SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

Day 42: More than One of Us

April 24th, 2020

I’m not alone out here in the wild internet jungle. There are tons of folks generating content out there in internet land. One of them is Jaydra! Cranking out the internal martial arts videos every Friday!

Lara is helping me make kid’s class content. It is super fun to get to teach together 5 days a week.

And of course, Dug is doing striking videos on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dave is doing grappling videos on Wednesday. It is awesome to have everyone’s help.

CrossFit video today was… and I know I said this yesterday, but it was the hardest workout I’ve programmed yet in these 6 weeks. Craziness. Probably had something to do with how hard yesterday’s workout was.

For striking today, I looked at a concept Dug touched on not too long ago: fighting from a side facing stance.

At home striking: side facing stance

For grappling, I looked at my personal struggle with learning the hip throw and how learning the “drop” version of the hip throw was super helpful for me. I hope it helps you too!

At home grappling: hip throw

Tangentially, one of my BJJ coaches, Chris Bauer, is making YouTube content as well. You should check that out too. Here’s my favorite video he’s made so far, on the armbar. So many details!

Closed Guard Arm Bar

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Day 41: Three Great Tastes

April 23rd, 2020

Watch what happens when I program three movements in the workout that all require explosive leg movement… I create our hardest workout yet in this quarantine time.

Or perhaps you’d like to see what happens when Dug mixes the punches with grasshoppers? Striking class happens, that’s what.

And kid’s class? Yes. We mix together vertical punches, footwork, and a crazy giant cat style obstacle course.

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Day 40: Superheroes and Back Kicks

April 22nd, 2020

Dave and keeps us grappling in these partnerless times…

For kid’s class today, we worked the superman punch and the back kick. Plus, we played a “game”, which was just a workout in disguise. Workouts can be fun, right?

And the CrossFit workout today? Frogstands, front leg balance, and the single arm overhead squat! We hadn’t done the single arm OHS yet. It was… intriguing.

Scaffolding off my “efficient” (read: lazy) programming, the adult striking video today is about the back kick. I go over three versions of the back kick: the snap, the thrust, and the spin.

At home striking: the back kick

For forms work, we’re now on episode 3 of 5 on Mo Yut Do. This video completes all the moves in the form, and we’ll spend the next 2 days looking at a couple of themes.

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Day 39 – Keeping it Simple

April 21st, 2020

Will be going upside down everyday in CrossFit? Yeah. Probably. By the end of this pandemic, we are all going to be acrobats.

Are you spending a whole week on one form? Yes. Mo Yut Do. It’s the form we show to the 3-5 year olds and one we give to the adults once they reach purple belt. Tells you something about what we think young children are capable of, right? Anyway, here is part 2 of 5.

Wondering what that form is Lara is always doing at the end of kids class? It’s the one in the video above – so if your kid is struggling with following along, click on that there Mo Yut Do video. And if not, well then proceed to a video full of jumping kicks!

Did someone say jumping kicks? Yes! In the striking class, in the kids class, everywhere! It’s almost like the person doing the programming for these classes is keeping it simple and running the same techniques through all these videos…

Wait. Wasn’t O Soto Gari in the kids class? And now there’s a whole grappling video on the same throw so if you or your kid are struggling with it you can watch a detailed explanation? WHAT!? That’s amazing. Again, I feel like maybe there is one person in charge of the programming here…

At home grappling: o Soto Gari

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Day 38 – Cartwheels!

April 20th, 2020

Kid’s cartwheels! Also included, the uppercut and an amazingly fun game where Lara throws things at me.

Adult’s cartwheels! Also included, an incredibly exhausting workout.

This week for kata work, I’m going to spend all 5 days working on Mo Yut Do! Yay! Probably I’ll spend the first three days just going through the moves in some detail and then days 4 and 5 talking about breathing and tension. Join me!

Smash your grappling dummy… or pillow, if you don’t have a dummy. Yeah. Check out the “top control flow” of moving from mount to cross body to Kesa.

At home grappling: top control flow

Do you have a striking technique that when you land it you’re like… YES! Well, the retreating uppercut is one of those for me. Enjoy.

At home striking: retreating uppercut

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