SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

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.

We, like all small businesses in this time, are going to try and weather this storm as best we can. We appreciate all those folks who have agreed to keep paying dues even though they can’t attend classes.

If you feel like giving to the gym financially, we appreciate that! Click the button below and give whatever amount you can.

Tomorrow we’re going to experiment with trying Facebook live to share our workouts – one in the morning for kids, and one in the evening for adults so check our FB page for updates. For now, here’s the scoop for today. Just like before, pick and choose what you like. Add in your own business. Move. Stay strong.

For the warmup, do 10 leg circles each side, 10 leg kicks, and 10 drinky birds. Then do 3 rounds of 5 reverse burpees, 3/3 cossack squats, and 30 seconds of paleo chair. Check the video for demos and variations.

Bacon? Who doesn’t love bacon? Today in the gymnastics skill, we work frying the bacon and balance jumps. Do 5 sets, 8 reps of each movement back and forth and we guarantee you’ll get better at them!

Kicks are awesome but you know what’s even better? Punching after you miss a kick so you don’t get nailed in sparring, so that’s what we’re doing for striking skills today. And even better than that is to angle out with a jab as you kick so your poor opponent can’t get a bead on you. Watch the video to see the sequence I lay out for you.

Ever find yourself in side control, trying to recover guard and you just can’t? Practice moving to quarters. It’s more of a wrestling move than a BJJ one but GOOD NEWS – wrestling works in BJJ – it’s all grappling skills, bro. Also, do some forward rolls. Falling and knowing how to roll safely is pretty much the most valuable martial arts skill ever.

Where do you look when you do your form? Not sure? Play this game today. Trying looking at your attack first, then through your attack, and then off into the wild blue yonder. What do you notice with each version of today’s kata focus?

Burpees! 21,15,9: V-ups and Burpees. It hurts when you do it and the best part is being done but at least… it will be over soon? Do the conditioning.

Got tight shoulders? Want to be able to do the splits? Do the mobility work today.

Hard work!