John Collins is a two-time Olympian rower who competed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. In this episode, he sits down with Callum at Roger Gracie Academy Marlow to talk about elite sport, identity, transition, and why he walked off the water after his last race and made a lunchtime jiu jitsu class the same morning.

What we cover:

John's path into rowing started at 15 with the Duke of Edinburgh award — he wasn't particularly athletic, couldn't run, couldn't catch, but someone told him he was good at it, and that was enough. From a club in Twickenham to Leander, national trials, and eventually two Olympic finals, John walks us through the full arc: the funding realities, the brutal training camps (170km a week on average, 500km in 12 days in Portugal), the wave that nearly capsized his boat in the Rio heat, the semi-final gamble that almost got them a medal, and the emotional cliff that followed.

He's honest about the Tokyo cycle too — returning too soon after running 348 miles for the Metro Marathon Challenge, a difficult coaching relationship, injuries to key partners, and ultimately missing out on Paris qualification. Retirement came on June 3rd. He was training at RGA Marlow by lunchtime.

Two years in, John reflects on what makes jiu jitsu so different from rowing: the unpredictability, the daily visible improvement, the way advanced practitioners get calmer while white belts come in swinging, and how getting folded up by someone half his size on his first session was exactly what sold him on it. He also talks fatherhood, the mental health side of life after elite sport, coaching a rowing club from scratch, and why he nearly took Bruce Dickinson into the Thames on a tandem bike.

Topics covered:

• Finding rowing at 15 and being told he was good at it
• The Duke of Edinburgh to Henley to GB trials pipeline
• Funding, parental support, and the reality of athlete finances
• Training volume — 170km average weeks, Portugal camps, the 30-minute ergo test
• Rio 2016: the wave that moved their boat a full lane, the semi-final from hell, and fifth in the final
• The emotional rollercoaster of watching teammates become Olympic champions
• Going again for Tokyo, the Metro Marathon Challenge, and returning to training broken
• Coaching conflict and being sidelined in the Paris cycle
• Retiring and walking into a lunchtime BJJ class the same day
• The unpredictability of jiu jitsu vs. the single-movement precision of rowing
• White belt competition nerves and the universal fear of losing
• Elite athlete identity, mental health, and staying busy in transition
• Fatherhood at five months in and squeezing in doubles classes before work
• Ronnie O'Sullivan, the Eubanks, and dinner at Bruce Dickinson's house

A village hall in Sheffield. Blue belts running the room. A law student who wasn’t sure where he fit. Fast forward twenty years and Ongy has lived a full arc: corporate sales burnout, a switch to no-gi sparked by aching fingers and EBI highlights, and a leg lock class that helped transform how our gym trains. What emerges isn’t a hype story about submissions—it’s a blueprint for learning, coaching, and staying on the mats for life.

We dig into the details that actually keep you improving. Ongy breaks down why the great leap came from concepts over techniques—treat concepts as your operating system (frames, head position, hip lines, underhooks), then install techniques that match. We explore ecological and constraints-led drills, why study platforms like SubMeta accelerate skill, and how to split gi and no-gi games to protect your hands and joints without losing edge. From half guard and coyote mechanics to top pressure and when leg locks belong in your plan, this is practical, usable strategy.

Beyond tactics, there’s the mental toolkit. Positive Intelligence gave Ongy a way to spot saboteurs and shift from frantic left-brain loops to calm, right-brain presence. Jiu-jitsu is presence on demand—you cannot doom-scroll in side control. We talk injuries, returning smart, and why hobbyists should follow what’s fun while coaches do the necessary hard drilling. We also tackle belts and identity: celebrate promotions, don’t become them. Competing at black belt revealed real gaps—seated guard, wrestle-ups, pace—that turned into a clear training plan instead of a story about nerves.

If you care about leg lock evolution, no-gi strategy, concept-first learning, mental fitness, and how to train into your fifties and beyond, you’ll feel at home here. Stay for the small-world moments, the artist’s eye on the sport, and the honesty about burnout, community, and why defence ages well.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a training partner, and leave a quick review so more curious grapplers can find us.

• (00:00) - Setting The Scene With Ongy
• (00:46) - First Steps In Martial Arts
• (02:43) - Sheffield Beginnings And Early Coaches
• (04:11) - Returning To Essex And Meeting Black Belts
• (05:15) - Law School, Career Choices, And Rejection
• (06:41) - Fifteen Years In Corporate Sales
• (08:15) - Small World: Crossing Paths Again
• (09:36) - The Pivot To No-Gi And Leg Locks
• (12:19) - Building A Leg Lock Class And Teaching
• (14:10) - Protecting Hands And Changing Guard Styles
• (16:05) - COVID Garage Drilling And Blue Oceans
• (18:10) - Studying, Online Learning, And SubMeta
• (20:10) - Concepts Over Techniques: OS And Apps
• (22:05) - Underhooks, CLA, And Coaching Style
• (23:55) - Positive Intelligence And Mental Fitness
• (26:05) - Presence, Burnout, And Jiu-Jitsu As Anchor
• (28:10) - Injuries, Returning Smart, And Ego
• (30:18) - Art, Virality, And A Short-Lived Brand
• (33:45) - Black Belt Years And Why People Quit
• (36:05) - Why We Train: Growth, Health, Community
• (38:00) - Belts, Identity, And Imposter Syndrome
• (41:05) - Street Calm, Confidence, And De-escalation
• (43:05) - Competing At Black Belt And Takeaways
• (45:35) - Weight, Nerves, And Gap Analysis
• (47:00) - Community Over Results And Perspective
• (49:05) - Managing Load, Mobility, And Longevity
• (51:30) - Closing Thanks And Club Info

Callum and Cat roll into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – where sweaty grappling meets surgical precision. They dig into the physical realities of BJJ, how often you should be training (and how often you actually do), and the particular challenges women face on the mats. Cat talks through her journey from traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu into BJJ, sharing how it’s helped her navigate personal hurdles, find her people, and fall in love with the grind.

Along the way, the conversation bounces between competition nerves, the mental chess match of grappling, and the simple joy of training with good humans. Cat also brings her day job into the mix, offering a behind-the-scenes look at sports injuries, recovery, and how being an orthopaedic surgeon shapes her approach to looking after her own body.

With plenty of laughs, honest reflections, and shared enthusiasm for the sport, Callum and Cat explore how martial arts culture is changing – especially for women – and why an inclusive, supportive gym can make all the difference. It’s thoughtful, funny, and reassuringly human – whether you train every day or just like hearing smart people talk about hurting themselves in controlled environments.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Grappling and Injuries
01:48 Balancing Work and Training
05:31 The Journey to Becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon
10:08 Experiences in the Hospital Environment
14:24 Martial Arts Background and Training Preferences
21:11 The Importance of Community in Martial Arts
25:59 Introducing Kids to Martial Arts
27:15 The Mental Challenge of Competition
30:34 A Week in the Life of an Orthopedic Surgeon
36:56 The Changing Landscape for Women in BJJ
41:15 Injuries and Recovery in Combat Sports
44:54 Techniques and Training Insights
50:56 The Importance of Community in Jiu-Jitsu
01:01:46 Encouraging Competition and Growth