Matt Kovac on Music and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

It’s not a coincidence that I’m not the only musician at Munich MMA. Contact sports can be a welcome change from the madness of always being on tour. There’s something grounding about being physically present, especially when so much of your life is spent travelling.


There’s a subgroup within the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community at MMA called the Brutal Breakfast Club. We meet at 7 a.m., train together and, from time to time, go for brunch afterwards. People who see us sitting together in a café would never guess what kind of group we are. We’re such a wild mix of ages, appearances and professions which I love about it.




I love being a musician and music comes first for me. But when I discovered BJJ during Covid, and now I can’t imagine my everyday life without it. It gives me access to a very particular kind of logical thinking. You constantly have to concentrate and figure out where your body is in relation to someone else’s.