Stefano Tripney: Movement Martial Arts, The Contextual Dojo, and the Power of Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

02/14/17 • 55 min

Is the world your dojo?

It most certainly is for today's guest — contextual movement coach — Stefano Tripney.

If the two words contextual movement throw you a bit off, no worries. Stefano explains exactly what that is and how it can apply to you and your day-to-day.

He also shares his early experiences with coaching and a bit of the history that led him to where he is today.

Stefano blends both the disciplines and philosophies of Martial Arts and the natural movement skills of MovNat.

I've taken an excerpt directly from the MovNat website, which reads:

MovNat is a school school of physical competence for the real-world. Our goal is to equip people with the movement skills, physiological preparedness (strength & conditioning), and mindset necessary for practical, adaptable performance – both fundamental and high level.

So in today's episode, expect to learn:

The proper progression dojos Stefano recommends to help avoid injury from exercise after years of sedentism,
Why Stefano recommends we live furniture-free lifestyles,
And why we need to keep our mindsets "in beta",
And much, much more...

Subscribe on

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

Stefano shares his early beginnings in movement springing from his passion for watching kung-fu movies
Where Stefano likes to spend his alone time
Stefano's kickstart into martial arts
Stefano's early experiences coaching martial arts
Why after 10 years of martial arts Stefano gave it all up to move to Italy
What Stefano says he trains for
The movement methodology that forever changed Stefano's coaching trajectory
Stefano breaks down MovNat
How Stefano addresses the many needs of his clients
A few questions Stefano likes to ask any new client
How becoming a "seminar junkie" affected Stefano's coaching
How Kelly Worden connected Stefano's training philosophies
Why your intent with the environment that you're in can make all the difference in your movement practice
Why discipline and immersion is so important to dropping your ego
The broad spectrum of people that come to Stefano for training
How a 52-year-old was a more competent mover than 20-year-olds
How Stefano significantly motivated an autistic man's desire to move
James's personal experience with movement coaching
How James injured his back at a movement workshop (2016) in San Francisco
Stefano's three big movement dojos
Stefano defines what he calls Obstacle Optics
"Movement Martial Arts"
The critical piece or cornerstone to Stefano's training
Going furniture-free
The Princess Bride, iocane powder, and hormesis
What James wants to focus his efforts on in 2017
Why we should keep a mindset of "beta"
Stefano's experiences of moving from a small town to the big city and then... to Europe
Stefano's first bow-drill
Changing "elevation for vegetation"
Why Stefano likes being the new kid on the block
Skinny dipping in the Pacific Ocean

Is the world your dojo?

It most certainly is for today's guest — contextual movement coach — Stefano Tripney.

If the two words contextual movement throw you a bit off, no worries. Stefano explains exactly what that is and how it can apply to you and your day-to-day.

He also shares his early experiences with coaching and a bit of the history that led him to where he is today.

Stefano blends both the disciplines and philosophies of Martial Arts and the natural movement skills of MovNat.

I've taken an excerpt directly from the MovNat website, which reads:

So in today's episode, expect to learn:

The proper progression dojos Stefano recommends to help avoid injury from exercise after years of sedentism,
Why Stefano recommends we live furniture-free lifestyles,
And why we need to keep our mindsets "in beta",
And much, much more...

Subscribe on

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

Stefano shares his early beginnings in movement springing from his passion for watching kung-fu movies
Where Stefano likes to spend his alone time
Stefano's kickstart into martial arts
Stefano's early experiences coaching martial arts
Why after 10 years of martial arts Stefano gave it all up to move to Italy
What Stefano says he trains for
The movement methodology that forever changed Stefano's coaching trajectory
Stefano breaks down MovNat
How Stefano addresses the many needs of his clients
A few questions Stefano likes to ask any new client
How becoming a "seminar junkie" affected Stefano's coaching
How Kelly Worden connected Stefano's training philosophies
Why your intent with the environment that you're in can make all the difference in your movement practice
Why discipline and immersion is so important to dropping your ego
The broad spectrum of people that come to Stefano for training
How a 52-year-old was a more competent mover than 20-year-olds
How Stefano significantly motivated an autistic man's desire to move
James's personal experience with movement coaching
How James injured his back at a movement workshop (2016) in San Francisco
Stefano's three big movement dojos
Stefano defines what he calls Obstacle Optics
"Movement Martial Arts"
The critical piece or cornerstone to Stefano's training
Going furniture-free
The Princess Bride, iocane powder, and hormesis
What James wants to focus his efforts on in 2017
Why we should keep a mindset of "beta"
Stefano's experiences of moving from a small town to the big city and then... to Europe
Stefano's first bow-drill
Changing "elevation for vegetation"
Why Stefano likes being the new kid on the block
Skinny dipping in the Pacific Ocean

Previous Episode

Guy McPherson: Extreme Climate Change, Transition Towns, and Near-Term Human Extinction | Ep.009

How long do we, as a species, have left on this planet?

