In the first edition of Open Mat, James and Ryan sit down with no real agenda and see where the conversation goes.

They talk about Jonah Hill’s recent comments about Jiu-Jitsu and whether training actually means you can beat up the average person. From there, the conversation gets into people refusing to tap, some brutal armbars, and a few of the craziest students and visitors they’ve encountered over the years.

They also talk about the upcoming IBJJA expansion, Ryan’s struggles training at a new gym, and using those bad rounds to get better. Finally, they get into AI, how it’s changing graphic design and marketing, and whether we’re eventually going to see AI-powered Jiu-Jitsu coaches.

In this episode, we sit down with Tom McMahon, a 5x IBJJF World Champion with an incredible story.

Tom has an impressive competitive résumé and a wealth of Jiu-Jitsu knowledge, but his biggest battle came in 2021 when he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.

Tom shares stories from his competitive career, including winning IBJJF Worlds and facing BJJ legends like Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida. He also takes us through his entire journey with cancer—from his diagnosis and treatment to his recovery and eventual return to the competition.

Follow Tom on Instagram — @riseagainbjj

When learning Jiu-Jitsu, as with any skill, it's crucial that we start from the beginning. That's what we call the foundation: the fundamental concepts, principals, and techniques which lay the groundwork for whatever skill we are developing.

When building a skyscraper, you ALWAYS start with the foundation. And the taller the skyscraper, the deeper the foundation must be. The same is true for your Jiu-Jitsu.

This is why we built BJJ Foundation, an online Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Fundamentals Curriculum available to the public. In this episode we talk about the process of building and releasing BJJ Foundation, and why a fundamentals-first approach is the best way to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.