Learning to Fight! Conversations in Combat Skill
Episodes
Learning to Fight - Brandon Thomas PhD - Episode 20
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Episode 19
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Forrest Griffin - Episode 18 - Round 2
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Forrest Griffin - Episode 17
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Episode 16
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Dr Steve Smith - Episode 15
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Rory Singer - Episode 14
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebrand...
Learning to Fight - Matt Thornton - Episode 13
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, a...
Learning to Fight - Episode 12 - With Marco Perazzo
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, a...
Learning to Fight - Episode 11
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, a...
Learning to Fight - Episode 10 - With the Emergence Boys
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, a...
Learning to Fight - Episode 9
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded, a...
Learning to Fight - Episode 8
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
Learning to Fight - Episode 7
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
Learning to Fight - Episode 6
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
Learning to Fight - Episode 5
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
Learning to Fight - Episode 4
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
Learning to Fight - Episode 3
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
Learning to Fight - Episode 2
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
'Yappin about Scrappin' - Primal MMA Podcast relaunch
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textLearning to Fight Podcast — Conversations in Combat SkillAfter a year-long hiatus, the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast is back—Rebranded...
#53 - Philosophy, physics and phighting! - Andy from the School of Grappling FINALLY joins me to chat.
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode, I’m joined by Andy from the School of Grappling, a coach and physicist whose analytical approach to no-gi grappling a...
#52 - Getting Emotional! - Dr Laura Cuijper's talks about the emotional aspects of training and performance.
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a text In this episode of the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Laura Cuijpers, an assistant professor at the University of Gr...
#51 - Beyond Eco! - Sony Sahota on bridging Ecological Psychology with an Active Inference Framework.
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I welcome Sonny Sahota from Praxis Gym in Canada. Sonny, a judo black belt and manager of Kensington Judo Club in Vancouver, share...
#51 - It's complex, keep it simple! - Coach Rob Cole on playing the ecological long game.
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCoach Rob Cole joins me today to talk coaching within an ecological dynamics framework.Rob is a long time mixed martial artist, globetro...
#50 - Exploring Eco Psych and perception - Gray Thomas of U-Con on ecological Psychology and it's implications for practice and development.
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textGray Thomas joins me today to talk about the Ecological Psychology side of ecological dynamics. Gray is a PhD student at the university ...
#49 - Pitching and Punching - Pittsburg Pirate Coach John Baker on an eco approach to Baseball, BJJ & MMA skill development.
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday's chat was with Pittsburgh Pirate's coach John BakerJohn is a former MLB player and current performance and skills coach...
#48 - Hot Off The Press - The Boys from Emergence talk about their recently published Ecological Approach to MMA Journal Article.
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe boys from emergence are back to discuss their recently accepted and published paper on "Applying an ecological dynamics frame...
#47 - "ACTION ~ perception" Coach James de Lacey on building action capacities for combat sports.
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode I talk with Coach James de Lacey of Sweet Science of Fighting.While most discussions on the podcast have been biased tow...
#47 - All Choking Aside - Dr Andy Bass talks about self-talk, attention and focus and how these can interfere with us all on game day.
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I talk with Dr Andy Bass. Andy is a researcher, educator, former pro baseball player and is currently a performance coach with the...
#46 - The gimmicks of the Gram - Coach Jon Mackey returns to discuss agility ladders and other questionable training tools.
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I chat with Irish National Kickboxing Coach Jon Mackey about the role of training tools in striking sports. We'll explore whe...
#45 - Game on! - Kit Dale and Greg Souders on ditching the drills to become better quicker!
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I welcome Kit Dale and Greg Souders on to the show.Kit is well know in the jiu-jitsu world for his rapid development in the sport ...
#44 - A student's perspective - Standard's Noah Shaffner talks about learning to grapple at the black temple.
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday, I chat with Noah Shaffner from the Standard Jiu-Jitsu Grappling Team, mentored by Greg Souders. Unlike my usual guests who are co...
#43 - Managing Expectations - Rory Singer on playing the long game in developing Mixed Martial Artists.
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I talk with Coach Rory Singer. Rory is the younger brother of Coach Adam Singer and together they have run and coached MMA in At...
#42 - Demystifying Strickland's win over Adesanya - Shawn Myszka joins me to discuss last week's UFC title fight.
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEmergence founder, NFL skills coach and MMA superfan Shawn Myszka joined me to discuss Strickland's win over Adesanya last week.As ...
#41 - Grappling with memory and perception - Ed Ingamells on
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I am chatting with Ed Ingamells. (Aka the Partybear). Ed is a black belt and coach at the Institute of Grappling in North London, ...
#40 - On the shoulders of the "Aliveness" Giant! - SBG's Adam Singer on alive training environments.
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAdam Singer joins me today to talk coaching, culture and continuing the SBG philosophy of aliveness through an ecological lens.Â
#39 - 'Second Guessing the Traditional Approach' - Coach Josh Root on doubling down on the Ecological Approach.
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I am joined by Coach Josh Root from Gravitas Martial Arts in Arkansas. Josh has recently re-visited an Eco D approach to grappling...
