The Jiu-Jitsu Mindset

Tait Fletcher on Jiu-Jitsu, Truth, Persistence, and Healing
Pete Deeley interviews Professor Tait Fletcher about how combat sports shaped his life and character. Fletcher traces his path from Dog Brothers stick fighting to early Jiu Jitsu training in the 1990s, learning from figures including Arlan Sanford, Amal Easton, later also receiving a black belt from Eddie Bravo. He describes competing widely, fighting in MMA, training with notable fighters, and appearing on The Ultimate Fighter Season 3, emphasizing Eddie Bravo's systematic coaching. The conversation focuses on jiu-jitsu as a source of truth, humility, community, and accelerated learning, stating that teammates improve together through generosity rather than ego. Fletcher discusses plateaus, staying the course, finding joy in training, and how a severe head injury in 2019 led him to rely on Jiu Jitsu, discipline, curiosity, and community to recover and re-engage with life, advocating responsibility, eliminating complaints, and consistent action toward one's destiny.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:50 Why Combat Sports
02:04 Dog Brothers to Groundwork
03:54 Early BJJ and First Coaches
05:08 Competition and Breakthroughs
06:16 Black Belts and LA Move
09:55 Jiu Jitsu Shaves Time
11:02 Truth and Gym Culture
15:57 Ego Checks and Mentors
25:09 Injury Recovery and Resilience
28:24 Curiosity and Healing Forward
30:45 Act Reflect Repeat
32:04 Life Is A Beta Test
32:26 Jiu Jitsu Finds The Path
33:02 The Artist Roadmap
35:32 Create For Yourself
36:37 Stay Ready For Opportunity
37:42 Curiosity Meets Faith
40:16 Suffer Well In Training
44:37 Resist Complaining
47:18 Move A Muscle
49:02 Everyone Is An Artist
53:20 Jiu Jitsu And Presence
55:29 Grandparent Presence Lessons
01:00:46 Gratitude And Goodbye

Host Pete Deeley interviews Professor Scott Burr on how jiu-jitsu shaped his life by enforcing radical accountability, honesty, and responsibility for results. Burr describes coming from a traditional Korean striking art through MMA into Jiu-Jitsu, valuing its endless depth and continuous intellectual challenge, similar to writing. He explains his learning style as principle-driven, needing clear parameters and an overview before rapid improvement, and notes turning points like suddenly applying armbar concepts. Professor Burr discusses adding judo later to improve getting fights to the ground, and reflects on a painful but instructive amateur MMA loss that included a quick guillotine and revealed training blind spots. He says he learned most from strong, inexperienced opponents and details transformative training with Rickson Gracie, shifting from logic-based technique to sensitivity and a new "operating system."
 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:51 Life Without Jiu Jitsu
02:26 Radical Accountability
05:03 How He Found Jiu Jitsu
06:10 Endless Rabbit Holes
08:33 Work Ethic Over Talent
10:38 Principles First Learning
12:40 Judo and Takedown Gaps
16:50 Overwhelm and True North
17:41 Traumatic Fight Lessons
20:19 Training Room Blind Spots
21:29 Memorable Rolls Question
22:31 Learning From Tough Rounds
22:54 MMA Reality Check
24:17 Strong Guy Lessons
25:45 Why Control Matters
27:16 Training With Hixson
29:06 New Operating System
32:52 Prereqs And Timing
34:34 Beyond Logic To Sensitivity
38:03 Invisible Jiu Jitsu
39:07 Stories And Signoff

Jiu-Jitsu as a Force Multiplier
Ownership, Awareness, and Leadership with Clay Cox, a Black Belt under the legendary Rickson Gracie.
Host Pete Deeley opens by recounting being submitted at a well-run Phoenix tournament and promotes JiujitsuMindset.com, Submission Coffee, and the Jiujitsu Mindset Online Academy kids class before interviewing Clay, a long-time jiu-jitsu practitioner and business leader. Clay describes starting jiu-jitsu at 19, his disciplined military-family upbringing, and a tech career path from early internet work to MCI, Verizon Wireless, Google, and leading a major business unit supporting data-center infrastructure for major tech companies. They discuss how jiu-jitsu translates to business through emotional intelligence, situational awareness, timing, humility, and "ownership," plus cultivating adaptability and learning through pressure. Clay shares a memorable de-escalation incident at Universal on Christmas Eve, and a story of helping a bullied, nonverbal youth succeed in a submission-only tournament with controlled gentleness. Clay's nickname "Shamu" comes from Carlos Enrique Elias "Caique"
 
