to plan a war50:54 — Model drift and how the guardrails erode58:23 — PART 3: AI and the business of jiu-jitsu01:03:11 — Automating the soul out of your gym01:14:20 — The trillion-dollar bet on a tool that may not work01:22:06 — Three futures and none of them are good01:29:46 — What gym owners and practitioners should actually do
Transcribe →A Man Broke Into My Apartment at 4 AM (feat. Andrea Tang)
4w ago00:59:35Tap to summarizeIn 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 plug02:29 — The night a stranger broke in06:02 — The aftermath and the marks it leaves09:26 — What the court process actually costs survivors12:52 — Why so few women ever speak up26:15 — When muscle memory wakes up before your brain does33:53 — The porcupine strategy: being a hard target39:50 — Stranger attacker vs. instructor abuser44:28 — When the victim is a martial artist48:56 — Toxic masculinity isn't a men's thing55:47 — What jiu-jitsu is actually for
Transcribe →How YOU Can Clean Up Jiu-Jitsu
May 501:03:41Tap to summarizeAfter 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 sport02:29 — Stewardship doesn't require owning a school03:31 — Vote with your wallet07:56 — Weeks from black belt and the school is rotten11:17 — Belt blackmail and the myth of permanent lineage14:45 — Jesse's wild Rio re-belting story18:49 — We sweat together but won't talk to each other20:27 — The basic social skills problem in jiu-jitsu26:46 — Why exit interviews and gym feedback both fail28:34 — How to receive feedback without killing the next one30:49 — Jesse's conflict aversion confession32:04 — Mike's framework: name the behaviour, use I-statements38:59 — Going public vs. going to the coach first43:47 — The spectrum of seriousness50:53 — Spotlighting the good in the community54:48 — Culture guardianship, not mat enforcement59:39 — Culture is what you tolerate
Transcribe →Why BJJ Camps Need Less Jiu-Jitsu
Apr 2401:02:41Tap to summarizeIn 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 intros02:06 — Recap of the Rough Hands spring camp04:13 — Less jiu-jitsu, more community time05:21 — Niamh on jiu-jitsu peripheral events07:21 — Why getting out of your regional bubble matters09:15 — Mike: the friendships are why I keep training12:20 — The celebrity instructor problem20:54 — Reliable community as camp infrastructure26:34 — Healthcare, insurance, and traveling for jiu-jitsu28:36 — Filtering out the bad actors35:47 — What we actually mean by filtering41:00 — Niamh on training for the wrong reasons46:56 — Cultural guardianship at scale54:20 — The collaborative camp model58:07 — Plugs, outros, and where to find everyone1:00:53 — Plugging Gi to Sea with Jeff Shaw
Transcribe →How to Identify "Active Clubs" in BJJ
Apr 1701:06:03Tap to summarizeIn 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 Gais00:54 — Hannah's work at the SPLC04:18 — How big is the problem, really?07:01 — Why the movement has gone mainstream15:16 — The Overton window and how they shift it17:45 — Jake Shields and the sane-washing of extremists20:27 — Warning signs at your gym24:50 — Immigration as an entry point31:32 — What white nationalism actually means39:32 — Entryism: how they build from within43:05 — What gym owners should watch for47:57 — Hiding your power level53:31 — BJJ's far-right influencer problem55:35 — Where to draw the line01:00:21 — How people leave the movement01:03:54 — Hannah's links and the Manosphere documentary
Transcribe →How HEMA Pushed Out White Supremacists (And What BJJ Can Learn)
Apr 901:07:27Tap to summarizeIn 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 is04:11 — The history of far right infiltration in HEMA05:29 — John Clements and the "North Korea of HEMA"09:17 — Viking martial arts and the white supremacist appeal11:15 — The Warriors of Ashe: Viking pagans who reject Nazis13:39 — Why how you signal your school matters19:27 — Symbolism in BJJ vs HEMA23:10 — The fantasy every martial art sells27:45 — What positive masculinity actually looks like37:30 — Building masculine identity without the far right40:51 — Who gets to own masculinity45:36 — Dueling culture and honour violence52:43 — The performative side of all martial arts01:00:17 — Preserving tradition without white supremacy01:03:56 — Why women in HEMA matter for everyone01:05:36 — Where to find Eric
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Jiu-Jitsu in the Face of War and Economic Disaster
Mar 2200:58:23Tap to summarizeToday, 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.
Transcribe →Jiu-Jitsu Isn't Therapy
Mar 1901:15:48Tap to summarizeIn 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 Daniel02:48 — Types of mental health practitioners06:43 — Can jiu-jitsu be therapeutic?12:31 — Competence, confidence, and the Dunning-Kruger trap23:49 — When jiu-jitsu actually helps26:12 — Overselling jiu-jitsu28:31 — Trauma, PTSD, and proper disclosure36:44 — What therapists can't say (but coaches can)42:57 — Dudes will do anything except go to therapy50:48 — Ethics, credentials, and the unregulated advice problem01:00:17 — Psychedelics, stem cells, and anti-SSRI bros
Transcribe →The Invisible Heart of BJJ (w/ Valerie Worthington)
Mar 1201:00:32Tap to summarizeIn 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 Worthington06:33 — Why the good in BJJ stays invisible12:58 — Should BJJ have a governing body?21:17 — The reality distortion field inside the gym33:18 — How the algorithm buries the good stuff39:28 — Voting with your wallet43:27 — Modeling the culture you want to see51:54 — Dunbar's Number and BJJ communities53:35 — What BJJ never teaches gym owners
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