It may be a lot less time than you may had previously thought, according to today's guest.

Guy McPherson, the leading authority on abrupt climate change and near-term human extinction, predicts that we, collectively, have reached the tipping point that has lead the human population careening towards the sixth great extinction of our planet.

So what're we to do?

Guy's answers range from mailing your local congressmen... to dynamiting cell phone towers—all in the name of dismantling industrial civilization, which Guy believes, is the root cause of many of our modern ills—including, but no limited to—abrupt climate change.

Love it or hate it...

In today’s episode, you’ll learn:

Why we should take action but be unattached to the outcome,
Why we as a species are driving ourselves towards a sixth mass extinction,
The solutions we can take on a local level to extend our time here on Earth,
And much, much more...

Subscribe on

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

Guy gives a statement to President Trump about climate change
Why Guy believes being unattached to an outcome is not only important but necessary
Guy gives solid examples of self-reenforcing feedback loops
Guy shares his perspective on why he doesn't like to attach himself to outcomes
Why Guy believes civilization has become an omnicidal heat-engine
Guy defines anarchy and anarchism as described by Edward Abbey
Guy describes how conservation biologists like himself are the ones who pushed the efforts of rewilding into mainstream media
Guy argues that the trigger for humans and civilization came when people began to "lock up the food"
What's the difference between the leavers versus the takers?
Guy shares his experience with living in a transition town in the wilds of New Mexico
Guy tells us what steps we might need to take in order to live more harmoniously with the humans and nonhumans of this earth
Why we need to escape cityscapes
Why Guy says there are no parties that are free from environmental damage
Why we focus on making money instead of building skills
Guy describes what a holistic human-being is and how we've been distracted
Guy shares his biggest challenges when making his own transition in New Mexico
Why modern culture can drive us away from interpersonal intimacy
Why Guys says we're "all about the money"
Guy observes how profoundly driven humans are for material possessions
The sixth mass extinction
Guy briefly explains the Great Dying
Why Guy believes we shouldn't blame or shame anyone into taking action
Why Guy says the sixth mass extinction is directly rooted in industrial civilization
Why The Jason Group believes that the Earth will be a lifeless planet in the not-so-distant future
Guy gives two examples of taking direct action against industrial civilization
Deep Green Resistance and Idle No More
The best excuse in the world not to take action
Why Guy believes there should be no "should"
The Seventh Generation Principle

Next Episode

Tero Isokauppila: Adaptogens, Medicinal Mushrooms, and the Trippy Pagan Origins of Jolly Saint Nick | Ep.011

Did you know... Some of the oldest living mushroom colonies are fairy rings growing around the famous Stonehenge ruins in England?

The rings are so large that they can best be seen from airplanes.

Crazy, right?

Well, be prepared to dive headfirst into mycology 101 with Tero Isokauppila, founder of the popular 'shroom company... FourSigmatic.com

Four Sigmatic is a superfood company founded by Tero and his group of Finnish friends. It's based on their belief that health can be vastly improved through simple dietary tweaks, and the easiest way to do this? Mushrooms, the most scientifically studied and proven superfood. Four Sigmatic wants to popularize medicinal mushrooms by incorporating them in popular products like coffee and hot cocoa.

In today's episode, you'll learn...

Why most medicinal mushroom products in North America technically don't contain mushrooms,
Why people on ketogenic diets shouldn't fear polysaccharides (i.e. complex sugars),
The three tiers of mushroom identification and foraging Tero suggests we begin with, and...
Much, much more.

Subscribe on

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

Tero shares the cliff notes version of his family history and how studying mushrooms led to his current passion with his company Four Sigmatic
Why Tero says drinking mushrooms catches people off guard
Why most medicinal mushroom products in North America technically don't contain mushrooms
What Tero says is the most important part of consuming medicinal mushrooms
How and why upgrading an existing ritual is easier than creating a new one
How to "fat-hack" the bitterness from coffee
How heat and fat can unlock the medicinal power of an unextracted mushroom
What happens when you combine rosehips with mushrooms
The difference between the fruiting body and mycelium of fungi
Why people on ketogenic diets shouldn't fear polysaccharides (i.e. complex sugars)
Tero explains the fungi circle of life
The differences between foraging laws in the US versus Finland
The cutthroat business of commercial mushroom foragers
Everyman's Right in Finland
Why Finnish people run off to rural cottages for weeks to even months at a time
The importance of celestial events in Finnish culture and the origins of Santa Claus
Why Finland and surrounding countries are some of the least religious countries in the world
The difference between edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms
The accident that led to Tero discovering a rare Japanese mushroom in Finland
Where Four Sigmatic sources their "superfoods"
Tero explains—with a clever anecdote—how adaptogenic herbs can modulate both mood and energy
Why you should be relaxed, focused, and calm in the mornings
The mindset that Tero sees that causes many people to panic and stop taking action
Tero's three levels of mushroom foraging
Special discount code for 10% off your next Four Sigmatic purchase