Ryan Hall: Martial Arts and the Philosophy of Violence, Power, and Grace | Lex Fridman Podcast #125

The following is a conversation with Ryan Hall, one of the most insightful minds and systems thinkers in the martial arts world. He's a black belt in jujitsu, accomplished competitor, an MMA fighter undefeated in the UFC, and truly a philosopher who seeks to understand the underlying principles of the martial arts. Jujitsu is such an important part of who I am, and I was hoping to share that with folks who might know me only as a researcher. I think there's no better person to do that with than Ryan, who somehow, remarkably, I can say is a friend and also a modern-day warrior philosopher of the Miyamoto Musashi line of especially dangerous and brilliant humans. Also, his amazing wife, Jen Hall, was there as well. So, if you hear a kind of voice of wisdom coming from above, you know who it is. Quick summary of the sponsors: PowerDot, Babbel, and Cash App. Please check out the sponsors in the description to get a discount and to support this podcast. As a side note, let me say that renaming this podcast to just my name gave me intellectual freedom that I really didn't anticipate was so empowering, especially for someone who's trying to find their voice. I hope you'll allow me the chance to really try and do that, to step outside of AI and even science, engineering, history, and so on, and on occasion talk to athletes, musicians, writers, and maybe even (laughs) comedians who inspire me, especially up-and-coming comedians and musicians like Eric Weinstein, who, yes, we'll do a third conversation with soon. I think if I allow myself to expand the range of these conversations on occasion, when I do return to science and engineering, I'll bring a new perspective and also a little bit more fun and a few extra listeners that may not otherwise realize how fascinating artificial intelligence, robotics, mathematics, and engineering truly is. All that said, please skip the episodes that don't interest you. You don't have to listen to all of them. Trust me, as someone who is a bit or a lot OCD, that idea is quite unpleasant. But life, friends, is full of unpleasant things. But as Hunter S. Thompson suggested, and I suggest as well, you should still buy the ticket and take the ride. If you enjoy this thing, subscribe on YouTube, review it with five stars on Apple Podcast, follow on Spotify, support on Patreon, or connect with me on Twitter @LexFridman. As usual, I'll do a few minutes of ads now and no ads in the middle. I try to make these interesting, but I give you the timestamp, so please skip if you don't want to listen to the ads, but it does mean a lot to me when you do. And still please do check out the sponsors by clicking on links in the description. It really is the best way to support this podcast. This show is sponsored by PowerDot. Get it at powerdot.com/lex and use code "Lex" at checkout to get 20% off. I use it for muscle recovery for legs and shoulders, but you can also use it to build muscle, endurance, or even just warm up. In fact, I first heard about this kind of electrical muscle stimulation device in reading that Bruce Lee used it. He was an inspiration to me as someone who practices first principles thinking, especially in a discipline where conventional thinking is everywhere. He created a martial art called Jeet Kune Do that is in many ways, at least philosophically in its hybrid approach, a precursor to modern-day mixed martial arts. There's a special kind of deep philosophical thinking that combat athletes or jujitsu practitioners do that is unlike any other. I think it's grounded in the humbling process of getting your ass kicked a lot that removes any illusion of intellectual superiority. I think the journey towards wisdom starts when you humbly admit to yourself that you know very little or almost nothing. Anyway, go to powerdot.com/lex and use code "Lex" at checkout to get 20% off on top of the 30-day free trial. This show is also sponsored by Babbel, an app and website that gets you speaking in a new language within weeks. Go to babbel.com and use code "Lex" to get three months free. They offer 14 languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, German, and yes, Russian. Let me read a few lines from a Russian song by Vladimir Vysotsky called Ona Byla v Parishe that you'll start to understand if you sign up to Babbel: (singing in Russian) . This song always made me smile 'cause it resonates with my own life. It translates loosely to "She's Been to Paris." Paris for a Russian, I suppose, symbolizing a fancy life, and that the guy can never quite fit into that kind of life. Expensive things, nice restaurants, cars, all of that. I was thinking about what song is the equivalent in English. Maybe Uptown Girl by Billy Joel is similar in spirit, but (laughs) very different in style. I just watched a video on YouTube for Uptown Girl, and it's basically Billy Joel dressed up as, uh, a mechanic, but dancing in a way that I'm pretty sure no mechanic has ever danced, turning the old cringe factor up to 11. Anyway, I always felt like I didn't really fit in with the fancy people, and that's what this song represents. But back to, uh, Babbel. (laughs) Get started by visiting babbel.com and use code "Lex" to get three months free. This show is presented by the great, the powerful, the OG sponsor named unofficially after one of my favorite musicians, the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. That's Cash App, the number one finance app in the App Store. When you get it, use code "LEXPODCAST." The Cash App folks are truly amazing people and are teeming with ideas for cool contests, giveaways, and all that kind of stuff. I've been thinking of doing some kind of little contest and giving away 42 bucks to a bunch of people who win.It's not so much about the money, but the glory and the delicious taste of victory. If you have ideas for a contest, let me know. I was thinking of something like asking people to submit funny, inspiring photos or videos or audio of using Cash App or any of the sponsors of this podcast really. Or maybe even just funny things related to the podcast, like different weird places you might be watching or listening to me right now. I'm pretty sure there's somebody out there right now sitting in a hot tub with some wine watching me say this. I salute you, sir or madam. I may be opening up some floodgates I deeply regret later, so please make sure you're wearing clothes in whatever you send me. There will be no naked people in the hot tub as part of this podcast. I have integrity and standards. (laughs) Let me know in the comments what ideas for contests you might have. Again, if you get Cash App from the app store or Google Play and use the code LEXPODCAST, you get $10 and Cash App will also donate $10 to FIRST, an organization that is helping to advance robotics and STEM education for young people around the world. And now, here's my conversation with Ryan Hall. Who, in your view, is the greatest warrior in history, ancient or modern?