“Rocket science is not rocket science if you’re a rocket scientist.”
– Dave Camarillo
Dave Camarillo (@DaveCamarillo) was my long-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) coach (see him kicking my ass repeatedly here). Put simply, he is a machine.
On the Mat once said: “It’s funny that everybody in Judo is scared of David’s ne waza and everybody in Jiu-Jitsu is scared of his stand up. (We) guess people, in general, are just scared of him.”
Dave is a very technical coach and an elite-level Jiu-Jitsu competitor. He dominated the lightweight and open weight classes at the 1998 Rickson Gracie American Jiu-Jitsu Association tournament; the legendary Rickson Gracie himself bestowed the honor of Most Technical American Jiu-Jitsu Fighter upon him.
He has worked not only with people on the ground game, but many recognizable MMA (mixed martial arts) figures as a coach and as a corner man.
We’ll delve into:
- Tactical training
- Military training
- Hockey fights
- Defending yourself armed only with a flashlight
- How Dave’s mom is the best sniping shot in the entire family
- And much, much more.
Enjoy!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode with an incredible athlete? — Listen to this interview with Amelia Boone, who has been called the Michael Jordan of obstacle course racing (OCR). In this episode, she explores her training, nutrition, rehab, “pre-hab,” and more (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Connect with Dave Camarillo:
Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Position Impossible Podcast
- Submit Everyone: The Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Files: Classified Field Manual for Becoming a Submission-focused Fighter by Kevin Howell and Dave Camarillo
- How To Simplify Your Love Life (video explaining how I outsourced dating thanks to Dave’s inspiration)
- Combat sports mentioned: Mixed Martial Arts, Judo, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Boxing, Kung Fu, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai
- Hip-Hop Chess Federation
- Judo terms mentioned: Tachi waza (standing), Ne waza (ground), Esae komi, Mate, and Uchikomi (more here)
- Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy
- What is shocknife training?
- Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP)
- Dave’s mother doesn’t need her son’s help for self-defense — she’s a crack shot.
- Steve MacIntyre Fights Whole Team (see the dreaded hockey player in action)
- In boxing, what does “in the pocket” mean?
- Bloodsport
- SureFire flashlights
- What does Dave mean when he asks if I want to do “Judo Randori?”
- Tomoe Nage Demonstration by Kashiwazaki
- Pancrase: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Wayne (Ken) Shamrock (King)
- Rorion Gracie and the Day He Created the UFC by Guilherme Cruz, MMA Fighting
- WEC 53 Anthony Pettis Matrix Kick
- Jocko Willink on Real Martial Arts
- The Camarillo Brothers Sparring
- Jiu-Jitsu Studio Owner Recreates Heroic Act by Kelli Johnson, ABC News Bakersfield
- Camarillo Jiu Jitsu
- Momento trailer
- Ozzy Man Reviews: MMA 9 Second Knockout
- International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
- Searching for Bobby Fischer
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
- The 80/20 Principle and 92 Other Powerful Laws of Nature: The Science of Success by Richard Koch
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
- Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
- Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
- Less Is More: An Anthology of Ancient & Modern Voices Raised in Praise of Simplicity by Goldian VandenBroeck
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
- Japanese Chess: The Game of Shogi by Trevor Leggett
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
- The Art Of War by Sun Tzu
- On War by Carl von Clausewitz
- Repentless by Slayer
- Tool
- 1999 by Prince
- Batman by Prince
- Shaun of the Dead
- Just Friends
- Hot Fuzz
- The Thing
- Dave says Taipei is “like Japan, but the Chinese version of Shinjuku.”
