SW Portland Martial Arts teaches Mo Duk Pai (a style that emphasizes ethics, practicality and teaching) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (a grappling and throwing art).
CrossFit Hillsdale teaches functional fitness with an emphasis on gradual progress and real world results.
Our mission is to provide students with quality instruction, love of learning, and open appreciation for all movement arts.
http://youtu.be/NAKWEnhoAy8
Since we are working grab counters and throws this month, I thought it would be cute to combine the two – use a throw as a way to counter a grab.
The more you think about it, the less cute and the more obvious it becomes. Someone (unskilled) who is grabbing you is giving you the attachment you need to toss them around. Instead of breaking the grab or hitting them, use that attachment and your awesome throwing skill set to toss them around.
http://youtu.be/OmMlDpcsknM
Most of the pressing we do is from the front rack position. Today in the Olympic lifting class, we did some presses off the back. As with any variation on a basic, there are usually a few things you can get out of it.
First off, enjoy the novelty. It’s something different. Light a candle. Jump for joy. Sing out loud. Acknowledge that variety is a good thing in life and moving your body is no different. If you move the same way all the time, it’s boring.
Secondly, notice how easy it is to put the bar in the right position overhead. You face isn’t in the way! You just push it straight up and BANG there it goes.
There are lots more reasons to try pressing off the back. Try it. See what you think.
http://youtu.be/zIGcoFeLIjo
Putting someone in a headlock is a fairly instinctual thing to do in a fight. Travel to any schoolyard playground and if there is a bully there who likes to beat up on the other kids, odds are pretty good that the bully will employ a headlock.
It works. There is nothing inherently foolish about using a headlock. When the bully starts punching his victim in the head with his free hand, it can become especially effective. There are smart ways to get out of the headlock. Watch the video above to see a couple of those smart ways.
It is important, I think, as a system that focuses on self defense, for us to know some basic ways to break a headlock. I also think it is important that we learn some smarter ways (besides the headlock) to pin someone (Kesa Getami is the one we mention in the video).
Some of you have gotten wise to the fact that I have been squatting every day. This is probably because you’ve heard me crying about how I’ve been squatting every day.
Why? Because I want to clean more but my squat stinks. My pull and catch are decent at heavier weights but I just can’t stand up because my front squat is weak. My solution is to squat everyday. Anyway, some of you were asking so here is what I am doing:
The picture above shows my attack plan. Since I’m at the gym 5 days a week, that means I get to squat 5 days in a row and then rest 2. Sounds crazy until you figure in all the variations I’m tossing in. Back squat, front squat, overhead squat, zircher squat and power squat. (The second five repeat the same lifts but are all done with a pause.) All this changing of the squat helps make sure I’m not wrecking myself. Every day is 5 sets of 3 and each time I get back to a lift I’ve already done, I try and do more weight.
I stole the idea from a program called “squat everyday” and adapted it to suit my needs and schedule. If anyone wants to jump on the squat wagon with me, you are more than welcome. If you want to wait 4 months until I’m done so I can tell you how it went, you can do that too.
One way to get better at your form is to go through and look for parts that just don’t feel quite right. Once you have found a part that feels crummy, you drill that part over and over, trying to fix the body mechanic until it feels better.
It is a fabulous way to work on your forms and I highly recommend it.
However, I also highly recommend filming yourself and instead of feeling what you did wrong and could improve, looking for something in the video of yourself doing the form that could be improved. In my experience, the video often reveals mistakes in movement that we don’t feel at all – it reveals hidden mistakes.
6309 SW Capitol Highway, Portland OR, 97239
503 432 7450
info@southwestportlandmartialarts.com