#38 - 'It takes two to Tango' - Professor Alan Dunton on 'information rich' training practice to develop metastability.
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Alan Dunton is back. Alan is a lecturer and researcher at MTU Cork, Ireland. With a PhD in Skill Acquisitor and having been a ...
#37 - 'Light for Learning' - Coach Jon Mackey on Kickboxing Training and Sparring Culture.
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn today's podcast, we're honored to have Jon Mackey as our guest, a celebrated coach in both Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing. With ...
#36 - Developing wizards from Oz - Ricky Pachon on taking his Gracie comp team ecological.
18 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode I speak with Coach Ricky Pachon . A young coach from Gracie Barra, Bondi Beach, Australia. Ricky leads a successful yo...
#35 - The Black Temple's Greg Souders - Coach Souders interview with Brian Willis.
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is the second of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy.Brian reached out to both myself and ...
#34 - On the other side of the mic - My interview with Brian Willis talking about Primal's approach to practice design for striking and MMA.
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is the first of two interviews by Brian Willis of the Excellence in Training Academy.Brian reached out to both myself and S...
#33B - Battling the Biases! Josh Peacock on resistance to change in combat sports training.
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a text(PART 2) Today my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock.Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advo...
#33A - Fighting the fallacies! Josh Peacock on resistance to change in combat sports training (PART 1 of 2).
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday my guest is my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Peacock.Josh is the host of the Combat Learning Podcast and a fellow advocate of a...
#32 - Embodied and Embedded! Danny Hatcher talks about Ecological Dynamics and how we learn skills.
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDanny Hatcher joined me to talk more about ecological dynamics for sport.Danny is a Podcaster, youtuber, educator, coach and sport scien...
#31 - Another Drill Ditcher! Kaboom's Kabir Bath talks to me about going full ecological!
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode I welcome on Coach Kabir Bath, founder and owner of Kaboom Jiu-Jitsu in Surrey, British Columbia. Kabir is a Raphael Lo...
#30 - The Reddit Technique Debate! Greg Souder's clarifies some misconceptions.
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday I welcome back Standard Jiu-Jitsu's coach Greg Souders.Greg and I were chatting about a very recent reddit post aptly named, ...
#29 - Shifting the Red line! @Doctor_Kickass on increasing physical capacities.
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOn this epsiode, I welcome Dr Mike Piekarski aka. @doctor_kickass about to talk about S&C for MMA. As I discuss with Mike, I've...
#28 - If Fred learned to fight! Professors Blau and Wagman discuss their new book, 'Introduction to Ecological Psychology'.
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOn this episode we delve a little more into the underpinning science of Ecological Dynamics.I recently read 'Introduction to Ecolog...
#27 - Play the whole game every day! Greg Souders is back to talk about practice design.
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode, I talk with again with Coach Greg Souders of Standard Jiu-Jitsu , Rockville MD (Maryland).Greg is a black belt who foun...
#26 - Pugilist turned Professor! Dr Andy Lane, chats about developing psychological skills for combat, in and out of the ring.
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAndy Lane is a professor and researcher in sports psychology at the University of Wolverhampton UK. Andy joined me to discuss strategi...
#25 - Thoughts on Coaching! Dr Tom Parry talks about his recent twitter thread on effective coaching.
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDr. Tom Parry is the founder and owner of Kestrel Performance Psychology. He has a Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University wi...
#24 - Raising the Standard! Greg Souders on an ecological approach to elite level jiu-jitsu.
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode, I talk with Coach Greg Souders of Standard Jiu-Jitsu , Rockville MD (Maryland).Greg is a black belt who founded Standar...
#23 - 'Show up, have fun, figure shit out' UFC Coach Greg Nelson on developing fighters from scratch to the big shows.
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFor 30 years, Coach Greg Nelson has overseen the training and development of thousands of combat sports athletes at his gym The Academy ...
#22 - Let Those Skills Emerge! Shawn Myszka & Tyler Yearby look at MMA through an ecological lens.
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI finally snagged the boys from Emergence to come and talk to me about MMA. I have been following Shawn Myszka AKA @movementmiyagi since...
#21 - Less Teaching, More learning! - Black Belts Leigh Remedios and Martin McLaughlin talk shop about practice design and development.
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textUFC vet and UK MMA pioneer Leigh Remedios returns to chat on the Primal MMA podcast.Ireland's 'Team Torres' Coach Martin ...
#20B - Turn ons & Turn offs! Todd Fossey talks about managing arousal levels in training and competition.
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textTodd Fossey is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Integrative Defense Strategies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today he accepted my inv...
#20A - Turn ons & Turn offs! Todd Fossey talks about managing arousal levels in training and competition.
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textTodd Fossey is the founder of and Chief Instructor at Integrative Defense Strategies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today he accepted my inv...
#19B - Not all reps are created equal! Cal Jones on how 'Representative Learning Design' can help supercharge practice.
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCal Jones is both a Judo coach and practitioner from North Wales (UK). He also recently completed his Master Degree in sports science wi...
#19A - Not all reps are created equal! Cal Jones on how 'Representative Learning Design' can help supercharge practice.
