Why did UFC BJJ let Mikey compete with a staph infection?

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, Steve Kwan is joined by Jeff Shaw of Bellingham BJJ, Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ, and Dr. Clayton Green, a board-certified dermatologist and BJJ practitioner. They get into what happened at ...

How Jiu-Jitsu Survives the AI Era

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined again by Dr. David Riedman: 17-year jiu-jitsu practitioner, MIT-trained data analyst, and PhD researcher whose dissertation focused on measuring the accuracy of large language model outp...

A Man Broke Into My Apartment at 4 AM (feat. Andrea Tang)

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Andrea Tang: novelist, brown belt at District Martial Arts, and host of BJJ Today on the BJJ Mental Models Premium Network. Three years ago, a serial home invader broke into Andrea's ...

How YOU Can Clean Up Jiu-Jitsu

After yet another sexual abuse case in the BJJ community, the Fighting Matters crew works through a question every grappler eventually has to answer: "What can I, as just a student, actually do about this?" They get into voting with your wallet...

Why BJJ Camps Need Less Jiu-Jitsu

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker (Rough Hands BJJ), Mike Mahaffey (Old Bastard BJJ), and Niamh Bryn (Snowblind BJJ) for a recap of the recent Rough Hands spring camp in Louisville. The four of them argue...

How to Identify "Active Clubs" in BJJ

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who has tracked white nationalist and neo-Nazi movements since 2016 and also trains jiu-jitsu. They get into ...

How HEMA Pushed Out White Supremacists (And What BJJ Can Learn)

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting sit down with Eric Lowe, a 13-year HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) instructor and school founder. HEMA had a serious white supremacist problem, and they actually did so...

Jiu-Jitsu in the Face of War and Economic Disaster

Today, Jesse, Mike and Stephan discuss the impact of war on everyday life, particularly how the ongoing war in Iran could affect gas prices and essential goods if it continues. Conflicts in the Middle East can turn luxury activities into financ...

Jiu-Jitsu Isn't Therapy

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Matt Tansey and Daniel Millstein: two licensed mental health professionals who also train jiu-jitsu. They attack one of the most repeated claims in the sport ("jiu-jitsu is my therapy...

The Invisible Heart of BJJ (w/ Valerie Worthington)

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, host Steve Kwan sits down with Valerie Worthington: BJJ black belt, professor of educational psychology, and one of the sport's most thoughtful voices on culture and ethics. They dig into why the...

How MAGA is Using Religion to Go to War

Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw explore the terrifying consequences of MAGA coopting Christianity and using misinterpretations of biblical ideas like the rapture, the apocalypse, and end times theology as justification for going to war with Iran....

Discord & Roblox: The pipeline to school shootings (w/ David Riedman)

School violence researcher and Homeland Security expert David Riedman joins Steve and Jesse to break down the radicalization pipeline feeding modern school shootings. David covers how isolated kids get pulled into nihilistic violence through de...

Gordon Ryan & The Epstein Fallout

In this Presidents Day episode, Fighting Matters connects two explosive stories: Gordon Ryan’s inappropriate DMs and the growing fallout from the Epstein file releases. We debate accountability, conspiracy culture, institutional corruption, and...

Martial Artists Should Get Political

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, hosts Steve Kwan and Jesse Walker are joined by Joshua Peters: martial arts instructor, former school teacher, and current candidate for Anne Arundel County Council. They explore why local politi...

How the USA is Trying to Steal Canada's Oil

In this episode of Fighting Matters, hosts Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw are joined by Tyson LaRone (The Warrior Philosopher) to unpack the renewed push for Alberta separatism, its connections to Trump and MAGA, and the growing influence of U.S...

How Hate Found a Home in Jiu-Jitsu & MMA

This interview is an excerpt from Dark Martial Arts History, an 8-part audio documentary chronicling the history and rise of extremism in martial arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. The rest of the documentary is...

The collapse of Atos (and what comes next)

The allegations against Andre Galvao, and subsequent collapse of Atos, have sent shockwaves through the Jiu-Jitsu world. In this episode, Steve Kwan and Jesse Walker unpack the allegations against Atos leadership, the victim statements that tri...

You Can’t "Keep Politics Out" Anymore

The idea of “keeping politics out” is no longer tenable, especially in Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts communities. Against the backdrop of escalating political violence, institutional breakdowns, and global instability, we explore the civic respons...

The Minnesota Shootings and What Comes Next

Mother, poet, and US citizen Renée Good was shot by ICE on January 7, closely followed by the shooting of ICU Nurse and US citizen Alex Pretti on January 24th, apparently by members of the Border Patrol. Both Renée and Alex were immediately den...

Racism Can’t Be Ignored in Jiu-Jitsu Gyms (w/ Deon Thompson & Stephen Hall)

Racism, extremism, and exclusion aren’t abstract problems in martial arts. They show up in real gyms, affect real people, and shape who feels safe on the mats. In this episode of Fighting Matters, hosts Mike Mahaffey and Jesse Walker are joined...

This moment feels like the 1930s

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting unpack the political chaos of early 2026 and its real-world consequences for martial artists. From international instability and economic shocks to propaganda, media capture, a...

We Must Never Forget January 6th. — Jeff Shaw, Fighting Matters

BJJ's Best and Worst of 2025

This episode of Fighting Matters closes out the year with a no-holds-barred look at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2025. The hosts break down the biggest wins, deepest disappointments, and most important moments that shaped the sport—on and off the mat...

The relentless bullying of trans athletes

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, hosts Steve Kwan, Mike Mahaffey, and Jesse Walker confront the relentless bullying and scapegoating of transgender athletes, especially within combat sports. They unpack how bad-faith arguments, ...

The True Villain in The Boys (And It's Not Who You Think)

The Fighting Matters crew is joined by Shaun Benson from The Boys to talk about about the show and how it relates to the state of the world right now.  Along the way we explore the blurring of lines between credible information and disinfo...