Direct Elimination Podcast
Direct Elimination Podcast
Podcast Description
Where champions take off the mask.Hosted by elite fencers Ari Simmons and Stephen Ewart, Direct Elimination brings you raw, honest conversations with top performers in sports, business and life. Each episode dives deep into what it really takes to pursue your passion with purpose. No fluff. Just the moments, mindsets, and choices that shape a life in pursuit of something bigger.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as sports performance, personal growth, and the journey of overcoming adversity. Episodes feature in-depth conversations about topics like learning from failure, mindset shifts, and personal origin stories, with specific examples including Bryce Louie's experiences at the Senior Fencing World Championships and unique relationships that shape an athlete's journey.
The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts.
The world of elite fencing’s most relatable duo — Ari Simmons and Stephen Ewart of Team USA — team up to provide next-level access to life as a fencer as it unfolds. The two teammates drop insights about their journeys to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. They also endlessly rag on each other as friends do, chat about their sport and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them.
Topics they explore:
The mindset of world-class athletes
Failure, resilience, and comeback stories
NCAA & Olympic fencing insights
The role of social media, culture, and community in sports
Why athletes do what they do — and what keeps them fighting
Subscribe for episodes that deliver real talk, laughs, and lessons — straight from the fencing strip to your headphones.
Kaito Streets left Team USA to fence for Japan, where he has both missed and qualified for Olympic Games in the last 10 years. Through the ups, downs, wins and almosts of his career, Kaito's resilience speaks for itself.
The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts.
In this episode, you'll discover:
• Why Kaito switched from representing the US to Japan, and what it meant to him in pride, perception, and belonging between two cultures
• What it actually feels like to stand on the Olympic strip: the shaking, the fear, the joy, and why Kaito says he'll never feel anything like it again
• How Kaito nearly retired after Tokyo, nearly retired again after missing Paris, and what finally convinced him to chase LA 2028
• The 'win or learn' philosophy behind starting the Tokyo International Fencing Academy, and why Kaito says keeping elite knowledge to himself would be selfish
Kaito Streets is an American-Japanese Olympian who competed for Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Games and is a founding coach of the Tokyo International Fencing Academy. He is one of the more recognizable faces growing fencing internationally through competition, content creation, and coaching.
This podcast was produced in collaboration with the International Fencing Federation (FIE).
💬 Have you ever had to choose between two identities, in sport, work, or life? Drop your take in the comments.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00:00 – Intro
00:01:15 – Comedy, Content Creation & Athlete Persona
00:06:09 – The Switch: Why He Left Team USA for Japan
00:10:02 – Adapting to Japanese Culture and Earning His Spot
00:11:54 – Tokyo Olympics: Pure Human Emotion on the Strip
00:16:47 – COVID, Family Absent & Nearly Retiring After Tokyo
00:18:35 – Missing Paris & Considering Retirement Again at 30
00:19:22 – Why He Chose to Come Back for LA 2028
00:20:16 – The Only Real Way to Fail
00:21:25 – The World Championship Bronze Medal Match
00:25:07 – Win or Learn: The Mindset That Keeps Him Going
00:27:10 – Starting the Tokyo International Fencing Academy
00:28:43 – Teaching as a Renewal of Passion
00:32:49 – Growing Fencing Into a Mainstream Sport
00:35:58 – Rapid Fire & Closing Thoughts
💬 BEST QUOTES
”When I got to the Olympics, I've never felt emotion like that before. I was, nervous, scared, happy, like everything you could think of in one.” [00:13:08]
”I think you learn the most in your losses.” [00:26:01]
”The will to win is learned after a loss.” [00:38:53]
🔗 CONNECT WITH KAITO
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitostreets/?hl=en
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ @kaitocstreets
CONNECT WITH TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FENCING ACADEMY
🌐: https://tifa-fencing.jp/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tokyointlfencingacademy/
🔗 CONNECT WITH THE FIE
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fencing_fie/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fie_fencing
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJEy8aBnqDymMIcJCh72gMw
🌐: https://fie.org/
Thank you for listening!
🔗 Check out FencR
🌐: https://www.fencr.app/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fencr.app
🔗 Connect with Us
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast
📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination
🔗 Prieur USA
🌐: https://www.prieurusa.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
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