SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

More Than One Direction

January 15th, 2016

Thursday night in Kung Fu class we looked at three ideas around doing the monkey line drill.

The first idea was to try and be fluid rather than choppy.  When you are dealing with multiple problems (people) coming at you at the same time, you can not afford to stand still, set your body and throw a strike.  You must move or you will get surrounded.

The second idea was to start as soon as you hear the word go.  Again, when doom is hurtling toward you in the form of four other human beings, you can not afford to stand still.  You can not afford to stand still at the beginning of the drill, even if you are going to move fluidly for the rest of the drill.  Move.  Right away.

The last idea we worked was making sure you didn’t get stuck moving in one direction.  Often, when people get amped up, they get stuck in a behavior.  In monkey lines, sometimes that behavior is always moving to the right.  If you always move in one direction, the pig pile will happen.  The attackers will find you and swarm you.  Yes, you need to move.  Yes, you need to be able to adapt and change directions.

To better monkey lines!

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Up and Running

January 12th, 2016

image
Last week, the ground was covered in slushy ice.  Nobody showed to the new Tuesday night beginner class.

This week was a different story.  So great to see some new faces in the gym, being led carefully through the core movements of CrossFit.  Excellent team coaching by Geoff and Clay!

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New Year, New Beginning CrossFit Series!

January 1st, 2016

Start your new year out !

 

Cost is $80 for eight-week section, and $90 for the 9-week section.

Register online at www.westsideakf.com/events/

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Independent Motion

December 29th, 2015
Independent Motion

You don’t want your sparring partner knowing that you’re going to attack, do you?  Probably not.  In which case, one method you can use to disguise your attacks is to try and make them move weapon first.

Weapon first means: if you are punching, move the fist first.  If you are kicking, move the foot first.  Sounds simple enough.  It is simple.  It isn’t easy but it is simple.  One of the best ways to achieve this weapon first idea is to have a partner watch you strike.  Standing across from you, they simply name the piece of your body that they see move first when you attack.  If they say “hand” when you punch, you got it!  If they say “head” or “hip” or anything except “hand” then something else moved first and that means you are giving your sparring partner information that they can use to spot your attack early.

Another name for weapon first is independent motion.  The ultimate test of any fighting principle is, of course, does it do anything when you work against an actively resisting opponent?

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Why You Ever?

December 28th, 2015
Oly class 12.28.15

Why power clean?  Isn’t getting under the bar the correct way to clean?  Shouldn’t you squat under the bar always?

I have come to see the power clean (and power snatch) as invaluable teaching tools for both myself and other students because they are less complex.  Because they are simpler movements they are easier to learn and execute.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you should perfect the power movements and then move on to the full movements.  I’m sure people do that.  That’s fine.  For me, it simply means you can try to change something in the power movement and have an easier time.  Once you get that to manifest in the simpler movement, you can try and transfer it to the more complex movement.

Don’t diss on the power clean.  Instead, use it as a way to work on your clean.

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