Founder of Budokon Cameron Shayne joins Pete Deeley for a deep conversation on the warrior's mind: why a warrior is not an athlete, why the body only grows from stress, how the self-talk of aging quietly holds us back, and how to judge the source of any advice you're given. A masterclass in the mindset underneath the movement.

Watch the full video on YouTube: [YouTube link]
Submission Coffee: https://submissioncoffee.com · My Jiu Jitsu Journey app on the App Store
Follow: @jiujitsumindset

IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Warrior vs. athlete: what martial arts really shapes
10:08 The hero's journey and "make yourself a great person"
24:05 Untangling the body like a junk drawer
31:11 A late black belt, and training with the best in the world
38:30 Learning what you didn't know you didn't know
51:38 The body grows from stress
58:54 Don't talk yourself old
67:41 Be critical about the source of your advice
70:47 Rich vs. happy: knowledge vs. wisdom

#jiujitsu #bjj #mindset #budokon

Professor Eli Knight returns to The Jiu Jitsu Mindset, and this time we build the conversation around the hero's journey — the call, the crisis, the near-quit, the mentor, and the message he'd leave behind.

Eli is a Royce Gracie black belt and one of the clearest thinkers working in self-defense jiu-jitsu. He talks here about the loss that pushed him into a taekwondo class as a teenager, the cousin who went to jail while he went to martial arts, the year his daughter was born and he nearly walked away from all of it, and why he still isn't sure who he would be without jiu-jitsu.

He also gives one of the best answers we have had on what the art is actually for: "Jiu-jitsu to me is the serenity prayer. It teaches you how to accept things you can't change, how to change things you can, and how to know the difference." And then, at the very end, he takes the whole thing apart again with a bar of soap.

CONNECT WITH PROFESSOR ELI KNIGHT

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KnightJiuJitsu

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knight_jiu_jitsu_

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@knightjiujitsu

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KnightJiuJitsu

Instructionals: https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/eli-knight

THE JIU JITSU MINDSET

Website: https://thejiujitsumindset.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJiuJitsuMindset

X: https://x.com/jiujitsumindset

Find a school near you: https://thejiujitsumindset.com/pages/jiu-jitsu-schools-near-you

SUPPORTING THE SHOW

Submission Coffee — https://submissioncoffee.com (still not a performance-enhancing drug)

My Jiu Jitsu Journey — free to try on the App Store and Google Play

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome back — year five of the podcast

00:29 Submission Coffee and the My Jiu Jitsu Journey app

01:25 Professor Eli Knight returns: the hero's journey

03:35 Crisis, loss, and the class that caught him

05:28 The soft kid who learned to face chaos

08:45 Zen, Daoism, and what religion didn't give him

10:03 "He went to jail, I went to martial arts"

11:17 It doesn't make you a good person — it reveals you

12:21 Pete's story: six years old outside Macy's

14:48 The year he almost walked away

18:42 The leap of faith into a martial arts career

20:10 "I'm not 100% sure who I am without jiu-jitsu"

22:19 The mentor: "you're off in the woods looking for Yoda"

25:35 Coaching with real care — Fit to Fight and Ryan Hoover

27:05 Instructor vs. coach: knowing what you are

30:36 When the fighter is already redlining

33:21 Technique vs. principle is a false choice

34:57 What he'd want people to take away

36:56 Jiu-jitsu is the serenity prayer

38:57 The bar of soap

#jiujitsu #bjj #brazilianjiujitsu #selfdefense #eliknight #martialarts #thejiujitsumindset

Host Pete Deeley talks with Professor Chris about preserving Gracie Jiu-Jitsu—specifically Rickson Gracie's interpretation focused on practical self-defense, common-sense solutions to common attacks, and "invisible jiu-jitsu" principles like connection, base, timing, and control rather than strength or athleticism. Chris explains how self-defense knowledge has been diluted by sport-focused training, why losing this curriculum forces people to "reinvent the wheel," and how he was injured after seeking self-defense but ending up in a sport school. He describes building Rickson Gracie United as a structured, global curriculum with tiers and affiliate academies, adding stress and live sparring, and keeping sport and self-defense unified while making training accessible for beginners, kids, and non-competitors. The conversation also touches on Rickson's character, honesty, boundaries, and how jiu-jitsu teaches realistic self-assessment.

00:00 Welcome and Updates

01:07 Movie References Warmup

03:07 Why Preserve Gracie Jiu Jitsu

08:23 Invisible Jiu Jitsu Basics

09:49 Hickson Gracie Unite Launch

11:05 Making Self Defense Accessible

14:06 What Gets Lost Without It

15:17 Personal Story and Injuries

17:39 Jiu Jitsu Telephone Effect

21:04 Sport Growth and Realism

23:32 Sport and Self Defense Unity

30:52 Who Self Defense Is For

32:18 Training Is Not Fighting

33:08 Trauma Empathy On Mats

34:00 Why Rickson Matters

36:27 Good Person Boundaries

38:13 Honesty Ocean Metaphor

42:55 Teaching Kids Through Play

44:51 Belts Competition Context

46:49 Confidence For Daughters

49:28 Internet Backlash Tribalism

52:52 Open Hand Learning

55:24 Lose To Learn Timing

58:16 Preserving Hickson Legacy

01:00:38 Mats Are Contextual

01:01:57 RGU Links And Farewell