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When you’re trying to throw a ball (or any object) fast, it’s important to use the explosive power of all your major joints. The trouble is you have to open those joints in the right order. In short, it’s not enough to generate power, you need coordination.
So it is with the Olympic lifts. In fact, the Olympic lifts are sort of like throwing a ball… except you’re throwing it straight up and then getting underneath it, so maybe it’s a big stretch to compare the two, but it is not a big stretch to say you need power and coordination.
One joint that is easy to forget, especially during warm-up drills, is the ankles. The bar is light and it’s just a warm up, so who cares, right? Wrong. The purpose of the warm-up drills is to burn in the correct motor pattern, not to casually and consistently do things incorrectly.
The fix is easy. Make sure you’re opening your hips, your knees, AND your ankles during your lifts – even during your warm-ups.
SW Portland Martial Arts Blog
Don’t Forget the Ankles
October 1st, 2024Leg Entanglements
September 30th, 2024
September’s theme was leg entanglements. For those of us steeped in “regular” BJJ, all the new positions and movements can be baffling, but the rewards are amazing. Your guard passing improves because you can threaten leg locks at the same time you are passing. Your submission threats increase because you’ve suddenly got two more limbs to threaten.
It is – however – a ton of work. Like everything in martial arts, if you want to make techniques and concepts function, you’ve got to punch the clock. Try the new moves and positions when you roll. Force yourself away from your old game and don’t sweat it, you’ll come out the other end a better player.
Next month’s theme: side control.
Our Play Program
September 14th, 2024
That’s right! We’ve got a bunch of programs for kids ages 0-4. We’ve got baby sign language, family martial arts, music shows, Spanish story time, and more.
Check it out under our SWPMA Play tab.
Which Martial Art is Best For Self Defense?
August 2nd, 2024
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It’s a silly click-bait question, because even a single martial art is not a monolith.
Let’s take the example of BJJ. If it is presented as a game in which you learn to beat other BJJ players at BJJ, that is one approach. If it is, instead, presented as a self defense system against someone who has no concern for the rules of BJJ, that is a very different approach and the results will be different.
In the first scenario, the student will probably become quite competent at handling BJJ practitioners in the context of BJJ rules. If they choose to compete, they might do quite well. If some idiot in a bar decides to take a swing at them, they might do pretty well if they can manage to take things to the clinch, then the ground.
In the second scenario, the student will probably gain a wider understanding of martial arts and self defense outside of the context of BJJ. If they choose to compete, they might find they are fairly outclassed by students from other schools who have invested much more time in the specific tactics of the game of BJJ. If some idiot in a bar decides to take a swing at them, they might do pretty well if they can manage to take things to the clinch, then to the ground. They might also draw on any de-escalation or scenario work they have done in the broader context of self defense and try to avoid getting any deeper into the fight.
Is one better than the other for self defense? Maybe. It depends on what happens. The trouble with evaluating the value of martial arts when it comes to self defense is that self defense can encompass an extremely wide number of scenarios.
So what’s the answer? What is the best martial art for self defense? It’s very difficult to say. My inclination is to pick something that you enjoy, where the instructor is realistic about what they are focusing on, and where people train hard but with compassion.
Yeah, but less Seriously
July 14th, 2024
We are, for better or worse, stuck inside these mortal bodies. Given that, it makes sense to put some effort into maintaining a decent state of physicality so that you can have some fun during your brief sojourn on planet earth.
So yeah, physical fitness is serious business. It is, in the end, the only business we have. If your physical fitness reaches zero… then you’re no more. Given all that, we use CrossFit as a methodology to do out best while also realizing that if you take anything too seriously, especially things that are serious, you ruin it… and if you treat everything as a joke, you also ruin everything.
CrossFit is hard. Put some comedy in your seriousness and some seriousness in your comedy. You’ll last longer, or at least die smiling.