#223 – Travis Stevens: Judo, Olympics, and Mental Toughness

By Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast

21/09/21

Travis Stevens is the 2016 Olympic Judo silver medalist and BJJ black belt. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Justworks: https://justworks.com - Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit - MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lex to get 15% off - Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings EPISODE LINKS: Travis's Website: https://www.travisstevensgrappling.com/ Travis's Twitter: https://twitter.com/judosilencer Travis's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TravisStevensgrappling Travis's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judosilencer PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (10:08) - What is Judo? (17:55) - Travis's signature throw (23:20) - Fundamentals (25:12) - Throws (38:04) - Gripping (46:37) - Weight cutting (1:15:50) - Injuries (1:19:50) - Jiu-Jitsu (1:23:33) - Lex on his judo competition experience (1:26:58) - Levels of mastery (1:40:09) - Matches (1:54:10) - Travis inspired Lex to practice judo (2:00:24) - London 2012 Olympic games (2:42:01) - 2016 Olympic games (3:16:24) - Mixed team competition (3:23:50) - The value of epic throws (3:27:17) - Shohei Ono (3:33:39) - Chess (3:38:42) - The coach (3:45:18) - Advice for young people