EP#34-How Coach Mantanona Builds Champions in the Coachella Valley

Send us Fan MailGetting choked out sounds like a bad day until you understand what it really teaches: calm under pressure, honest feedback, and the confidence that comes from doing hard things on purpose. We sit down with Anthony Mantanona, third-degree black belt and the driving force behind Coachella Valley Jiu Jitsu, to unpack how grappling sports shape people in ways a normal workout never can.We talk about Anthony’s path from a big family and an accidental landing in the Coachella Valley to discovering judo as the closest thing to the jiu-jitsu he saw in the early UFC days. He explains the real differences between judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and wrestling, from throws and pins to points and submissions, and why “earning your belt” is about time, skill, and trust, not shortcuts. Along the way, we dig into competing as a mirror for your habits, why humility is a feature, and how great coaching means adapting to the person in front of you.Anthony also shares how his academy grew through mentorship, community, and the post-COVID reset, plus what it takes to develop kids into high-level athletes, including Palm Desert’s wrestling pipeline and the growth of girls wrestling and women’s jiu-jitsu. We wrap with mindset lessons on injuries, nutrition, and training as “physical chess,” then point you to where you can drop in and try a class.If you enjoy the conversation, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a new challenge, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of starting jiu-jitsu would be hardest for you?