> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://fightingmatters.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Tariffs and Jiu-Jitsu Economics
- URL: https://fightingmatters.com/tariffs-and-jiu-jitsu-economics/
- Published: 2026-08-28T04:18:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-12T05:15:36.000Z
- Description: In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jeff Shaw and Jesse Walker are joined by Jose Fernandez, a health economist and purple belt who chairs the economics department at the University of Louisville.
- Author: Fighting Matters
- Tags: Podcast, Video, Gym Business, Trade War

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jeff Shaw and Jesse Walker are joined by Jose Fernandez, a health economist and purple belt who chairs the economics department at the University of Louisville. He explains who pays for tariffs, why 70% of the world's gis coming out of one country matters for your gear budget, and what gym owners should do about prices and leases while their students are getting squeezed.  
  
⸻  
  
👥 Featuring:

- Jeff Shaw — [https://bellinghambjj.com](https://bellinghambjj.com/?ref=fightingmatters.com)
- Jesse Walker — [https://roughhandsbjj.com](https://roughhandsbjj.com/?ref=fightingmatters.com)
- Jose Fernandez — [https://louisville.edu/faculty/jmfern02](https://louisville.edu/faculty/jmfern02?ref=fightingmatters.com)

⸻  
  
🧠 Topics Discussed:

- The tight labor market and consumer sentiment
- Gym pricing, leases, and rate freezes
- Politics in the gym and local elections
- Tariffs on gis and rash guards
- The AI bubble and robot labor
- The federal debt and taxing the rich
- Insurance paperwork and doctor hours

⸻  
  
📖 Chapters:  
[00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Introducing Jose Fernandez  
[00:03:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=237s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — The indicators and the debt  
[00:06:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=407s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — White belt signups slow down  
[00:08:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=531s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Leases, rent, and expansion  
[00:11:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=708s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Why you shouldn't cut prices  
[00:13:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=818s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Family discounts and freezes  
[00:19:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=1145s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Politics in the jiu-jitsu gym  
[00:20:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=1229s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Vote in your local elections  
[00:25:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=1509s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Who pays the tariff on your gi  
[00:28:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=1703s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Trade deals without tariffs  
[00:32:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=1951s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Why the stock market climbs  
[00:38:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=2280s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Robots replacing human labor  
[00:47:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=2874s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — AI, drones, and modern warfare  
[00:54:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=3252s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Cheap gas and the oil reserves  
[01:00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=3603s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — The debt and the sacred cows  
[01:11:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EELW%5FK04hT8&t=4284s&ref=fightingmatters.com) — Insurers waste doctor hours