Peter Liciaga grew up a street kid in the South Bronx, where martial arts first became a way to survive. Over the next fifty-six years it became something else entirely — a way to live. In this conversation he and Pete trace a remarkable road: Tang Soo Do, a white belt at 17, ballet and Broadway, Taekwondo in Germany, and finally jiu-jitsu.

Peter also shares the hardest chapter — losing the use of both hips, six dark years off the mats, and the double hip-replacement that brought him back. At 65 he's rolling almost every day and devoting himself to helping people (especially 40 and over) stay strong on the mats. Along the way: "fight a good fight," "you're always in great shape for the shape you're in," and his one lesson — present focus.

In this episode

• 00:00 Welcome + the Reno camp and the app
• 01:00 Meet Peter Liciaga
• 02:04 One road or many? A lifelong martial artist
• 03:42 A street kid in the South Bronx
• 05:07 "Martial arts gave me the tools to be a warrior"
• 05:31 Fight a good fight — survive it, learn from it
• 05:52 Losing both hips — and getting back on the mats
• 07:27 The Bronx of the 1970s
• 10:31 Weapons then and now
• 12:12 Born of both love and need
• 13:15 The book, and a white belt at 17
• 14:04 Ballet, Broadway, and Germany
• 14:42 "You're not in the Bronx anymore"
• 15:38 Where the discipline really came from
• 18:34 Dancer's legs, flow, and Randori
• 19:56 Old hips vs. new hips
• 20:37 Six dark years
• 21:09 Adapting: jiu-jitsu from the bottom
• 22:57 The teachers who helped him honor his body
• 25:09 You can roll at 80
• 28:04 "Don't tell me — show me"
• 30:56 Giving it your best, at any age
• 32:37 "Great shape for the shape you're in"
• 35:31 The hero's journey and the sticky-note map
• 36:42 "My darkest moments were my greatest lessons"
• 37:12 The one lesson: present focus
• 38:45 Where to find Peter + his book

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