Pete Deeley sits down with Professor Steve Ficca of Odin’s Halls BJJ in Las Vegas — a coach who found jiu-jitsu after boxing gyms and shuttered wrestling schools and never looked back. They talk about the first thing that never bored him, using the art to drive across the country and see the world, why competition is a tool for growth rather than a paycheck, and the lessons he wants every kid to carry off the mat. Along the way: why the losses teach more than the wins, the difference between being tough and being strong, and the perseverance that keeps him going through every injury.

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In this episode

• 00:00 Welcome — Submission Coffee and the My Jiu Jitsu Journey app
• 01:00 If martial arts had never come into his life
• 02:16 “The first thing in my life that never bored me”
• 04:42 From Kung Fu flicks to a boxing gym in the hood
• 05:46 Judo, wrestling, and finding jiu-jitsu — the most user-friendly martial art
• 06:39 The teachers who shaped him; a gym where everyone is good
• 08:16 Tammy Grego, hitchhiking home, and using jiu-jitsu to see the world
• 09:42 Competition’s real role — a tool for growth, not a paycheck
• 11:38 Everybody should compete once: the lessons of a fight without the danger
• 13:40 “May all your hardest struggles be on the mat”
• 14:14 Kids, stoppages, and learning that life isn’t fair
• 15:47 Why the losses are the real teacher
• 19:01 Knee injuries, and moving from competing to coaching
• 20:23 The hard-headed 10-year-old who became his best kid
• 23:54 Coaches as surrogate parents; the moments kids carry forever
• 30:36 Tough vs. strong — and the Iron Man mindset
• 32:50 What he hopes people learn: hard work, and pushing through
• 33:35 Closing

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