Open Mat Radio

I just discovered this really great podcast dedicated to BJJ and grappling - it's called the Open Mat Radio and you can find their shows here: http://www.openmatradio.com/

I was brought to their attention when their guest, Jon Thomas from Tap Cancer Out gave me a shout out in his interview. You can listen to this episode here - where Jon describes how his non-profit got started and all the difficulties involved. Especially illuminating was the story behind his unique fund raising tournament format, in which he raised an incredible $21,000!!

I spoke briefly to co-host Paul Moran to find out more about Open Mat Radio. He explains:

"Myself, Richard Heinrich and Rafael Penha) debuted OpenMatRadio.com in January of this year. We cover the jiu jitsu/grappling lifestyle in various ways on our site. Our main draw is our weekly podcast (http://www.openmatradio.com/category/podcasts/).
We've interviewed BJ Penn, Shaolin, Eddie Bravo, Xande, Ryan Hall, John Danaher and many more. Our goal is to create a better discourse for the jiu jitsu/grappling community. Another goal is to expose our community to valuable history that might otherwise not be reported on.

In addition to our podcast we film a series called Expert's Corner. In this series we ask top level blackbelts/fighters/coaches the same set of questions. We ask the same questions so our viewers can compare how Marcelo, Saulo and Erik Paulson answer. 

We also post classic fights, diet/nutrition tips and a style guide we call the Grappler's Closet. The Grappler's Closet features up and coming grassroots brands.
I think what sets us apart from other sites is that we try to cover the overall culture and not just the sport side of jiu jitsu. We've done interviews with Scotty from OTM, Lauren Park who works in Abu Dhabi with the Royal family and of course our interview with Jon for TCO. We also try to report on any charity work being done. We auctioned off a shirt autographed by a ton of all-stars that were at the San Diego World Pro Trials. The money went to support Seanna Rossi in her fight against cancer.

We do our best to cover the major tournaments around the US. We have worked with Ultimate Absolute in NYC and currently work with ADCC North America. Last, we do a lot of contests and give-a-ways with up and coming brands."

Sounds really cool, I'll be tuning in each week from now on.


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