• Mini Ep. 67: Loss Aversion
    Aug 14 2025

    In this week's mini-episode, we discuss loss aversion, the human tendency to fear losses more than we desire equivalent gains. While avoiding losses is rational, excessive fear of loss can hold us back from our biggest growth opportunities.

    Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

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    7 mins
  • Ep. 350: Front Headlocks, feat. Brianna Ste-Marie
    Aug 11 2025

    In this episode, Brianna Ste-Marie talks about the front headlock: its offensive power, common pitfalls like “bloodlust,” strategic uses for control and distraction, and key differences between gi and no-gi.

    Follow Brianna on social:
    https://www.instagram.com/briannasm


    Mental models discussed in this episode:

    • Myopia
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/myopia/

    • Trading Up
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/trading-up/

    • Mask Your Intentions
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/mask-your-intentions/

    • Technique Chaining
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/technique-chaining/

    • Path of Least Resistance
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/path-of-least-resistance/

    • Head Position
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/head-position/


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Music by Enterprize:
    https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Mini Ep. 66: Abundance Mindset
    Aug 7 2025

    In this week's mini-episode, we discuss the idea of an abundance mindset, where we view success as something we can mutually achieve. The abundance mindset contrasts with a scarcity mindset, which sees success as a zero-sum game. This mini-episode explains why the abundance mindset can counterintuitively improve your Jiu-Jitsu over the long term, even though sport competition is usually zero-sum.

    Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

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    6 mins
  • Ep. 349: Overcoming Obstacles, feat. Edwin "Junny" Ocasio
    Aug 4 2025

    In this episode, we welcome back world champion Edwin “Junny” Ocasio for a deeply introspective conversation about the mental challenges of high-level competition. Junny shares how achieving his lifelong dream of winning a world title unexpectedly led to a period of depression and self-doubt, revealing the emotional complexity that comes with success.

    Follow Junny on social:
    https://www.instagram.com/junny_bjj
    https://www.tiktok.com/@junnybjj
    https://www.youtube.com/c/junnyocasio

    Train with Junny at Unity Jiu-Jitsu:
    https://unityjiujitsu.com/

    Get Junny's instructionals:
    https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/instructional-videos/fighter_junny-ocasio
    https://submeta.io/@junnyocasio

    Mental models discussed in this episode:

    • Loss Aversion
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/loss-aversion/

    • Abundance Mindset
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/abundance-mindset/

    • Process Over Outcomes
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/process-over-outcomes/

    • Consistency
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/consistency/

    • Compounding
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/compounding/

    • Keep Your Identity Small
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/keep-your-identity-small/


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Music by Enterprize:
    https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

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    57 mins
  • Mini Ep. 65: Process Over Outcomes
    Jul 31 2025

    In this week's mini-episode we discuss process over outcomes, a mental model we've also referred to as habits over results. This concept teaches us to balance long-term goals with the short-term habits needed to achieve them. We discuss how building habits motivates us by creating consistent "wins," how quick feedback enables us to pivot early, and when "trust the process" can become bad advice.

    Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

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    9 mins
  • Ep. 348: The Timeline of Coaching, feat. Francesco Fonte
    Jul 28 2025

    In this episode, Steve Kwan welcomes back Francesco Fonte for an in-depth exploration of what Francesco calls the “timeline of coaching:”

    For coaches: INFO → SKILLS → GAMES
    For athletes: GAMES → SKILLS → INFO

    Francesco explains how effective Jiu-Jitsu instruction should reverse the traditional info-dump model: instead of starting with detailed techniques, coaches should design games that develop essential skills, which only later become associated with specific concepts and information.

    Follow Francesco on Instagram:
    https://www.instagram.com/francescofonte76


    Resources discussed in this episode:

    Francesco's “timeline of coaching” Instagram post
    https://www.instagram.com/p/DLubCRqtpd3


    Mental models discussed in this episode:

    • Inversion
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/inversion/

    • The Map Is Not the Territory
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/the-map-is-not-the-territory/

    • Cognitive Load
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/cognitive-load/

    • Analysis Paralysis
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/analysis-paralysis/

    • Incremental Learning
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/incremental-learning/

    • Compartmentalization
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/compartmentalization/

    • Diminishing Returns
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/diminishing-returns/


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Music by Enterprize:
    https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Mini Ep. 64: Resulting
    Jul 24 2025

    In this week's mini-episode we discuss resulting, a logical fallacy where we incorrectly assume that the quality of our decisions are directly related to the quality of our results.

    Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

    Show More Show Less
    8 mins
  • Ep. 347: The ABCs of Mental Coaching, feat. Laurien Zurhake
    Jul 21 2025

    In this episode of BJJ Mental Models, Steve Kwan is joined by Laurien Zurhake to explore how trauma-informed coaching can transform Jiu-Jitsu into a safer, more inclusive, and more effective training environment. Laurien, co-founder of Off the Zone, shares her ABC Playbook for Mental Health (Anticipate, Bring Them Back, and Course Correct), a practical framework for coaches to support students through mental health challenges.

    Follow Laurien and Off the Zone on Instagram:
    https://www.instagram.com/off_the_zone

    Work with Laurien @ Off the Zone:
    https://www.off-the-zone.com/


    Resources discussed in this episode:

    Off the Zone's Mental First Aid ABC Protocol
    https://www.off-the-zone.com/68538


    Mental models discussed in this episode:

    • Psychological Safety
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/psychological-safety/

    • Compatible Intent
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/compatible-intent/

    • Gamification
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/gamification/

    • Growth Mindset
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/growth-mindset/

    • Beginner's Mind
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beginners-mind/

    • Mindfulness
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/mindfulness/

    • Pattern Interrupts
      https://bjjmentalmodels.com/pattern-interrupts/


    Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium!

    If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our premium membership offerings. The podcast is truly just the tip of the iceberg – the next steps on your journey are joining our community, downloading our strategy courseware, and working with us to optimize your game. We do all this through memberships that come in at a fraction of the cost of a single private.

    Sign up here for a free trial:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/


    Need more BJJ Mental Models?

    Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our newsletter:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter/

    Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

    Follow us on social:
    https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/
    https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodels/

    Music by Enterprize:
    https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/

    Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
    https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr