It’s been a while since the last episode, but trust me—this one’s worth the wait.

This is part one of a two-part conversation. The full, uncut version (around 3 hours) is up on YouTube.

Dan Lukehart is a third-degree BJJ black belt under Beneil Dariush, owner of Brea Jiu-Jitsu in California, and co-owner of IBJJFRankings.com. He’s known for his deep understanding of IBJJF rules, his old-school training logs, and his detailed athlete breakdowns.

Dan also coaches Nolan Stuart, who—in his first year as a black belt—won the IBJJF Pan Ams and placed second at both the Brazilian Nationals and the Worlds, losing only to Eric Munis, the current #1 pound-for-pound black belt.

Part two dives more into athlete development and building competitive teams.

There’s a slight echo on my voice in this episode due to a speaker issue—it won’t happen again. Thanks for listening!

The Irish Open has come and gone, the biggest day in the calendar year in the Irish Brazilian JiuJitsu community. I assume this will be the first of two episodes on this topic because I would welcome people getting in touch to let me know what they thought of the whole thing.

Since recording this episode I was also contacted by a couple of people regarding the registrations etc, I did talk about it on the air but maybe I need to go and look a little bit more in depth into some things. I'll have to think about it.

Personally speaking, and you'll hear me say it. I thought it was the best one in a couple of years and I'm very happy with how it went but we do talk about "times gone by" about how nostalgia is a very potent thing, and it's purchasing powering is very strong too.

That's included mainly at the start, when you realise what you might have been missing out on or what has happened in the past.

Reminder, to keep an eye on the instagram for what may or may not be a t-shirt release happening very very soon.

We've kicked off episodes with some wild topics before, but I didn’t think the 100-year-old plans for a Metro in Dublin — complete with a hub at Dublin Airport — would come up this soon.

After a three-week hiatus, I’m back following a run at the IBJJF Masters Europeans, the Rome Spring Open, and a short holiday in France.

This is one of two episodes dropping this week. I wanted to get something out before the Irish Open — no doubt — but didn’t want to cram everything into one episode. That would’ve meant bouncing between two competitions, slightly annoying weight cuts, and everything coming up this weekend at the Irish Open.

Andrew McGahon recapping a Mixed Martial Arts event I attended last night was not on the trajectory of plans for this particular podcast but here we are.

Perched in the back row of the cheap(est) seats in the venue armed with a red and black pen and a notebook I took my mate from Dundalk for a trip to see Cage Warriors.

We missed the last 3 fights of the night unfortunately so didn't get to include them in this particular breakdown but there was some very good stories and results to come out from that particular event last night including some information about the night that changed the safety standards for the sport 9 years ago in 2016 and how important that has been since then.

Got to also see, in action the benefit or the realisation of having that crucial family and parental support network as you go through the earlier years of training the sport begin to show fruit when the athletes reach the professional stage, something that is absolutely crucial for younger athletes to have.

Regular BJJ content will resume next week, to any new listener who's dropping in. You're very welcome, consider checking through the back catalogue of episodes I have uploaded here.

It’s WrestleMania Weekend, and the WWE is now part of one of the most valuable sports entities on the planet—TKO Group. This powerhouse also includes the UFC under its umbrella, along with a soon-to-be-launched boxing league.

Dana White has announced a major investment into the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and it’s not a stretch to suggest that Fight Pass Invitational and the UFC brand could become the premier platform for No-Gi submission grappling in the coming years.

How much could this kind of exposure fundamentally change the way top athletes behave and market themselves, as the sport shifts from niche to something with a broader audience?

We tackle a lot of interesting questions this week, including one listener wondering if the Irish Open isn't quite as big of a deal as it used to be.

It's a fairly simple question for episode 30 this week.

It could be about any one thing, or many things.

Just realise that depending on who asks you this particular question, including yourself there's a chance that the answering is going to be different.

I think it's important that moving forward, if someone asks me that question the answer should be the same across the board no matter who is asking.

Earlier this week, I posted a photo that got a lot of interaction and feedback. It was taken moments after the NoGi European final in 2022 in Rome. I've been sitting on this photo for a couple of years, and when I was deciding what to feature in this week’s episode, I figured it was time to share it.

Thanks to keeping notes of my training throughout that year, I was able to look back at my tournament results, how I felt leading up to that tournament, and how I felt afterward.

Looking back now, I'm grateful not only for having the photos from the event but also for the written thoughts I captured—especially considering how my perspective shifted over time.

In this episode, I'll walk you through my thoughts from that time and even read some of my unhinged, chicken-scratch notes—gotta love the perks of being left-handed!

This week has been a little bit mental, on many fronts.

But I have to say I think the reaction to everything is even more mental.

I've had the blinkers on for a couple of years now, and I really think you should consider it as well, for the sake of yourself.