00:00 Welcome and Tournament Story
01:09 Meet Clay and Jiu Jitsu Impact
03:37 Tech Career Journey
06:47 Jiu Jitsu in Business
09:06 Ownership and Awareness
15:32 Learning Mindset and Resilience
22:25 Competition and Hunger
27:54 Educated Instincts for Safety
31:00 Raising Boys on the Mat
32:04 Coaches as Father Figures
33:59 Leadership and Black Belt Responsibility
34:59 Universal Bar Confrontation
43:28 Deescalation and Life Lessons
45:45 Protecting Daughters and Restraint
49:27 Jiu Jitsu Changes Lives
52:17 Tournament Breakthrough Story
54:55 Jiu Jitsu as Meditation
56:07 The Shmoo Nickname
58:20 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

Coach Donavin Britt on Building Las Vegas Combat Academy, Mental Toughness, and Protecting Gym Culture
 
Host Pete Deeley interviews Coach Donavin Britt on The Jiu Jitsu Mindset, discussing Britt's path from apprenticing under instructor Roger Donofrio into becoming a Krav Maga and self-defense-first gym owner who later added jiu-jitsu and MMA. He describes earning high-level training under figures including Sgt. Major Nir Maman (as the first American certified instructor), Darren Levine, and John Whitman, and discusses the importance of standards, mental toughness, and having a purpose bigger than oneself. Britt addresses misconceptions and quality-control issues in Krav Maga, his motivation to compete in jiu-jitsu (including winning at NAGA while representing Krav Maga on his rashguard), and how sparring and competition serve as stress tests while differing from real self-defense. He recounts a memorable fight from the 1990s loss-prevention work in Oakland involving a drug-impaired suspect who required a rear-naked choke to stop, using it to emphasize the need for a varied skill set. Britt also strongly condemns misconduct in martial arts settings, details removing a student with a troubling history involving women to protect members, and argues men and coaches must "guard the mat" and enforce clear consequences to keep women safe. He shares a transformative student story about a teenager, Angel, who was assaulted and regained confidence through training and sparring, connecting it to mentorship, accountability, and coaching built on consistent care and firm parameters. The episode ends with Deeley inviting Britt to return for further discussion.
 
00:00 Welcome Back + Coffee & Kids Program Plug
00:33 Meet Coach Donavin Britt
01:36 Life Without Martial Arts? From Student to Instructor via Apprenticeship
02:29 How Krav Maga Instructors Are Really Made (Not a Weekend Cert)
03:53 2008 Crash, Failed Smoothie Franchise, and Betting the Last $500 on a Gym
06:26 Building Las Vegas Combat Academy: Growth, Identity, and the 'Krav Guy' Label
08:38 Crossing Into Jiu-Jitsu: Competing at NAGA and Repping Krav on the Gi
13:36 Iron Will & Legacy: Training for Something Bigger Than Yourself
14:21 Work Ethic Roots: Poverty, Family Pressure, and Grandfather's Alaska Story
19:22 How Martial Arts Learning Differs: Physicality, Emotion, and Self-Defense Intent
22:44 Calling Out Toxic Gym Culture: Protecting Women and 'Guarding the Mat'
27:49 Gym Dating Drama: Standards, Respect, and Zero Tolerance for Fights
29:06 Most Memorable Fight: Loss Prevention Brawls in 90s Oakland
33:53 Competition vs Real Violence: Why Sparring Matters (and Its Limits)
37:58 "It's Just Pain": Teaching Kids Hurt vs Injured & Fighting vs Self-Defense
40:21 Cross-Training and Combat Sports Programming That Improves Self-Defense
42:48 Student Transformation Story: Angel's Sparring Breakthrough
49:52 Coaching, Accountability, and the "Rules of the Tribe" (Maximum Effort)
53:48 Final Thoughts: Self-Help Through Martial Arts & Closing the Conversation

