Episode 16 of the Twinjitsu Podcast features Elle Beckman of The Arte of Coaching — a Jiu-Jitsu coach, academy owner, former early childhood educator, and one of our favorite voices in the kids Jiu-Jitsu coaching space.

Elle joins Justin and Chris from Australia to talk about why she moved away from traditional step-by-step instruction and embraced the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) for teaching Jiu-Jitsu.

We get into what CLA actually looks like in a kids class, why play and problem-solving can develop skills better than memorizing techniques, coaching kids for competition, communicating with parents, building a coaching staff, and one of the least-discussed parts of running a Jiu-Jitsu academy: burnout.

Elle also gets incredibly honest about losing students, trying to please everyone as an academy owner, and how turning something you love into your job can change your relationship with Jiu-Jitsu.

This is one of our favorite conversations we've had on the podcast so far — especially for coaches, academy owners, parents, or anyone interested in how people actually learn Jiu-Jitsu.

Follow Elle and The Arte of Coaching on Instagram for more kids coaching resources, CLA games, and coaching education.

Twinjitsu Episode 15 features longtime training partner and Jiu-Jitsu brown belt David Pitt.

David's Jiu-Jitsu journey started nearly 20 years ago through the Modern Army Combatives Program while stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. What followed wasn't a straight line to brown belt—years away from consistent training, different gyms, military life, returning to the mats, becoming a coach, and eventually sharing Jiu-Jitsu with his daughter.

In this episode, we get into what David has learned after two decades around grappling and why the longer you train, the more important the fundamentals become.

We talk about:

• Starting Jiu-Jitsu through Army Combatives
• Training every day while stationed in Alaska
• Returning to consistent Jiu-Jitsu after years away
• White belt vs. blue belt vs. purple belt vs. brown belt
• Why purple belt might be the most fun belt
• The fundamentals people overlook
• Closed guard, mount, posture, and off-balancing
• How teaching Jiu-Jitsu improves your own game
• Training Jiu-Jitsu with your kids
• Why parents shouldn't coach from the sidelines
• Keeping a "white belt mindset" as an upper belt
• What separates a brown belt from a black belt
• Learning Jiu-Jitsu through instructionals
• Static drilling vs. live resistance vs. constraint-led training
• Why mat time still matters
• Training around injuries and back problems
• The body awareness Jiu-Jitsu develops

Plus, Chris officially calls out Olympic wrestling champion Gable Steveson... in the gi, of course.

Two brothers. Two black belts. A lot of opinions.

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Episode 10 of the TwinJitsu Podcast is here. This episode kicks off with a recap of a wild competition weekend — from IBJJF Pans to one of the most frustrating tournament experiences we’ve had in years. We talk about: Why we’re officially done competing at certain tournaments What makes a competition safe (and what doesn’t) Our plan to start running in-house tournaments The growing steroid problem in jiu-jitsu Why lineage isn’t as important as people think How hobbies outside jiu-jitsu saved our sanity And how changing our kids class structure is producing huge results We also break down: Lessons learned coaching at Pans How one small mistake can cost a match Our new approach to kids competition prep Why specific training disguised as games is working so well If you train, coach, or compete — this episode has a lot to chew on. Drop a comment: What’s your favorite tournament organization to compete in?