SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

We’ve got two slogans. D.I.D. (Do it Daily) and A.B.T. (Always be Training). Today, in the internal martial arts class, Jaydra shared how you can sneak your martial arts training into everyday postures. So, I’m pretty sure that falls under the always be training rubric.

For kid’s class, we worked the flashiest kick of them all, the crescent kick. I mean, maybe there are flashier kicks, but they all involve spinning and jumping. So crescent kicks it was!

For the CrossFit class, we ventured into the deadly world of handstand walking. Turns out, I’ve got a long way to go because my spine turns into the letter C when I handstand walk. The journey never ends.

And now the kata you’ve been dreaming of! The tension and relaxation that never ends! The inhale and exhale of life! The exciting conclusion of two weeks of Mo Yut Do work… Wearing a backpack full of books and doing the form! It’s a fabulous way to make the idea of grounding palpable. Forget metaphors, wear some weight. You’ll get it.

What do you do after you kick? Punch! What do you do after you punch? Kick! It’s never ending. I mean, not really, but it is fun to think about all the ways that you can connect your punches and kicks. Check out the striking video with Dug… I mean, it’s a striking video, about striking…

What do you after you kick? Punch. In kid’s class, we keep it simple today. Kick, then punch. Why? Because, those sparring partners are out to get you! Make it harder for them by throwing a punch in their way.

Special guest? Special guest! The 9 year old ventured up to the gym and helped me film CrossFit class today. She even did the workout with me. Wow.

Thinking about kata? Well think and look and think and look some more with this video on Mo Yut Do. (It’s about thinking about where you should look during the form. Whew, that’s a lot of thinking about looking.)

Today’s CrossFit skill work featured the headstand. On a whim, I switched between two different versions of the headstand today – one on the hands and one on the forearms. Why? Because skill work is playtime. If you’re not giving into whim at least a little bit, you’re probably taking your workouts too seriously.

In today’s striking class, Dug works jabs after kicks… because if you kick and just hang out… the bad guy is gonna get you! No seriously, punch after you kick. Or move. But don’t just hang out after you kick.

For Kid’s class, we worked on constantly moving our feet. Moving feet are happy feet. Also, it’s harder to hit a moving target than a stationary one. We also played a game where Lara threw puppets at us again. Very cool.

And for kata work, I’m still plugging away on Mo Yut Do. Today I poked at footwork a bit.