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.

Welcome to Twinjitsu.

Subscribe for more conversations about Jiu-Jitsu, coaching, competition, and everything that happens on and off the mats.

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?

Justin Claphan’s Jiu-Jitsu Journey — Music, Coaching, Lightning Strike Survival & Writing a Memoir

Justin shares his incredible journey from starting Jiu-Jitsu in 2014 to coaching kids, overcoming injuries, surviving being struck by lightning, and writing his first memoir. We also dive into the connection between music and Jiu-Jitsu, the realities of coaching, and why having fun on the mats matters more than winning medals.

This episode has everything — wild stories, real lessons, and plenty of laughs.

⚡ Topics Covered:

• Getting struck by lightning and surviving
• How Jiu-Jitsu helped recovery
• Coaching kids and overcoming challenges
• Music and Jiu-Jitsu flow states
• Writing a memoir after trauma
• The importance of fun in training

If you train Jiu-Jitsu, coach kids, or love insane real-life stories — this episode is for you.

Justin and Chris are back for another episode of TwinJitsu — the podcast where two identical twins who happen to be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts talk about training, running gyms, and whatever nonsense comes to mind.

In this episode we cover everything from our food & fitness challenge, to whether golf counts as a workout, to some controversial hot takes about Jiu-Jitsu culture.

We also talk about burnout as full-time instructors, bad medical advice in the Jiu-Jitsu world, and why the phrase “no excuses but…” shows up on every competition post.

Plus Justin debuts what might be the worst Jiu-Jitsu country song ever written.

If you train, coach, or just love the chaos of gym life, this one’s for you.

In Episode 7 of the TwinJitsu, Justin and Chris kick things off with a highly requested cold open that immediately derails into freestyle rap arguments, listener comments, and being publicly called “sissies.”

That comment sparks a deeper conversation about discipline, habits, and why they’ve both let fitness and routines slide while juggling business, jiu-jitsu, and life. The twins break down their modified version of 75 Hard—what they’re keeping, what they’re cutting, and why strict challenges don’t always align with real goals.

Along the way, they cover calorie counting vs. diets, reading habits, recovery workouts, protein macaroni business ideas, soda addictions, underwear problems in jiu-jitsu, and why not wearing underwear under nogi shorts is a terrible idea. Things wrap up with hockey talk, goalie anxiety, questionable hygiene confessions, and a call for the audience to choose a realistic punishment if one of them fails the challenge.

If you like discipline talk mixed with brother arguments, self-awareness, and just enough chaos to keep it honest—this one’s for you.

Injuries

-what injuries are we currently dealing with

-what injuries have we had

-What’s the dumbest way you’ve ever been injured on the mats?

-how can you prevent injuries in jiu jitsu

-what would you have done differently with previous injuries

-What does being injured do to your confidence/mental health?

-how can you game improve while being injured

Coaches Corner

Questions:

• How should students communicate injuries?
• Roles of coaches in protecting students
• How to keep people training while hurt (modifications)
• How long should someone rest before coming back? (Your policy)
• What we wish every student understood about being injured

Would you rather?

-would you rather be a man sized bean or a bean sized man

-jiu jitsu match between the beans

A single dry red kidney bean weighs roughly 0.65 grams. A 200 lb (90,718 gram) male would weigh as much as roughly 139,500 individual dry kidney beans.

How many kids to defeat a black belt?

Twinjitsu Episode 2: “Body Canvas” ft. Evan Muncey

In this episode we sit down with artist, jiu-jitsu practitioner, and all-around creative human Evan Muncey. We dive into his art journey, how creativity overlaps with martial arts, and what it’s like now working inside the jiu-jitsu world while still trying to grow as an artist.

We talk about: 🎨 Evan’s path as an artist 🥋 How art and jiu-jitsu mirror each other ⚖️ Balancing passion, work, and training 🦈 Jiu-Jitsu Shark Tank (fake inventions… very real laughter) 🗣️ The great debate: Guard Pulling vs. Takedowns

If you train, create, or love watching people argue about jiu-jitsu, you’ll vibe with this episode.

Subscribe for more TwinJitsu episodes every week. Two black belt twins. One podcast. Unlimited chaos.