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The Hero with a Thousand Holds

May 20, 2022

The Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, is the coldest place on Earth outside of Antarctica. A 3-million-km2 expanse of unforgiving taiga and tundra, where winter temperatures can plunge to lethal lows of -67°C, over the ages it has nonetheless been home to scattered groups of hardy peoples.

The largest such group,...


Nov 25, 2020

The two primary martial arts of Burma are Lethwei (a form of bare-knuckle kickboxing featuring headbutts) and Naban, a grappling style that allows palm strikes, and with a focus on ferocious pressure and unforgivingly applied submissions. Phil Dunlap has a lifetime of experience in both of these Burmese arts, with...


Nov 14, 2020

As the modern revival of the Irish national wrestling style continues, it's time to lay old myths to rest.

To mark the 2-year anniversary of The Hero with a Thousand Holds, I've re-written and re-recorded the very first episode, on the subject of Irish Collar and Elbow. Not only to enhance the story with newfound...


Sep 1, 2020

Lavell Marshall is a world champion and 5-time US national champion in Shuai Jiao, a form of Chinese jacket wrestling. For the past year, he’s been living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, training and competing with the local Mongol people in their own native wrestling style – Bökh.

In this...


Aug 17, 2020

The region of the world stretching from Mexico to Costa Rica – traditionally referred to as “Mesoamerica” – was, in its pre-Columbian heyday, home to empires that mapped time, carved words out of mid-air, and raised some of the most magnificent cities on Earth. And from the Olmec to the Toltec, from the Aztec to...