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCal Jones is both a Judo coach and practitioner from North Wales (UK). He also recently completed his Master Degree in sports science wi...
#18 - Less is more! Will Massey PhD talks about cultivating an independent learning environment.
18 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMy old pal and returning guest Will Massey PhD, Sport Psychologist, educator, coach, and practicing martial artist.In this episode, Wi...
#17B - Context is King! PART 2. Dr. Alan Dunton, on moving along the continuum of representativeness.
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday's guest brings both a practical and theoretical perspective to skill development in marital arts.Dr. Alan Dunton is a former ...
#17A - Context is King! Dr. Alan Dunton, on moving along the continuum of representativeness.
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textToday's guest brings both a practical and theoretical perspective to skill development in marital arts.Dr. Alan Dunton is a former ...
#16 - Viva La Revolution! Dr. Rob Gray on how we learn to move skillfully.
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI finally snagged him! After months of pestering, Professor Rob Gray joined me to chat and answer some of my questions on skill developm...
#15 - Disagree to agree! Finding common ground with Coach Leigh Remedios
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCoach Leigh Remedios is the owner and head coach of VT Jiu-Jitsu in England UK. He is a life long martial artist, former professional f...
Just a Quickie! #2. Time: Our second most valuable training asset.
08 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMaking the most of our valuable training time with the help of Ecological Dynamics. www.primalmke.com
Just a Quickie! Primal's Ecological Approach.
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textA bite sized and unsophisticated synopsis of Ecological Dynamics, and how it underpins our training approach at Primal MKE. www.primalm...
#14 - A Flipped Classroom Approach! With Coach Bruce Hoyer, BJJ blackbelt.
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textCoach Bruce Hoyer is the owner and Head coach at Next Edge MMA, Sioux Falls, ND.  After listening to Bruce talk on the Combat Learning...
#13 - Show and Tell! Dr Nicola Hodges and the science of demonstrations.
21 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMy discussion with Professor Nicola Hodges was all about demonstrations! Dr Hodges researches and teaches out of the motor skill lab a...
#12 - Training in reality (today and beyond)!! A chat with Professor James Stafford
06 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAn information loaded discussion with Professor James Stafford. Dr Stafford has a PhD in experimental psycology with a keen interest in ...
#11B - Learn Skills, Not Drills!! Professor Ed Coughlan, aka; "Dr. Skill Acq"
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textPART 2 of my discussion with Coach, Educator and Professor of Skill Acquisition Dr. Ed Coughlan. Ed and I discuss the growing non-linea...
#11 A - "Learn Skills, Not Drills!!" Professor Ed Coughlan, aka; "Dr. Skill Acq"
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textI finally snagged Coach, Educator and Professor of Skill Acquisition Dr. Ed Coughlan. Ed and I discuss the growing non-linear approach ...
#10 - "Catch them being Good!" Coach John Kessel on creating effective training environments.
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textSeason 2 kicks off with a talk with Coach John Kessel. Coach John is an US Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee with over 50 years of coach...
#9.B - Down the Coaching Rabbit hole with Coach Sam Gaier. (UNEDITED AND UNCENSORED!)
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for M...
#9.C - Down the Coaching Rabbit hole with Coach Sam Gaier. (UNEDITED AND UNCENSORED!)
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for M...
#9 - Down the Coaching Rabbit hole with Coach Sam Gaier. (UNEDITED AND UNCENSORED!)
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWhat was intended as a quick test conversation for a future Primal MMA podcast, turned into a fun and broad discussion of training for M...
#8 - Learning is adaptation! Unpacking Ecological Dynamics with Stu Armstrong.
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this 8th episode I talk with "Sport England's" , Stu Armstrong.Stu is a educator, talent developer, forward thinking c...
#7. Getting specific! Discussing practice design with Dr. Israel Halperin
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this 7th episode I talk with Coach Israel Halperin. Dr Halperin has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science, and currently resides in Tel...
#6. Block Vs Random Practice! A conversation with Train Ugly founder and Learning OG Trevor Ragan.
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this 6th episode I talk with founder and creator of "Train Ugly'' and ''The Learner Lab'', Trevor ...
#5. What to say and when to say it! Exploring Feedback with Andy Driska PhD.
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this 5th episode I talk with Michigan State University's Coordinator of Sports Coaching and Leadership, Andy Driska PhD. Andy ta...
#4. Learning to fight by fighting; A conversation with MMA Shredded's Jeff Chan
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this fourth episode, I talk with Jeff 'Jackie' Chan. Jeff is the creator of the hugely popular MMA Shredded YouTube channel...
#3. Motivation and Engagement! A talk with Sports Psych PhD Will Massey.
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this third episode, we talk with Will Massey. Will is a Sports Psychologist, educator, coach, and practicing martial artist.Will and ...
#2. Pad work; Pros and cons! A talk with TKD Coach Academy's Richie Forde.
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this second episode, we talk with Irish TKD coach Richie Forde. Richie is a former World Level competitive TKD competitor, coach, and...
#1. Can we do it better? A talk with UK Boxer, Coach and Educator Adam Haniver.
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this first episode, we talk with Boxing coach Adam Haniver. Adam is a former competitive boxer, coach, educator, and host of his own ...