SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

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.

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.

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.

Day 6, I flubbed the Facebook live workout for the adults – it got broken into 3 pieces, so I won’t bother linking to that. I assure you that I learned from that failure and it almost certainly, probably won’t happen again in that way. The kids workout was amazing, though – hammerfists and axe kicks for the win. Go watch that here.

For the martial arts folks! Great news. We are working on some live video stuff for y’all too. Jaydra is going to be running an internal martial arts class Friday at 10am on the Mo Duk Pai Association page. We’ll link to the saved video tomorrow.

Need more? Striking work today was crescent kicks and axe kicks. They aren’t super practical, but they are super fun and hey, fun is worth it. Plus, if you practice these kicks enough I promise your stiff hips will be less stiff.

Grappling work? Yeah. Let’s roll around on the cement. I mean, you don’t have to but it can be kind of fun to test your skills in a new environment.

Kata fun? Do your form normal, then tiny, then huge. If this isn’t a fun drill for you, then perhaps you can’t have fun at all. In kids class, we often call tiny forms “squirrel style” because well… just watch me in the video and you’ll see why.

A fine day to you all! If you’re looking for the kids workout, go here. If you’re looking for the CrossFit workout, go here. If you’re looking for the martial arts work, read on!

For grappling today, work the dreaded side roll. I know. It’s hard but I swear it will pay dividends for your guard. Plus one day you’ll be able to laugh at the newbs who can’t figure out how to do the side roll. Oh the glory!

For striking, work that workhorse of a kick – the roundhouse. It’s probably the most thrown kick in MMA because… well, it works. In the video I explore the point sparring version of the kick as well as the harder hitting version of the kick.

And last, but definitely not least in this time of no contact, kata work! Today, try doing your form normal, then with one hand behind your back, and finally with your other hand behind your back. I promise you will screw this up. It’s okay – that’s the fun part, to see if you can think your way through doing a form one handed.