Episode 50: Stoicism and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) with Matt Thornton

You're listening to the Stoic Solutions Podcast - practical wisdom for everyday life. In today's episode, I have a conversation with Matt Thornton about parallels between Stoic Philosophy and mixed martial arts, particularly Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Even though you might not practice martial arts, this conversation has lots to offer. We talk about mental toughness, discipline, goal-setting, personal development, handling adversity, challenging yourself, open-mindedness, ego, and much more. Matt Thornton was one of the early group of Americans to become involved in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu having been introduced to it in 1991. He was also the first person from the state of Oregon to receive a black belt in the art. Matt has worked with some of the best MMA fighters, grapplers and combat athletes in the world including UFC hall of famers Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, and Forrest Griffin. He has also produced Oregon’s first and so far only Mundials world champion. New York Times best-selling author Sam Harris said, “Matt Thornton is one of the clearest Martial Arts instructors I have come across.” As of this writing, Matt has awarded thirteen Brizilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts and his very own Straight Blast Gym has produced multiple UFC fighters (including the biggest UFC Champion in history Conor McGregor) – multiple BJJ world champions, including black belt medalists – and currently stands as the world’s leading organization for functional martial arts, combat sports, and self-defense. Matt’s main emphasis over the last decade has been addressing superstition as it relates to the fields of sports training, combat sports, and martial arts. His methodology known as aliveness was designed as a tool to help people distinguish between fact and fiction. He is currently working on a book which will cover the topic of violence and its relationship to both combat sports and skepticism. Support through Patreon and Paypal Donate: http://justinvacula.com/donate/ Find Justin Vacula online and listen to past content: Main website: http://www.stoicsolutionspodcast.com SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/justinvacula iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/stoic-philosophy/id1264404483 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/justinvacula Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/justin-vacula/stoic-philosophy Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?authuser&u=0#/ps/I4gq7yzmfr63glwfvin2kmciifq Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoicSolutionsPodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/StoicSolutions Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/justinvacula Engage at home or on-the-go with podcast listeners and people interested in Stoicism, Philosophy in my new interactive easy-to-use Discord chat channel: http://justinvacula.com/2018/04/02/stoic-solutions-podcast-discord-chat/ Podcast music, used with permission, is from Fairyland's song 'Master of the Waves.' View their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Groupe.Fairyland.Officiel/ Resources: Stoic Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Stoicism/ Modern Stoicism http://modernstoicism.com Massimo Pigliucci blog 'How to be a Stoic' https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com Show Notes: Straight Blast Gym: http://www.straightblastgym.com Matt Thornton website: http://mattthornton.org