Engineering Meets Art

Jack Taufer started training at 15, back in 1995 — and in this conversation he wonders aloud who he’d be without it: a skateboarder, a basketball player, a woodworker like his late father, maybe someone in finance. Instead he found an art that’s deeply technical and physics-based, yet expressed a little differently by every person who does it. Skateboarding, he says, gave him balance; jiu-jitsu taught him a kind of learning no other sport does, because you’re constantly adapting to another human being.

With host Pete Deeley, Taufer digs into visualization and how training media changed from VHS tapes to YouTube, and shares his view that competition can accelerate progress but isn’t necessary. He tells stories from memorable rolls — including time with Rickson Gracie and a 40-minute war — and breaks down “invisible jiu-jitsu”: posture, weight distribution, and training with your eyes closed to feel connection. Along the way he talks about the confidence students gain and the gym culture that keeps everyone safe and respected.