- About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior by Colonel David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman
- Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton
- The Tail End by Tim Urban, Wait But Why
- To Gi or Not To Gi: Differences Between Gi & No-Gi Grappling by Valerie Worthington, Breaking Muscle
- Flying Kimura
- Black Arrow Martial Arts
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Show Notes
- Dave takes in my house. [05:35]
- We met at an MMA event punctuated by mass hysteria, a stabbing, and SWAT police. [05:57]
- Dave was the (usually unnamed) inspiration behind outsourcing my love life. [08:26]
- Dave on using martial arts as a problem-solving framework and what’s been keeping him busy lately. [10:37]
- MMA fighters Dave has cornered. [11:50]
- How should a beginner approach Jiu-Jitsu? [16:32]
- Three basic guard principles for staying ahead of the curve and controlling an opponent in a fight. [18:21]
- Key differences between Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. [19:42]
- Are there elements of Judo that Dave still applies to Jiu-Jitsu lessons? [21:31]
- The difference between tachi waza and ne waza. [21:58]
- On the benefits of cross training, how it helped Travis Stevens in the 2016 Olympics, and how it keeps a fighter’s repertoire flexible for when he or she needs it most. [22:39]
- Dave talks about his first exposure to Jiu-Jitsu at 19 and how it instantly became something he had to do “for the rest of [his] life.” [24:10]
- What is shocknife training? [25:39]
- How Dave confidently transfers his martial arts problem solving skills to unfamiliar situations and environments. [29:47]
- What Dave learned about hockey fights from Steve MacIntyre. [34:07]
- How do you defend yourself if you’re only armed with a flashlight? [39:53]
- The importance of situational awareness and knowing how to avoid danger in self-defense. [44:22]
- Dave’s advice to people who can’t easily avoid danger. [47:06]
- Learning to get comfortable under stress (in self-defense and stand-up comedy). [48:36]
- What fighting discipline would Dave recommend for (as an example) a 35-year-old, non-military, semi-athletic woman in a bad San Francisco neighborhood looking to defend herself? [51:11]
- Dave bounces his own parties — don’t make him go hands on. [53:24]
- Is Jiu-Jitsu the greatest martial art? [58:10]
- Unlike many other sparring arts, Jiu-Jitsu isn’t just a young person’s game. [1:00:13]
- What is Dave’s go-to Judo technique for throws? [1:01:43]
- The properly executed foot sweep looks like a magic trick. [1:05:01]
- Dave describes what it’s like to corner a professional fighter in a competition. [1:10:32]
- Thanks to the way his parents raised him, martial arts became as natural as brushing teeth at an early age. [1:12:40]
- Dave talks about the time his brother Dan brought a fugitive to justice. [1:13:30]
- The risks of being a real-life vigilante. [1:14:50]
- “Simple” help a corner can provide to a fighter during a competition. [1:17:22]
- How have Dave’s experiences had an impact on his parenting style? [1:23:28]
- Who has impressed Dave the most as a Jiu-Jitsu sparring partner? [1:27:02]
- Why does Dave call Marcelo Garcia “The GOAT?” [1:31:45]
- Books Dave has gifted the most. [1:34:05]
- When you’re working out, you can always count on Slayer and Tool. [1:36:22]
- Movies we love. [1:38:05]
- Sometimes the teacher learns a shocking lesson from the student. [1:41:24]
- On becoming, as Jim Rohn once said, the average of the five people you associate with most. [1:47:26]
- What would Dave’s billboard say? [1:49:15]
- Dave’s three favorite holidays. [1:49:36]
- Dave tells us about how he elevates his mood. [1:50:10]
- We talk about happier spending and the pricelessness of family time. [1:51:24]
- What advice would Dave give his 30-year-old self? [1:54:21]
People Mentioned
- Dan Gable
- Molly the Dog
- Cain Velasquez
- Jon Fitch
- Josh Koscheck
- Mike Swick
- Daniel Cormier
- Travis Stevens
- Ralph Gracie
- Linda Camarillo
- Jim Camarillo
- Steve MacIntyre
- Andre the Giant
- Angus MacGyver
- Whitney Cummings
- James T. Kirk
- Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki
- Ken Shamrock
- Flavio Canto
- Rorion Gracie
- Anthony Pettis
- Jose Aldo Junior
- Jocko Willink
- Bob Cook
- Dan Camarillo
- Marcelo Garcia
- Rafael Mendes
- Josh Waitzkin
- B.J. Penn
- Michael Jordan
- Wayne Gretzky
- Mike Tyson
- Sebastian Junger
- Carl von Clausewitz
- Prince
- Ryan Reynolds
- John Carpenter
- Kurt Russell
- Jim Rohn
- Tim Urban
- Matt Mullenweg
- Jared Feierabend