Host Pete Deeley welcomes listeners back to The Jujitsu Mindset, promotes Submission Coffee, the JiujitsuMindset.com store, and a Jiujitsu Mindset Online Academy kids class for ages 7–12, then interviews professor Eddie Fyvie. Fyvie describes growing up in a rough upstate New York neighborhood with a single father in AA, being bullied, and finding direction through sports. He recounts starting peewee wrestling after being drawn to a pro-wrestling ring, using a double-leg takedown and cradle on a neighborhood bully, then discovering UFC 1 and Royce Gracie, which cemented his commitment to grappling and led to enthusiastic early training in 1998 via a club learning from videotapes rather than formal instruction. Fyvie discusses how early exposure to adversity created numbness and forced maturity, and he outlines his view that being "reasonable" relates to one's relationship with force; he also explains how jiu-jitsu can provide controlled "gradient exposure" to stress for resilience without overwhelming students. He contrasts jiu-jitsu skill acquisition with other sports due to close contact and stress as a barrier to learning, and he comments on the shift from self-defense contexts to skill-versus-skill rolling. On competition, Fyvie says his perspective has changed: he supports competing only as a personal choice, noting potential negatives and that some students—especially kids—can be overwhelmed and quit after tournaments. His most memorable fight is his first MMA bout in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall against Jim Miller, describing the surreal reality of the moment, the perceived danger, and the crowd's hostility. He distinguishes different "tranches" of violence (kids, adults, law enforcement, military, MMA) and calls MMA psychologically strange because it involves willful violence without a direct cause. Fyvie explains that after leaving ownership of his academy, he is now teaching full-time in a new business, and he began a focused inquiry into why people quit, plateau, lose motivation, or feel confused—teaching 40–50 classes a week and turning insights into long-form writing. He introduces his book "Understanding Jiu-Jitsu," describes writing as clarifying and therapeutic, and notes topics such as belt imposter feelings and older beginners questioning their place. He discusses the importance of language and communication for teaching and understanding, shares that he disliked school but read extensively (including Russian literature), and recounts a pivotal moment teaching law enforcement: realizing techniques might be used immediately in real encounters and feeling heightened responsibility. Fyvie directs listeners to eddiefyvie.com and his Substack, where he plans to publish an article a day for a year, and he and Deeley close with an invitation to continue the conversation in a future episode.
 
00:00 Welcome Back + JiuJitsu Mindset Updates (Submission Coffee, Kids Academy)
01:03 Meet Professor Eddie Fyvie: A Mind-Body Commitment to Jiu-Jitsu
02:10 Growing Up Tough: Finding Direction Through Sports
04:05 1998 Training Scene: Learning from Tapes, Fighting Mentality, and Early Wrestling
05:33 The 'Superpower' Moment + Discovering UFC 1 & Royce Gracie
08:42 Maturity Under Pressure: Numbness, Force, and Becoming 'Reasonable'
11:25 Parenting & Stress Inoculation: Teaching Resilience the Safe Way
14:30 Why Jiu-Jitsu Is Different: Closeness, Stress Barriers, and Skill-vs-Skill Learning
18:27 Competition in Development: When It Helps—and When It Hurts
20:49 Most Memorable Moment Tease: The First MMA Fight as a Culmination
21:31 First MMA Fight Reality Check: Walking Out to Face Jim Miller
22:45 When the Crowd Turns: Fear, Pressure, and 'What Am I Doing Here?'
23:59 Different Kinds of Violence: Kids, Street Fights, Military, and MMA
25:50 Why MMA Is Psychologically Strange: Manufactured Animosity & Fighting Without Cause
28:16 From Fighter to Writer-Teacher: Leaving the Academy & Going All-In on Teaching
28:45 The Black Belt Question That Sparked a 3-Year Deep Dive (and a Book)
30:57 Why People Quit Jiu-Jitsu: Plateaus, Motivation, Belts, and Unspoken Emotions
33:22 Love of Language: Communication as the 'Universal Solvent'
38:04 Teaching That Matters: The Moment a Cop Used Last Week's Takedown
40:33 Where to Find the Book & Substack + Closing Thoughts