6309 SW Capitol Highway, Portland OR, 97239
503 432 7450
Starting in February, We’ll be running a “fundamentals” kids class for ages 8 and up. It’s on Tuesdays @5pm. There will still be the regular class in the big gym, replete with all the sparring, wrestling, and grappling that the students are used to… this is an additional class.
Why? Because there are students who are not ready for the rough and tumble of wrestling and sparring. This class will be all about technique and drills. We will work with partners but there won’t be any competitive sparring or wrestling.
All current students are welcome to take the class at no charge. New students can sign up for a package of the 4 Tuesdays in February for $80 here.
SW Portland Martial Arts Blog
Fundamentals Class
January 11th, 2025Dumbbells versus Barbells
January 8th, 2025
If there was a fight between barbells and dumbbells, who would win?
Trick question, they’d both lay there inert because they have no capacity for independent motion so neither would win. Instead, think of yourself as the winner of the battle, the possessor of two distinct and functional tools.
If you are worried you might not have equal strength in both arms, use the dumbbells. They’ll let you know if you have a weak side. If you’re looking to load up on more total weight, use the barbells. If you haven’t used the dumbbells in a long time, give them a try, there’s a whole different feeling of challenge you get from moving around two separate objects versus the barbell.
In the eternal fight between barbells and dumbbells, you are the winner. Use them both… probably not at the same time, but you know, alternate using them.
January is Armbar Month
January 6th, 2025
What better way to start 2025 than by learning all the details of the armbar? (The correct answer, by the way, is that there is no better way.)
Okay. So maybe armbars are awesome but aren’t there like… other submissions in BJJ to learn? Absolutely. However, it’s not an unreasonable thing to claim that if you don’t have an armbar, you’re missing a major part of the game. Just digging through a list of statistics, the armbar is either the most common submission, or the second most common submission. In either case, it should be high up on your list.
Suppose you hate the armbar and feel dirty using it on people. That sounds rough, but even in that scenario, you should learn it inside and out because everyone else is going to try and do it to you.
If all those words don’t convince you then listen to these: the armbar sets up all sorts of other submission opportunities, as well as sweeps (assuming you’re trying your armbar from the bottom.)
Gi or no gi, let’s get those armbars locked in, people!
Set 2025 on Fire
November 30th, 2024
The hardest part of training is getting through the door of the gym for the first time. That’s why we’re thrilled to offer new students the easiest possible entry we can, with an offer of $25 to access our full schedule for the month of January.
This means, for only $25, you can take all our martial arts classes, all the CrossFit classes, and all the yoga classes. The only thing you can’t take is kid’s classes (they need less help getting started because they’ve got parents helping push them through the doors.)
We thought we’d time this with the new year, because it’s the time where folks think about trying something new. We’ve done our part by gathering all possible excuses into a pile and lighting them on fire. All you have to do is click here and then walk through the door.
Push Up Technique
November 15th, 2024
If you’ve ever watched someone do pushups, maybe you’ve been a nerdy enough CrossFitter or movement person to wonder if their elbows should stay in close to the body, or if it is okay for the elbows to bow out.
The answer is, as always, complex. However, I have found, over the years, that if I coach students to keep their elbows in close, they tend to experience less shoulder, elbow, and wrist pain. That’s good, right? The downside is that this style of pushup tends to be harder than if you let your elbows wing out. In addition, people with bigger wrists don’t tend to get much pain if they let their elbows wing out.
So what’s the answer? I recommend everyone try to keep the elbows close to their torsos when doing pushups. If flaring elbows hurts smaller wristed folks right away, I suspect that the habit may eat away eventually at folks with bigger wrists.
Another piece to add that will return some of the power to your pushup when you keep your elbows close is to externally rotate your hands into the ground while going both up and down in the movement. If you’re familiar with this concept from the squat (where you externally rotate your feet into the ground) just transfer it right over to the pushup and see if it helps. My experience of adding the twist is that you get a substantial boost in power.