SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

Day 11 – A new Striking Class!

March 24th, 2020

If you’ve been salivating for more online classes with punches, the wait is over! Dug was kind enough to lead a striking class today and will be leading them every Tuesday and Thursday at Noon on our Facebook page.

And of course, our kid’s class today was rocking! Bridges and ridgehands all class long. The dancing at the end of class is totally optional.

Our final live class of the day was the CrossFit class. Is it still CrossFit if we don’t use barbells? The answer is, if I do it during a CrossFit class, it is CrossFit. Even the crazy sideways hand balance pose I did. Man that was hard.

Special Bonus martial arts content! If you’re missing the vigors of Dave’s takedown class, here is some sprawling solo work.

At home grappling work: sprawl

Until tomorrow! Stay safe, train hard.

Posted in All school programs, CrossFit, Martial Arts | Comments Off on Day 11 – A new Striking Class!

Day 10 – Handstands, Backfists, and Sit Outs

March 23rd, 2020

I’m learning a lot about digital resources. That’s kind of fun. I’m learning about my own coaching by being able to watch myself on screen. Anyway. Enough about me. Here’s what we did today.

For Kid’s class, we worked the backfist and the toe out kick. Lara had us play a game (of hopefully safe) indoor soccer.

For our workout, the skills were: handstand, airplane balance, and the cossack squat. That airplane balance is a doozy.

Need some striking ideas for your solo practice? Try playing with the backfist and some variations.

At home striking: backfist vs backknuckle

Going insane without grappling partners? Or maybe you just have one partner? Try the sit through and maybe venture into the challenging world of the sit around. I know. All that sitting around sounds easy… but it isn’t.

At home grappling work: sit through

Finally, if you’re feeling kata oriented in this time of isolation, try focusing on your striking surfaces. What exactly are you hitting with when you are striking that imaginary opponent?

At home kata work: striking surface

Stay safe. Practice compassion. Build your skills.

Posted in All school programs, CrossFit, Kids, Martial Arts | Comments Off on Day 10 – Handstands, Backfists, and Sit Outs

Got time for a project?

March 22nd, 2020

Perhaps you find yourself with a great deal of time on your hands, a love of martial arts, but no partners to work with. There are all sorts of projects you might dive deep into. You could work on your conditioning and do 100 burpees a day. You could try and get your kicks higher by throwing 200 kicks a day.

Here’s the one I’m doing, and if you enjoy doing forms, I encourage you to do the same: make up your own kata with a theme. Most times, when you’re asked to create a form, it is a one time exercise. You make up the form, then you forget it. For this project, I’m suggesting you take however long this coronavirus crisis lasts and make a form with a theme that you can remember and demonstrate.

Why? It’s a way to explore movement and what martial arts means to you. Is making up a kata the only way to do that? Of course not. Play, explore, and share. Tell me what you come up with.

Long term project for solo training?

Posted in Forms, Martial Arts | Comments Off on Got time for a project?

Jabs and Down Dogs

March 21st, 2020

Staying at home is hard! We hope that our workouts are helping. Today, we’ve got two offerings for you.

First, we’ve got Alli running a conditioning workout. It’s got everything: a Yoga warmup, burpees, and squats. What else could you want?

Second, we’ve got Wally, Lara, and their lovely assistant – Mabel, running a striking workout. Jabs, Roundhouse kicks, and a lovely game of slap boxing. Also, no burpees.

Let us know what you want to see! Keep moving out there.

Posted in All school programs, CrossFit, Martial Arts | Comments Off on Jabs and Down Dogs

At Home Workout #7

March 20th, 2020

I think we’re hitting our stride here. Check this out. I can embed a Facebook video! The theme of the kids class this morning was “around”, which meant hook punches, roundhouse kicks, and jumping around.

For the daily workout, I won’t spoil the conditioning, but the skill work was pushups, L-sits, and monkey! I have a feeling I’m going to come out the other side of this crisis as a master gymnast… or well, at least a lot less bad than I was.

Then we had Jaydra’s first internal martial arts class – live from her kitchen!

For grappling today, I made a video that hopefully inspires you to peel apart the difference between a shoulder roll and a somersault. Heck, maybe you can even do a backwards somersault better than me… shouldn’t be too tricky.

At home grappling work: shoulder roll vs. somersault

For the striking, we’re poking at the hook punch again. What can I say? I’m obsessed. I get stuck on a thing and do it over and over until I get less bad at it. Hopefully this video gives you a slightly different angle.

At home striking #7: the lead hook again?

And last, but most convenient for solo practice, today for kata work try your form in a… confined space! Heck, you might be stuck in a tiny room. Ideally, you can do your form in a big open space (your yard), then a decent sized room, and finally a small space like your bathroom or a hallway. Life is an adventure. Make your kata an adventure too.

At home kata work #7: confined space

Posted in All school programs | Comments Off on At Home Workout #7

<- Older Entries
Newer Entries ->