Podbit · On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Fencing is boxing, taekwondo, and a 100-meter sprint had a baby. It demands explosive power, lightning reaction time, and real-time tactical thinking — all simultaneously. Miles compares it to physical chess where you must anticipate your opponent while reacting to what they actually do, all while managing a heart rate that swings from 170 to the low 70s in seconds.
Where this was said
At 24:25 · chapter starts 23:06
Jay draws a parallel with Drive to Survive — the Netflix series that made F1 accessible — and asks Miles to do the same for fencing. Miles obliges with rare specificity. Fencing is, he argues, physical chess: as mentally taxing as it is physical. The three pillars are explosive power, reaction time, and timing. He describes himself as a 'feeling fencer' who reads opponents' feet and mannerisms, contrasting with more defensive, analytical styles. The sport is like 'boxing, taekwondo, and a 100-meter sprint had a baby,' with bouts running anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes and requiring the ability to cycle heart rate from 170 bpm down to the low 70s in seconds. Preseason training mirrors boxing conditioning: 10 rounds on the Assault Bike at 20 seconds on, 40 off; ski erg; sprinting. He trains 4–5 days per week, alternating full sparring sessions with one-on-one tactical coaching. [1] — Miles Chamley-Watson "Fencing is boxing, taekwondo, and a 100-meter sprint had a baby. It demands explosive power, lightning reaction time, and real-time tactica…" 24:25
Miles describes fencing as 'physical chess' where it is equally taxing mentally and physically, requiring explosive speed, reaction time, and in-the-moment tactical adaptation.
Miles trains fencing 4–5 times per week, alternating between full sparring days and one-on-one tactical lessons with his coach.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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